Jacqui Chan, 1934 – 2026

Trinidad-born British actress Jacqueline “Jacqui” Chan, 91, died on May 19. Of Chinese and Russian descent, she moved to London at 16 and trained as a dancer. Chan played on the West End in Teahouse of the August Moon, The King and I, and The World of Suzie Wong (she starred in that, though in the film version was given a small supporting role—she also had a small role in the over-stuffed 1963 Cleopatra). Chan kept busy on TV through the early 2020s, in Reilly: Ace of Spies, Shirley’s World, Thomas and Sarah (the disappointing spin-off of Upstairs, Downstairs), Sherlock, Marco Polo, Doctors, and in a handful of movies. Chan recently turned up as a character in The Crown, as she’d been a good friend and dancing partner of Antony Armstrong-Jones before he married Princess Margaret. She had a hard time living that down: “I was never dying of a broken heart, no matter how often they said so,” Chan said. “The real truth is this: Tony and I were good friends. But there were many other friends just as close to him as I was. I do not owe my career to all that sort of publicity. The suggestion that I had never been offered a job until all this business is what makes me so mad. It just isn't true."