INDEX

MULTIMEDIA
Audio
Video
Stills

PHOTO ALBUM
Caught You, Jane
Jane & Friends
Jane in the Media

NEWS & APPEARANCES

MEDIA SIGHTINGS

BOOKSIGNINGS

CHAT TRANSCRIPTS

BRUSH with ELEGANCE

STAR WEEK TRIBUTE

DQ REUNION WEEK TRIBUTE

I HATE JANE SEYMOUR PARODY

WOMEN.COM AND TALKCITY, INC. CHAT
Jane Seymour talks about Yesterday's Children
Monday, October 9, 2000

Jane Seymour, former star of the TV series, "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman," discusses her life as an actress and a mother, and her role in the upcoming made-for-TV movie, "Yesterday's Children." The drama, inspired a true story, is about a woman haunted by vivid and strangely familiar dreams of a mysterious mother and her children.

Host: Hello and welcome Jane!

Jane Seymour: Hi, everyone! Nice to chat with you again. I look forward to answering your questions as best I can.

Question: Jane, being a mom is difficult enough, and being a working mom is even more difficult. How do you manage being a mom with the demanding career you have?

Jane Seymour: It's not easy. I try to delegate and ration my time, but my priority is always my children, so if I have studying to do or work appointments I try to do them while my children are at school or when they are asleep. I have children ranging from 4 to 23 and I am involved in their lives hands-on, all day everyday. So, it gets a little crazy sometimes. But we are never bored here.

Question: Is there any historical tie to your beautiful home near Bath, England? How much time do you spend there?

Jane Seymour: We always go in the summer for a family vacation, and at Christmas and any other opportunities we have. The house dates back to 950, although the main house was built in the 1400s. It was owned at one time by the illegitimate daughter of King Henry the Eighth. She married Sir. John Harrington, who invented the toilet also known as the "John". Cromwell fought large battles in our valley and it's a spectacular home in a fabulous valley. When we are not there, we rent it out. Anyone interested can look at stcaths.com You can find it on my website, www.friendsofjane.com. Recent guests include Radiohead, The Cure, and Robbie Williams.

Question: As a mother, what good advice do you have for a mother who may be having twins

Jane Seymour: Just wrote a book on the subject called, "Two at a Time", published next year in April by Putnam Books. I have lots of advice and was asked to write a book on the subject with Pamela Novotny, who also had twins. My biggest advice would be remember to eat well, because you are feeding two - and that doesn't mean junk, that means good food. And when the doctor says bed rest, they mean it - take it seriously.

Question: Jane do you know when ESPN will air your fly-fishing trip and can you tell us a great fishing tale? By the way, fly-fishing is the best sport there is!

Jane Seymour: I agree. I love fly-fishing. I especially like the idea of catch-and-release, so no fish die. I fished in Alaska at Kulik Lodge in the Katmai National Park. I believe it will be shown next February, but check with ESPN. Whilst fishing, I shared the river with three large grizzly bears (maybe brown bears; not sure). Fortunately, the bears wanted sockeye salmon, and I was fishing for rainbow trout. It was pretty hairy. Our only defense was to say "Hi, Bear. Hey, Bear." No guns, no weapons, no means of defense other than a friendly word to the bear.

Question: I want to congratulate you for being a wife and mother role model, and for all your hard work to help those children in need. God blesses you for doing those things. Keep up the good work.

Jane Seymour: Thank you. I love my work with children, especially disadvantaged kids, kids at risk, and abused children. I work with Childhelp USA as international ambassador. I visited El Salvador with UNICEF, and help run City Hearts, a program in Los Angeles giving art and self-esteem to kids at risk. I also support many charities including children's hospitals, AIDS projects, and Christopher Reeve's Paralysis Association. Also, some of my art raises money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Question: I hear that you will have a piece of your artwork on display in Japan in the coming year as part of a traveling art show, and that you'll be showing your pieces in person at a Las Vegas art show. What inspires you to paint?

