Violet Kray was the mother of the notorious gangsters, Charles, Reggie, and Ronnie. She was born in Vallance Road, Bethnal Green, East London, of Irish and Jewish descent. Her father, Jimmy "Cannonball" Lee, was a well-known East End character who had been a boxer, a juggler, a poet and a street entertainer. In addition to Violet, he had two other daughters, Rose and May, and a son, John. He disapproved of Violet's marriage to Charles Kray, Snr. and, although father and daughter were reconciled after the birth of her children, he refused to speak to his son-in-law. The twins were, almost obsessively, devoted to their mother and were let out of prison to attend her burial. The cost of policing the event was estimated at £30,000. The film, in which Violet was played by Billie Whitelaw, ends with her funeral and a scene in which each twin is shown by the graveside (not filmed at the actual location) handcuffed to a prison warder.
Violet Kray was the mother of the notorious gangsters, Charles, Reggie, and Ronnie. She was born in Vallance Road, Bethnal Green, East London, of Irish and Jewish descent. Her father, Jimmy "Cannonball" Lee, was a well-known East End character who had been a boxer, a juggler, a poet and a street entertainer. In addition to Violet, he had two other daughters, Rose and May, and a son, John. He disapproved of Violet's marriage to Charles Kray, Snr. and, although father and daughter were reconciled after the birth of her children, he refused to speak to his son-in-law. The twins were, almost obsessively, devoted to their mother and were let out of prison to attend her burial. The cost of policing the event was estimated at £30,000. The film, in which Violet was played by Billie Whitelaw, ends with her funeral and a scene in which each twin is shown by the graveside (not filmed at the actual location) handcuffed to a prison warder.
Bio by: Iain MacFarlaine
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