Jean Marsh. In Memoriam

Jean Marsh (1934-2025), the acclaimed British actress who co-created and starred in the groundbreaking 1970s television drama Upstairs, Downstairs, died on Sunday at her home in London due to complications of dementia as many news outlets have published: BBC, The Guardian, New York Times... She was 90. Her close friend, filmmaker Michael Lindsay-Hogg, described her passing as peaceful, noting they had spoken by phone almost daily for the past four decades.

Throughout her remarkable seven-decade career, Marsh built an impressive portfolio spanning television, film, and theater. Her film work included roles in major productions such as Cleopatra (1963) alongside Elizabeth Taylor, where she played Octavia, the wife of Mark Antony. Her memorable turn in Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy (1972) showcased her versatility, as did her performances in fantasy films like Return to Oz (1985), and  Willow (1988), in which she embodied the menacing sorceress Queen Bavmorda. Her film credits also extended to The Eagle Has Landed (1976), The Changeling (1980), Fatherland (1994), and Monarch (2000).

On television, beyond her iconic role as Rose Buck in Upstairs, Downstairs, Marsh made her mark in the sci-fi realm with several appearances in Doctor Who, with different roles. Her creative vision extended beyond acting when she reunited with Eileen Atkins to co-create The House of Eliott, a successful 1990s BBC series about two sisters building a fashion house in 1920s London. She also appeared in The Major of Casterbridge 2003, Sense and Sensibility 2008, and, of course, in the Upstairs Downstairs 2012 continuation. Marsh's final television appearance came in the British mystery series Grantchester in 2015. Her significant contributions to drama were recognized when she was awarded an OBE (Officer of the British Empire) in 2012.

But what all the obituaries fail to mention, at least the ones we have seen, is that she also was Bertha Mason in Delbert Mann's Jane Eyre 1970 adaptation with George C. Scott and Susannah York. That is, a year before she catapulted to fame with Upstairs, Downstairs.