Elizabeth Diane (Cilento) Shaffer (1932 - 2011)

Born 2 Apr 1932 in Mooloolaba, Queensland, Australia

Ancestors

Wife of Thomas Sean Connery — married 29 Nov 1962 (to 2 Aug 1974) in England, United Kingdom

Wife of Anthony Joshua Shaffer — married 27 Jan 1985 in North Queensland, Australia

Died 6 Oct 2011 at age 79 in Cairns, North Queensland, Australia

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Biography

Diane Cilento, in 1954

Diane (Cilento) Shaffer is Notable.

Diane Cilento was an Australian actress, autobiographer and environmentalist who was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Supporting or Featured Actress (Dramatic) for Helen of Troy in Jean Giraudoux's 'Tiger at the Gates' in 1956 and an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the 1963 film 'Tom Jones'.

Formative years

Diane (Cilento) Shaffer was born in Queensland, Australia

Elizabeth Diane Cilento was the third and youngest daughter of (later Sir) Doctor Raphael West Cilento (1893-1985) and (later Lady) Doctor Phyllis Dorothy Cilento nee McGlew (1894-1987), both distinguished physicians. The Lady Cilento Children's Hospital, South Brisbane, was named in Diane's Mum's honour. She was born in Mooloolaba, on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, Australia, on 2nd April 1932 (her parents' records) or 5th October 1933 (as many biographies mistakenly state). ^[1] Four of her siblings became medical practitioners, whilst sister Margaret became a noted painter and illustrator.

Diane with Peter Finch in Passage Home

Acting career

At an early age Diana decided to follow a career as an actress. She was rebellious at school resulting in expulsion; no doubt the creativeness in her showing itself. She was then schooled in New York while her father was working there. Winning a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, she moved to England in the early 1950s. Upon graduation, she found work on stage almost immediately, and was signed to a five-year contract by British-Hungarian filmmaker Alexander Korda. Her first leading role in a film was in the British film Passage Home (1955), opposite fellow ex-patriot Australian Peter Finch, although she already had seven films behind her, two of which were uncredited.

Diane as Helen of Troy

At 22 years of age, Diane married Italian aristocrat Andrea Volpe on 12th February 1955 in Kensington, London. ^[2] They have a daughter, Giovanna Margaret 'Gigi', on 10th December 1957, however divorced on 3rd October 1962.

She was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Supporting or Featured Actress (Dramatic) for her role as Helen of Troy in Jean Giraudoux's Tiger at the Gates in 1956 in the Helen Hayes Theater on Broadway. In 1959, Diane appeared in the stage production of George Bernard Shaw's Heartbreak House at the Billy Rose Theater on Broadway. She followed that with another performance on Broadway, in The Good Soup at the Plymouth Theater. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the film Tom Jones in 1963.

Diane married Scot Sean Connery (1930-2020), James Bond in person, on 29th November 1962. The first Bond franchise film, Dr No, had been released and Sean was about to begin filming From Russia With Love. Diane appeared in You Only Live Twice (1967) as Mie Hama's double in a diving scene. Together Diane and Sean have one son, Jason; however divorced on 2nd August 1974. The couple, and Jason (Gigi was already there holidaying with Diane's family), holidayed in Mooloolaba with the Cilentos over Christmas-New Year 1968-69. ^[3] Life together is difficult, especially for two high-profile actors.

Diane Cilento and Sean Connery

North Queensland

Finally, on 27th January 1985 in North Queensland, Diane married English playwright Anthony Shaffer (1926-2001), whom she met in 1972 while working on The Wicker Man with Edward Woodward, Christopher Lee, Britt Ekland and Ingrid Pitt. The couple settled in Mossman, north of Cairns where, together, they built a house (The Castle) and a theatre (The Karnak Playhouse), allowing them opportunity to participate in experimental drama. Living on the edge of rainforest, Diane actively worked to protect the Daintree Rainforest. Anthony passed away in November 2001 in the Chelsea and Westminister Hospital, London.

On 1st January 2001, Diane was awarded Australia's Centenary Medal for 'distinguished service to the arts, especially theatre'. ^[4]

In 2006, Diane released her autobiography, My Nine Lives ( Penguin Books. ISBN 978 01430 06077). She had earlier, while married to Sean Connery, written and published two novels, The Manipulator (1967) and 'Hybrid (1970).

Aged 78 years, Diane passed away of cancer on 6th October 2011 in the Cairns Base Hospital, North Queensland. She is memorialised in Highgate Cemetery East, London, alongside Anthony, and is survived by Gigi and Jason.

A collection of items from her personal estate was donated by her children to the Queensland University of Technology. The collection reportedly includes 'hundreds of books, memorabilia, posters, furniture' as well as some unpublished scripts of Anthony's.

Filmography

For a complete list of her films and television appearances, see Diane's International Movie Database (IMDb) entry. Some of her biggest films include,

• Passage Home (1955), fellow ex-pat Peter Finch
• The Naked Edge (1961), the last film made by Gary Cooper
• Tom Jones (1963), with Albert Finney and Susannah York
• The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965), with Charlton Heston
• Hombre (1967), a big hit for Paul Newman
• The Wicker Man (1973), the film won the 1978 Saturn Award for Best Horror Film and for Diane, critical acclaim
• The Tiger Lily (1975), with Leigh Lawson, John Gregson and Ronald Leigh-Hunt
• The Boy Who Had Everything (1985), an Australian film written and directed by Stephen Wallace, and starring Diane and Jason as mother and son; was Diane's final film

Sources

1. ↑ various unsubstantiated family records; birth record is yet to be located
2. ↑ UK FreeBMD Marriage Index Mar qtr 1955, vol 5c, page 2657
3. ↑ 'The Australian Women's Weekly' (1933-1982) Wed 25 Dec 1968 Page 2 Surprise gift for Diane Cilento: trip to Australia; accessed 12 Feb 2022
4. ↑ Australian Honours: Centenary Medal; accessed 12 Feb 2022

• United States Genealogy Bank Obituaries, 1980-2014, database with images, Family Search: accessed 25 October 2020), Diane Cilento in entry for Anthony Shaffer, Florida, United States, 08 Nov 2001.
• Recent Newspaper Obituaries (1977-Today), database, GenealogyBank.com.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Kitty Smith, Douglas M Henry and Kenneth Evans for contributions to, and improving, this profile.

See also

• Diane Cilento article on Wikipedia; accessed 12 Feb 2022.