Shane Spall, born Mary Jane Baker, is a renowned novelist and the spouse of the distinguished British actor Timothy Spall.
She hails from a sprawling and close-knit family in the Midlands. Her early life is filled with the rich traditions and the values inculcated in her during her upbringing.
Shane’s love for writing emerged from the thrill she felt moving across various landscapes while sailing with her husband.
From the grave waterways and high seas to the charming environment of Britain, Shane has seen it all!
This outlandish experience forged a strong base that connected her to the diverse beauty of her history and homeland in an almost intimate manner.
Shane Spall lives a life of solitude, which contrasts with the life of her husband, Timothy Spall, and her child Hollywood star Rafe Spall.
For 60 years, her most interesting adventure was her surviving the sea with her husband on a narrow boat.
From her upbringing in the bustling Midlands of Britain to her exciting journeys with Timothy Spall and her career as a novelist, Shane had led an exciting life.
| Name | Shane Spall |
| Age | 70 years old |
| Date of Birth | 1954 |
| Place of Birth | Birmingham |
| Hobbies | Writing and Travelling |
| Ethnicity | white |
| Nationality | British |
| Spouse | Timothy Spall |
| Children | Rafe Spall, Pascale Spall, and Mercedes Spall. |
Biography
Shane Spall was born in Birmingham, England, in the Midlands, objective values and a bit of comical infusion shaped her early days.
While the basis of her character was forged with strict adherence to a moral sense, this did not underscore the jovial nature that had partly encompassed her family.
Shane’s family was heavily influenced by literature and the allure of Renaissance art. Her mother affectionately nicknamed her “number 5” in a playful manner. Similarly, she named Shane’s father, a character portrayed by Alan Ladd in a Western movie – Shane (1953).
Like many other teenagers in the 70s, Shane was filled with a sense of curiosity during her pubescent days.
This inclination for exploration foreshadowed her later years when she would sit at New Street station and wonder where everyone was going.
Shane was employed at the Quaker Hotel in Birmingham.
She received her primary education from a convent school. After that, she entered the open market for a sustainable career path.
Although she did not attend any tertiary education, she worked as a secretary, which helped her build character at a young age.
Career
Shane Spall is a well-applauded novelist, a small-time actress, and the proud curator of two outstanding memoirs about her voyage across London with her husband.
Shane artfully wrote down her escapades with her husband in 3 distinctive literary pieces: The Voyages of the Princess Matilda, The Princess Matilda Comes Home, and The Princess Comes Home.
These books had been the pillar of her career, her most notable endeavors, and the cornerstone of her achievements.
Shane’s literary signature revolves around its pronounced nature, which is quite popular for its descriptive depictions and thought-provoking context.
While she has threaded down the same path as many other authors, what sets Shane apart is her vivid sense of imagination and her ability to infuse her experience with an overwhelming sense of vitality and life.
In The Voyages of the Princess Matilda, Shane takes her audience down a rabbit hole to the farther part of the British Sea. She stands agape with Tim against a roaring sea of fright and amazement. Given their little expertise in sea voyaging, it was a bittersweet experience expressed in its mixed contents of comedy and tragedy.
In her follow-up, The Princess Matilda Comes Home, Shane recounts another journey across the British coastline in her Dutch Barge. This voyage had raced from Matilda’s winter berth in Cardiff to the Welsh coast, the Isle of Man, and Northern Ireland.
While Shane Spall has been famed as an artist and the writer of her memoirs, she is equally a small-time actress who has gone a mile in the shoes of Timothy Spall,
She has acted in a few movies, including “Secrets & Lies” and “Life Is Sweet,” and the TV series “The Bill.” However, her main focus has been on her career as an artist.
Before her adventures across the sea and as a Hollywood actress, Shane worked as a director for Willey Spiros Enterprises Limited. She had maintained that position before 28 September 1991. She assumed the role of a secretary there in 2007 before moving to “Chumpagne LIMITED in 2011 to chair the company as its director.
Shane’s involvement in corporate ventures did not end there. On March 18th, 2011, she became the director of Barge Pole Productions Limited.
Barge Pole is a new company founded by Paul Crompton and Shane’s husband Timothy Spall.
Relationship
Timothy Spall and Shane Spall met while studying at the National Youth Theatre in the 1970s.
