Date of Birth

Birth Name

Mini Biography

Child actress in 1930s US films. (Her first film was Barnacle Bill (1935), in the UK.)

Mini Biography

Sybil Jacobson was born on November 23, 1929, in Cape Town, South Africa. By age 2, she had learned to play the piano, and she also demonstrated a remarkable talent for singing, dancing, and mimicry. She moved to Great Britain as a small child, and by age 5, she was regularly appearing in London nightclubs, singing, dancing, playing the piano, or doing uncanny imitations of Maurice Chevalier. She also performed on radio with her uncle, Harry Jacobson, and his popular orchestra. During a show at the Palace Theater, a movie producer noticed Sybil and cast her in her first film, Barnacle Bill (1935). Jack L. Warner was so impressed with her performance that in 1935, he brought Sybil to Hollywood as his studio's answer to Shirley Temple. Aware of Shirley's popularity and golden curls, Warner did not allow Sybil to see Shirley's films for fear that she might copy her. Despite her obvious talent, Sybil failed to achieve the success that Warner had anticipated, and in 1938, Warner Brothers studio did not renew her contract. However, during her time at Warner Brothers, Sybil made ten films and caught the eye of Shirley Temple's producer, Darryl F. Zanuck. Zanuck cast Sybil opposite Shirley in two films, The Little Princess (1939) and The Blue Bird (1940). Sybil's role in The Blue Bird was her most dramatic, and her older sister and guardian, Anita Jacobson, hoped that it would boost her career. However, many of Sybil's scenes were cut from The Blue Bird, and it would be her final film.

Spouse

Trivia

With her first US movie, Little Big Shot (1935), she had the distinction of being Warner Brothers Studios' only child star.

Sybil and Anthony's son-in-law Phillip is a producer for "The New Price Is Right" (1972).

Sybil is an active honorary member of the International Al Jolson Society

Sybil was once escorted and "guarded" at a benefit in Chicago by G-Man Eliot Ness

Sybil has her own fan club- the International Sybil Jason Fan Club

Sybil's cockney accent in The Little Princess (1939) was coached by Wendy Hiller, of Pygmalion (1938) fame.

Mother-in-law of Roger Dobkowitz.

Mother-in-law of Phillip W. Rossi.

Her autobiography, "My Fifteen Minutes: Autobiography of a Child Star in the Golden Era of Hollywood," was published in 2005.

Personal Quotes

On the premiere of The Blue Bird (1940): "The premiere was held at Grauman's Chinese Theater, but after hearing the sad news that most of my work would not be shown on the screen, the decision was made that Anita and I would not attend. Shirley [Temple] and I were never to work together again."

On working with Shirley Temple: "Everyone kept an eye out for an attitude or signs of competition that might have arisen between us two little girls. But that's just what we were, two little girls who worked well together."

Where Are They Now

(January 2002) is very active in film festivals and reunions

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