Jenner, Andrea (1891–1985)

Australian actress, journalist, and broadcaster. Name variations: (pseudonym) Andrea. Born Dorothy Gordon in 1891; died in Sydney, Australia, on March 24,1985; daughter of William A. Gordon (a stockbroker) and Dora (Fosbery) Gordon; attended Ascham and Sydney Church of England Girls' Grammar School, Sydney, Australia; married Murray Eugene McEwen, in 1917 (divorced); married George Onesiphorus Jenner, in 1922 (separated); no children.

Born in Australia in 1891 and educated there, Andrea Jenner began her career in Hollywood, California, performing bit parts and stunts for Paramount. After two short-lived marriages (she divorced her first husband and left the second), she returned to Sydney, where she starred in The Hills of Hate (1926) and was a scriptwriter on For the Term of his Natural Life (1927). Jenner then left for London and, after a long illness, began writing a column for the Sydney Sun under the pseudonym "Andrea." Profiling famous people and fashionable European holiday resorts, the gossip column was a great success, and Jenner remained in London until 1940. She then served as a correspondent during the war in the Pacific and was captured in Hong Kong during the Japanese invasion and imprisoned for four years. Upon her release, she had difficulty reestablishing herself with the Sun, which only gave her half-pay for her years as a POW. After a brief stint with the Mirror, she moved into Australian broadcasting. During the 1960s, Jenner became nationally known for her pioneering "talk-back" radio show, and her famous greeting "Hullo, mums and dads." The show lasted until 1968, when she was eased out by new management. During her last years, Jenner helped establish the Wayside Chapel and published her memoirs, Darlings, I've Had a Ball (1975). Andrea Jenner died in her Sydney apartment on March 24, 1985.

sources:

Radi, Heather, ed. 200 Australian Women. NSW, Australia: Women's Redress Press, 1988.