 The eldest of three daughters of the actor-manager Sir Gerald du Maurier and actress Muriel Beaumont (maternal niece of William Comyns Beaumont), she was born in St Pancras, London.Her grandfather was the author and "Punch" cartoonist George du Maurier, who created the character of Svengali in the novel "Trilby".Although three years older than her better known sister Daphne, she outlived her by thirteen years.