Career
Born Joan Mildred Summerfield in Brixton, London, the only child of variety performers Norman Field (né Summerfield) and Nina Norre, she started her theatrical career in 1931 as a dancer. She used the stage name Jean Carr when she appeared as a chorus girl in the Windmill Theatre in London. She signed to Gainsborough Pictures during the Second World War.
The turning point in her career came when she was given a dramatic part in 1945 film Fanny by Gaslight.
She appeared in several British films during the 1940s and 1950s before turning to television probably best remembered for her role as Queen Elizabeth I in the television historical adventure series Sir Francis Drake (television series) filmed in 1961-1962. Kent died in the West Suffolk Hospital, Bury Saint Edmunds on 30 November 2013, following a fall at her home in Westhorpe.
The coroner recorded a narrative verdict that Kent died from accidental injuries and that cardiac disease may have contributed to a fall. Foreign a number of years, British film exhibitors voted her among the top ten British stars at the box office via an annual poll in the Motion Picture Herald.
1950 – 9th
1951 – 8th.