British Actress Georgina Cates Dies at 51, Daughter Shares Tribute

Georgina Cates, the British actress people remember from An Awfully Big Adventure and the BBC sitcom 2point4 Children, has died at 51.

Her daughter Naiia shared the news in a personal tribute on Instagram. “My beautiful, free-spirited mom lived a hard life and still found ways to make herself and others laugh and smile,” Naiia wrote. “Now she can rest easy.”

She remembered her mother as someone who never tried to fit anyone else’s idea of who she should be. “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,” she said. “I love you, thank you for your creativity, curiosity and your bravery to always be true to yourself no matter what.”

Born Clare Woodgate in Colchester, England, in 1975, she got into acting young. She once explained that she liked pretending to be other people because she “couldn’t see the point of spending every day just being me.”

That same imagination shaped her career. She first got noticed in Britain playing Jenny Porter on 2point4 Children. When she went after the role of Stella Bradshaw in An Awfully Big Adventure she was turned down at first. She tried again under the name Georgina Cates, dyed her hair red, and put on a Liverpool accent. This time she got the part. The 1995 film, which also starred Hugh Grant and Alan Rickman, became one of the roles she’s best known for. Critics liked the mix of innocence, toughness, and vulnerability she brought to Stella.

She later appeared with Joaquin Phoenix and Vince Vaughn in Clay Pigeons, and she was also in Illuminata, Frankie Starlight, Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa, and Everlasting, her last screen credit.

In Hollywood she met actor Skeet Ulrich at an Oscars party. They married in 1997, had twins named Naiia and Jakob, and divorced in 2005.

Away from acting she found another creative outlet in photography. She once said she never wanted to keep playing the same kind of character. “I always want to do something different,” she said. “I don’t want to play the same role. I’m just not built that way.”

Her daughter’s last words captured that side of her. “You will always be in my heart,” Naiia wrote. “I love you.”

Georgina Cates is survived by her daughter Naiia and son Jakob.