June Duprez (May 14, 1918 - October 30, 1984) was an English film actress.
Born in Teddington, Middlesex, England, during an aird raid in the final months of World War I. She was the daughter of American vaudeville performer Fred Duprez.
She began acting in her teens with a theatre company and made her first film The Crimson Circle in 1936. Her next film The Cardinal (1936) was also a success but it was her third film The Four Feathers (1939) that made her a star. Her success continued with The Spy in Black (1939) and The Thief of Bagdad (1940) which she made for Alexander Korda.
Korda took charge of her career after this point and took her to Hollywood where he set her asking price at $50,000 per movie. However, as Duprez had not yet achieved the level of popularity in America that she had in Britain, Korda's tactic only served to place her out of contention for most roles. She appeared in None But the Lonely Heart (1944) and The Brighton Strangler (1945) before playing what would arguably be her most successful role, in Rene Clair's film version of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None (1945). After a few more films, Duprez retired. Her final credited film performance was in One Plus One (1961).
She retired from acting when she married for a second time in 1948. The union produced two daughters but ended in divorce in 1965. Duprez lived in Rome, Italy, for several years, then returned to London to live out the remainder of her life. She died there, aged 66.
June was born in Teddington, England during an air raid on May 14, 1918. Her father, Fred Duprez, was an American vaudevillian who found stage and film work in England. She herself picked up an interest in performing and eventually joined the Coventry Repertory Company to gather the necessary stage experience. She made her film debut as an extra in 1935. June married at a young age and her career was initially encouraged by her first husband, a Harley Street doctor. But once she started flirting with stardom, he became increasingly envious and possessive and their marriage fell apart. True enough, her sultry and exotic appearances in such British films as The Spy in Black (1939), Four Feathers (1939) and, especially, Alexander Korda's The Thief of Bagdad (1940) made a star out of her and she was quickly ushered to Hollywood to capitalize on this newly-found fame. Although she stayed in America throughout WWII, both Korda and June's agent set her price too high -- at $50,000 per picture. This pretty much put her out of contention and she found herself working very little in the next few years. Her most notable American picture during that time was None But the Lonely Heart (1944) opposite Cary Grant. June subsequently left Hollywood in 1946 and discovered a few roles on the Broadway stage. She retired altogether when she married for a second time in 1948 to a well-to-do sportsman. They had two daughters but divorced in 1965. June lived in Rome for a time, then returned to London to live out the remainder of her life. She died in 1984 at age 66 following an extended illness.
