Popular Television Actress Dead at 76

Jennifer Leak, a popular television actress best known for her role as Colleen North in the 1968 film “Yours, Mine and Ours,” passed away this week at the age of 76 following a neurological disorder diagnosis.

Jennifer’s ex-husband, Tim Matheson, confirmed the news of her passing in a statement that he released on Facebook on March 27th. The pair was married from 1968 to 1971.

“It is with a heavy heart that I share the news of Jennifer Leak’s passing,” Leak’s ex-husband Tim Matheson wrote via Facebook on Wednesday, March 27. “She wasn’t just my screen sister in Yours, Mine, and Ours, but also my beloved first wife. Jennifer was a remarkable woman, strong, lovely, and incredibly talented. My deepest condolences go out to her husband of 47 years, James D’Auria, and their multitude of friends.”

US Weekly

After divorcing Tim Matheson, Leak went on to marry James D’Auria, to whom she was married for 47 years until her death.

“[Leak was] a shy and private person, never desiring to be the center of attention or having the need for an audience,” D’Auria said of his wife’s career. “She saved those feelings and exhibited them only when on camera, and then she became electric.”

Us Weekly

Jennifer was born in Wales in 1947. She began working in small roles in Canada before moving to Los Angeles, where she landed the most significant roles of her career, including “The Young and the Restless,” “Hawaii Five-O,” and “Another World.”

Leak reportedly passed away at her home in Jupiter, Florida, seven years after being diagnosed with a rare neurological disease called progressive supranuclear palsy, also known as Steele-Richardson-Olszewski syndrome.

After her diagnosis, Leak participated in research programs to help combat the condition.

Jennifer is survived by D’Auria and her brother Kenneth, who lives in Toronto. Her ashes are reportedly set to be scattered in the graveyard of her childhood church in Rumney, Wales.

Rest in peace!