Georgina Cates, the actress known for An Awfully Big Adventure and for her past marriage to Skeet Ulrich, died earlier this year. She was 51.
“I’m very sad to report, I have just discovered, that lovely and talented Claire Woodgate aka Georgina Cates, our 1st Jenny in 2p4 died last May,” BBC’s 2point4 Children creator Andrew Marshall wrote via X on Saturday, October 17. “I have no other details than what’s on IMDb. Sympathies to her family and children. If anyone has further details to share, please do.”
Cates died on May 6 in Brighton, England, according to IMDb.
A cause of death has not been revealed.
Cates was born Clare Elaine Woodgate in Colchester, Essex, England, in April 1975.
The actress rose to fame in 1991 when she was 16 years old and starred as Jenny Porter in 2point4 Children for two seasons. She later starred in the 1995 romance film An Awfully Big Adventure as Stella Bradshaw, a teen who gets a job as an assistant at a Liverpool repertory theater troupe post-World War II and falls in love with director Meredith Potter (Hugh Grant) while actor P.L. O’Hara (Alan Rickman) falls for her.
Though Cates was initially rejected for the role after auditioning under her birth name, she tried again under her stage name, dyed her hair and adopted a new accent to get the part.
“She was very bushy-tailed, eager, romantic, soulful, tough, very much like the character,” director Mike Newell told The New York Times in 1995. “She even looked a bit like [Stella].”
Cates also starred in the 1998 black comedy Clay Pigeons. Her other projects included the films Frankie Starlight (1995), Stiff Upper Lips (1998) and Everlasting (2014).
Her latest role was as Madeleine in the 2016 short film Save Me from the Sound of the Siren.
Cates was married to Ulrich, 56, from 1997 to 2005. The pair shared twins Naiia and Jakob, born in 2001.
“My beautiful, free-spirited mom lived a hard life and still found ways to make herself and others laugh and smile <3 now she can rest easy,” Naiia wrote via Instagram in June. “I will always see you in black and white photos, Virginia slims, baggy clothes, no bras, big sunglasses, doodling while talking, pleasers, and flip-flops and everything in between.”
Naiia continued, “I love you, thank you for your creativity, curiosity and your bravery to always be true to yourself — no matter what.”
