Jessie Matthews: The Dancing Divinity Does Weddings and Bar Mitzvahs

British movie star Jessie Matthews at the height of her fame.

Jessie Matthews (1907-1981) was Britain’s first and greatest international movie star.

Known as The Dancing Divinity, Matthew’s tragic and scandal-ridden life was more akin to hell on earth.

Born above a butcher shop in London’s Soho district, the seventh of eleven children, George, Jessie’s father was illiterate, a harsh and distant drunk. In contrast, Jessie’s mother, Jane, was warm and loving, but Jenny lived under the thumb of her tyrannical husband and so her unconditional love for Jessie was severely blunted by her husband’s drunken rages and frequent physical abuse.

The large cockney family rarely had enough to eat. (more…)