Childhood & Early Life
She was born on June 28, 1954, in Upington, Cape Province, South Africa, to Louis Krige and his wife Patricia. Her father was a physician and her mother was a professor of psychology.
She was raised along with her two brothers in Port Elizabeth. One of her brothers grew up to be a professor of surgery and the other became a physician. Recollecting about her early life, Alice once mentioned that she grew up in a "very happy family."
Initially, she wished to be a clinical psychologist and enrolled at ‘Rhodes University’ in Grahamstown, South Africa.
Things took a different turn when she developed a keen interest in acting after attending an acting class at ‘Rhodes University.’ This led her to obtain a ‘Bachelor of Arts’ degree and an ‘Honors’ degree in drama (1975), with distinction. She then relocated to London and attended the ‘Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.’ ‘Rhodes University’ later awarded her an honorary ‘Litt.D.’ degree in April 2004.
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Career
She made her big-screen debut with the 1976 musical drama ‘Vergeet My Nie,’ playing the role of ‘Welma de Villiers.’
The 1980 American made-for-television historical drama ‘A Tale of Two Cities,’ a film adaptation of Charles Dickens’s famous historical novel of the same title, saw her featuring in the starring role of an ideal pre-Victorian lady, ‘Lucie Manette.’
In 1980, she appeared in an episode of the British TV anthology ‘Play for Today,’ titled ‘The Happy Autumn Fields.’ The same year, she featured in an episode of the British TV crime drama ‘The Professionals,’ titled ‘Operation Susie.’
She gained immense attention as ‘Sybil Gordon’ in the ‘Academy Award’-winning 1981 British historical drama ‘Chariots of Fire.’ The film, set in 1924, was a fact-based story on two Olympic athletes, Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell.
The 1981,American horror ‘Ghost Story,’ based on Peter Straub’s 1979 book of the same title, featured Alice in the dual role of ‘Eva Galli/Alma Mobley.’
Her performance in the 1981‘West End’ theater production of George Bernard Shaw's ‘Arms and the Man’ won her a ‘Laurence Olivier Award’ for the ‘Most Promising Newcomer’ and a ‘Plays and Players Award’ too. Thereafter, she became associated with the ‘Royal Shakespeare Company’ and featured in several plays, including ‘Cyrano de Bergerac,’ ‘The Taming of the Shrew,’ ‘King Lear,’ and ‘The Tempest.’
She portrayed the starring role of ‘Bathsheba’ in the 1985 American historical drama ‘King David’ that had Richard Gere in titular role. However, the film failed to impress the critics and the audiences.
The Ivan Passer-directed drama ‘Haunted Summer,’ which released in 1988, featured her in the starring role of author ‘Mary Shelley.’ Other notable works of Alice in the 1980s were her roles in the miniseries ‘Ellis Island’ (1984) and ‘Dream West’ (1986); her performances in the TV movies ‘Wallenberg: A Hero's Story’ (1985), ‘Second Serve’ (1986), and ‘Baja Oklahoma’ (1988); and her performances in the plays ‘Venice Preserv'd’ and ‘Toyer.’
Alice starred as ‘Mary Brady,’ along with Brian Krause and Mädchen Amick, in the American horror film ‘Sleepwalkers,’ which released on April 10, 1992, and became a significant commercial success.
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Her performance in ‘Ghost Story’ impressed Jonathan Frakes, who was looking for an actor to play the ‘Borg Queen’ in his directorial debut, the American science-fiction film, ‘Star Trek: First Contact.’ Alice was finalized for the role in the film that released on November 22, 1996, and became a blockbuster hit, garnering $146 million at box-office. In 1997, she won a ‘Saturn’ award for her role and reprised it in a 2001 episode of the TV series ‘Star Trek: Voyager,’ titled ‘Endgame’ and in the 2004 short film ‘Star Trek: The Experience - Borg Invasion 4D.’
Many other notable roles followed. These included the role of ‘Zephyr Eccles’ in the 1997 fantasy–romance film ‘Twilight of the Ice Nymphs’; the role of ‘Mother Marianne Cope’ in the 1999 biopic of ‘Father Damien,’ titled ‘Molokai: The Story of Father Damien’; and the role of ‘Christabella LaRoache’ in the 2006 Canadian–French horror film ‘Silent Hill.’
While featuring in notable films, Alice continued to appear in several TV productions. Some of her prominent TV roles include her performances in the miniseries ‘Dinotopia’ (2002), ‘Children of Dune’ (2003), and ‘The Line of Beauty’ (2006); her roles in the TV movies ‘The Mystery of Natalie Wood’ (2004), ‘Dynasty: The Making of a Guilty Pleasure’ (2005), and ‘Persuasion’ (2007); and her performances in the TV series ‘Deadwood’ (2005) and ‘Spooks’ (2011).
She played a powerful enchantress, ‘Morgan le Fay,’ in the 2010 American action-fantasy film ‘The Sorcerer's Apprentice.’ The film had Nicolas Cage, Jay Baruchel, Monica Bellucci, Teresa Palmer, and Alfred Molina in starring roles and became a huge commercial hit, garnering $215.3 million at the box office.
Alice ventured as a producer with the award-winning 2012 film ‘Jail Caesar’ that saw her playing ‘Pirate Captain.’ The film, written and directed by her husband Paul Schoolman, was shot in three working prisons and featured several serving prisoners, apart from an ensemble cast that included actors John Kani and Derek Jacobi.
She remained part of the ensemble cast of the 2013 American superhero film ‘Thor: The Dark World’ that had Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, and Anthony Hopkins in starring roles. Alice played an Asgardian physician, ‘Eir,’ in the film that grossed $644.6 million worldwide.
She also produced the 2015 war drama ‘Shingetsu.’ Her starring role in the film, opposite Gunter Singer, won her the ‘Special Jury Award’ at the 2015 ‘International Film Festival for Peace, Inspiration, and Equality’ (IFFPIE) held in Jakarta. She received the award along with Jimmy Carter and Andy Garcia.
Her last film so far was that of ‘Queen Helena’ in the American romantic comedy ‘A Christmas Prince,’ which released on ‘Netflix’ on November 17, 2017.
