One of four sisters from a broken home, she was brought up for eight years at a convent orphanage in Nottingham.
Discovered as a waitress at the Lyons Corner House in Piccadilly and signed to a film contract by The Rank Organisation after winning the Lyons 'Miss Nippy' contest of 1949.
She operated an estate agency - the Joan Rice Bureau - letting accommodation in Maidenhead, Berkshire, in the 1970's.
Had two Labrador dogs, Jessie and Sheba.
Pert, dark-haired occasional leading lady in 1950's British films.