Jane Seymour: The Japan display I said yes to, but I am not sure what is happening with that. I did it last year. I will be in Las Vegas next weekend where my art will be shown at the Titus Fine Art Booth. This is the first time my art is being officially represented by professionals. I love to paint landscapes, flowers, and children. I am inspired daily to paint. Finding time is always the issue, but I only do it for pleasure. It's something I love to do. I also love to paint with children (especially my own) and adults who claim they can't draw.

Question: What is your upcoming movie, "Yesterday's Children," about?

Jane Seymour: It's a true story about a woman, Jenny, who has always had memories of another life. In her 40s, pregnant with her second child, the memories became disruptive to her life and she decided to research them. She realized this was possibly a reincarnation and she eventually found not only the grave and home of the woman she was reincarnated from - Mary, an Irish woman, who died in 1932 - but managed to find her children and reunite them for the first time in 65 years. It's a real weeper and a true story, and whether you believe in reincarnation or not it's one of life's miracles that has a very happy outcome. I play both characters. It was filmed in Ireland, near Dublin. Hume Cronyn plays my eldest son and Claire Bloom, my mother. I am very proud of this movie.

Question: Do you believe in reincarnation and the story of the woman whom you portray in the movie?

Jane Seymour: I am very open-minded on this subject. I clearly can see no other reason for Jenny Cole's story. It's certainly within the realms of possibility. In the movie, the Catholic priest interprets it as a miracle, where possibly the soul of Mary (or spirit of Mary) entered the body of Jenny Cole to help reunite her children.

Question: What are you thoughts on the new "Dr. Quinn" movie? Any ideas as to what we could expect?

Jane Seymour: I'm waiting, as are the network for Beth Sullivan's script. They hope to shoot it either before the end of the year or very early next year, depending on when the script is ready.

Question: Both "Somewhere in Time" and "Dr. Quinn" have very devoted fan followings. Is it more meaningful when you receive critical praise or develop a steady fan base?

Jane Seymour: The fans are the reason that they make more of those kind of movies. "Dr. Quinn" and "Somewhere in Time" did not receive initial critical acclaim, so obviously I care about the audiences reaction rather more than the critics. By the way, "Somewhere in Time" is having a special re-release in theaters on October 24th to commemorate the 20th anniversary of its premiere and the issue of the DVD. I feel that both fans of "Somewhere in Time" and "Dr. Quinn" are an extraordinarily loyal group and have done much to keep both projects alive. And I am very grateful.

Question: What was it like to meet the real people behind "Yesterday's Children?"

Jane Seymour: Absolutely fascinating. Sonny was quite a character and loved the idea of their story being told on television. Jenny is quite different from me. I did not attempt to play her as she is. She is English and the character, as written, was American in the adaptation. But she was fascinating and I spoke to her at length about her experience. Unfortunately one of the children, Frank, passed away on September 24th.

Question: Can you tell us what it was like working with Clancy Brown?

Jane Seymour: A lot of fun. We have kids the same age. We did a lot of sightseeing together.

Question: Will you let Chris and John have bit parts in your movies as you did with Katie and Sean?

Jane Seymour: They've already performed in both a Gerber commercial and one for Clairol, and a "Dr. Quinn" episode, when they were tiny. I might let them do bit parts if they show interest and can do it. But I never push this on my kids.

Question: I know your really active in charities, etc. Do you think your kids will follow in your footsteps?

Jane Seymour: I hope so. In terms of acting, I don't know. I only hope that they are happy and fulfilled and working with charities selfishly has given me a great deal of joy.

Question: What is your favorite movie role? I loved "Somewhere In Time" - I've seen it about 20 times.

Jane Seymour: Probably that. It was such a great movie. It had a certain magic and chemistry with Christopher Reeve. It was a small movie that seems to have impacted millions of people around the world and appears to be timeless as young people discover it now for the first time. My children at college tell me it's a cult classic amongst their generation, which is really cool, because that tells me the concept of love everlasting is still something that matters to this generation.

