Acting

Georgina Cates

Georgina Cates (4 April 1975 — 6 May 2026) was an English film and television actress and professional photographer based in the US. Born in Colchester in 1975 as Clare Elaine Woodgate, she entered the acting profession under that name and first came to fame at the age of sixteen in the role of Jenny Porter in the BBC sitcom 2 Point 4 Children. After two series, she moved on to appear in guest roles in long-running, popular drama series such as The Bill and Casualty. In 1995, she auditioned for the role of Stella in Mike Nicholls' adaptation of the Beryl Bainbridge novel, An Awfully Big Adventure. When her audition proved unsuccessful, she went away and adopted the name Georgina Cates, dyed her hair red, pretended to be a seventeen year old novice performer from Liverpool and auditioned again. The result was that she won the role and starred opposite Hugh Grant and Alan Rickman and was nominated for Actress of the Year by the London Critics Circle Film Awards.