- Born
- Died
- Nickname
- The Countess of Cleavage
- Height5′ 5″ (1.65 m)
- Imogen Hassall was born in Woking, Surrey, England, and came from an artistic family. Her father, Christopher Hassall, was a poet, dramatist, and lyricist, while her grandfather, John Hassall, and aunt, Joan Hassall, were illustrators. She trained in ballet at Elmhurst Ballet School and the Royal Ballet School before studying at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. She later joined the Royal Shakespeare Company for one season.
Hassall began working in British television and film during the 1960s, appearing in series including The Saint and The Avengers. Her early film work included The Long Duel, and she subsequently appeared in British and international productions. She gained wider attention through films such as When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth and Carry On Loving, establishing a public image centered on glamour.
During the 1970s, Hassall continued working in film and television, particularly in British and international productions. She became known in the press as "The Countess of Cleavage," a nickname reflecting the glamorous image associated with her screen career. Although she remained active professionally, her career did not develop into sustained mainstream stardom. Her final film appearance was in Licensed to Love and Kill.
Hassall died in London at the age of 38 in 1980. Her death was ruled a suicide following an overdose of sleeping pills.
- IMDb mini biography by: Quill & Camera
- SpousesAndrew Knox(January 1979 - May 1979) (divorced)Kenneth Ives(1974 - 1978) (divorced)
- Parents
- RelativesJohn Hassall(Grandparent)Joan Hassall(Aunt or Uncle)Nicholas Hassall(Sibling)
- Fiesty Women
- Hassall was found by Suzanna Leigh in her Wimbledon cottage after she arrived to embark with Hassall on a holiday to Mombassa, Kenya. Hassall had recently been very depressed over the failure of her second marriage and her inability to find consistent full-time acting work in several years. Police said she was found in bed with a telephone in one hand and an empty bottle of pills in the other. Friends said that she had been hospitalized the week before for yet another suicide attempt.
- Both Hassall and her second husband Andrew Knox died by presumed suicide.
- Shortly before her death, she described her second marriage to Andrew Knox as "a total farce"; she had sometimes expressed despair over the breakup and divorce.
- Ex-daughter-in-law of Alexander Knox and Doris Nolan.
- Her role in Carry on Loving (1970) led to her being depicted as a character in a play about the true-life romantic escapades of the best-known "Carry On"-ers, (Sidney James and Barbara Windsor), entitled "Cleo, Camping, Emmanuelle and Dick," written by Terry Johnson. The play was produced in 1998 by The Royal National Theatre Company, on the West End at The Royal National Theatre, London, England, UK. Two years later, Terry Johnson adapted his play for a television movie, produced as Cor, Blimey! (2000).
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