Biography

Ivy Close began a dynasty that has now covered four generations of the history of Cinema and Television. She married the photographer Elwin Neame (1885-1923) and reared two sons Ronald Neame (1911-2010), a successful cinematographer, screenwriter, producer and director and Derek Neame (1915-1979), an author who scripted several films. Her grandson Christopher Neame (1942- ) and her great-grandson Gareth Neame (1967- ) have become successful producers. Her second husband was the Australian-born make-up artist and former stuntman Curly Batson, who died in 1957.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Huw Nathan

Ivy Lillian Close was born in the Portrack area of Stockton on Tees in 1890 where she lived with her parents - her father was the manager of Samuels Jewellery in Stockton- and two brothers and a sister. Little is known about her formative years until at 18 out of some 15,000 hopeful entrants in the Daily Mirror's beauty contest competition she was judged to be the most beautiful. Her father thought her entering was degrading until she won . Along with the title of 'Most Beautiful Woman in the World' she got a Daimler car and her portrait painted by a Royal Academy Artist. Love also arrived when the Daily Mirror sent 21 year old Elwin Neame along to photograph her resulting in them courting and marrying in 1912. Elwin was interested in the up coming moving pictures and made one of Ivy which he sent to British producer Cecil Hepworth who set up Ivy Close Productions making short films. One 'Dream Paintings' had her posing as famous paintings then in 1914 she made her first feature film, 'The Lure of London'. Two years later in an attempt to break in to America she signed a deal to make a film in Florida, which was then the American film capital. She loved her film work even when in one film she was bound and gagged and thrown into a river. She also enjoyed daredevil hobbies which included skiing, flying and motorcycling. Ironically her husband was killed in a motorcycle crash leaving her and their two sons penniless. She made some 45 films including some French and German productions. She gave up her career at Elwins request to bring up their children and tried to revive it after his death but by 1930 found work hard to come by and eventually was living in poverty in a small Bayswater flat and died in a Thames Valley nursing home at the age of 78 leaving the world her son, cameraman,producer and director Ronald Neame whose classics include 'In Which We Serve', and 'Brief Encounter' Altogether she made 44 films between 1912 and 1929

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Tonyman 5

Ivy was a pioneer being the Mirror newspaper's first ever glamour girl when in 1908 she won The Mirror newspaper's first beauty contest when out of some 15,000 entrants she was judged to be Britain;s most beautiful, Soon her face was on thousands of newspaper front pages and the term ;?B:eauty Queen' was born and she was signed up by a film company and became one of Britain's top silent film stars, She married photographer Elwin Neame who had photographed her. and died soon after the end of the First World War, Film director Ronald Neame was their son,

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Tonyman 5