Zena Marshall

Zena Marshall
Born	Zena Moyra Marshall (1926-01-01)1 January 1926 Nairobi, Kenya
Died	10 July 2009(2009-07-10) (aged 83) London, England
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1945–1967
Spouses	Paul Adam ​ ​ (m. 1947;div. 1953)​ Alexander Ward ​ ​ (m. 1967;div. 1969)​ Ivan Foxwell ​ ​ (m. 1991;died 2002)​

Zena Moyra Marshall (1 January 1926 – 10 July 2009) was a British actress of film and television, best known for her appearances as Miss Taro in Dr. No (1962) and as Countess Ponticelli in Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (1965).

Early life and education

Marshall was born in Nairobi, Kenya, to parents of English, Irish and French descent. ^[1] After her father's death and her mother's remarriage, she was brought up in Leicestershire, England. Marshall attended St Mary's, Ascot, and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). ^[2]

Career

Marshall worked with the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA) during the Second World War. ^{[2] [3]} Marshall first acted on stage. ^[1] Her film career began with a small role in Caesar and Cleopatra (1945), with Claude Rains and Vivien Leigh. ^{[4] [5]} Her exotic looks resulted in her being cast in "ethnic" roles, such as Asian women, including her role as the Chinese character Miss Taro, in the first James Bond film, Dr. No (1962). ^{[2] [6]} She also appeared in Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (1965) as the Countess Ponticelli, and made numerous television appearances. ^[4] Her last film performance was in The Terrornauts in 1967. ^[7]

Personal life and death

Marshall married bandleader Paul Adam in January 1946; ^{[1] [8]} they divorced in 1953, owing to "misconduct" with a woman referred to only as "Miss X". ^{[9] [10]} She later wed and divorced Alexander "Reggie" Ward, ^{[9] [11] [12]} before her final marriage to film producer Ivan Foxwell. He died in 2002. Marshall died of cancer on 10 July 2009, aged 83. Her gravesite is in St Thomas a Becket churchyard, Skeffington, Leicestershire. ^{[1] [13]}

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1945	Caesar and Cleopatra	Lady-in-Waiting	Uncredited [5]
1947	The End of the River	Sante	[3]
1948	So Evil My Love	Lisette	[3]
	Snowbound	Italian Girl	[3]
	Miranda	Secretary	[3]
	Good-Time Girl	Annie Farrell	[3]
	Sleeping Car to Trieste	Suzanne	[14]
1949	The Bad Lord Byron	An Italian Woman	Uncredited
	Marry Me!	Marcelle Duclos
	Helter Skelter	Giselle	[3]
	The Lost People	Anna
	Meet Simon Cherry	Lisa Colville
1950	Operation Disaster	The Wren
	So Long at the Fair	Nina
	Soho Conspiracy	Dora Scala
	Dark Interval	Sonia Jordan
1951	Hell Is Sold Out	Honeychild
1952	Blind Man's Bluff	Christine Stevens
	The Caretaker's Daughter	Fritzi Villiers
1953	Deadly Nightshade	Ann Farrington
	Men Against the Sun	Elizabeth	[15]
1954	The Scarlet Web	Laura Vane
	The Embezzler	Mrs. Forrest
1955	Three Cases of Murder	Beautiful Blonde	(segment "Lord Mountdrago"), Uncredited
1956	Bermuda Affair	Chris Walters
	My Wife's Family	Hilda
1957	Let's Be Happy	Helene
1958	Dial 999 (TV series) ('Fashions in Crime', episode)	Laura Harris
1960	A Story of David: The Hunted	Naomi
1962	Crosstrap	Rina
	Dr. No	Miss Taro
	Backfire!	Pauline Logan	Edgar Wallace Mysteries
	The Guilty Party	Thelma Sinclair	The Scales of Justice
1963	The Switch	Caroline Markham
1964	The Verdict	Carola	Edgar Wallace Mysteries
1965	Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines	Countess Sofia Ponticelli
1967	The Terrornauts	Sandy Lund	(final film role)

