Patricia Russell

Biography

Patricia Russell, daughter of the actress Elaine Spearing and race horse trainer Campbell Russell was born in Wigston a small village near Leicester in 1909. She is the younger sister of the actress Hilda Campbell-Russell. Patricia began her career on the stage, playing a fairy in 'Where the Rainbow Ends' in 1928. Patricia quickly made the transition from child actress to ingenue, enjoying a successful stage career. Her films roles were limited, although she did appear in a few Gracie Fields musicals during the early 1930s, including, _Look Up and Laugh (1934)_ and _Walk This Way (1935)_ In 1936, she travelled to the South of France where she worked as a cabaret singer. In 1939, she met and married the noted Harley Street surgeon George Exner, and retired from the industry. Together they had three daughters, Jane, Sally and Gilly. Widowed since the mid 1960s, Patricia lives in a small village in Hampshire, England. In 1999, she along with her sister recorded their life story for the documenatry, 'I Used to be in Pictures.'