Childhood & Early Life
Judith Amanda Geeson was born into a middle-class family on September 10, 1948 in Arundel, Sussex, England. Her father worked as an editor for the National Coal Board Magazine. She has a sister, Sally Geeson, who is also an actress.
She was a student at the Corona Academy in Chiswick. Geeson initially wanted to become a ballet dancer, but her frequent headaches hindered her from practicing and she decided to pursue acting instead. She appeared in the TV series ‘Dixon of Dock Green’ in 1955 at the age of 12.
Her other appearances as a teen actor included playing minor roles in the TV series ‘The Probation Officer’, ‘Television Club’, ’The Wednesday Play’, ‘Emergency-Ward 10’, ‘Armchair Theatre’, ‘Alexander Graham Bell’, ‘The Flying Swan’, ‘Cluff’, ‘Comedy Playhouse’, ‘Blackmail’, and ‘Secret Agent’.
In 1967, she was seen in the TV shows ‘Mr. Rose’ and ‘Mickey Dunne’ before she managed to land a leading role in a feature film.
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Career
Despite being active in the entertainment industry since her childhood, Judy Geeson received her breakthrough only after turning 18. She was roped in to play the role of Pamela Dare in the James Clavell drama ‘To Sir, with Love.’ Geeson starred opposite Sidney Poitier, and the film was hugely successful.
While she was celebrating the success of her first major movie, her role in the TV series ‘The Newcomers’ was also being appreciated. She made her final appearance in the series in 1967. Her other works from this year include the movie ‘Berserk’ and the TV series ‘Man in a Suitcase’.
In 1968, Geeson starred as Mary Gloucester in the hit film ‘Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush’ and later appeared as Phoebe Hardy in the TV series ‘ITV Playhouse’. Other movie releases from this year include ‘Hammerhead’ and ‘Prudence and the Pill’.
Over the next few years, she had several films to her credit that performed well at the box office. Some notable works include ‘Two Gentlemen Sharing’ (1969), ‘Happily Ever After’ (1969), ‘The Executioner’ (1970), ‘One of Those Things’ (1971), the widely popular ‘10 Rilington Place’ (1971), and ‘Fear in the Night’ (1972).
Aside from appearing on screen, Geeson also loved acting on stage and was part of various troupes. Her most famous portrayals include Desdemona in ‘Othello’, Lavinia in ‘Titus Andronicus’, and Marigold Wilson in ‘The Common Pursuit’.
In 1972, she appeared in various roles on the TV series ‘BBC Play of the Month’. She acted in the episodes ‘The Skin Game’, ‘A Room with a View’, and ‘Lady Windermere’s Fan’ from 1972 to 1974. She was also seen in the movies ‘It Happened at Nightmare Inn’ (1973) and ‘It’s Not the Size That Counts’ (1974).
In 1975, she was cast in the lead role of Caroline Enys on the TV series ‘Poldark’, in which she appeared for two seasons. She was also seen in the movies ‘Brannigan’ (1975), ‘Adventures of a Taxi Driver’ (1976) and The Eagle has Landed’ (1976). Meanwhile, she appeared on the shows ‘Seven Faces of Woman’ (1977) and ‘The Newcomers’ (1978).
Between 1978 and 1979, she was seen in the film ‘Dominique’ and the TV series ‘Danger UXB’, and ‘Crown Court’. The next year, she was cast in the mystery TV series ‘Breakaway’ as Becky Royce, a recurring character. She later appeared in a guest role on the show ‘Tales of the Unexpected’.
In 1982, she appeared in a variety of TV series, including ‘Saturday Night Thriller’ and ‘The Kenny Everett Television Show’. Despite many offers and roles, Geeson decided to take a break from acting for a couple of years.
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In 1985, she appeared in the thriller series ‘Murder, She Wrote’, first as Elaine McComber and later as Sister Ruth Fargo. Her roles in the late 1980s were either guest appearances or supporting characters. Her notable appearances from this period include the series ‘The A-Team’ (1986) and ‘Boon’ (1989), and the TV film ‘The Secret Life of Kathy McCormick’ (1988).
In the 1990s, Geeson’s most acclaimed role was that of Maggie Conway in the TV series ‘Mad About You’. She played a recurring character in the comedy series and appeared in over 30 episodes. She was also seen in the popular series ‘Star Trek: Voyager’ as Sandrine for two episodes.
Her other major TV roles of the 1990s include ‘American Playhouse’ (1991), ‘Sherman Oaks’ (1995), ‘Tracey Takes On’ (1996), ‘NewsRadio’ (1998) and ‘George & Leo’ (1998). She re-portrayed Pamela Dare in the TV adaptation of ‘To Sir, with Love II’ in 1996. Her movie roles of this decade were: ‘Young Goodman Brown’ (1993) and ‘Houdini’ (1998).
In the new millennium, Geeson first appeared in the movie ‘Everything Put Together’. Later, her TV roles included playing Pookie Longfellow-Smith in the drama fantasy ‘Touched by an Angel’, Ruth Cobb in the drama ‘Charmed’; and Emma in the comedy ‘Love & Money’.
In 2002, she was selected to play the character of Natalie Swope in the popular series ‘Gilmore Girls’. Despite appearing in only three episodes over two seasons, her character was well received by the critics and viewers. In the next year, she appeared as Miss England in the comedy film ‘Spanish Fly’.
Her recent appearances include the movies ‘The Lords of Salem’ (2012), in which she played Lacy Doyle, and ‘Grandma’ (2015), wherein she portrayed the role of Francesca. She was also seen in the 2016 slasher thriller ‘31’ as Sister Dragon.
