Lynne Frederick
Actress

Lynne Frederick Net Worth

Lynne Frederick was born on July 25, 1954 in  Hillingdon, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom, is Actress, Producer, Soundtrack. Lynne Frederick was a promising and ascending British actress of the 1970s. For ten years she captivated movie goers with her perfect combination of girl next door beauty, an angelic smile, an ethereal charm, and a classic fairy tale princess look that was all put into one gifted package. Although best remembered as the fourth and final wife of British comedian, Peter Sellers, Frederick has started gaining a cult following in recent years. Before Kate Winslet and Emma Watson, there was Lynne Frederick; the original English Rose.Lynne Wagner Harding Frederick was born in Hillingdon, Uxbridge, United Kingdom to Iris and Andrew Frederick on July 25, 1954. Frederick's father walked out of her life when she was no more than two years of age and she was raised by her grandmother and mother, who worked for Thames Television. Growing up Lynne attended Notting Hill and Ealing High School, and originally intended to become a teacher of physics and mathematics with no intentions of working in Hollywood. In much the same manner as Marilyn Monroe and Lana Turner, Frederick was plucked from obscurity when she met film director, Cornel Wilde, at Thames Television Studio as she was posing for some color camera test shots. Wilde was immediately smitten by Lynne's youthful and dramatic beauty, and after interviewing hundreds of girls, decided that Lynne would be perfect for his up and coming film project. The next day, while she was at school preparing for her Latin exams, she had received a phone call from her mother stating that Wilde wanted her for his film and that she had two hours to decide if she wanted to take the role and leave school to peruse an acting career. After much thought and consideration, she had decided to take a shot at the chance of a lifetime and accepted the role. Despite no previous experience (in theater, commercials, or films) she got her very first acting job at her first audition.Her debut role came in the 1970 British-American apocalyptic science fiction film, No Blade of Grass (1970). Her next, and more prestigious role, came as Tsar Nicholas's second eldest daughter, Tatiana, in the 1971 Oscar winning British biographical film, Nicholas and Alexandra (1971). In her next film, Henry VIII and His Six Wives (1972), she played another royal figure, the ill-fated fifth wife of Henry VIII, Catherine Howard. Her adaptation as Howard made Tudor cinema history as Frederick was the first actress to portray Howard in a historically accurate and sympathetic point of view.She continued in films with a supporting role in the now cult film, Vampire Circus (1972). Her most well-known screen role came in the 1972 family film, The Amazing Mr. Blunden (1972). For this role she garnered the very first London Evening Standard British Film Award for 'Best New coming Actress'. She followed in films with the 1974 science fiction thriller, Phase IV (1974), for which she was required to appropriate an American accent. Although not a success during its initial release, Phase IV gained a cult following in the years that followed due to its airings on late night television.Frederick co-starred with the Italian Casanovian actor, Fabio Testi, in two films back-to-back as his love interest. The first was the very graphic Italian spaghetti western I quattro dell'apocalisse (1975) which was followed by Giubbe rosse (1975). Frederick then starred in two romantic Spanish films, El vicio y la virtud (1975) and Largo retorno (1975). But her acting credits were not limited to just movies. She also had a long running television career starring in various shows and films made for television. Frederick returned to the horror film scene with her leading role in the 1976 slasher film Schizo (1976). Her most triumphant film role came in the Oscar nominated historical drama, Voyage of the Damned (1976). A year later she married fellow actor, Peter Sellers, and would make her final theatrical role alongside him in The Prisoner of Zenda (1979).Lynne Frederick and Peter Sellers' relationship was good in the early stages but eventually turned destructive and tempestuous. Their marriage was often tampered with rumors of Frederick being a gold digger, drug use by both parties, and Sellers' health issues. Much public scrutiny fell upon Frederick for marrying