Rachel Roberts (actress) - Personal Life and Suicide

Personal Life and Suicide

She married firstly Alan Dobie (1955–1961), then Rex Harrison (1962–1971). Both marriages ended in divorce. Her alcoholism and depression increased after her divorce from Harrison. Devastated over their divorce, she moved to Hollywood in 1975 and tried to forget the relationship. In 1980, a final attempt to win Harrison back proved futile; and, impulsive and insecure, she committed suicide by taking an overdose of barbiturates and alcohol on 26 November 1980, at her home in Los Angeles.

It was reported that her death was a result of swallowing lye, alkali, or another unidentified caustic substance as well as the barbiturates, as detailed in her posthumously published journals. The acidic effect of the poisonous agent was an immediate cause of death, which propelled her through a decorative glass divide between two rooms. Her body was found by her gardener on her kitchen floor, cut to ribbons and lying amidst shards of glass. The coroner reported the cause of death as "swallowing a caustic substance" and, later, "acute barbiturate intoxication". It was ruled a suicide. She was 53 years old.

She was cremated at the Chapel of the Pines Crematory in Los Angeles. Her journals became the basis for No Bells on Sunday: The Memoirs of Rachel Roberts (1984).

In 1992, Roberts' ashes, along with those of her very good friend Jill Bennett, were scattered on the River Thames in London by director Lindsay Anderson during a boat trip, with several of the two actresses' professional colleagues and friends aboard; musician Alan Price sang "Is That All There Is?". The event was included as a segment in Anderson's BBC documentary film, also titled Is That All There Is?.