Rosemary Kirkcaldy: What Happened To Joss Ackland’s Wife?

Who Is Joss Ackland’s Wife?

Rosemary Kirkcaldy is an actress and the late wife of Joss Ackland. Rosemary’s husband Joss Ackland is an English retired actor who has appeared in more than 130 film and television roles. He was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for portraying Jock Delves Broughton in White Mischief (1987).

Rosemary Kirkcaldy: Bio Summary

Rosemary Kirkcaldy is best known as the wife of Joss Ackland. She was born on January 15, 1929, in Blantyre, Malawi. Details of her parents, siblings, and other relatives are not available. However, her grandmother, Louisa Stratton, ran the famous hotel, Ryall’s, which became known as “the best hotel north of the Zambezi”.

Rosemary Kirkcaldy studied in Harare (Zimbabwe), before attending Cape Town University, where she studied first Medicine, then switched to Ballet and Drama. She decided to pursue an acting career. She moved to England and landed her first job riding an elephant in a circus.

Rosemary Kirkcaldy later got the chance to play a part, which she played for a year, in Charley’s Aunt, at the Piccadilly Theatre. She played the lead in J M Barrie’s Mary Rose at Pitlochry. She met Joss Ackland, married him and they moved to Lilongwe, Malawi, where Joss managed a tea plantation for six months but, deciding it was too dangerous, they moved to Cape Town, South Africa.

In 1957, the couple returned to England, though they both obtained steady acting jobs in South Africa.

Rosemary Kirkcaldy Got Married At Age 22

At the age of 22 years, Rosemary Kirkcaldy got married to Joss Ackland. Joss was 23 years old when they married. They got married on the 18th of August 1951, in a beautiful wedding ceremony. They were in love with each other and shared a great bond.

Rosemary Kirkcaldy and her husband Joss Ackland were very supportive of each other. They “were hardly ever apart” despite filming taking Joss to far-flung locations. They gave birth to seven children, Paul Ackland, Penelope Ackland, Toby Ackland, Melanie Ackland, Antonia Ackland, Samantha Ackland, and Kirsty Ackland.

Also Read: Joss Ackland Children: Meet The Children Of Joss Ackland

Much is unknown about Rosemary Kirkcaldy and Joss Ackland’s children but their daughter Kirsty married Anthony Shawn Baring, a descendant of the merchant banker Sir Francis Baring, 1st Baronet, and a descendant of Robert Rundell Guinness, founder of the merchant bank Guinness Mahon.

Rosemary Kirkcaldy and Joss Ackland have thirty-two grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. They were married for 51 years until death took Rosemary away.

Rosemary Kirkcaldy Lost Her Eldest Son

Rosemary Kirkcaldy and her husband Joss Ackland’s eldest son is Paul Ackland. Paul was born in the year 1952. He was employed as a builder and lived a private life away from publicity. He died on the 7th of October 1982, of a heroin overdose, at the age of 29 years.

What Happened To Rosemary Kirkcaldy?

In 2000, Rosemary Kirkcaldy was diagnosed with motor neurone disease. Two years after she was diagnosed, she died on 25 July 2002, at the age of 73. She is survived by her husband Joss Ackland, one son, and five daughters. Before Rosemary would die, she permitted her husband Joss Ackland to publish her diaries.

Joss Ackland reportedly spent six years editing them. Joss said, “It kept me close to her”. “Once the book was finished, that’s when real loneliness came in.” He published them in 2009 under the title My Better Half and Me: A love affair that lasted fifty years.

Previously, in 1963, Rosemary Kirkcaldy and Joss Ackland’s house in Barnes, southwest London, caught fire and at that time Joss was on stage. Rosemary, who was then five months pregnant with her sixth child, rescued the five children but as a result, broke her back when jumping from the bedroom window.

Rosemary Kirkcaldy was told she would miscarry and never walk again. However, she was able to give birth, and not only that but after 18 months in Stoke Mandeville Hospital, she was able to walk again. She became the first person to walk out of the hospital after sustaining those injuries. She subsequently walked with a limp and decided she must give up acting.