the much older Sellers, and she often became the target for negative press and tabloids. Further controversy followed after Sellers' tragic death on July 24, 1980 (one day before Frederick's twenty-sixth birthday) when Frederick was named the beneficiary of nearly his entire will and estate while his children (whom Sellers had never gotten along with and had been estranged from for many years) had gotten hardly anything. Despite pleas from Sellers' friends, Frederick did not give Sellers' children any further settlements due to her rocky relationship with them. It was then that the whole British public and film industry began to turn against Frederick, and her career started to plummet. Despite the blacklisting that followed Sellers' death, Frederick was very protective of his name and reputation. She even won £1 million in a lawsuit against the makers of the Trail of the Pink Panther (1982), a film of Sellers released posthumously, claiming the film tarnished her late husband's memory.Lonely, depressed, and desperate for companionship, the young widow married the charismatic British media personality, David Frost, six months after Sellers' death. Frederick's supposed eagerness to remarry shortly after her first husband's death virtually robbed her of any last shreds of dignity in the public eye and it was then that Hollywood closed its doors to her forever. Although Lynne and David appeared to be a happily married couple to the public, their marriage was destructive and turbulent behind closed doors. While married to Frost, she suffered at least one miscarriage which put a strain on their already rock marriage. Ultimately their marriage ended in divorce after seventeen months.Following her divorce from Frost, Frederick fled from Britain to America where she met surgeon and heart specialist, Barry Unger, whom she married on Christmas Day in 1982. The following year Frederick bore her only child, Cassie Unger, whom she had a very close relationship with. Her marriage to Unger ended in divorce in 1991. In the later years of her life, Frederick resided in Los Angeles, California where she lived in a spacious house with her daughter, whom she had joint custody of, and they spent most of their days hanging out by the family pool or cooking meals together.In the final years of her life, Lynne Frederick's health spiraled downward as she struggled with alcoholism and bouts of depression. Rumors of chronic drug addiction, clinical depression, failed rehab treatments, and suicide attempts where common news and tabloid reports of Frederick in the later years. The wear and tear of the struggles in life took an obvious toll on her appearance as her weight ballooned, her face became sunken and bloated, and her hair now cropped short and vitiated. Rumor has it that when the paparazzi stood outside her house attempting to get photos of Frederick, there where several occasions where she would walk past them unnoticed as the photographers did not recognize her drastically different appearance in contrast to that of the beautiful English rose that once stole the scenes of films she starred in.On the morning of April 27, 1994, Frederick's lifeless body was discovered by her mother, Iris, in her home. Immediately following Frederick's death, the media engaged in a firestorm of negative press accusing Frederick of being an alcoholic and cocaine addict. They even went as far as reporting her cause of death due to cocaine and alcohol binging. Although the exact cause of Frederick's death has never been disclosed to the public, the common belief is that she died of alcoholism. A year after Frederick's death, her mother revealed in an interview with 'Hello Magazine' that her daughters death had been brought about by natural causes due to a seizure in her sleep, although this has been disputed by some people.For many years, Lynne Frederick's legacy remained poisoned and she was seldom ever talked about. But in recent years, her films have resurfaced to a new generation of cinema buffs where she has been given a whole new fan base and cult following. Although she may not be remembered as a superstar or big name in Hollywood, her heartbreaking good looks, glowing beauty, and the riveting appeal in her lively yet soft essence holds an enduring fascination to the community of cinema fans. She is an emblem of beauty that was here for a moment, and then disappeared forever in the harsh world of show business.
Lynne Frederick is a member of Actress

