Jill Freud Cause of Death: 'Love Actually' Star, Inspiration For 'Narnia' Character Passes Away

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We have sad news to report out of London today:

Beloved actress Jill Freud, who is best known for her work in the beloved holiday romcom Love Actually, has passed away at the age of 98.

Freud may not have been a household name as a result of her acting, but she crossed paths with famous historical and cultural figures so frequently that she was basically the British answer to Forrest Gump.

Lady Jill Freud arrives at church at the funeral of Sir Clement Freud on April 24, 2009 in London, England. The broadcaster, writer and former Liberal MP, Sir Clement Freud passed away at his London home on April 15, 2009. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

News of her death comes courtesy of her daughter, Emma Freud:

“My beautiful 98-year-old mum has taken her final bow. After a loving evening — where we knew she was on her way — surrounded by children, grandchildren and pizza, she told us all to fuck off so she could go to sleep. And then she never woke up. Her final words were ‘I love you,'” Emma wrote on social media on Monday.

Born June Frewett, Jill adopted the stage name Jill Raymond early in her career and was usually known as Jill Freud after her marriage to Clement Freud, the grandson of Sigmund Freud.

As a teenager during World War II, she was evacuated from London to Oxford, where she eventually found work as a housekeeper at the Kilns, the house Lewis shared with his brother, Warnie.

English broadcaster, writer, politician and chef Clement Freud (1924 - 2009) in London with his fiancee, actress June Flewett, shortly after their engagement was announced, 28th June 1950. — English broadcaster, writer, politician and chef Clement Freud (1924 – 2009) in London with his fiancee, actress June Flewett, shortly after their engagement was announced, 28th June 1950. (Photo by Ron Burton/Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Lewis was so impressed by hew character that he reportedly modeled the character Lucy in his Chronicles of Narnia series after Freud.

“I have never really met anything like her unselfishness and patience and kindness and shall feel deeply in her debt as long as I live,” Lewis wrote of Freued in a letter from 1945 (via The Guardian).

As an actress, Jill is best known for her final professional role, playing Hugh Grant’s housekeeper in Love Actually.

In her statement, Emma Freud wrote that Jill was a mentor to “hundreds of actors who loved her for her passion, her care, her shepherd’s pie, her devotion to regional theatre and her commitment to actors’ rights.”

Jill Freud, wife of late British writer and broadcaster Clement Freud, is pictured outside Saint Bride's Church before his funeral in central London, on April 24, 2009. — Jill Freud, wife of late British writer and broadcaster Clement Freud, is pictured outside Saint Bride’s Church before his funeral in central London, on April 24, 2009. (SHAUN CURRY/AFP via Getty Images)

She added that her mother “had the same lunch every day – a glass of red wine and a packet of crisps, and during Covid, aged 93, locked up with three other Freud gals, she took part in a tap class every morning.

“She was 98, mother of five, grandmother of 17, great-grandmother of seven — she was feisty, outrageous, kind, loving and mischievous,” Emma continued, adding:

“Lucky old heaven getting such a dazzling newcomer.”

Our thoughts go out to Jill Freud’s loved ones during this enormously difficult time.