Jane Seymour:America's Quinntessential English Rose

By Jennifer K. Rumple

'Don't forget your homework! I'm looking for 'A's today okay?" Jane Seymour's engaging, English accent echoes through her beachfront, Malibu home.

Photo by Charles W. Bush

"Sean, what happened to your spikey hair? Just stick it up. Stick up the front how you like it," the 52-year-old British beauty momentarily pauses.

"Very cool," an excited Seymour says, with emphasis on the "very."

"I love you!" she exclaims.

Another pause.

"I LOVE YOU!" this time, her vocal clarity revealing she's a loving mother, waiting for her son to reciprocate her term of endearment.

Apparently, it works.

"Thank you. That's what I was looking for," a happy mother glees with satisfaction. Practically singing, Jane calls out, "have a great day!"

It's early morning in Southern California. Jane, like most days, has pushed her 7-year-old, twin boys, John and Kristopher out the door, and off to school. She's in her "p.j.s." Her famous, long, brown hair cascades down her shoulders after a well-deserved sleep.

She's been 'exhausted' recently. Here's why: Jane's list of 'things to do today:'

1) Phone interview with a Midwest radio station,
2) Back surgery therapy,
3) Pack clothes for three-days of cross-country appearances,
4) Answer mail,
5) Meet with Hollywood bigwigs about three movies in the works,
6) Speak to a college counselor about her 18-year-old son's university endeavors,

And finally, it's back home to pack for a 5 a.m. departure to Tennessee where Knoxville's mayor will declare the day, October 3rd, in her honor.

It's safe to say a day like Jane's is not typical. But, for this award-winning actress, accomplished artist, author, designer and above all else, dedicated mother; it's the norm.

7-year-old twins, Kristopher and John, were Jane's inspiration for writing the book Two at a Time, a journey through twin pregnancy.

Photo by Charles W. Bush

She's America's 'quinn'tessential English Rose and an industry, in and of herself. Her name is emblazed on watercolor and oil paintings, numerous books, a clothing and home collection line and a production company. It all began 52 years ago, in Wimbledon, England, where Joyce Penelope Wilhelmina Frankenberg was born. Joyce changed her name to 'Jane Seymour' at age 17, because she liked the way it rolled off her tongue. Besides, Jane thought 'Frankenberg' could be likened to 'Frankenstein.' Not good, for an aspiring dancer.

Surprised?

Jane had no thoughts of becoming an actress as a child. She wanted to be a ballerina. Years of hard work led Jane to dance professionally with the London Festival Ballet at the tender age of 13. All the while, attending London's 'Arts Educational Trust,' a high school for performing artists.

Seymour says she traveled a grueling 40 minutes every day to the city and back, to study everything from creative arts and singing, to theater make-up and speech.

But, the renowned school was not cheap. So, Jane subsidized her exquisite training by snagging bit roles in television commercials. "For lunch, we'll have lasagna," Jane remembers the only line in her first TV spot for Chef Boyardee.

The acting helped pay the bills.

Mixed media on paper. Signed in pencil by Jane, lower right. 19 1/2 x 27 1/2"

"But, I never thought of acting long-term," Seymour conveyed. "My long-time dream was to dance with Russia's renowned Kirov Ballet, and I did it, at 17. It was only once, but I did do it."

During that one performance, Jane sustained a serious knee injury that closed the door on her dreams of becoming a dancer, and opened a window to her future, in acting.

Jane switched her focus at school from dance, to drama. She was first cast as a chorus girl in an English film, where she read one line. "A top agent from the U.K. happened to be in the audience, approached me and told me he'd make me a star," Seymour remembers fondly.

Jane recalls being excited, but quickly learned making a name for herself in show business would not be easy.

Not at first, anyway.

Jane's long-standing trademark is her long, brown hair. But, she has another unique, physical trait, many of her fans don't even know. Her left eye is an emerald green, and her right, a brilliant brown.

