Queen Elizabeth's Double Dies At 96, Same Age As Monarch When She Passed Away
Jeannette Charles, the actress best known for her remarkable likeness to Queen Elizabeth II, has died. She was 96.
Charles died on Sunday at a hospice in Great Baddow, Essex, England, her family confirmed. She was the same age as the late Queen Elizabeth when she passed away in September 2022.
"Mum was a real character and a force of nature. She had an amazing life," her daughter, Carol Christophi, said in a statement quoted by The Hollywood Reporter.
"She was always respectful of the queen and adored the royal family."
The actress had her first start in small roles in regional theater. However, her uncanny resemblance to the British monarch made her a sought-after figure in film, television and commercials.
In her career that spanned over three decades, ending in 2014 when she retired due to arthritis, Charles portrayed the queen in about 34 movie and TV credits -- 17 as Queen Elizabeth herself and 17 in roles meant to represent King Charles' mother, Screen Rant noted.
Her first time playing the late monarch onscreen was in "Loriots Telecabinet," a German parody talk show in 1974.
She went on to star in more films as the queen, including "The Naked Gun", "The Parent Trap" starring Lindsay Lohan, and 2002's "Austin Powers in Goldmember."
Her last TV credit was for a 2010 Nike soccer commercial, "Write the Future," which starred some of the biggest global athletes, including Wayne Rooney, Roger Federer, the late Kobe Bryant and Cristiano Ronaldo.
To perfect her portrayal of the queen, Charles took up elocution lessons and learned to mimic Prince William and Harry's grandmother's mannerisms, according to a 2012 interview.
The actress also admitted that she and the queen had "a very similar bone structure in my face and our voices sound the same."
While the renowned actress never met Queen Elizabeth, Charles wrote in her 1986 autobiography, "The Queen and I," that the monarch has seen her through the window of her Rolls Royce.
She wrote that upon seeing her, the queen "froze, staring, hand immobile in the air as our eyes met from a distance of a couple of feet."
"When you see your doppelgänger, the effect is cataclysmic," she added.
