Accent

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I think she's sort of a chameleon when it comes to her accent- she's said in interviews before that, as a child, she moved around quite a lot and ended up at school in both the US and the UK. She said that it was just easier to blend into her surroundings by putting on a British accent in England and an American accent in the US- Maybe they're both natural to her at this point (depending on who she's talking to). Also, if you listen to the BBC interview, her accent changes somewhat by the end from decidedly American to American with a British lilt.

Yeah. It was difficult for her growing up in two different countries. Especially as an actress, she had to adapt to the country she was in, otherwise she wouldn't get work. She decided to start her career in England, so had to adapt to the english accent. But she feels more American, and is married to an American, and lives in New York, so I think she feels she can use her natural US accent (of course there's still a hint of UK in there...)
Now it's sort of a combination. She says she now has the accent she deserves. ha.

Visit the Jennifer Ehle Blog http://jenniferehle.blogspot.com

Well, thanks for your insights. I guess she will likely keep us in the air about her "real" accent. Despite the fact that she may be a chameleon and can adapt to her changing surroundings, she still must have a natural accent -- the one that she uses in her every day life when she is not performing or giving interviews. I guess we will just have to remain in the dark....

Not at all. Check out the interview with her posted on the J.E. blog (linked above). To quote her very own words:

"My natural accent is American. I chose to speak with a UK accent when I was about to enter the final year at drama school in London. I was going to try to find a way to stay in the UK after I finished college and could not imagine trying to live and get work there with an American accent. I found London, at the time, far more xenophobic than I find it now — and so was very self-conscious having a foreign accent.
After those 12 years speaking with a UK accent it took me a while to revert to a US accent and I still have traces of a British accent and possibly always will. Alright by me. I probably now have the accent I deserve."

The reason being most people are bidialectal (able to speak two dialects), but it is usually speaking a regional dialect and the standard language. In Jennifer's case, it's a bit different; not many people are able to do that. Her "real" accent is both.

Another example is Mel Gibson, although he never speaks with an Australian accent in interviews (or as far as I know, he may not speak it when in Oz, but if he really wanted to, I'm sure he could). He was originally born in the States, moved to Oz when he was 12 (in '68) and he made his American film debut in '84. He lived an ample amount of time in both countries; that is enough to aquire both dialects. He says that he 'forced' himself to speak it, but more than likely he would've aquired it anyhow.

I have many friends who are bidialectal. One lived in England, came over to the US when he was 17. In just 5 years, he speaks with an American (Floridian) accent, but can still speak with an English (London) accent. Another raised in NYC until 9 or 10, she can speak both Queens and Floridian accent (she speaks FL around here, but produces Queens on queue). Another raised mainly in Boston and Florida, but lived around the world, so he can speak a myriad, but basically speaks either of the aforementioned.

Just a FYI: there's no such thing as a British accent (the terms English and British are interchanged too frequently in American English). It is called an English accent if the person is from England (which is what Jennifer's accent is or was). Saying British is assuming the United Kingdom, which includes England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. I assume people know each country has their own exclusive dialect and they're not indistinguishable, and that there are many, many different dialects within each country, just as there is in the US.

although I guess there are many english accents as well!
I know what you mean though, Im not trying to be picky

I'm sick of people saying there's no such thing as British accent. There are many dialects within US - that doesn't mean that there's "no such thing as an American accent". No one's claiming that every single British person speaks with the exact same accent. Since England is a part of Britain, any English accent (of which there are many) are considered a British accent.

I'm surprised that you allow there to be such thing as an English accent, since there are many varieties.