Who Was Doorn van Steyn? The Life of Roger Moore’s First Wife

Doorn van Steyn lived a life far wider than her connection to Roger Moore. Born Lucy Woodard in London, she became an actress, fashion model, professional ice skater, mother, artist, and international traveler. Her story moved from wartime Britain to stage training, early film roles, a difficult celebrity marriage, a new chapter in Israel, and a quieter creative life in America.

Quick Bio

Field	Details
Full Name	Doorn van Steyn
Birth Name	Lucy Woodard
Date of Birth	November 30, 1921
Place of Birth	Lambeth, London, England
Date of Death	August 23, 2010
Age at Death	88 years old
Nationality	British
Known For	First wife of Roger Moore
Profession	Actress, model, professional ice skater, artist
Acting Training	Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Stage Name	Gilda as an ice skater
Film Credits	The Trojan Brothers, Madame Louise, Tel Aviv Taxi
First Known Marriage	Wilhelmus van Steyn
Famous Marriage	Roger Moore
Marriage to Roger Moore	1946 to 1953
Later Husband	Ami Sollel
Children	Shaun van Steyn and Jody Solell
Later Residence	Israel and the United States
Later Work	Stained glass artisan and photographer
Death Place	United States
Legacy	Remembered for her creative life and connection to early Roger Moore history

Who Was Doorn van Steyn?

Doorn van Steyn was a British actress, model, and professional ice skater who is best known to many readers as the first wife of Sir Roger Moore. Long before Moore became famous as James Bond, the two met during their early acting years and married in 1946.

Her public identity often appears through Moore’s biography, but her own life had many distinct chapters. She trained in acting, appeared in films, worked as a model, performed on ice, traveled internationally, raised children, and later turned toward visual arts.

She was born Lucy Woodard, but she became widely known by the name Doorn van Steyn. That name stayed with her through her career and personal life. It also connected her to her earlier marriage to Wilhelmus van Steyn, a Dutch wartime pilot.

Her biography is important because it shows a woman who lived through war, entertainment, marriage, motherhood, travel, divorce, and reinvention. She was not only a celebrity spouse. She was a creative person whose life changed across countries and decades.

Early Life of Doorn van Steyn

Doorn van Steyn was born as Lucy Woodard on November 30, 1921, in Lambeth, London, England. Her early years were shaped by the changing social and cultural world of Britain between the two World Wars.

London during her youth was a city of theater, music halls, cinema, and fashion. It was also a place that later faced the trauma of World War II. Growing up in this environment likely exposed her to both creative ambition and hardship.

Available public information about her parents and childhood remains limited. For that reason, a careful biography should not invent family details. What is known is that she entered adulthood during a dramatic time in British history and later built a life connected to performance and travel.

Her early background gave her the foundation for a varied career. She did not follow only one path. She moved between acting, modeling, skating, family life, and art, which made her story more complex than a simple celebrity marriage profile.

Education and Acting Training

One of the most important parts of her early career was her training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, often known as RADA. This institution has long been one of Britain’s most respected acting schools.

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Her time at RADA placed her in the same creative environment as young actors who wanted to build stage and screen careers. It also brought her into contact with Roger Moore, who was still at the beginning of his professional journey.

Training at RADA suggested that she had serious artistic interests. She was not simply someone who appeared briefly in entertainment circles. She had formal exposure to acting techniques, performance discipline, and the competitive world of British theater.

This part of her life matters because it helps explain how she entered acting and how she became connected to Roger Moore. Their relationship began during a period when both were still trying to find their place in the entertainment industry.

Career as an Actress and Model

Doorn van Steyn worked as an actress and model during the 1940s and 1950s. Her acting credits were modest, but they still show her presence in British and international screen culture.

She appeared in films such as The Trojan Brothers, released in 1946, Madame Louise, released in 1951, and Tel Aviv Taxi, released in 1956. These roles did not make her a major star, but they remain part of her documented career.

Her work as a fashion model also reflected the world she moved in. Modeling in postwar Britain could offer visibility, income, and social connections. It was a field linked to style, presentation, and public image.

Her acting and modeling career should be described with balance. She was not a leading screen icon, but she was active in entertainment and had several talents. She belonged to a group of creative women who worked across different fields rather than staying in one profession.

Her Life as a Professional Ice Skater

Another unique part of her biography was her career as a professional ice skater. She reportedly performed under the name Gilda, which gave her a separate stage identity from her acting and modeling work.

Ice skating was both athletic and theatrical. It required discipline, performance skill, movement, and stage presence. This side of her life shows that she had more than one creative talent.