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1950	The Adventures of Sir Percy Howsey	Margueritte	TV short
1952	The Inch Man	Helen Anastiadi	Episode: "The Quiet Voice"
	Sunday Night Theatre	Catherine	Episode: "The Portugal Lady"
1953	Your Favorite Story		Episode: "Work of Art"
1954	Liebelei	Mitzi Schlager	TV film
1955	Saber of London	Audrey Lipton	Episode: "The Serpent Beneath"
1956	Colonel March of Scotland Yard	Madeleine	Episode: "The Silent Vow"
1957	O.S.S.	Lucille Genet	Episode: "Operation Flint Axe"
1958	African Patrol	Stella Stevens	Episode: "No Place to Hide"
	The Invisible Man	Tania	Episode: "The Locked Room"
1960–1965	The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre (two appearances) (Edgar Wallace Mysteries)
1960–1964	Danger Man	Dr. LeClair, Mrs. Ramfi, Nadia	Episodes: "The Leak", "Find and Return", "Fish on the Hook"
1962	Sir Francis Drake	Maria	Episode: "The Bridge"
	Richard the Lionheart	Zara	Episode: "The Challenge"
	Man of the World	Madame Thiboeuf	Episode: "Death of a Conference"
	The Scales of Justice	Thelma Sinclair	Episode: "The Guilty Party"
1963	The Human Jungle	Vera Barclay	Episode: "Over and Out"
	The Sentimental Agent	Melina, Rita	Episodes: "A Little Sweetness and Light", "A Box of Tricks"
1964	Ghost Squad	Yvonne	Episode: "Dead Men Don't Drive"
1965	Dixon of Dock Green	Carol Wright	Episode: "Find the Lady"
	Public Eye	Jean Lawford	Episode: "You Have to Draw the Line Somewhere"
1966	Court Martial	Mara	Episode: "Let Slip the Dogs of War"

References

1. "Zena Marshall". The Herald . 17 July 2009. Archived from the original on 10 June 2017. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
2. Gaughan, Gavin (26 July 2009). "Zena Marshall Obituary". The Guardian . Archived from the original on 22 December 2022. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
3. "The Silver Screen; The Week's Personality". The Clydebank Press. 18 February 1949. p. 3. Retrieved 3 July 2025– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Zena Marshall". BFI. Archived from the original on 20 June 2016.
5. "Over 700 at Film Ball". Evening Sentinel. 10 October 1947. p. 1. Retrieved 3 July 2025– via Newspapers.com.
6. McFarlane, Brian; Slide, Anthony (16 May 2016). The Encyclopedia of British Film: Fourth edition. Manchester University Press. ISBN   978-1-5261-1196-8 – via Google Books.
7. "Zena Marshall | Movies and Filmography". AllMovie.
8. "Bundle from Britain Arrives to Tune of Admiring Whistles". Newsday (Suffolk Edition) . 22 October 1951. p. 4. Retrieved 3 July 2025– via Newspapers.com.
9. Helliwell, Arthur (26 January 1969). "Zena talks of her £50,000 nightmare". The Sunday People . p. 15. Retrieved 3 July 2025– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Zena Marshall wins decree; And Miss X remains a mystery". Evening Standard . 25 June 1953. p. 3. Retrieved 3 July 2025– via Newspapers.com.
11. "Actress Accuses a Duchess". The Kansas City Times . Missouri, Kansas City. 29 April 1968. p. 2. Retrieved 10 June 2017– via Newspapers.com.
12. "Divorce plea by Zena Marshall". Liverpool Daily Post (Merseyside ed.). 26 March 1968. p. 5. Retrieved 3 July 2025– via Newspapers.com.
13. "Zena Marshall". The Herald . 18 July 2009. Retrieved 3 July 2025.
14. "Sleeping Car to Trieste". The Cessnock Eagle and South Maitland Recorder. 10 July 1951. p. 5. Retrieved 3 July 2025– via Newspapers.com.
15. "Beacon". Walsall Observer. 27 November 1953. p. 13. Retrieved 3 July 2025– via Newspapers.com.

External links

• Zena Marshall at IMDb
• Zena Marshall at Find a Grave