Hobson, Valerie (1917–1998)

English actress. Born Valerie Babette Louise Hobson in Larne, County Antrim, Ireland (now Larne District, Northern Ireland), on April 14, 1917; died from a heart attack on November 13, 1998; married Anthony

Havelock-Allan (a film producer), in 1939 (divorced 1952); married John Profumo (a politician), in 1954; children: (first marriage) two sons; (second marriage) one son.

Filmography:

Eyes of Fate (1934); Two Hearts in Waltz Time (1934); Path of Glory (1934); Badger's Green (1934); Man Who Reclaimed His Head (1934); Oh, What a Night (1935); Life Returns (1935); Chinatown Squad (1935); Strange Wives (1935); Mystery of Edwin Drood (1935); Rendezvous at Midnight (1935); Bride of Frankenstein (1935); Werewolf of London (Unholy Hour, 1935); The Great Impersonation (1935); Tugboat Princess (1936); Secret of Stamboul (The Spy in White, 1936); No Escape (1936); August Weekend (Weekend Madness, 1936); When Thief Meets Thief (Jump for Glory, 1937); This Man Is News (1938); The Drum (Drums, 1938); This Man in Paris (1939); The Silent Battle (Continental Express, 1939); Q Planes (Clouds over Europe, 1939); The Spy in Black (U-Boat 29, 1939); Contraband (Blackout, 1940); Atlantic Ferry (Sons of the Sea, 1941); Unpublished Story (1942); Sabotage Agent (Adventures of Tartu, 1943); The Years Between (1946); Great Expectations (1946); Blanche Fury (1947); The Small Voice (Hideout, 1948); Train of Events (1949); Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949); The Interrupted Journey (1949); The Rocking Horse Winner (1950); The Voice of Merrill (Murder Will Out, 1952); Passionate Sentry (Who Goes There?, 1952); Meet Me Tonight (Tonight at 8:30, 1952); The Card (The Promoter, 1952); Background (Edge of Divorce, 1953); Monsieur Ripois (Knave of Hearts, 1954).

The daughter of a British army officer, Valerie Hobson was born in Larne, County Antrim, Ireland (now Northern Ireland), in 1917. She attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art to study dance but dropped out after an attack of scarlet fever. Instead, she opted for the theater and made her debut on the London stage and screen as a teenager. Hobson was invited to Hollywood in 1934, where she was cast as the leading lady in a number of thriller films, including The Man Who Reclaimed His Head (1934), The Werewolf of London (1935), and The Bride of Frankenstein (1935). After two years, she became disenchanted with her roles and returned to England. She subsequently developed into a leading actress of British films, playing mostly refined, elegant, upper-class women.

Hobson's 1939 marriage to Anthony Haveloc-Allan, who produced many of her films, ended in divorce in 1952. She abandoned her acting career in 1954, following her marriage to John Profumo, then a junior minister in the Churchill government. Hobson never wavered in her support of her husband throughout his 1963 sex scandal involving Christine Keeler that brought down Britain's Conservative government and toppled Profumo from office as war minister, once it was revealed that Keeler was also involved with a Soviet military attaché. Hobson turned her attention to mentally handicapped children and lepers.