Her skating career also became important after her divorce from Roger Moore. She later joined a traveling ice-skating show, a decision that helped move her life away from London and into a more international chapter.

This part of her story helps separate her biography from many other articles about celebrity ex-wives. Doorn van Steyn had a life that included performance on screen, in fashion, and on ice.

Doorn van Steyn and Roger Moore’s First Meeting

Doorn van Steyn met Roger Moore while they were both connected to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. At the time, Moore was still a very young man with no idea that he would later become one of the most recognizable actors in the world.

Also Read: Who Is Kristina Tholstrup? Roger Moore’s Wife

Moore was 19 when they met, while she was older and already had life experience, including motherhood. Their relationship began before fame, wealth, and the global James Bond image that later defined Moore’s public career.

This early connection is one reason people continue to search for her name. She belonged to the first chapter of Moore’s adult life, before his major television success and long before his years as 007.

The relationship also reflected the uncertainty of young actors in postwar London. Both were living in a period of ambition, financial struggle, and emotional pressure. Their marriage formed inside that difficult environment.

Marriage to Roger Moore

Doorn van Steyn married Roger Moore in 1946. Their marriage lasted until 1953, making her his first wife. At the time, Moore was not yet a major star. He was still trying to build his acting career and survive financially.

The couple lived through a period of hardship. They reportedly stayed for a time with her parents in Streatham, London. Their living situation showed how far Moore still was from the later glamour of Hollywood, television fame, and the James Bond franchise.

The marriage has often been discussed because Moore later spoke openly about its difficulties. However, it is important to describe that period with care. The public record mostly comes from Moore’s later interviews and writings, so the article should make clear when claims come from his perspective.

Their marriage ended before Moore became internationally famous. That timing matters because Doorn van Steyn was part of his life before the public knew him as Simon Templar in The Saint or as James Bond.

Life During Their Marriage

The marriage between Doorn van Steyn and Roger Moore unfolded during a time of financial pressure. Moore was still searching for steady acting work and reportedly accepted small jobs to support himself.

Financial stress often affects young marriages, especially when both people are connected to unstable creative careers. Acting and modeling could bring opportunity, but they did not always bring regular income.

Moore later described the relationship as troubled. He claimed that she criticized his appearance and doubted his future as an actor. These claims have become part of the public story, but they should be presented as Moore’s account rather than as neutral fact.

This period shaped Moore’s early adult life and later became a memorable part of his autobiography and interviews. For Doorn van Steyn, it was one chapter in a much longer life that later moved far beyond London and the British film scene.

Divorce and Public Attention

Doorn van Steyn and Roger Moore divorced in 1953. Their separation came after several difficult years together. Moore later began a relationship with Welsh singer Dorothy Squires, who became his second wife.

The divorce is often mentioned in articles about Moore because it formed part of his romantic history. He married four times during his life, and his first marriage remains one of the most discussed because of the stories he later shared.

However, a fair biography should not reduce Doorn van Steyn to the breakdown of that marriage. Divorce was part of her life, but it did not define her entire identity.

After the marriage ended, she did not remain only in the shadow of Moore’s fame. She continued moving through new places, new relationships, and new forms of work. Her later life shows independence, movement, and reinvention.

Family and Children

Doorn van Steyn was also a mother. Public accounts name her son Shaun van Steyn, who was born before her marriage to Roger Moore. Shaun’s father was connected to her earlier marriage to Wilhelmus van Steyn.

She later had another son, Jody Solell, during her marriage to Ami Sollel. This family history reflects the different personal chapters of her life across Britain and Israel.

Information about her children’s private lives is limited, and that privacy should be respected. A responsible biography can mention names and family connections that are publicly available without adding unsupported details.

Her role as a mother is important because it adds depth to her life story. She was not only an actress or Roger Moore’s ex-wife. She was also a parent navigating major life changes across countries and relationships.

Earlier Marriage and the Name van Steyn

Before she became widely associated with Roger Moore, Lucy Woodard had been married to Wilhelmus van Steyn. He is described in available accounts as a Dutch pilot who served during World War II.

Her professional name came from this marriage. The surname van Steyn remained part of her public identity even after that relationship ended. She adapted it into the name by which she became known in entertainment references.

This earlier marriage also helps explain why she was already a single mother when she met Roger Moore. It places her life within the broader context of wartime Britain, where relationships, families, and careers were often disrupted by conflict.

Understanding this part of her story gives readers a clearer view of her identity. She was not simply introduced into public history through Roger Moore. She already had personal history, family responsibilities, and a name connected to an earlier life.

