# Judy Geeson

Judith Amanda Geeson (born 10 September 1948) is an English film, stage, and television actress. She began her career primarily working on British television series, with a leading role on The Newcomers from 1965 to 1967, before making her major film debut in To Sir, with Love (1967). She starred in a range of films throughout the 1970s, from crime pictures to thriller and horror films, including The Executioner (1970), Fear in the Night (1972), Brannigan (1975) and The Eagle Has Landed (1976). She played heiress Caroline Penvenen from 1975-1977 in the BBC series Poldark.
Geeson appeared in several stage productions in the 1980s, including two for the Royal Shakespeare Company, as well as an Off-Broadway production of The Common Pursuit (1986). After relocating to the United States she returned to television, playing the recurring character of Maggie Conway in the American series Mad About You from 1992 until 1999, as well as a recurring role on Gilmore Girls in 2002. In 2012 and 2016, she appeared in Rob Zombie's The Lords of Salem and 31, respectively.

## Early life

Judy Geeson was born in Arundel, Sussex. Her father was an editor for the National Coal Board magazine. Her sister Sally Geeson, also an actress, is known for her roles in British television sitcoms of the 1970s. Geeson attended Corona Stage Academy and made her stage debut in 1957.

## Career

Geeson's professional acting career started in July 1962, with an appearance in an episode of the television series The Probation Officer. Her first major film appearances came in 1967, with roles in To Sir, with Love and Berserk!. She followed these films with the comedy Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush (1968). Geeson became well known as a result of a regular role in the BBC early-evening soap opera The Newcomers. She also had a major role in the mid-1970s costume drama Poldark as Caroline Penvenen (later Caroline Enys).
Geeson's other films include Prudence and the Pill (1968), Three into Two Won't Go (1969), 10 Rillington Place (1970), Doomwatch (1972), Brannigan (1975), starring John Wayne, and The Eagle Has Landed (1976). In the TV series Danger UXB (1979) she played the female lead, Susan Mount, opposite Anthony Andrews. She also had the lead role of Fulvia in the science fiction series Star Maidens (1976).
In addition to her film and television work during this time, Geeson also performed in theatrical productions for the Royal Shakespeare Company as Lavinia in Titus Andronicus and as Viven 532 in Section Nine (both 1973). She also had roles in stage productions of Next Time I'll Sing to You (1980) and The Real Thing (1985), both in London, before making her Off-Broadway debut in The Common Pursuit in 1987.
Geeson relocated from London to Los Angeles in 1984; there she began appearing in American television, including a role as a series regular in the sitcom Mad About You, playing the hostile neighbour, Maggie Conway, from 1992 to 1999. She also played the role of Sandrine in the Star Trek: Voyager episodes "The Cloud" and "Twisted".
Having appeared in a number of horror films during the 1970s and 1980s, including Fear in the Night (1972), A Candle for the Devil (1973), Dominique (1978) and Inseminoid (1981), Geeson returned to the horror genre in The Lords of Salem (2012), directed by Rob Zombie. The film marked her return to acting following a nine-year absence. She portrayed Sister Dragon in Rob Zombie's slasher film 31 which was released in 2015.

