ACTOR
Robert Donat
25 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
Robert Donat's Wife and Children: 9 Family Facts
- #001
Robert Donat was the favourite actor of Judy Garland, who wrote him a fan letter after seeing his performance in The Count of Monte Cristo (1934).
- #002
Donat said his favourite actors were Charles Chaplin, Paul Muni, Spencer Tracy, Greta Garbo and Deanna Durbin.
- #003
When he died on 9 June 1958, Donat left none of his £25,000 estate (equivalent to £660,000 in 2025) to his wife, Renee Asherson. Instead, the estate was divided among his three children, Joanna, John and Brian.
- #011
Donat was an Englishman of Polish origin, and several of his brothers emigrated to Canada.
- #020
Robert Donat overcame a childhood stutter and developed the resonant voice that led him to early success as a Shakespearean stage actor.
- #021
With his first wife, Ella Hall, Robert Donat had a daughter, Joanna Donat (born 1931), and two sons, John Donat (born 1933) and Brian Donat (born 1936).
- #023
Robert Donat was the uncle of actors Peter Donat and Richard Donat, and the great-uncle of Lucas Donat.
- #024
The son of a Polish immigrant and an English mother, Robert Donat was born in Manchester in 1905.
- #025
His first wife, Ella, remarried in 1956 and became Ella Hall. She died in West Sussex in the summer of 1994 at the age of 91.
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