Asher, Jane 1946-

PERSONAL: Born April 5, 1946, in London, England; daughter of Richard Alan John (a physician) and Margaret (a musician; maiden name, Eliot) Asher; married Gerald Scarfe (an artist); children: Katy, Alexander, Rory. Education: Educated at private schools.

ADDRESSES: Home—London, England. Office—Jane Asher Party Cakes and Sugarcraft, 22-24 Cale St., London SW3 3QU, England; fax: 44-0-20-7584-6179. Agent—Actual Management, 128 Shoreditch High St., London E1 6JA, England. E-mail—info@jane-asher.co.uk.

CAREER: Actress, 1957–; Jane Asher Party Cakes and Sugarcraft, London, England, founder and principal, 1990–. Screen credits include roles in Greengage Summer, 1961, Masque of the Red Death, 1963, Alfie, 1966, Deep End, 1971, Henry VIII and His Six Wives, 1973, Paris by Night, 1987, Dream Child, 1984, The Maiden's Conspiracy, 2005, Death at a Funeral, 2006, Mandy, and Runners; appeared in the television broadcasts Brideshead Revisited, Wish Me Luck, The Mistress, The Choir, Closing Numbers, A for Andromeda, British Broadcasting Corp., 2006, and as Angel Samson in the series Crossroads, Independent Television; appeared in episodes of other series, including Miss Marple, Independent Television, 2005, and New Tricks, British Broadcasting Corp., 2005; appeared in British stage productions, including performance in House and Garden, Royal National Theatre, London, Festen, Lyric Theatre, London, and The World's Biggest Diamond, Royal Court Theatre, London, 2006; also radio actress. Member of Bristol Old Vic Theatre and National Theatre Company; Molecule Theatre, past member of board of governors. West London Family Service Unit, president; Child Accident Prevention Trust, vice president; patron of Bowel Cancer UK and Leukaemia and Lymphoma Unit, University College Hospital, London.

MEMBER: British Academy of Film and Television Arts, Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (associate member), National Autistic Society (president), Arthritis Care (president), National Deaf Children's Society (vice president), Parkinson's Disease Society (patron), Scoliosis Association (patron).

AWARDS, HONORS: Sony Award for radio actress of the year, 1986; honorary LL.D., University of Bristol, 2001; two award nominations, British Academy of Film and Television Arts.

WRITINGS:

Jane Asher's Party Cakes, Pelham Books (London, England), 1982.

Jane Asher's Fancy Dress, Pelham Books (London, England), 1983.

Silent Nights for You and Your Baby, Pelham Books (London, England), 1984.

Jane Asher's Quick Party Cakes, Walker Books (New York, NY), 1986.

The Moppy Stories, Walker Books (New York, NY), 1987.

Easy Entertaining, Conran Octopus (Potomac, MD), 1987.

Keep Your Baby Safe, Penguin (New York, NY), 1988.

Children's Parties, Pelham Books (London, England), 1988.

Calendar of Cakes, Pelham Books (London, England), 1989.

Eats for Treats, BBC Books (London, England), 1990.

Jane Asher's Complete Book of Cake Decorating Ideas, BBC Books (London, England), 1993.

Round the World Cookbook, Longman (New York, NY), 1994.

Rhymes for All Seasons, Reed (London, England), 1995.

Time to Play, Pelham Books (London, England), 1995.

101 Things I Wish I'd Known Before …, Michael Joseph (London, England), 1996.

The Longing (novel), HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1996.

Decorated Cakes, Weidenfeld & Nicolson (London, England), 1997.

The Best of Good Living, BBC Books (London, England), 1998.

Good Living at Christmas, BBC Books (London, England), 1998.

The Question (novel), HarperCollins (London, England), 1998.

Tricks of the Trade: 101 Helpful Hints to Manage Your Life, HarperCollins (London, England), 1999.

Losing It (novel), HarperCollins (London, England), 2002.

Cakes for Fun, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2005.

Author of a monthly column in Daily Telegraph, 1986, a weekly column in Independent, 1987, and a weekly column in Express, 1998–2003. Contributor to magazines and newspapers.

SIDELIGHTS: Jane Asher once told CA: "I have worked since childhood as an actress. The extraordinary success of my first book (written just as a bit of fun) dramatically changed my life. It gave me an exciting second career. I still consider acting my 'real' job!"

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

ONLINE

Jane Asher Party Cakes Web site, http://www.jane-asher.co.uk (March 19, 2006).