- Born
- Died
- Birth nameRowena Othlie Jackson
- Rowena Jackson was born on March 24, 1926 in Invercargill, New Zealand. She was an actress, known for Producers' Showcase (1954), I Know What I Like (1956) and Ballet Spectacular (1959). She was married to Philip Chatfield. She died on August 15, 2024.
- SpousePhilip Chatfield(February 4, 1958 - July 2021) (his death, 2 children)
- In 1959, along with her husband Philip Chatfield, a fellow Royal Ballet Principal, she retired from The Royal Ballet and returned to New Zealand.
- Although she cited the dancing of Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell as being influences on her, it was a visit from the Russian ballerina Irina Baronova who inspired her to make ballet her 'life's ambition'.
- She and her husband were co-directors of the New Zealand School of Dance (formerly the National Ballet School, New Zealand).
- In 1940 she set a world record for the number of fast turns performed in a row (fouettés en tournant sur place).
- In February 1954 she was promoted to prima ballerina at Sadler's Wells Ballet.
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