Shirley Ann Pithers (12 June 1935 – 9 March 2017),[1] better known as Jane Freeman, was an English-born Welsh actress who was best known for her work on British television, mostly notably for her role as Ivy in Last of the Summer Wine.

[2] She was raised in Merthyr Tydfil following the death of her father in an accident when she was 9 years old and her mother's subsequent remarriage[1] to Russell Evans.

She was best known for her role as the abrasive but ultimately kind-hearted café owner Ivy, one of the main characters in the long-running British television comedy Last of the Summer Wine.

[citation needed] Her film credits included Ghost In The Water (1982), Scrubbers (1982) and Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe (1986).

In 1971, Freeman married Michael Simpson, whom she met when he became artistic director of the Birmingham Rep while she was a member of that group.