From the age of 10, Vivien Sherrard knew she wanted to be a professional stage actress. Her dream came true thanks to her training at London's Central School of Speech and Drama, where she began as one of the youngest in her class at age 16. She was in repertory companies at Perth, Leicester, Birmingham, Canterbury, and Bristol Old Vic. Among others leading roles, she starred in numerous plays by Shakespeare and Bernard Shaw, including Portia in The Merchant of Venice . She played Miss Havisham in a 1964 production of Great Expectations, and appeared in a wide variety of other plays and roles including 'The Beaux Stratagem,' 'A Man for All Seasons', and 'Photo Finish'. She also appeared in the West End at the Garrick Theater in 'Too True to be Good.' On July 1st 1972 Vivien Sherrard retired from the acting profession with an honorable withdrawal from the British Actors' Equity Association. Two months later she married Franklin B. Smith, an American who quite literally swept her off her feet and brought her to the United States, where she has lived for the past 30 years. The couple began their life together in Naples, Florida, managing their own store called Wicker House. Some years later, they moved to Fairlington, VA where their daughter Hope entered the world in 1980. In the coming months, the family of three would move a few miles away to the campus of the Madeira School in McLean,VA. There, Frank worked for 20 years as the business manager and treasurer, and Vivien worked as a full-time mom and part-time volunteer at various non-profits. For the past 10 years, the Smiths have resided in Tennessee and South Carolina, respectively. Some of Vivien's old acting chums are still in the business, appearing on PBS and BBC productions and elsewhere.
