Jane was born in London on 5 April 1946.

Her father, Dr. Richard Asher, was a consultant in blood and mental diseases at Central Middlesex Hospital in Acton, London, in addition to being a writer and broadcaster.

Her mother, Margaret Augusta Asher, was a Professor of Classical Music at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and had taught George Martin to play the oboe - she was also to teach Paul McCartney to play the recorder.

Jane had a brother, Peter, who was two years older, and a sister Claire, who was two years younger. All three Asher children had the distinctive Titian-red hair.

Jane was educated at Queen`s College, Harley Street. At the age of five she made her film debut in `Mandy` (1952), the story of a deaf girl. Her interest in acting began when her parents took their three children to a theatrical agency, thinking it would be fun for them to learn to act.

Her other screen appearances over the years have included `Third Party Risk` (1953); `Dance Little Lady`, `Adventure In The Hopfields` (1954); `The Quatermass Xperiment` (1955); `Charley Moon`, `the Greengage Summer` (1956); `The Prince And The Pauper` (1962), `Girl In The Headlines` (1963); `The Masque Of The Red Death` (1964); `Alfie` (1966); `The Winter`s Tale` (1967); `The Buttercup Chain`, `Deep End` (1970); `Henry VIII And His Six Wives` (1972); `Runners` (1983) and `Success Is The Best Revenge` (1984).
Her television appearances are numerous and a brief selection includes: `The Cold Equations` episode of `Out Of This World` (1962); Nigel Kneale`s `The Stone Tape` (1972); `Brideshead Revisited` (1981); `A Voyage Round My Father` (1982); `The Mistress` (1987); `Wish Me Luck` (1990) and `Murder Most Horrid (1991). This is in addition to appearances in various series such as `The Adventures of Robin Hood`, `The Adventurer`, `The Saint` and `The Buccaneers`, plus prestigious productions including the part of Lisle in `The Brothers Karamazov` and Maggie Tulliver in `The Mill on the Floss.`
At the age of 12 she made her stage debut as Alice in `Alice In Wonderland` at the Oxford Playhouse. In 1960 Jane became the youngest actress to play Wendy in a West End stage version of `Peter Pan.` Her stage roles included the Broadway production of `The Philanthropist`, playing Perdita in `A Winter`s Tale` and Cassandra in `The Trojan Women.` She also featured in various productions for the Bristol Old Vic, including the title role in `Cleo` by Frank Marcus, the part of Ellen Terry in `Sixty Thousand Nights` and Eliza in `Pygmalion.`

She was 17 years old when she first met the Beatles on Thursday 18 April 1963. They were appearing on the BBC radio broadcast `Swingin` Sound` at the Royal Albert Hall. Jane went along to pose for Radio Times photographer Tony Asper who pictured her screaming in the audience. The article appeared in the 2 May 1963 edition of the Radio Times with Jane commenting, "Now these I could scream for."

Jane then approached them while they were having a snack in the Royal Court Hotel in Sloane Square, where they were staying. She mentioned to them that she had been asked to write about them in the Radio Times. They were aware of her as she`d been a guest panelist on the TV show `Juke Box Jury` and they were all charmed by her.

Brian Epstein returned to his own hotel and Ringo stayed behind to have an early night. Singer Shane Fenton, who`d also been on the concert bill that day drove John, Paul, Geor

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