Early life

Donohoe was born in London, the daughter of Ted and Joanna Donohoe. She has an older sister, Cordelia. She is of Irish, Russian and Swiss ancestry. Her father worked for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, which led to the family moving a great deal, with a base in London but also living for periods overseas. After her father's retirement, he joined her mother in her antique dealing business.

Educated at the Francis Holland School, aged 15 she met Adam Ant. Aged 16 she left her parents home, and moved in with Ant in Notting Hill. In 1981, Donohoe appeared in the video clips for the songs "Antmusic" and "Stand and Deliver" by Adam and the Ants, when the band were at the height of their fame. Shortly before the band began their 1981 world tour, Donohoe was offered a place at the Central School of Speech and Drama. She left Ant and went off to drama college.

Career

After graduation, she came to the attention of worldwide audiences in 1986, when she was cast opposite Oliver Reed as Lucy Irvine in Nicolas Roeg's Castaway. She followed this up with roles in two Ken Russell films The Lair of the White Worm, based on a Bram Stoker novel, and The Rainbow, based on a D.H. Lawrence novel. Another major film role for her was Liar, Liar (1997) starring Jim Carrey.

After relocating to Los Angeles, in February 1991, Donohoe took part in the first of the so-called "lesbian kiss episodes" on American television when her character C.J. Lamb on L.A. Law kissed Abbie Perkins, played by Michele Greene. Donohoe appeared in L.A. Law for two seasons. Some of her other television roles include Murder City, Bad Girls and a guest appearance in Ally McBeal.

On her return to the UK, Donohoe undertook stage work, including replacing Jerry Hall in the stage version of The Graduate. In 2009 she joined the cast of ITV soap opera Emmerdale as businesswoman Natasha Wylde, opposite her on-screen husband Maxwell Caulfield. On 25 July 2010 it was announced that Donohoe would be leaving Emmerdale, with her last screen date was 24 November 2010. On 18 and 19 February 2010, she was a guest panelist on Loose Women. She has also lent her voice to the Activision PC video game "Santa Fe Mysteries: The Elk Moon Murder" as Karen Gordon, a prime suspect and ex-wife to Elk Moon's husband, Jack.

Personal life

Donohoe's domestic partner is the multidisciplinary artist Russell Haswell. The pair live in Suffolk.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1986	Foreign Body	Susan Partridge
1986	Castaway	Lucy Irvine
1988	Lair of the White Worm, TheThe Lair of the White Worm	Lady Sylvia Marsh
1989	Rainbow, TheThe Rainbow	Winifred Inger
1989	Dark Obsession	Ginny Bruckton
1989	Tank Malling	Helen Searle
1990	Paper Mask	Christine Taylor
1994	Madness of King George, TheThe Madness of King George	Lady Pembroke
1997	Liar Liar	Miranda
1997	One Night Stand	Margaux
1998	Real Howard Spitz, TheThe Real Howard Spitz	Laura Kershaw
1998	I'm Losing You	Mona Deware
1998	Stardust	Christine Wasacz
2000	Circus	Gloria
2000	Wild About Harry	Ruth McKee
2001	Phoenix Blue	Persha Lovich
2008	Starship Troopers 3: Marauder	Admiral Enolo Phid
2009	Calling, TheThe Calling	Trish
2011	Last Belle, TheThe Last Belle	Siobhan (voice)	Short film
2013	Trafficker	Alison Reid

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1988	Affair in Mind, AnAn Affair in Mind	Druscilla Janus	TV film
1988	Les Girls	Camilla	"Tarts"
1988	Game, Set, and Match	Gloria Kent	Regular role
1990-1992	L.A. Law	Cara Jean 'C.J.' Lamb	Main role
1991	Screen Two	Jane Clemant	"The Laughter of God"
1992	Shame	Diana Cadell	TV film
1993	It's Nothing Personal	Katherine Whitloff	TV film
1993	Briefest Encounter	Siobhan	TV film
1993	Hidden Room, TheThe Hidden Room	Martha	"Dangerous Dreams"
1993	Substitute, TheThe Substitute	Gayle Richards / Laura Ellington	TV film
1993	Frasier	Catherine	"Call Me Irresponsible"
1993	Woman's Guide to Adultery, AA Woman's Guide to Adultery	Jo	"1.1", "1.2", "1.3"
1994	Murder Most Horrid	Carmela Vezza	"Overkill"
1995	Shame II: The Secret	Diana Cadell	TV film
1996	Thorn Birds: The Missing Years, TheThe Thorn Birds: The Missing Years	Meggie Cleary O'Neill	TV film
1996	Deep Secrets	Lara	TV film
1998	Knight in Camelot, AA Knight in Camelot	Queen Guinevere	TV film
1999	Batman Beyond: The Movie	Mrs. Walker / The Queen (voice)	TV film
1999	Batman Beyond	Donna Walker / Queen (voice)	"Dead Man's Hand"
2000	Ally McBeal	Marianne Holt	"I Will Survive"
2000	In the Beginning	Zuleika	TV miniseries
2001	Atlantis Conspiracy, TheThe Atlantis Conspiracy	Lauren Marcus	TV film
2001	Legend of Tarzan, TheThe Legend of Tarzan	Lady Waltham	"Tarzan and the Gauntlet of Vengeance"
2002	Lucky Day	Nora Barkin	TV film
2004-2006	Murder City	DI Susan Alembic	Main role
2006	Bad Girls	Lou Stoke	Main role
2009-2010	Emmerdale	Natasha Wylde	Regular role
2013	Toast of London	Ellen	"Vanity Project"
2013	Air Force One Is Down	Gillian Berry	TV miniseries
2014	Pramface	Sally	"Enchanted Picnic", "Kiss for the Camera"
2014	Toast of London	Ellen	"Buried Alive"

Stage

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1984	Cymbeline	Helen
1984	Great Expectations	Estella
1984	Admirable Crichton, TheThe Admirable Crichton	Lady Catherine
1996	Uncle Vanya	Yelena
1996	Miss Julie	Miss Julie
2001	Graduate, TheThe Graduate	Mrs. Robinson
2002	Teeth 'n' Smiles	Maggie
2005	Hedda Gabler	Hedda Gabler

Awards and nominations

Donohoe won a Golden Globe Award for her role in L.A. Law and was nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award for her Broadway debut in Uncle Vanya.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]