Later Life in Israel

After her divorce from Roger Moore, Doorn van Steyn entered a new chapter through ice skating. She joined a traveling ice-skating show that eventually took her to Israel.

In Israel, she met Ami Sollel, who is described in public accounts as an Israeli Army officer. She chose to remain in the country and built a new family life there.

This move was a major shift. It took her away from British entertainment circles and into a different culture and social environment. Her life in Israel shows her ability to adapt and begin again.

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Her marriage to Ami Sollel later ended in divorce, but the Israeli chapter remained a meaningful part of her biography. It connected her to another country and another stage of motherhood, family, and personal change.

Move to the United States

In later years, Doorn van Steyn moved to the United States. She lived in the Washington, D.C. area, with some accounts placing her in Falls Church, Virginia.

By this stage, she had left behind the public side of entertainment. Her life became quieter and more private. Instead of acting or modeling, she focused on creative work in visual arts.

The move to America represented another reinvention. Many people connected to show business struggle to build a life outside fame, but she appeared to create a more peaceful and personal path.

Her American years are important because they show the final phase of her life. She was no longer mainly a performer. She became an artisan, photographer, grandmother, and private citizen.

Work as an Artist and Photographer

Doorn van Steyn later worked as a stained-glass artisan. This creative profession suited a person who had spent much of her life around beauty, form, light, and presentation.

Stained glass requires patience, design skill, and artistic control. It is very different from acting or modeling, but it still belongs to a creative life. It shows that her artistic identity continued even after she left public performance.

Some accounts also state that she worked as a part-time photographer for National Geographic. Because information about this role is not always deeply documented, it is best to describe it carefully as reported in public profiles.

Her later creative work gave her biography a graceful final chapter. Rather than being remembered only for a difficult marriage, she can also be remembered as a woman who kept creating in different forms throughout her life.

Personality, Skills, and Public Image

Doorn van Steyn was described through her many talents. She acted, modeled, skated, spoke multiple languages, and later worked in visual arts. These skills suggest a person with strong creative energy and international awareness.

She was reportedly fluent in French, Spanish, and Hebrew. Language ability would have helped her move through different countries and cultures, especially after her life shifted from Britain to Israel and later to the United States.

Her public image is complicated because many people know her through Roger Moore’s later memories. Those memories include painful claims about their marriage. Still, a complete biography should place those claims within a wider life story.

She was a woman of many chapters. Some were difficult, some were creative, and some were private. That mix makes her biography more human and more layered than a simple entertainment footnote.

Death and Final Years

Doorn van Steyn died on August 23, 2010, at the age of 88. By the time of her death, she had lived across several countries and experienced many personal and professional changes.

Her final years were far from the spotlight that surrounded Roger Moore. She lived more privately and focused on family, art, and her own surroundings.

Her death closed a life that had begun in London after World War I and stretched across the major cultural changes of the twentieth century. She saw wartime Britain, postwar entertainment, international travel, and a quieter American retirement.

For many readers, her name appears because of Moore. But her full life story deserves more space than that single connection.

Doorn van Steyn’s Legacy

Doorn van Steyn’s legacy is not simple. She is remembered as Roger Moore’s first wife, but she was also an actress, model, professional ice skater, mother, traveler, and artist.

Her life shows how women connected to famous men often have their own rich and complicated histories. She lived before and after her marriage to Moore. She worked, traveled, created, and raised a family.

Her story also gives a rare view into Roger Moore’s early life before fame. Their marriage belonged to a time when he was still struggling to become an actor. That makes her part of the background to one of Britain’s most famous screen careers.

Still, the most balanced way to remember her is as Lucy Woodard, the London-born woman who became Doorn van Steyn and lived many lives in one. Her biography includes ambition, conflict, movement, creativity, and reinvention.

FAQs

Who was Doorn van Steyn?

Doorn van Steyn was a British actress, model, professional ice skater, and artist. She is best known as the first wife of Roger Moore, the actor who later became famous for playing James Bond.

What was Doorn van Steyn’s real name?

Her birth name was Lucy Woodard. She later became known publicly as Doorn van Steyn, a name connected to her earlier marriage to Wilhelmus van Steyn.

When was Doorn van Steyn married to Roger Moore?

She married Roger Moore in 1946. Their marriage ended in divorce in 1953, years before Moore became internationally famous as James Bond.

Did Doorn van Steyn have children?

Yes, public accounts name two sons, Shaun van Steyn and Jody Solell. Shaun was from her earlier life before Roger Moore, while Jody was connected to her later marriage to Ami Sollel.

When did Doorn van Steyn die?

Doorn van Steyn died on August 23, 2010. She was 88 years old at the time of her death.