Shane Spall was studying at the National Youth Theatre in the early 1970s. Following an interview rendered by Timothy Spall, Shane was actively involved in an acting guild who were elected to perform at the Edinburg Festival Fringe in 1975.
The love story between the two had blossomed into a heartwarming tale, typical of any romantic movie from the early 70s. It was the story of two young actors lost in a vibrant world of mixed feelings. The pair had courted for five years before deciding to formalize their union in 1981.
Although Shane and Timothy were married, they had distinctly different lifestyles. Timothy pursued a career in the entertainment industry, striving for recognition and success, while Shane preferred a quieter and more adventurous life reminiscent of a coming-of-age novel.
They were like two sides of a coin, united in matrimony but leading separate lifestyles.
Shane Spall made the decision to live a modest life but still managed to achieve success on her terms.
Despite being in the shadow of her dominant spouse, Shane created a vibrant world for herself within the confines of her marriage. She had three children with the famous actor and prioritized being a nurturing mother while her husband’s career flourished.
Battling Cancer: Is Shane Spall’s Husband Dead?
Shane Spall’s Husband is not dead, however, he encountered leukemia in 1996. This, of course, had gone down in her memoir as one of the darkest moments in her life.
After 15 years of marriage, Shane and Tim had settled into a simple life centered around raising their three children. They had also managed to gain some fame along the way.
However, the period that overwhelmed Shane and Timothy’s evergreen days in Hollywood was an unforeseen tragedy that saw Shane’s world crumble.
Timothy was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia in 1996 and was speculated to die shortly.
Timothy, however, regained his health, fitting against all odds in a move to regain his health. He recovered from his moribund stage by undergoing chemotherapy in London.
While it appeared as a dire circumstance, Timothy’s ailment proved to be a blessing in disguise.
During his dark days in isolation, Timothy suddenly got a strong urge to buy a boat and a Rolls Royce. When he fully recovered, he fulfilled such. Tim bought a narrow boat in 1996 and without prior sea experience, he sailed off with his wife.
Later on Tim and Shane bought “The Princess Matilda,” a Dutch barge named after their granddaughter, to explore the British coastline, including visits to Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man. And inspired Shane’s writing.
During their voyage around the British coast, actor Timothy Spall and his wife Shane undertook an adventure that led to the creation of the Timothy Spall at Sea series.
This set of three television series aired on BBC Four and documented their journey aboard their Dutch barge.
Husband – Timothy Spall
Timothy Spall is a prominent British actor known for his roles as Peter Pettigrew (Wormtail) in the “Harry Potter” series, Barry Ackroyd in “The King’s Speech,” and J.M.W. Turner in “Mr. Turner.”
Timothy was born on the 27th of February, 1957, in London, England. He debuted in the theoretical Spheres following the release of The Quadrophenia in 1957. Since then, he has established himself as an undying force to be reckoned with in the entertainment industry.
Going toe to toe with the biggest Hollywood celebrities, Timothy earned his accolades in the Bafta Ceremony, bagging the 1996 television award.
Despite his battle with cancer, he became a highly acclaimed actor, receiving numerous prestigious awards. He won the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival in 2014 and the National Society of Film Critics Award in the same year. He also received the London Film Critics Circle Award in 2015.
Children
Shane Spall has 3 children: Rafe Spall, Pascale Spall and Mercedes Spall.
Rafe Spall, the only son of Timothy Spall and Shane Spall, was born on the 10th of March, 1983. Growing up in East Dulwich, London, Rafe was influenced by his father’s illustrious height in the Entertainment industry so much that his affinity to him was enough to inculcate a strong desire for acting in Rafe.
Though he had underperformed gravely in his academics, Rafe obtained entrance into the National Youth Theatre. Though he had initially failed to secure admission into the drama school of his choice, Rafe did not let his inabilities detail the outcome of his life.
Passion, they say, is a moving train. Being filled with it, Rafe had proven unstoppable throughout his life.
He overcame typecasting by losing weight and expanding his career.
Rafe had starred in some TV shows like “Trying” and “The Salisbury Poisonings.” He’s also starred in recent films like “Men in Black: International” and “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom”.
Check out: Rafe Spall Net worth
Pascale, on the other, had diverged from her family’s interest in entertainment. She runs her own business, Stag & Bow Ltd, in London.
On the other hand, Mercedes Spall had lived like her mother, perhaps so close to her that she adopted the reclusive nature of Shane Spall, living under her family name reclusively.