English filmmakers found her look to be "off-putting." "I don't remember what the movie was, but it was a color picture. I was fired because my eyes were two different colors." Jane says the rejection was devastating. "I was crushed. But, it taught me that when life deals major blows and you think they're impossible to overcome, like the loss of someone, a death or dealing with a medical issue, out of it, comes a gift."

A lesson well learned.

Not only did Jane brush off the rejection, and push forward with her dreams, that experience shaped much of her outlook on life. She says, "through remarkable changes," which happens to be the title of her latest book, "life inevitably becomes remarkable."

Jane's launch to super-stardom happened while working on radio dramas and a television series for the BBC. She was cast as a "Bond Girl" in the successful James Bond film, "Live and Let Die," starring Roger Moore. Jane played the leading lady's role of "Solitaire."

"Things just moved very quickly in my career from that point. But, I realized I didn't want to play a pretty girl, walking three paces behind a man with a gun the rest of my career. Even if it was James Bond," she laughs.

So, with no agent, or work permit in the states, the brave and determined English girl took off for Hollywood with a dream, and $500 in her pocket. "I only brought enough money for six weeks and the flight back home," Seymour says. "I only had a six-week work visa. That's the amount of time I gave myself to make it in Hollywood."

Five weeks and six days later, Jane got the starring role in a six-hour mini-series titled 'Captains and the Kings,' for which she won an Emmy in 1977. Hollywood quickly figured out, Seymour could convey almost any accent with accuracy, making her a hot commodity in Tinseltown.

By the time Jane turned 30, in the 1980s, she had already been dubbed the "Queen of the Mini-Series." She starred in nine TV movies, including 'Crossing,' 'East of Eden' and 'War and Remembrance.'

In 1981, Jane married her third husband, polo player David Flynn. (Jane spoke little of her first two marriages; both brief at one year apiece.) With Flynn, Jane had her first child Katie, now 21 and Sean, now 18. Jane considers Jenny, David's child from a previous marriage, one of her own. The family lived in Los Angeles and rented a home in Santa Barbara where they'd often spend long weekends.

Reflecting in Monet's Garden. Original oil on canvas. Signed by Jane, lower right. 24 x 30"

The L.A. transplant remembers her husband coming home one day to tell her they had to move, permanently, to Santa Barbara. 1970s supermodel Cheryl Tieggs had offered a substantial amount of money for their home. "It wasn't even on the market," Jane says with amusement. "She was willing to pay us a lot of money to move out immediately and leave everything behind! I mean almost everything we'd accumulated for the last 16 years of our lives. The paintings, the furniture, everything.'

So, what did they do?

"We packed our personal things like photographs and clothing and headed north to Santa Barbara, of course," Jane laughs. "We had a lovely estate home in Montecito on Lilac Drive. It was beautiful."

But, sadly, things headed south in Jane's marriage. "Things went horribly wrong," Seymour remembers. "Horribly wrong. The year I turned 40, everything fell apart."

Jane divorced Flynn, her father died of cancer and she lost all her money. "I was almost bankrupt," she says.

Jane needed work, any work.

Fortunately, she was offered the script to a pilot about a western doctor, practicing medicine in the late 1800s. The title, 'Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.'

"I was commuting up and down from Santa Barbara to Malibu Hills, an hour and 30 minutes each way, every day to film that pilot," Jane says with exhaustion in her voice at the thought. "I had lost everything. I had nothing and with the help of CBS, I moved into a tiny shack in Malibu Hills, I shared with rats," she says with sweet conviction. "I'm not kidding, there were rats in there with me.

"The network purchased the place for me so I would have a place to sleep at night and make this movie of the week for them," Jane continues. "No one ever thought or believed it would become a series. A successful series at that."

'Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman' survived the television wars six seasons, before CBS finally cancelled the series. The pilot mini-series tested higher than any other show that ever shared the same time slot. "It was called the death slot, since no TV show ever succeeded Saturday nights at 8 p.m.," the actress says proudly. "It ranked in the top 10 both nights it aired. We knew we had a hit on our hands."