Question: You've met lots of interesting, famous people over the years. Who would you say was the most fascinating and why?

Jane Seymour: General Colin Powell was very impressive, I wish he could become president. Johnny Cash is mesmerizing. And Princess Diana had a very special aura and, although I only spent a small amount of time with her, I've always remember the time we were together.

Question: How much time do you spend in California versus England? Is there one you consider 'home'?

Jane Seymour: Home is California. We visit England as often as we can. Our work and children's schools are in America mostly.

Question: Jane, I have absolutely loved your work, well, since "Frankenstein"! I guess the big question is would you like to do any big screen work now that the boys are older?

Jane Seymour: I would love to. It's always a question of finding good scripts that some companies want to make and hoping they want me in them.

Question: How do you find the time for all your events and family? You are the epitome of class!

Jane Seymour: Thank you. I'm very selective about what I do. I prioritize my family and close friends and projects I am passionate about.

Question: I was wondering what you thought of home schooling for children and if you had ever considered it yourself?

Jane Seymour: Actually I have, and I've seen great results. However, I feel the social aspect of school is also very important, so my children have gone to school, although occasional home schooling may be necessary in the future for the twins. As always, it depends on how good you are at teaching the children and/or if you have a great school or not in your neighborhood.

Question: Your website is great. Do you ever read posts on your message board or even post messages yourself? What is your favorite website?

Jane Seymour: I go on my website from time to time. I'm not good with the computer, but I'm learning. I love to post small messages if I feel I have information that people would find interesting. I think my website is great, especially because it's created with love and thought by real fans, and we all work together to give one another the kind of communication and community that the Internet can give us. I like the idea of being able to give accurate information immediately to those that care and to hear people's responses to the work I'm involved in. I also enjoy keeping up with news from the fans out there and have an open communication. I type so slowly and I'm always so busy, but I intend to spend more time on the site.

Question: "Dr. Quinn" was a great 'family' show. What do you think can be done to get more family shows on TV?

Jane Seymour: There seem to be less and less of them all the time. I wish I knew. I agree and so do many people, but the advertisers pay the big bucks for the audiences they believe buy products, and the networks cater to what they believe that audience wants to see - currently, shows like "Survivor". Hopefully, there will always be room for good family drama. I believe "Yesterday's Children" falls in that category. Even my boys saw it.

Question: Who was your biggest influence during your acting period?

Jane Seymour: My major influence was Richard Attenborough and watching great performances in the theater and on film. Too many to recount. Anne Bancroft, Audrey Hepburn, and Ingrid Bergman are some of my favorites.

Question: Has Hollywood come far enough in providing meaty roles for women?

Jane Seymour: Television has some pretty good roles for women and I believe that is why I spent so much time working in that genre. I'm one of the lucky few that gets 'meaty' roles. However, I produce some of my material myself and am constantly looking for great roles, especially true stories. But action-adventure, male-bonding movies bring in the audience that advertisers love, so I do thrillers, too. I have one ready to air on CBS called "Blackout", which is really good. I don't know the air date yet, but I believe it will be January. In my opinion there are never enough great roles for women, so we have to create them and watch the projects so that networks and film companies realize they can be successful.

Host: Jane, it was so nice to learn more about you and your new movie. Do you have any parting words you'd like to share?

Jane Seymour: Please let me know what you think of "Yesterday's Children". Your comments will mean a great deal to me. I hope you enjoy the movie and it stimulates you in the same way that it did me. I look forward to meeting you next on my website www.friendsofjane.com.

Host: Our chat with Jane Seymour has come to an end. Thank you for joining us today and sharing your thoughtful questions and comments. A special thanks to Jane for an interesting and inspiring hour. Want to find out more about Jane? Check out her website at www.friendsofjane.com.

This has been a presentation of Women.com and Talk City, Inc. Copyright 2000. All rights reserved.