Virginia McKenna is an award-winning actress and wildlife campaigner who relentlessly works on changing attitudes to respect nature and all that it provides.
She was a leading British star in the 1950’s and 60’s in films including Carve Her Name with Pride, A Town Like Alice and Ring of Bright Water. She is also a fine writer of children’s books and wildlife poems.
The role she is perhaps most famous for is that of Joy Adamson in Born Free, a film about the lioness Elsa and in which her late husband Bill Travers played George Adamson. The making of this film changed Virginia’s life for ever. Moved by the beauty of Africa and the rehabilitation of Elsa the lioness back to her rightful habitat, Virginia and Bill felt compelled to act for all wild animals kept
‘I am at ease in different worlds. It is essential to connect with others as an actress and, of course, vital in the second world I have dipped into, the world of animals. Both worlds are fascinating, demanding, enriching. Both require you to give of yourself.’ Virginia McKenna
She does this with grace and grit.
We first worked with Virginia in 1998, when she led a safari for us to the Serengeti. We have since worked on many trips together, to Africa and India. We have been privileged to organise her private guest safaris as well as Born Free Foundations 15th, 21st and 25th Anniversary celebrations in Kenya.
Virginia was awarded an OBE in 2004 for her services to wildlife and to the arts.