My last divorce taught me how to be more independent
Actress Jane on life after marriage
BY EMMA PRYER
AFTER four marriages, actress Jane Seymour reckons she has found the key to true happiness.
The former Bond girl says she loves being a “pretty independent woman” – like her latest character in detective series Harry Wild.
And despite having found love with producer David Green eight years ago, Jane,
71, says she lives life
“on my own terms”.
She explains: “I always deferred to my husband for advice, even though it was my career and I was earning money.
“What I’ve learnt since the last divorce is that
I can do it myself. So life changed a lot nine years ago, and I’m a lot more like my new character, Harry.
“I run my own life,
I run my own businesses, I produce my own movies and make my own choices. I am very fortunate to have a partner who is super-smart.”
Jane’s last marriage to US actor James Keach ended after 22 years. Her first, to English theatre director Michael Attenborough – son of Sir Richard – lasted two.
She was also married to Geoffrey Planer and David Flynn.
But from her home in California, Jane says she has no intention of getting hitched again.
The star of Dr Quinn, Medicine
Woman says: “It works really well so why mess with it?
Our priorities are the same. We love one another but we prioritise our families.”
Jane’s latest role sees her play a retired English professor who has a knack for solving crimes and is a tad risqué. But Jane’s own life has been pretty daring too. In 2018, at the age of 67, she posed for Playboy for a third time, becoming the mag’s oldest model. She was frequently voted one of the world’s sexiest women and puts her youthful looks down to a healthy diet, intermittent fasting and pilates.
But she jokes: “I’m not quite as wild, sexually, as Harry is, but I do like to have fun and there’s a lot of humour to her.”
Pals call Jane “the energiser bunny” because she’s always busy. She says: “I remember someone saying when you’re 40 your career dries up as an actress. Well, when I was 40 I got to play Dr Quinn, so it heated up for me.”
She recently starred in Aussie film Ruby’s Choice, as a gran with dementia. Jane, who this week attended Sir Elton John’s AIDS Foundation Oscar viewing party in LA, says: “I worry about dementia. We need more funding and we need to make being a carer more of an appealing profession.”
I’m not quite as wild as Harry, but I do like to have fun… there’s a lot of humour to her
ON HER NEW ROLE AS TV DETECTIVE HARRY WILD