Jane Seymour has received an Emmy Award for her acting, developed her own line of lifestyle home products, co-authored (with her husband, film director James Keach) a series of children s books, designed home interiors, starred on a hit TV show, acted on the Broadway stage, and has donated what little must have been left of her free time to countless charitable causes. To top it all off, she received the title of Officer of the British Empire from Queen Elizabeth II at a formal ceremony at Buckingham Palace in 2000. I love the diversity of my life. I love the combination. It s incredibly thrilling, she says. I don t do any one [project] to the exclusion of anything else. When I m acting, I m usually painting at the same time. I m always covered in oil paint. (In fact, her painting is more than just a little side hobby. One of her watercolors raised $25,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation at a charity auction at the Guggenheim Museum. She was also an official artist for the recent Winter Olympics.)
But above all the rest, it s clear that for Seymour, her role as a mother stands out from all other accomplishments. There s nothing else like it in the world, Seymour says of the unconditional love that is shared between a mother and her children. Having children is a blessing....You look at the world differently. Seymour has two twin boys, John and Kristopher, son Sean, daughter Katie, stepdaughter Jenni, and stepson Kalen. Jenni graduated from Vassar, Katie from Columbia, and Kalen from USC. Sean is studying at Chapman University. The twin boys, John and Kristopher, are still in elementary school, so much of Seymour s time is spent making sure they get ready for school each morning and then practice the piano and do their homework after school. Following the example of their mother, John and Kristopher are also involved in numerous activities. They play three musical instruments, baseball, and chess. As Mom puts it, I love what I do, and when you love what you do, you find time to do it.
Seymour says the success of her kids has come out of her and her husband s example of working hard in numerous activities that they enjoy. I haven t had to tell them they had to work. They wanted to. One of her parenting philosophies that she shares with her husband is that each child should feel empowered to be his or her own independent person while at the same time receiving parental support. I teach my children to work hard, be honest, and try to help other people. And the lessons have been reciprocal. Each kid has taught me so much and continues to teach me so much.
Seymour s own mother is 91 years old and she says the lessons she learned from her have been key to Seymour s own parenting success. She gave me the gift of being the mother I am today, Seymour says, explaining that as a child, her mother taught that Beauty is from the inside not the outside and that You can find happiness when you help other people.
Growing up in England, Seymour made her professional debut as a ballet dancer with the London Festival Ballet at age 13. That s all I wanted to be. As a teenager, she embroidered clothes to help pay for her dancing endeavors, but at age 17 she turned to acting following an injury. She began singing in TV commercials and decorating homes to help pay for school. Her first film role was in Richard Attenborough s Oh, What a Lovely War, and in 1976, after building up her acting resume in England, she decided to try it in the United States. With a very limited supply of funds, Seymour again decorated homes to help support herself financially while sleeping on the floors of her friends homes. At the time, British law had severe limitations on the amount of funds that an individual could take to another country. I had no credit. I have myself six weeks to make it, she says, adding that when she got her first acting job, I was literally down to my last pennies. Even Seymour s talent agent in England fired her because he thought she had made a terrible career decision in moving to a new country without strong financial stability.
In addition, an immigration lawyer told Seymour that it would be difficult to gain legal immigrant working status in the United States as an actress and that the only way would be to win a major award. Seymour says she took this statement seriously and her first Hollywood starring role (a mini-series called Captains and the Kings) earned Seymour her first Emmy nomination. Throughout her long and productive career, Seymour has earned three more Emmy nominations, including two for her lead role on the hit TV show Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. She won an Emmy for her performance as Maria Callas in a biographical mini-series on Aristotle Onassis.
Obviously, the terrible career decision wasn t, and the woman who had once been forced to sleep on the floors of her friends homes now has a house in Malibu and a historic manor house near Bath, England, called St. Catherine s Court. Portions of the house date back to the year 950, but Seymour gave it a complete refurbishing project. A building that was once home to Benedictine monks now has a full central-heating system and Internet access. The best of Britain is right there, she says of the historical home. (The property was also once home to the daughter of King Henry VIII, who ironically was married to the historical Jane Seymour.)
Recently, the modern Seymour has appeared in several episodes of Jerry Bruckheimer s TV show Modern Men. Due this fall is her new comedy feature film, Blind Guy Driving, which stars Chris Pine and Eddie Kaye Thomas and was directed by her husband. It s nothing like I ve ever done before, says Seymour of Blind Guy Driving.
Another recent role that was quite different for Seymour was that of Christopher Walken s sexually mischievous wife in last summer s hit comedy Wedding Crashers. Seymour remembers wanting that role when she first read the script, and she ended up auditioning with an enormous amount of people who were also pursuing the role. I hadn t auditioned since I was 20, says Seymour, but her efforts paid off. It s like having a brand-new career, she says, explaining that Wedding Crashers has now opened the door for comedies a genre that Hollywood had not really associated with Seymour in the past.
But for Seymour, the best part of being in the Hollywood spotlight, she says, is being given a voice that can be used to help others. It s an amazing opportunity to help [other people], she says. Seymour s causes range from educating women on the importance of their cardiovascular health to fighting child abuse to promoting the inclusion of art in children s educational programs. She also is a member of the American Red Cross s National Celebrity Cabinet. She and her husband also created the J&J Foundation to benefit children in need.
Recently, Seymour and Keach took a trip to Kenya with the Red Cross and eight inner-city children from L.A. to help vaccinate children against measles. I thought it was pretty amazing, so we filmed it, says Seymour, and the film became an award-winning documentary for Keach. I get a lot done, but my husband is my partner, says Seymour.
I m constantly thinking about what I m going to do next, she says, with numerous ideas for future projects. Seymour became an American citizen last year and is eager to help educate others who are interested in the process. She s considering producing a documentary to help immigrants learn American civics and history. It s all part of the lessons she learned from her own mother about the importance of helping others. After all, tirelessly helping other people is something mothers like Jane Seymour do best.
John Irwin