Age, Biography and Wiki

Who is it? Actress, Producer, Soundtrack
Birth Day July 25, 1954
Birth Place  Hillingdon, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom
Age 66 YEARS OLD
Died On 27 April 1994(1994-04-27) (aged 39)\nLos Angeles, California, U.S.
Birth Sign Leo
Occupation Actress
Years active 1970–1979
Spouse(s) Peter Sellers (m. 1977; d. 1980) David Frost (m. 1981; div. 1982) Barry Unger (m. 1982; div. 1991)
Children 1

💰 Net worth: $4 Million (2024)

Lynne Frederick, a talented actress, producer, and soundtrack artist from the United Kingdom, has an estimated net worth of $4 million in 2024. She is known for her exceptional acting skills and contributions to the entertainment industry. With a successful career spanning several decades, Frederick has captivated audiences with her remarkable performances. Her versatility as an artist and her ability to bring characters to life have undoubtedly contributed to her financial success. Through her work as an actress, producer, and contributions to various soundtracks, Lynne Frederick has solidified her position as a prominent figure in the entertainment world.

Biography/Timeline

1914

Frederick was born in Hillingdon, Middlesex to Andrew Frederick (1914–1983) and Iris C. (née Sullivan) Frederick (1928–2006). Her mother became a casting Director for Thames Television. Lynne's parents separated when she was two years old, and she was brought up by her mother, Iris, and her grandmother, Cecilia, at Market Harborough, Leicestershire.

1970

Having originally aspired to becoming a Teacher of mathematics and physics, she abandoned her academic pursuits for the stage, and made her film debut as Mary Custance in No Blade of Grass (1970), when she was 16 years old. She appeared a year later in the 1971 biographical film Nicholas and Alexandra, in which she played Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna of Russia, second eldest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II. However her best-known appearance came shortly afterwards when she played another historical character, Catherine Howard in Henry VIII and His Six Wives in 1972. Frederick would go on to pursue a successful career in films throughout the 1970s. Her next role was in the 1972 children's film The Amazing Mr. Blunden and in 1973 she won the Evening Standard British Film Award for Best New Actress. Other notable films included Saul Bass' science fiction thriller Phase IV (1974), the Spanish romance A Long Return (1975), and Schizo (1976). Her last role came in the 1979 film The Prisoner of Zenda, in which she worked with her then husband Peter Sellers.

1977

Frederick's first marriage, at age 22, was to Peter Sellers on 18 February 1977. The marriage was rocky, and Sellers was reportedly in the process of excluding her from his will a week before he died of a heart attack on 24 July 1980, the day before her 26th birthday. The planned changes to the will not having been finalized, she inherited almost his entire estate worth an estimated £4.5 million (£17.7 million today) while his children received £800 each (£3,148 today). Despite appeals from a number of Sellers' friends to make a fairer settlement to the children, Frederick refused to give her stepchildren anything. She later won nearly £1 million (£3.2 million today) in a lawsuit against the makers of the Trail of the Pink Panther (1982), made after Sellers's death, claiming the film tarnished her late husband's memory. She reportedly suffered from severe depression because of Sellers's death and attempted suicide numerous times. Over her remaining 14 years following Sellers' death, she reportedly became obsessed by his memory and kept a shrine to him at their Swiss chalet in Gstaad, which she inherited from him.

1981

She briefly married David Frost (on 25 January 1981); they divorced 17 months later. She later married a Californian, surgeon and heart specialist Dr. Barry Unger, in December 1982; they were divorced in 1991. In her last marriage, she bore her only child, Cassie Unger (born 1983).

1985

In 1985, she was reportedly offered the role of Kumiko in The Karate Kid, Part II. At the time the script was written in mind for an English Actress who was to play a half English, half-Japanese village girl adopted by her Japanese aunt. Frederick, who hadn't appeared in a theatrical release since The Prisoner of Zenda in 1979, had been planning an acting comeback for quite some time. Despite her interest in the script, she turned the offer down, preferring instead to concentrate on motherhood as she had given birth to a daughter the previous year.

1994

On 27 April 1994, Frederick was found dead in her West Los Angeles home, aged 39. There was no evidence of foul play, and although suicide was suspected by some, a post-mortem failed to determine the cause of death. She was survived by her mother, Iris, and her 11-year-old daughter, Cassie. Her remains were cremated at Golders Green Crematorium in London and her ashes were mingled and then interred with those of her first husband, Peter Sellers.

Some Lynne Frederick images

About the author

Lisa Scholfield

As a Senior Writer at Famous Net Worth, I spearhead an exceptional team dedicated to uncovering and sharing the stories of pioneering individuals. My passion for unearthing untold narratives drives me to delve deep into the essence of each subject, bringing forth a unique blend of factual accuracy and narrative allure. In orchestrating the editorial workflow, I am deeply involved in every step—from initial research to the final touches of publishing, ensuring each biography not only informs but also engages and inspires our readership.