Jennifer Leak in the CBS daytime drama series “The Young and the Restless,” 1974.Photo:CBS via Getty
CBS via Getty
Jennifer Leak, soap opera star andYours, Mine and Ours(1968) actress, died on March 18 at her home in Jupiter, Fla., reportsThe East Hampton Star. She was 76.
The actress was diagnosed with the rare neurological disease progressive supranuclear palsy seven years before her death, perThe East Hampton Star.
Leak was born on Sept. 28, 1947, in Cardiff, Wales. Throughout her childhood, she grew up in various cities, including Hertfordshire, England, Nova Scotia, Canada, Jerusalem, and Toronto. She began her career in Canada at the age of 17 after she appeared in theMike Nichols-directed pilot of the Canadian television seriesWojeck.
She was then cast in Nichols’The Graduatebut was unable to join the production due to immigration difficulties.
Jennifer Leak and James D’Auria on April 10, 2007 in New York City.PATRICK MCMULLAN/Patrick McMullan via Getty
PATRICK MCMULLAN/Patrick McMullan via Getty
Leak later moved to Los Angeles, and within a few months, she was cast asLucille Ball’s daughter in the 1968 featureYours, Mine and Ours. On that set, Leak met her first husband,Tim Matheson.
The former couple played step-siblings in the comedy film about a blended family of 18 children. Matheson portrayed Mike Beardsley, the son ofHenry Fonda’s Frank.
“It is with a heavy heart that I share the news of Jennifer Leak’s passing. She wasn’t just my screen sister in ‘Yours, Mine and Ours,’ but also my beloved first wife,” wrote Matheson. “Jennifer was a remarkable woman, strong, lovely, and incredibly talented. My deepest condolences go out to her husband of 47 years, James D’Auria, and their multitude of friends.”
The former couple married in 1968 and divorced in 1971.
Actress Lucille Ball with actors Jennifer Leak, Kevin Burchett, Kimberly Beck, Margot Jane, Eric Shea, Greg Atkins, Lynnell Atkins pose for the movie “Yours, Mine and Ours.".Michael Ochs Archives/Getty
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty
She starred as Gwen Sherman onThe Young and the Restlessin Los Angeles for three years and joinedAnother Worldas Olive Springer Gordon Randolph for an additional three years in New York.
During her time in New York, she met D’Auria, her husband of 47 years. The pair married in April 1977. D’Auria described his late wife as “a shy and private person, never desiring to be the center of attention or having the need for an audience,” adding, “She saved those feelings and exhibited them only when on camera, and then she became electric,” perThe East Hampton Star.
By the mid-1980s, she had retired from screen acting and worked as a sales agent for a real estate company.
Jennifer Leak circa 1972.Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty
Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty
Throughout her marriage to D’Auria, the pair split their time between New York City and the Hamptons. In 2001, they moved full-time to the Hamptons, and then in 2017 relocated to Florida.
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source: people.com
