Brown was born in Hampstead, London, to George Edward Brown, a journalist, and his wife, Helen Blanche (née Ellerton).[2] Growing up as a Roman Catholic, she attended St Mary's School, Ascot.[3]
From the early 1950s, Brown's arthritic condition (first appearing when she was sixteen) began to make playing on the stage difficult; her mobility was restricted and she was in great pain, which was kept at bay by drugs. Nevertheless, she was a notable success as Jennet in the London production of Christopher Fry's The Lady's Not For Burning, opposite Richard Burton, Claire Bloom and John Gielgud (1949), which transferred to Broadway for an extended run (1950–51).[5][6]Time magazine wrote (20 November 1950): "As the lady, Pamela Brown proves that Fry did not write the part for her in vain. No one has a more gloriously uppity charm; no voice can simultaneously so rasp and thrill; no one ever made standoffishness more come-hitherable."[7]
In February 1953, Brown divorced her husband, Peter Copley, for infidelity.[citation needed] They had no children. A devout Roman Catholic, she could not remarry while Copley was still alive but chose to live with her partner Michael Powell, the director who had given her early film roles. They remained together until her death from pancreatic cancer in 1975, aged 58, in Avening, Gloucestershire. Brown was buried in Holy Cross churchyard, Avening.[8]
^"Shakespeare Festival at Stratford". The Times. London. 23 March 1936. p. 10.
^Ellis, Samantha (28 May 2003). "The Lady's Not For Burning, Globe Theatre, May 1949". The Guardian.
^Zolotow, Sam (8 November 1950). "Play by Fry bows tonight at Royale; 'The Lady's Not for Burning,' a British Importation, Stars John Gielgud, Pamela Brown". The New York Times. p. 49.
^"New Play in Manhattan". Time. Vol. 56, no. 21. 20 November 1950. p. 60 – via EBSCO.
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