Mercy
She was, she recalled, undisciplined and unhappy, the archetypal fat and spotty teenager.
She was working at a pharmacy and performing onstage as a member of a local theater group when, in 1954, she won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, which had begun to encourage the enrollment of workingclass students, including Albert Finney and Peter OToole. (Ms.
Jackson remained convinced that she was plain, even ugly a belief later reinforced by the academys principal, who she said told her that she could become only a character actress and shouldnt expect to work much before youre 40.)
Her schooling prepared her for what became six years in provincial repertory.
In 1958 she married Roy Hodges, a fellow actor.
The war increased the familys privations.
We used to eat candle wax as an alternative to chewing gum, she remembered. The big treat was a pennyworth of peanut butter.
With her father called into the Navy, Glenda became increasingly crucial to an allfemale household something that she said explained both her defiant feminism and her bossy streak. She also proved bright and diligent, winning a scholarship to West Kirby County Grammar School for Girls.