## Personal life

In the 1970s, Geeson lived with set designer Sean Kenny until his death in 1973. She was married to actor Kristoffer Tabori from 1985 until their divorce in 1989. In a 2015 interview, Geeson stated that she had resided in Los Angeles, California, for the past 30 years.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1963 | Wings of Mystery | Jane | |
| 1967 | Berserk! | Angela Rivers | |
| 1967 | To Sir, With Love | Pamela Dare | |
| 1968 | Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush | Mary Gloucester | |
| 1968 | Prudence and the Pill | Geraldine Hardcastle | |
| 1968 | Hammerhead | Sue Trenton | |
| 1969 | Three into Two Won't Go | Ella Patterson | |
| 1969 | Two Gentlemen Sharing | Jane | |
| 1970 | The Executioner | Polly Bendel | |
| 1970 | Goodbye Gemini | Jacki | |
| 1971 | 10 Rillington Place | Beryl Evans | |
| 1971 | Who Killed the Mysterious Mr. Foster? | Jody Kenyon | Television film |
| 1971 | One of Those Things | Susanne Strauss | |
| 1972 | Doomwatch | Victoria Brown | |
| 1972 | Fear in the Night | Peggy Heller | |
| 1973 | A Candle for the Devil | Laura Barkley | |
| 1974 | Percy's Progress | Doctor Fairweather | |
| 1975 | Brannigan | Detective Sergeant Jennifer Thatcher | |
| 1975 | Diagnosis Murder | Helen | |
| 1976 | Adventures of a Taxi Driver | Nikki | |
| 1976 | Short Ends | Claudine | |
| 1976 | Carry On England | Sergeant Tilly Willing | |
| 1976 | The Eagle Has Landed | Pamela Verecker | |
| 1978 | Dominique | Marjorie Craven | |
| 1980 | Towards the Morning | | |
| 1981 | Inseminoid | Sandy | |
| 1982 | The Plague Dogs | Pekingese | Voice role |
| 1987 | The Price of Life | Anthea | |
| 1988 | The Secret Life of Kathy McCormick | Babs | Television film |
| 1993 | Young Goodman Brown | Bridget Bishop | |
| 1996 | To Sir, with Love II | Pamela Dare | Television film |
| 1998 | Houdini | Lady Doyle | Television film |
| 1999 | The Duke | Lady Fautblossom | |
| 2000 | Alien Fury: Countdown to Invasion | Alien | Television film; voice role |
| 2000 | Everything Put Together | Angie's Mother | |
| 2003 | Spanish Fly | Miss England | |
| 2012 | The Lords of Salem | Lacy Doyle | |
| 2015 | Grandma | Francesca | |
| 2016 | 31 | Sister Dragon | |
| 2019 | The Wrong Husband | Madame Briggs | |
| 2021 | Let Us In | Nana Edie | |
| 2021 | Last Call in the Dog House | Lilly | |
| 2021 | Waking Up Dead | Lila | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1961–64 | Dixon of Dock Green | Jenny Fenton / Dawn Pearce | 2 episodes |
| 1962 | The Probation Officer | Gwen Thomas | 1 episode |
| 1962 | Emergency – Ward 10 | Joanne Phipps | 3 episodes |
| 1964 | Malatesta | Vanella | 1 episode |
| 1964 | Television Club | Shirley Brent | 18 episodes |
| 1965 | Alexander Graham Bell | Berta Hubbard | 3 episodes |
| 1965 | The Flying Swan | Sonia Dale | 1 episode |
| 1965 | Cluff | Joan Cluff | 1 episode |
| 1965 | Blackmail | Sarah | 1 episode |
| 1965 | Danger Man | Helen Cazalet | 1 episode |
| 1965–67 | The Newcomers | Maria Cooper | 51 episodes |
| 1966 | Mrs Thursday | Brenda Scott | 1 episode |
| 1967 | Mickey Dunne | Sasha Newman | 1 episode |
| 1967 | Mr. Rose | Shirley | 1 episode |
| 1967 | Man in a Suitcase | Sue Mandel | 1 episode |
| 1972 | Lady Windermere's Fan (Play of the Month) | Lady Windermere | BBC taped drama |
| 1973 | A Room with a View (Play of the Month) | Lucy Honeychurch | BBC taped drama |
| 1973 | The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes, "The Mysterious Death on the Underground Railway" | Polly Burton | Thames Television taped drama |
| 1974 | The Skin Game (Play of the Month) | Chloe | BBC taped drama |
| 1975 | Space: 1999 | Regina Kesslann | 1 episode |
| 1975–77 | Poldark | Caroline Enys (née Penvenen) | 19 episodes |
| 1975 | Thriller | Helen Marlow | Episode: "Night is the Time for Killing" |
| 1976 | Star Maidens | Fulvia | 8 episodes |
| 1977 | Seven Faces of Woman | Carol | 1 episode |
| 1978 | Return of the Saint | Selma Morrell | 1 episode |
| 1978 | The Newcomers | Maria Cooper | 2 episodes |
| 1979 | Danger UXB | Susan Mount | 9 episodes |
| 1980 | Breakaway | Becky Royce | 6 episodes |
| 1980–83 | Tales of the Unexpected | Mary / Sandra | 2 episodes |
| 1985–86 | Murder, She Wrote | Sister Ruth Fargo / Elaine McComber | 2 episodes |
| 1986 | The A-Team | Marlena Strasser | 1 episode |
| 1986 | Hotel | Pat Magnuson | 1 episode |
| 1988 | MacGyver | Liane Auber | 1 episode |
| 1990 | Monsters | Anna | Episode: "Refugee" |
| 1992–99 | Mad About You | Maggie Conway | 33 episodes |
| 1995 | Star Trek: Voyager | Sandrine | 2 episodes |
| 1996–99 | Tracey Takes On... | Elsie Ayliss / Dorothy Appleton / Guest | 3 episodes |
| 1998 | NewsRadio | Auctioneer | 1 episode |
| 2000 | Touched by an Angel | Pookie Longfellow-Smith | 1 episode |
| 2000 | Charmed | Ruth Cobb | 1 episode |
| 2000 | Love & Money | Emma | 1 episode |
| 2001–02 | Gilmore Girls | Natalie Swope | 3 episodes |

## Stage credits

| Year | Title | Role | Venue |
| 1972 | Othello | Desdemona | The Space, London |
| 1973 | Titus Andronicus | Lavinia | Aldwych Theatre, London |
| 1973 | Section Nine | Viven 532 | The Place, Stratford-upon-Avon |
| 1980 | Next Time I'll Sing to You | Lizzie | Greenwich Theatre, London |
| 1985 | The Real Thing | | Novello Theatre, London |
| 1986 | The Common Pursuit | Marigold Watson | Promenade Theatre, New York City |
| 1987 | Aunt Dan and Lemon | Lemon's mother | Mark Taper Forum, Los Angeles |
| 1987 | Henceforward... | Zoe | Alley Theatre, Houston |
| 2002 | Under the Blue Sky | Anne | Geffen Playhouse, Los Angeles |