Gayle, Lady Jenkins (born 6 February 1943), known by her birth name Gayle Hunnicutt, is an American actress.She worked as a fashion model before going into acting. She was married from 1968 to 1975 to British actor David Hemmings, by whom she is the mother of actor Nolan Hemmings. She is currently married to the journalist Sir Simon Jenkins, and lives in London. During her brief Hollywood career, Hunnicutt was typecast as a brunette sexpot. After she moved to England with Hemmings in 1970, however, the finer range of her acting emerged. A notable role was that of Charlotte Stant, in the critically acclaimed Jack Pulman television adaptation (1972) of Henry James’s The Golden Bowl. She went on to play Lionel’s wife in The Legend of Hell House in 1973, and Tsarina Alexandra in Fall of Eagles in 1974. In 1984 she appeared as Irene Adler opposite Jeremy Brett in the very first episode (A Scandal in Bohemia) of the acclaimed series The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Hunnicutt returned to America to play the role of Vanessa Beaumont in the US series Dallas from 1989 to 1991. She has also written a book, Health and Beauty in Motherhood. It was published in 1984.
She made more than 30 film appearances.

Early life and education
The daughter of Colonel Sam Lloyd Hunnicutt and Mary Virginia (Dickerson) Hunnicutt, she was born in Fort Worth, Texas. Hunnicutt attended the University of California, Los Angeles on a scholarship to study English literature and theatre. She worked as a fashion model before going into acting.
Marriage and family
Hunnicutt is mother of two boys (through separate marriages). On November 16, 1968, Hunnicutt married British actor David Hemmings, with whom she had a son, the future actor Nolan Hemmings. They divorced in 1975. Hunnicutt subsequently married journalist Sir Simon Jenkins; the couple lived in Primrose Hill, London.With Jenkins, she had a second son, Edward. They divorced in 2009.
Hunnicutt also has a home in Delray Beach, Florida.

Acting Career
During her film career, Hunnicutt was typecast as a brunette sexpot.[2] She co-starred with James Garner in the 1969 film Marlowe, in which her character was a glamorous Hollywood actress.
After she moved to England with Hemmings in 1970, Hunnicutt was able to use the finer range of her acting. She had a notable role as Charlotte Stant, in Jack Pulman’s 1972 TV adaptation of Henry James’s novel The Golden Bowl. She played Lionel’s wife in The Legend of Hell House (1973) and Tsarina Alexandra in Fall of Eagles (1974). In 1984, she appeared as Irene Adler, opposite Jeremy Brett, in the first episode (“A Scandal in Bohemia”) of the TV series The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
Hunnicutt returned to the United States in 1989, where she played the role of Vanessa Beaumont in Dallas until 1991.
In 2012, Hunnicutt was featured in an episode of the HGTV reality show Selling London. It followed her during the sale of her Primrose Hill Victorian house and her subsequent purchase of an English country property to be close to her grandchildren.

Writing
Hunnicutt has written two books; the first, Health and Beauty in Motherhood, was published in 1984. In 2004, she published Dearest Virginia: Love Letters from a Cavalry Officer in the South Pacific, which contains the letters exchanged by her parents during World War II.