# Dinah Sheridan
**Dinah Sheridan** (born Dinah Nadyejda Mec; 17 September 1920 – 25 November 2012) was an English actress whose career in film, stage, and television spanned more than six decades, best remembered for the comedy *[Genevieve](https://www.edgepedia.org/genevieve-1953-film)* (1953) and for playing the mother in *The Railway Children* (1970).[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/nov/25/dinah-sheridan) Her surname was chosen from a telephone directory because her birth name, Mec, was pronounced "mess".[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/nov/25/dinah-sheridan)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born / died | 17 September 1920, Hampstead Garden Suburb, north London; 25 November 2012, aged 92[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/nov/25/dinah-sheridan) |
| Birth name | Dinah Nadyejda Mec, daughter of Lisa Everth (German) and Fernand Archer Mec (Russian), photographers by appointment to the Queen and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/nov/25/dinah-sheridan) |
| Training | Italia Conti stage school; first professional job as an understudy in *Where the Rainbow Ends* (1932)[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/nov/25/dinah-sheridan) |
| Signature film | *Genevieve* (1953), a comedy about the London to Brighton veteran car rally, now acknowledged as a British comedy classic[2](https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2012/nov/26/dinah-sheridan-career-clips) |
| Career break | Married Sir John Davis, head of the Rank Organisation, in 1954 and retired from the screen; the marriage ended in 1965[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/nov/25/dinah-sheridan) |
| Comeback | Mrs Waterbury in *The Railway Children* (1970), directed by Lionel Jeffries, running time 108 minutes[3](https://www.bfi.org.uk/film/df73de08-374a-5d60-b2ce-3ade22f0db2b/the-railway-children) |
| Last film | A cameo in the Agatha Christie adaptation *The Mirror Crack'd* (1980)[4](https://www.the-independent.com/news/obituaries/dinah-sheridan-actress-whose-elegance-and-warmth-made-her-a-memorable-leading-lady-8352895.html) |
## Origins and training
Sheridan was born in Hampstead Garden Suburb, north London, into what her Guardian obituarist called a thoroughly cosmopolitan background: her parents were joint photographers by appointment to the Queen and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, her mother Lisa Everth German and her father Fernand Archer Mec Russian.[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/nov/25/dinah-sheridan) Her bubbly temperament earned her the nickname Mousse from a French friend, after the foam on champagne.[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/nov/25/dinah-sheridan)
Following her time at Sherrards school in [Welwyn Garden City](https://www.edgepedia.org/welwyn-garden-city), Hertfordshire, she trained at Italia Conti, and in 1932 she made her professional debut as an understudy in *Where the Rainbow Ends*. She appeared in *Peter Pan* as Wendy two years later, and in 1936 as Peter.[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/nov/25/dinah-sheridan) According to her Independent obituary, in 1936 she was the first actress to appear on television, in the program *Picture Page*, broadcast from [Alexandra Palace](https://www.edgepedia.org/alexandra-palace).[4](https://www.the-independent.com/news/obituaries/dinah-sheridan-actress-whose-elegance-and-warmth-made-her-a-memorable-leading-lady-8352895.html)
## Wartime and postwar films
Her early British films included *Irish and Proud of It* (1936) and an unbilled role as a dancer in [Laurence Olivier](https://www.edgepedia.org/laurence-olivier)'s *As You Like It* (1936), followed by a starring role opposite Jimmy Hanley in *Landslide*.[4](https://www.the-independent.com/news/obituaries/dinah-sheridan-actress-whose-elegance-and-warmth-made-her-a-memorable-leading-lady-8352895.html) With the outbreak of the Second World War she was conscripted as an ambulance driver.[4](https://www.the-independent.com/news/obituaries/dinah-sheridan-actress-whose-elegance-and-warmth-made-her-a-memorable-leading-lady-8352895.html) She married Hanley in 1942 and collaborated with him on *Salute John Citizen* the same year, and played the glamorous Steve, the female foil in the cult detective film *Calling Paul Temple* (1948).[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/nov/25/dinah-sheridan)
Through the late 1940s and early 1950s she worked steadily in British films, many of them "B" pictures: *The Huggetts Abroad* (1949), *The Story of Shirley Yorke* (1949), *No Trace* (1950), *Blackout* (1950), the royal command performance film *Where No Vultures Fly* (1951), and [David Lean](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-lean)'s *The Sound Barrier* (1952).[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/nov/25/dinah-sheridan) • [4](https://www.the-independent.com/news/obituaries/dinah-sheridan-actress-whose-elegance-and-warmth-made-her-a-memorable-leading-lady-8352895.html) The Guardian obituary describes her as specializing in decorous English heroines at a time when being "ladylike" was considered desirable.[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/nov/25/dinah-sheridan)
