Joan M Rodker (1 May 1915, Kensington, London – 27 December 2010) was an English political activist and television producer. The daughter of the modernist poet John Rodker and dancer Sonia Perovskaia Cohen, who placed her into care at age 18 months, where she remained until 11 years old. Later, Rodker lived with her mother and attended Haberdashers' Aske's School for Girls in Elstree, Hertfordshire, but did not shine academically. After failing the matriculation exam needed for university admission, she left school at 17. Improving her German in Prague at the insistence of her father, Rodker became attracted to Marxism, and migrated to Moscow in 1934, joining an acting troupe which toured Ukraine. After falling in love with the actor Gerhard Hinze (later known as Gerard Heinz), the couple