Jeannette Charles, the renowned British actress who was celebrated for her remarkable resemblance to Queen Elizabeth II, passed away at 96. Her daughter, Carol Christophi, confirmed her death on June 2 in a care home in Great Beddow, Essex.
“Mum was a real character and a force of nature. She had an amazing life,” Christophi stated.
The beginning of a unique career
Charles’s career as a Queen Elizabeth II impersonator began in the 1970s. Her uncanny likeness to the Queen first gained attention during her childhood and became her claim to fame in the 1970s. Her impersonation career took off when artist Jane Thornhill submitted her portrait to the Royal Academy of Arts’s summer exhibition in 1972, leading Buckingham Palace to inquire if the Queen had sat for it. Charles recalled, “After that, my phone didn’t stop ringing… an agent said my resemblance to the Queen could be a money-spinner.”
Jeannette Charles: Career highlights
Over five decades, Charles made numerous appearances on TV chat shows, opened supermarkets, assisted magicians, and shot adverts. She portrayed Queen Elizabeth in music videos, on Saturday Night Live, and even presented a silver disc to the band Queen. Her most notable roles included appearances in “National Lampoon’s European Vacation,” “Naked Gun,” and “Austin Powers in Goldmember.” Throughout her career, she remained a staunch royalist and never accepted roles that “would reflect badly on the monarch or myself.”
Legacy
By the time she retired in 2014, Charles was considered the most famous Queen lookalike. “I don’t think anyone else had earned a living by resembling someone famous before – now there’s a whole industry,” she said. Born on October 15, 1927, 18 months after Queen Elizabeth II, Charles lived to the same age as the Queen, who passed away in 2022. “She was always respectful of the Queen and adored the royal family,” her daughter told UK radio station LBC.
Family and personal life
Charles is survived by her daughter Christophi and sons David and Peter. Her husband passed away in 1997. Speaking to The Guardian in 2022, Charles recalled her husband’s reaction to her career: “The only time Ken was impressed was when he got to meet Muhammad Ali, who had requested a photograph with me.”
In the same interview, Charles reminisced, “I realized there might be a way of making my resemblance to the Queen work in my favor. I signed with an agency that supplied models for ads.” She also mentioned, “Over the years I’ve turned down large sums to pose for Page 3-type pictures, and insisted I should never be introduced as the Queen when making appearances. People have told me that until her face was revealed, they were expecting it to be me.”