The Hollywood actress Pauline Collins has revealed that she was forced to give up her baby girl for adoption when she was 23 years old. In 1963, the actress discovered that she was pregnant by a boyfriend she had recently split from when she was still a struggling actress in Killarney, Ireland.
The actress decided to keep her pregnancy secret and kept it hidden despite her parent’s support. She went to a convent, where nuns deliver the baby.
She named her daughter, Louise and cared her for six weeks before deciding to give up her for adoption. The actress published Letter to Louise in 1992 and described why she came forward after such a long time and said, “The story broke in the English press, which I suppose was inevitable. As a result, it was splashed across the front pages of the newspapers for a while. Six months later, I received a phone call from someone claiming to be working on my story.”
Pauline added, “One reporter is more serious than the other. She was very nice but I didn't want it to be sensationalized. To me it’s a priceless possession. It's such a private matter. And I'm not sure I realized how personal it was until it was too late.”
The Letter to Louise, is a poignant and funny heart-breaking account of the weeks and months leading up to giving up her baby where she has written to Louise, “I remember the last time I saw you. We were about six feet apart... everyday of my life, I've relived that moment, replayed each second like a book of flicker pictures, clinging frame by frame to the last images of you. Why did I give you away? Now in 1992, I still feel a blow in the solar plexus when I consider that question, I feel as if my soul is punched out through my throat. Now in 1992, I cannot understand why I did that terrible thing, why I didn’t look harder for another solution.”
Pauline had shared about how Louise found out about her from her adoptive parents and did not hold anything against her and instead first contacted her from her first letter when she was 21 years old. She told, “She’s been quite extraordinarily mature and compassionate towards me. Even in her first letter, she gave me the option of not replying, which I think at 21 is very mature.”
Pauline Collins Children Details
Pauline Collins has altogether four children. She gave birth to her first child, Louise Rohr with her ex-boyfriend who she gave up for adoption when she was 23 years old. Then she gave birth to her three other children with her husband, John Alderton and they are Kate Alderton, Richard Alderton and Nic Alderton.
Her daughter, Kate Alderton ,is an actress born in 1973 best known for her films like Anna Lee, Armageddon Gospels and Fierce Creatures.
Her son, Richard Alderton was born in 1977as a middle child.
Her son, Nic Alderton is a writer, producer and director born in 1978 as the youngest and he is best known for The Albion Tales, Health, Wealth & Happiness Writer.
Pauline Collins Married Life With Husband John Alderton
The actress Pauline Collins was married to actor John Alderton in 1969 and since then their bond remains strong as ever. Pauline had shared about her secret to her long lasting marriage with The Sunday Mirror in 1999 and said, “hold onto your man with your arms wide open – it's a great image and I've always lived by it. John and I have never suffocated each other. It's so important to give your partner freedom. We do miss each other when we’re separated but we also enjoy each other’s freedom - I'm pleased that he's doing something new and exciting, even if I’m staying at home.”
Pauline Collins With Husband John Alderton (©: Pinterest)
She added, “It meant we couldn’t visit each other, but it also meant we had something to tell each other. You need constant stimulus to keep a marriage alive. If you don’t have anything new to tell each other, or fresh points of view, you get stale. I've spent plenty of time with my husband, because we’ve worked together on five television series and four West End plays, but spaces are good in a marriage and we’ve had a lot of those. We’re like two trees side by side. We've grown at the same pace.”
Her husband, John Alderton is an English actor who was active in theatre since 1961 and is known for John Boorman’s Zardoz , Calendar Girls, Please Sir!, Upstairs, Downstairs and many more.
The actress Pauline Collins and her husband, John Alderton had attended 2021 Cannes in France to promote the film, Mrs Caldicot’s Cabbage War.
She had also attended the premiere of Shirley Valentine at the Empire cinema on 11 October 1989 with her husband, John Alderton, and their three children, Kate, Nicholas and Richard Alderton in London, England.