That hit role won Jane a Golden Globe Award for best actress in a television drama in 1995. Many industry experts say 'Dr. Quinn' was a groundbreaking show. It broke free of the sex and violent programming that seemed to flood the tube at that time.

"I think it was an intelligent, family drama that dealt with a lot of today's issues, set in another time. And, it was always very moving." Jane continues to say viewers could identify with any one of the characters.

Photo by Charles W. Bush

Dr. Quinn' may be no more, but she'll always be a part of Jane. "She's everywhere I go, anywhere I go in the world. 'Dr. Quinn' is still broadcast in 98 countries. There's actually an outcry to bring her back."

And if they do, Miss Seymour has the wardrobe department covered. "I took home Dr. Quinn's wardrobe," Jane says, admitting it sounds a bit strange since we are living in a new millennium. "But, last year, I was desperate for a Halloween costume, so I threw on some of her clothes and everyone knew exactly who I was."

Jane met her current husband, director James Keach, just after filming the pilot for Dr. Quinn, while co-producing the made for TV movie "Sunstroke."

The pair married in 1993, adding another child, Kalen Keach, to their ever-growing brood. Two years later, at age 45, Jane found herself pregnant again. This time, with twins.

"A lot of people saw me having babies as irresponsible at that age," said Jane when asked about the difficulties of her late-in-life pregnancy. "That's why I wrote the book, 'Two at a Time.' It's a journey through twin pregnancy.

"I'm very proud of this book. All the other books I read had one page dedicated to multiple pregnancies. It's so hard physically and emotionally." She says the book also conveys her husband's experience during those nine-months.

Jane gave birth to Kristopher and John in 1995. They named Kristopher after longtime friend and actor Christopher Reeve. John was named after the late Johnny Cash, also a family friend.

Jane says she still visits Santa Barbara at least three times a year, dependant upon her schedule, to visit with friends, attend dinner parties and hang out at the beach.

Her favorite place?

"I simply love Pierre La Fond and all the little shops in Montecito."

Charity work also brings Jane to the Central Coast. Last year, as celebrity cabinet member for the American Red Cross, she worked on a documentary film that premiered at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, titled, 'Disease of the Wind.' It's a film about measles and fighting the disease.

She's also the international ambassador for Child Help USA, a free arts program targeting at risk youth.

But, much of her time is spent raising money for the Christopher Reeve Foundation, set-up to help children with spinal cord injuries in hospitals around the country.

During the family's recent trip to Africa, Jane launched the measles initiative for the American Red Cross. Her husband, James, made a documentary about the endeavor, Disease of the Wind, which has been winning awards at film festivals around the country.

Multi-tasking seems to be Jane's middle name, with such a full plate each day. But, when she wants to "get away," she and Keach take the family to her native land of England, where they own a 14th century, English manor in Bath called St. Catherine's Court.

"Rather than getting government grants to pay for the estate, we decided to rent it out," Jane's business savvy at work again. "The money goes into the restoration of the house. Houses need to be lived in. People love it. It's very successful."

Which is also a word to describe Jane, here in the states, and across the pond.

Queen Elizabeth II has recently crowned Seymour an "Officer of the Order of the British Empire." And, last April, Jane finally got a star on Hollywood's 'Walk of Fame.'

She believes everything happens for a reason and wouldn't change any part of her life. Because, the good things and the bad things have led her exactly to the life she leads today. Which, Jane says, is a happy one. If I hadn't had the huge disappointment early on in my dancing career, I would never have been an actress. If I hadn't gotten divorced, I wouldn't have taken the Dr. Quinn role. If they hadn't cancelled Dr. Quinn, I would not be doing all the wonderful things I'm able to do now. And so on, and so on ... it's all in the book ('Remarkable Changes')," Seymour laughs.