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Mary Poppins' Jane Background: A popular child star of Disney's 1960s movies who emerged as an adult performer in the late 1970s before retiring from showbiz in the early 1980s, Karen Dotrice got her start on stage, which served as a spring board to a successful film career in the United States with Walt Disney. First gaining attention in “The Three Lives of Thomasina” (1964), the eight year-old girl enjoyed a massive blockbuster hit and widespread popularity with her role as daughter Jane Banks in the multi-Academy Award winning adaptation “Mary Poppins” (1964). Her third film, “The Gnome-Mobile” (1967), however, was less successful, and Dotrice did not make another film appearance as a child. She costarred with Matthew Garber in all the three films. Dotrice went on to pursue a career on television in her native England, but found minor success. Among her roles were those of Lily in several episodes of the hit series “Upstairs, Downstairs” (1975) and Maria Beadnell in the miniseries “Dickens of London” (1976), starring real life father Roy Dotrice. She revisited the silver screen in 1978 playing the English noble love interest in “The Thirty-Nine Steps,” for which she won kudos and a 1980 Evening News British Film Award. However, in 1984, after a disappointing stage presence in the 1981 pre-Broadway production of “Othello,” she put acting on the back burner to concentrate on her family. Two decades after her retirement, Dotrice was named a Disney Legend. Dotrice's frequent Disney childhood co-star Matthew Garber, died on June 13, 1977 at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, London due to haemorrhagic necrotising pancreatitis. At the time, he was only 21. Years later, a younger brother explained in an interview that Matthew had contracted hepatitis from eating “bad meat” while traveling in India in 1976, and it had already spread to his pancreas when his father brought him back to England in the following year. Recalling on his death in an interview for the 40th Anniversary Edition DVD release of “Mary Poppins,” she said, “I remember his mum, Margot, calling ... to let us know that Matthew had died. That was so unexpected. ... I wished I had picked up the phone over the years, I wished I had treated him more like a brother; but he's indelibly printed in all of our minds, he's eternal ... an amazing little soul.” As for her personal life, Dotrice has been married twice. She and first husband Alex Hyde-White (together from 1986 to 1992) has a son named Garrick William, who is now 17-years-old. Married current husband Ned Nalle, a Worldwide TV Productions president, in 1994, the couple now have two children together, Isabella and Griffin, who was born in 1995 and 1996, respectively.
Mother of 3
Childhood and Family: Karen Dotrice was born on November 9, 1955, in Guernsey, Channel Islands, to Roy Dotrice and Kay Dotrice. Her parents were both accomplished stage performers. When she was a child, her family moved to England, where her father joined the RSC. Karen has two sisters, Michele Dotrice (born on September 27, 1948) and Yvette Dotrice, both of whom are actresses. She was the goddaughter of actor Charles Laughton (born in 1899, died in 1962). In 1986, Karen was married to the London native actor Alex Hyde-White (born on January 30, 1959), but the marriage later ended in separation in 1992. They have one son together, named Garrick William (born in 1990). Two years later, on June 18, 1994, she married present husband Ned Nalle, a producer. With Nalle, Karen has a daughter named Isabella (born in 1995) and a son named Griffin (born in 1996).
