Diana Vida Jean Fairfax (19 December 1927 – 28 January 2019) was an Australian-born British actress.
Born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, in 1945 she sailed on the SS Stratheden from Sydney to Southampton, arriving there on 3 December 1945, aged 17."Diana Fairfax in the UK and Ireland, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960": Name Diana Fairfax / Arrival Age 17 / Port of Departure Sydney, Australia / Arrival Date 3 Dec 1945 / Port of Arrival Southampton, England / Ports of Voyage Sydney; Brisbane; Fremantle; Bombay and Suez / Ship Name Stratheden / Shipping Line Peninsula and Orient Steam Navigation Company Ltd / Official Number 165614" She made her career in England."Diana Fairfax", the Movie Database, accessed 3 October 2025
In 1950, Fairfax played Daisy Harding in a touring stage production of School for Spinsters by Roland Pertwee, with The Stage noting her "excellent performance"."IN THE PROVINCES", The Stage, Thursday 16 March 1950, p. 13
An early lead role on television came in January 1958, in an Armchair Theatre production of The Shining Hour, opposite Peter Wyngarde."Studio Talk", The Stage, Thursday 19 December 1957, p. 6 That same year she also played Lady Castlemaine/Barbara Palmer in eleven episodes of the BBC serial The Diary of Samuel Pepys. She went on to star as Esther Summerson in Bleak House (1959).Dvd review, "Bleak House (1959)", Archive TV Musings, accessed 3 October 2025
In 1960, Fairfax played the title role in Emma, a live BBC television serial in six parts, based on Jane Austen's Emma, directed by Campbell Logan."Emma Adaptations", strangegirl.com, accessed 3 October 2025
She played Lady Verney in Moll Flanders (1975), Mrs Brown in Just William (1977), and Emily Warbeck in Love in a Cold Climate (1980).
In August and September 1987, Fairfax played Lucetta in The Two Gentlemen of Verona at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre."The Two Gentlemen of Verona", theatricalia.com, accessed 3 October 2025
Personal life In 1958, at Marylebone, Fairfax married the actor Derek Godfrey."FAIRFAX Diana V / GODFREY / Marylebone 5d 691", FreeBMD, accessed 3 October 2025 They had two daughters, born in 1962"GODFREY Julia J. FAIRFAX Westminster 5c 411, FreeBMD, accessed 3 October 2025 and 1966."GODFREY PHILIPPA ANNE FAIRFAX ST.MARYLEBNE 5D 1488", FreeBMD, accessed 3 October 2025
Notes