Fairytale romance that ended in acrimony

AS MRS Sean Connery, she was the envy of women everywhere, but Diane Cilento, who has died in Australia, will be best remembered for writing a book in which she claimed she was physically abused by the James Bond star during their tempestuous relationship.

Cilento, an Oscar-winning actress whose career was largely overshadowed by her celebrity marriage, was Connery’s wife for 11 years. After their divorce, she wrote an autobiography, My Nine Lives, in which she described the actor as a surly, violent man who was prone to bouts of heavy drinking.

Connery, who was knighted by the Queen in 2000, always denied the allegations.

The couple, who married in 1962, had a son, Jason. In the book, Cilento painted a far from idyllic picture of a relationship characterised by fiery break-ups and tearful reconciliations that rarely lasted more than a few months.

Her death, at the age 78, was announced yesterday by the Queensland state premier, Anna Bligh. The actress, who had been ill for some time, died at Cairns Base Hospital. No cause of death was given.

Before she married Connery, Cilento had carved out a role for herself as an cool blonde in films such as The Admirable Crichton, The Agony And The Ecstasy and The Wicker Man, as well as tele-vision shows and stage productions.

The actress rose to fame in the 1950s and 1960s, starring alongside screen legends such as Charlton Heston and Paul Newman, and in 1956, she was nominated for a Tony Award for her portrayal of Helen of Troy in the play Tiger At The Gates.

She received an Academy Award nomination in 1963 as best supporting actress for her role as Molly in the film Tom Jones, alongside Albert Finney and Susannah York.

Born into a medical family in Mooloolaba, Queensland, in 1933, Cilento trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London in the 1950s.

Her celebrity grew when she married Connery, one of the world’s most successful actors. The couple met in Oxford in 1957 on the set of a play, Anna Christie. Connery reportedly told a friend he liked her “incredible eyes”.

By the time they got married in Gibraltar, Cilento was heavily pregnant with Jason.

Although the couple divorced in 1973, Cilento didn’t write her account of their marriage until 2006. In the book, she alleged that Connery had hit her and that he had disinherited their son, telling him to earn his own money.

Connery claimed Cilento’s accusations stemmed from her inability to move on from their relationship. He also branded her “insane”.

Friends of Cilento said that she had lived quietly in Queensland after returning to her home country in the 1980s.

In 1985, she married her third husband, playwright Anthony Shaffer – the man who wrote Sleuth and The Wicker Man – and the couple ran a popular outdoor theatre, the Karnak Playhouse, in the rainforest.

“While she was originally known as a glamorous international film star, her work in later years in the far north showed her commitment to the arts. I know that Ms Cilento will be sorely missed by many in the industry,” Ms Bligh said yesterday.

ABC television quoted friend and playwright Michael Gow as saying he had been with Cilento at a dinner party last weekend. “She was a performer to the end, and she put on a great display for all the guests at that dinner,” he said.

“She kept us all hugely entertained until the day before yesterday, when she just couldn’t manage any more and we took her to hospital.”

Rod Wissler, executive dean of Queensland University of Technology’s Creative Industries, where Cilento was artist in residence, said: “Diane loved her life as an artist.

“She brought more than just knowledge to students. She brought passion and enthusiasm and guided them to follow their dreams, just as she had.”