The Thirty-Nine Steps
Career: A product of family with bond to theatre, Karen Dotrice was introduced the world of stage early and by the time she was four, she had been ready to perform in her debut play, Bertold Brecht's “The Caucasian Chalk Circle,” for the Royal Shakespeare Company, with which her father also performed. It was while performing in the play that Dotrice was spotted by a scout for Disney, who invited the girl to Burbank, California to meet Walt Disney. Four years later, Dotrice segued to the big screen when she landed a supporting part in the Disney family/drama “The Three Lives of Thomasina” (1964), adapted from a book by Paul Gallico. Starring Patrick McGoohan and Susan Hampshire, the movie saw Dotrice play a young Scottish girl whose relationship with her father is repaired by the magical reappearance of her cat, a performance that charmed almost everyone. While she was in California, her father stayed in England and Walt Disney personally took care of her family. Soon, she considered Disney as a father figure and called him “Uncle Walt.” She stated, “My dad was in England the whole time I was over here (in the United States) with my mother and sisters. I didn't have my Daddy figure around, so I called Walt, 'Uncle Walt.' He took me and my family under his wing, every weekend, flying us in his plane to Santa Barbara or to his home in Palm Springs.” Following the auspicious debut, Dotrice was cast in a role that made her well-known, Jane Banks, on the 1964 Disney feature film adaptation of the “Mary Poppins” children book series by P. L. Travers. Jane is the daughter of a workaholic father (played by David Tomlinson) and a suffragette mother (played by Glynis Johns), who along with her brother (played by Matthew Garber), is taken by their nanny to magical adventures designed to teach the kids and their parents about the importance of the family. Starring Julia Andrews in the title role, “Mary Poppins” was a huge critical success, winning five out of thirteen Oscar nominations, and became the studio's biggest commercial hit during the era. Dotrice and Garber earned rave reviews for their natural performances, including from critic Bosley Crowther, who wrote “the kids ... are just as they should be,” and author Brian Sibley that stated “these charming, delightful young people provided a wonderful centre for the film.” Dotrice rejoined Garber for the third time in 1967's “The Gnome-Mobile,” a Disney adventure based on a book by Upton Sinclair. They portrayed the grandchildren of an affluent timber mogul who falter across a dwarf forest and help keep the gnomes from dying off. Starring Walter Brennan in the dual role of D.J. Mulrooney and Knobby, the film failed to achieve the same success as “Poppins” at the box office, and marked Dotrice's last performance as a child actress. After “The Gnome-Mobile,” Dotrice returned to England and in 1972 she resumed her career on television, when she took on the role of Desirée Clary in the Thames Television miniseries “Napoleon and Love” (1972), starring Ian Holm and Tim Curry. She followed it up with a recurring part in the well-liked British drama “Upstairs, Downstairs” (1975), playing Lily. In the ten-part miniseries “Dickens of London” (1976), which starred her real life father as Charles Dickens, she was cast in the role of Maria Beadnell. The next year, Dotrice portrayed Princess Ozyliza in the BBC film “The Princess and the Hedgehog” (1977) and appeared with Ann-Margret in “Joseph Andrews” (also 1977), a German telepic adapted from the Henry Fielding novel. In 1978, Dotrice made an attention-getting comeback on the silver screen when she was cast as Alex Mackenzie in the thriller “The Thirty-Nine Steps,” along side Robert Powell and John Mills. As the British blue-blooded love interest, the actress received kudos and was named Evening News British Film's Most Promising Female Newcomer. The same year, she also starred with Malcolm McDowell and Eileen Atkins in the BBC2 “Play of the Week,” “She Fell Among Thieves.” Dotrice returned to the United States in 1980, and the following year she picked up the role of Desdemona in the Warner Theatre production of “Othello,” along side Christopher Plummer and James Earl Jones. Her performance, however, received poor response from critics. David Richards of The Washington Post wrote, “Dotrice is not Desdemona. She is a Desdemona doll, reciting her lines in a thin, reedy voice and moving through the tragedy with a rare somnolence.” In 1982, she made a guest appearance in an episode of the U.S adventure/sci-fi series “Voyagers!,” but two years later decided to retire from acting to focus on her motherhood. After her retirement, Dotrice was nearly away from public eye. She supplied spoken-word adaptations of Disney's “The Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “Pocahontas.” In 2001, she provided her vocal to sing-along release of “Mary Poppins” and was interviewed for the ABC documentary special, “Walt: The Man Behind the Myth,” which debuted on September 16, 2001. Three years later, she was put back on the limelight when she was chosen a Disney Legend at a ceremony in Burbank. That same year Dotrice also found herself being interviewed and providing audio commentary for the 40th “Anniversary Edition Mary Poppins” DVD release. In 2005, she could be seen acting in an episode of the U.S adventure series “Young Blades,” having an uncredited part as The Teacher.
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