‘Duckface’ daughter, 36, hit by leukaemia
BEST known as the unlucky- inlove ‘Duckface’ in Four Weddings And A Funeral, Anna Chancellor has received some devastating news in real life.
The actress’s only child, Poppy Chancellor, is suffering with acute myeloid leukaemia at the age of 36.
‘After three weeks with multiple infections in hospital, I have been diagnosed with leukaemia,’ Poppy confirms. ‘I am still very much processing my heartbreak.’
Leukaemia is cancer of the white blood cells. ‘I am, honestly, terrified and physically exhausted — at the same time as learning to talk to my body and cells with a loving defiance,’ Poppy says.
In preparation for chemotherapy, she has shaved off her trademark ‘ bob’ hairstyle. ‘Chemo ready,’ she says. ‘Said goodbye to the bob today — end of an era.’
Her father, the East Lothianborn poet Jock Scot, died of cancer in 2016 aged 63. He refused chemotherapy after being given 100 days to live, but survived for two years.
‘Grieving for my life before diagnosis — and coming to terms with all the bruises and needles is a challenge,’ she says. An illustrator and papercut artist, Poppy has worked with major brands including Cath Kidston and Adidas.
After studying illustration at Kingston University, in London, she attended the Royal Drawing School, established by King Charles. His Majesty is said to have one of her works which she gave him after attending an artists’ residency at Dumfries House, his stately home in Ayrshire.
Poppy has spoken fondly about her ‘crazy childhood’ with her ‘loving’ mother, 58, whom she described as her ‘best friend’.
Her parents split up when she was four and she lived with her mother in a basement flat in Shepherd’s Bush, West London. They would be seen out together on the party scene in trendy Ladbroke Grove nearby.