From silver screens to soap operas, Jennifer Leak’s vibrant talent leaves a lasting legacy in Hollywood! 🎬💔
Jennifer Leak, a famous actress known for her roles in soap operas and the movie “Yours, Mine and Ours” (1968), passed away on March 18 at her home in Jupiter, Florida. She was 76 years old.
Leak had a rare illness called progressive supranuclear palsy for seven years before she died.
She was born on September 28, 1947, in Cardiff, Wales, and grew up in different places like England, Canada, and Jerusalem. She started acting when she was 17 in Canada, appearing in a TV show pilot called “Wojeck.”
Although she was supposed to be in the movie “The Graduate,” she couldn’t because of immigration issues. Later, she moved to Los Angeles where she got a role as Lucille Ball’s daughter in “Yours, Mine and Ours.” It was there she met her first husband, Tim Matheson.
Matheson, who played her step-brother in the movie, shared a tribute to her on Facebook after her passing.
They got married in 1968 but divorced in 1971. Leak then acted in TV shows like “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and “Hawaii Five-0” before finding her love for soap operas. Her favorite was “The Young and the Restless,” where she played Gwen Sherman.
After three years on “The Young and the Restless,” she joined “Another World” for another three years. During her time on the soap operas, she met her second husband, James D’Auria, whom she married in 1977.
Leak was described by D’Auria as a quiet person who loved acting but didn’t seek attention outside of it. She retired from acting in the mid-1980s and worked in real estate.
She and D’Auria lived in New York City and the Hamptons before moving to Florida in 2017. She is survived by her husband and her brother, Kenneth Leak.
