Sarah Churchill

Sarah Millicent Hermione Touchet-Jesson, Baroness Audley (née Spencer-Churchill), was born on 7 October 1914 in London. She was the second daughter of Winston Churchill, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during two terms (1940–1945 and 1951–1955), and Clementine Churchill, Baroness Spencer-Churchill. She was the third of five children in her family and was named after Sir Winston Churchill’s ancestor, Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough.

Her education included attendance at Notting Hill High School as a day student, followed by North Foreland Lodge, where she studied as a boarding pupil.

Sarah Churchill was married three times. Her first marriage was to Victor Oliver von Samek, known as Vic Oliver, a comedian and musician, from 1936 until their divorce in 1945. Her second marriage was to Antony Beauchamp, which lasted from 1949 until his death in 1957. Her third marriage was to Thomas Percy Henry Touchet-Jesson, the 23rd Baron Audley, from 1957 until his death in 1963. Sources, including her sister Lady Soames, indicate that Winston and Clementine Churchill disapproved of her first two husbands. During her marriage to Vic Oliver, she reportedly had an affair with John Winant, the American ambassador to Britain, which is believed to have contributed to Winant’s subsequent depression and his suicide in 1947.

In 1964, she became romantically involved with Lobo Nocho, an African-American jazz singer and painter, with reports suggesting intentions for marriage, which her father was also believed to disapprove.

During World War II, Sarah Churchill served in the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF). She worked closely on the interpretation of reconnaissance photographs, notably for the 1942 North Africa invasion, Operation Torch. She was known by the alias Sarah Oliver and was recognized as a quick and versatile interpreter, according to Constance Babington Smith’s account in "Evidence in Camera." Further details of her wartime service are documented in "Women of Intelligence: Winning the Second World War with Air Photos." Additionally, some sources, including Christopher Ogden’s biography of Pamela Harriman, mention her affair with John Winant during this period.

As an actress, Sarah Churchill is best known for her role in the 1951 film "Royal Wedding," where she played Anne Ashmond, the romantic interest of Fred Astaire’s character, Tom Bowen. In the same year, she hosted her own television show. Her acting credits also include appearances in films such as "He Found a Star" (1941), "Spring Meeting" (1941), "All Over the Town" (1949), "Fabian of the Yard" (1954), and "Serious Charge" (1959). On 17 November 1950, she appeared in an episode of "Danger," titled "Witness for the Prosecution," and hosted a Sunday afternoon talk show on CBS-TV in 1951. She also made appearances on the Jack Benny radio and television programs, including the episode "How Jack Met Rochester."

In theatre, she performed as Lisa Grayson in "The Night Life of a Virile Potato" at the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith, London, in 1960. In 1961, she appeared as Rosalind in Shakespeare’s "As You Like It" at the Pembroke-in-the-round Theatre in West Croydon.

As an author, she published "The Empty Spaces, The Poems of Sarah Churchill" in 1966, along with other poetry collections and autobiographies, including "A Thread in The Tapestry" (1967), "The Unwanted Statue and Other Poems" (1969), "Songs" (1974), "The Collected Poems of Sarah Churchill, with Songs by Some of Her Friends" (1974), and her autobiography "Keep On Dancing" (1981). In 1980, she released an LP of her reciting her poetry titled "A Matter of Choice."

Throughout her life, she created lithographic prints, including works featuring Malibu, California, and a series of portraits of her father, Winston Churchill, titled "A Visual Philosophy of Sir Winston Churchill," produced in the 1970s.

Her struggles with alcoholism were publicly documented, including arrests for public disturbances and a brief imprisonment in Holloway Prison. She addressed these issues in her autobiography.

Sarah Churchill died on 24 September 1982 at the age of 67. She is buried alongside her parents and three siblings at St Martin’s Church in Bladon, near Woodstock, Oxfordshire.

Her filmography includes "Who's Your Lady Friend?" (1937), "Spring Meeting" (1941), "He Found a Star" (1941), "Fatal Symphony" (1947), "Daniele Cortis" (1947), "All Over the Town" (1949), "Royal Wedding" (1951), "Fabian of the Yard" (1954), and "Serious Charge" (1959).