## Genevieve
The 1953 comedy *Genevieve*, about two rival couples taking part in the London to Brighton veteran car rally, paired her with [Kenneth More](https://www.edgepedia.org/kenneth-more), Kay Kendall, and [John Gregson](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-gregson). The Guardian judged that the film "would almost certainly have turned her into an international star" but for her second marriage to the head of the company that made it.[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/nov/25/dinah-sheridan) Released in 1953, it proved immensely popular at the box office and set the tone for later race-themed comedies such as *Around the World in 80 Days* and *The Great Race*.[2](https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2012/nov/26/dinah-sheridan-career-clips) Sheridan later recalled that the studio had wanted [Claire Bloom](https://www.edgepedia.org/claire-bloom) for her part, and that the writer William Rose secured it for her; director Henry Cornelius greeted their first meeting with the remark that she was sitting with her back to the light "because you know you're too old for this part".[4](https://www.the-independent.com/news/obituaries/dinah-sheridan-actress-whose-elegance-and-warmth-made-her-a-memorable-leading-lady-8352895.html)
## Retirement and return
While at the height of her fame, she wed Sir John Davis, who ran the Rank Organisation; he wished her to abandon acting and care for his three children as their mother, and so she left the screen.[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/nov/25/dinah-sheridan) Her status as his wife, the Guardian wrote, had a critical effect on her career and health: she had a breakdown, sought divorce on the grounds of cruelty, and returned to the stage after the marriage ended in 1965.[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/nov/25/dinah-sheridan)
**The Railway Children.** Her screen comeback came in [Lionel Jeffries](https://www.edgepedia.org/lionel-jeffries)'s 1970 adaptation of [E. Nesbit](https://www.edgepedia.org/e-nesbit)'s 1906 novel *The Railway Children*, in which she played Mrs Waterbury, the mother forced to relocate her three children to [Yorkshire](https://www.edgepedia.org/yorkshire) after their father (Iain Cuthbertson) is wrongly imprisoned for espionage.[3](https://www.bfi.org.uk/film/df73de08-374a-5d60-b2ce-3ade22f0db2b/the-railway-children) • [5](https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/railway-children-yorkshire-locations) Sheridan recalled that Jeffries telephoned to ask whether she had read the book, and that filming in Yorkshire was "the most joyous time I've ever had in making a film".[4](https://www.the-independent.com/news/obituaries/dinah-sheridan-actress-whose-elegance-and-warmth-made-her-a-memorable-leading-lady-8352895.html) The BFI calls it a genuinely charming film for all ages that "fully deserves its classic status".[3](https://www.bfi.org.uk/film/df73de08-374a-5d60-b2ce-3ade22f0db2b/the-railway-children) The Guardian's career retrospective called the mother the role for which she "will surely be longest cherished".[2](https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2012/nov/26/dinah-sheridan-career-clips)
## Later work and family
She made one more film, a cameo in *The Mirror Crack'd* (1980), and continued on stage in *Move Over, Mrs Markham* (1972), *A Murder is Announced* (1977), and *Present Laughter* (1981).[4](https://www.the-independent.com/news/obituaries/dinah-sheridan-actress-whose-elegance-and-warmth-made-her-a-memorable-leading-lady-8352895.html) On television she played [Nigel Havers](https://www.edgepedia.org/nigel-havers)'s mother in the comedy series *Don't Wait Up* (1983-90), appeared in *The Winning Streak* (1985), and her final TV role came in an episode of *Jonathan Creek* (1999).[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/nov/25/dinah-sheridan) • [4](https://www.the-independent.com/news/obituaries/dinah-sheridan-actress-whose-elegance-and-warmth-made-her-a-memorable-leading-lady-8352895.html)
In 1986 she wed for a third time, marrying the actor [John Merivale](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-merivale) until his death in 1990; her fourth husband, whom she married in 1992, was Aubrey Ison, a retired Californian businessman who died in 2007.[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/nov/25/dinah-sheridan) Her daughter [Jenny Hanley](https://www.edgepedia.org/jenny-hanley) became an actor and presented the ITV children's series *Magpie*; her son Jeremy Hanley became a Conservative MP. A second daughter with Hanley died after three days.[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/nov/25/dinah-sheridan) She died on 25 November 2012 in Northwood, London, aged 92.[4](https://www.the-independent.com/news/obituaries/dinah-sheridan-actress-whose-elegance-and-warmth-made-her-a-memorable-leading-lady-8352895.html)
## References
1. [Dinah Sheridan obituary, The Guardian (25 November 2012)](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/nov/25/dinah-sheridan)
2. [Dinah Sheridan: a career in clips, The Guardian (26 November 2012)](https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2012/nov/26/dinah-sheridan-career-clips)
3. [The Railway Children (1970), BFI](https://www.bfi.org.uk/film/df73de08-374a-5d60-b2ce-3ade22f0db2b/the-railway-children)
4. [Dinah Sheridan: Actress whose elegance and warmth made her a memorable leading lady, The Independent (26 November 2012)](https://www.the-independent.com/news/obituaries/dinah-sheridan-actress-whose-elegance-and-warmth-made-her-a-memorable-leading-lady-8352895.html)
5. [The Railway Children: in search of the Yorkshire locations, 50 years on, BFI (19 July 2022)](https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/railway-children-yorkshire-locations)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › English actors: 1940s to 1960s › Surnames Q to Y*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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