Life and career

Early life and career

Down was born on 17 March 1954 and raised in Wandsworth, South West London, England. She began acting and modelling, and in her teenage years had won several beauty pageants. She was voted Britain's most beautiful teenager at the age of fifteen. She made her feature film debut in a supporting role of British drama The Smashing Bird I Used to Know in 1969. She later had roles in several other British films, like All the Right Noises, Assault, and Countess Dracula, and well guest starred in television series Six Dates with Barker, Out of the Unknown, and Public Eye.

Film and television roles

In 1973, Down was cast as Georgina Worsley, Marchioness of Stockbridge, on the Emmy Award-winning British drama series, Upstairs, Downstairs. This role was her career breakthrough, and after the show ended in 1975 she moved to Hollywood and began her film career. She starred in the 1976 movie The Pink Panther Strikes Again, and later was cast opposite Elizabeth Taylor on the film adaptation of A Little Night Music. Down worked as leading lady in film, and starred opposite Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Sean Connery, Anthony Hopkins and Donald Sutherland in various films. Her major roles was in The Betsy (1978), The First Great Train Robbery (1979), Hanover Street (1979), Rough Cut (1980), and her box-office bomb Sphinx (1981).

Down has appeared on stage in Hamlet and a musical version of Great Expectations.

Down has played number of leading roles in made for television movies and miniseries. She starred in 1978 British drama The One and Only Phyllis Dixey as Phyllis Dixey. She played the role of Esméralda in a British-American TV movie The Hunchback of Notre Dame in 1982 opposite Anthony Hopkins, and starred in Murder Is Easy (1982), Indiscreet (1988), and Ladykillers (1988). In 1985, she starred in Arch of Triumph with Anthony Hopkins and Donald Pleasence. She starred in the ABC miniseries The Last Days of Pompeii in 1984, and in North and South in 1985. For her role as Madeline Fabray LaMotte in North and South, she was nominated for Golden Globe Award in 1986. She later starred in North and South, Book II (1986), and Heaven & Hell: North & South, Book III (1994). She turned down the roles in Fatal Attraction (later played by Anne Archer) and on The Thorn Birds .

In 1990, Down was cast as series regular for a limited run in the CBS primetime soap opera Dallas as Stephanie Rogers. She earned a quarter of a million dollars' salary for a 10-week shoot.

Later career

In the 1990s, Down starred in several small feature and television films, and played guest roles on television series such as The Nanny and Diagnosis: Murder. She starred in the 1994 film Death Wish V: The Face of Death, opposite Charles Bronson, and later appeared with him in the 1995 TV movie Family of Cops. In 1996 Aaron Spelling cast her as Olivia Blake on the NBC soap opera Sunset Beach. The series aired from January 1997 to December 1999. After the soap was cancelled, Down starred in Lifetime movies The Perfect Wife, and You Belong to Me.

In 2003, Down was cast in another soap as Jackie Marone on CBS's The Bold and the Beautiful. In January 2012, Down confirmed that she would be departing the program. Down also appeared in the films The King's Guard with Eric Roberts and Ron Perlman, The Meeksville Ghost, 13th Child, Today You Die, and Seven Days of Grace, on which she also was a writer. In 2011, Down appeared in Victor Salva's thriller film Rosewood Lane with Rose McGowan, Ray Wise, and Lauren Vélez. She later starred alongside Kirsten Vangsness in the comedy film Kill Me, Deadly, and played mother of leads in Dark House, I Am Watching You and Justice.

Personal life

After ending a ten-year relationship with actor-writer Bruce Robinson, Down married Enrique Gabriel in 1980, but ended their marriage after a year and a half.

Down's second marriage was to film director William Friedkin from 1982 to 1985, with whom she had one son, Jack (born 1982).

She met her third husband, cinematographer Don E. Fauntleroy, during filming of the television miniseries North and South in 1985. They began a relationship, which ended Down's marriage to Friedkin and Fauntleroy's marriage to Susan Ducat. The resulting legal and custody proceedings interrupted the careers of both Down and Fauntleroy for two years and ultimately cost Down and Friedkin US$1 million each. Down and Fauntleroy have a son, George-Edward (b. 1998).

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1969	The Smashing Bird I Used to Know	Diana
1971	All the Right Noises	Laura
1971	Assault	Tessa Hurst
1971	Countess Dracula	Ilona Nodosheen
1972	Pope Joan	Cecilia
1973	From Beyond the Grave	Rosemary Seaton	segment "The Door"
1973	Scalawag	Lucy-Ann
1975	Brannigan	Luana
1976	The Pink Panther Strikes Again	Olga Bariosova
1977	A Little Night Music	Anne Egerman
1978	The One and Only Phyllis Dixey	Phyllis Dixey
1978	The Betsy	Lady Bobby Ayres
1979	The First Great Train Robbery	Miriam
1979	Hanover Street	Margaret Sellinger
1980	Rough Cut	Gillian Bromley
1981	Sphinx	Erica Baron
1982	Murder Is Easy	Bridget Conway
1982	The Hunchback of Notre Dame	Esmeralda
1985	Arch of Triumph	Joan Madou
1986	Nomads	Flax
1987	Scenes from the Goldmine	Herself
1988	Indiscreet	Anne Kingston
1988	Ladykillers	Morganna Ross
1989	Night Walk	Geneva Miller
1992	Out of Control	Elaine Patterson
1993	Night Trap	Christine Turner
1994	Munchie Strikes Back	Linda McClelland
1994	Death Wish V: The Face of Death	Olivia Regent
1994	In the Heat of Passion II: Unfaithful	Jean Bradshaw
1995	A Family of Cops	Anna Novacek
1996	Beastmaster III: The Eye of Braxus	Morgana
1996	The Secret Agent Club	Eve
1997	Meet Wally Sparks	Hooker Nurse	cameo
1998	Young Hearts Unlimited	Barbara Young
2000	The King's Guard	Queen Beatrice
2001	The Meeksville Ghost	Emily Meeks
2001	You Belong to Me	Dr. Susan Chancellor
2001	The Perfect Wife	Helen Coburn
2002	13th Child	District Attorney Murphy
2005	Today You Die	Bank Manager
2006	Seven Days of Grace	Lillian	Actress and writer
2006	Mercenary for Justice	cameo	Uncredited
2011	Cinnamon	Aunt Dora
2011	Rosewood Lane	Dr. Cloey Talbot
2014	Dark House	Lilian
2015	Kill Me, Deadly	Grand Dame Lady Clairmont
2015	Absolution	Zvetlana
2015	Of God and Kings	Madame Renard
2015	The List	Victoria
2015	In Extremis	Sister Clare
2016	I Am Watching You	Margaret
2016	Justice

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1971	Six Dates with Barker	Cheeky	1 episode, "2774 AD: All the World's a Stooge"
1971	Out of the Unknown	Diana Carver	1 episode, " To Lay a Ghost"
1971	Public Eye	Anne Biddersloe	1 episode, "Shades of White"
1973-1975	Upstairs, Downstairs	Georgina Worsley	22 episodes
1976	When the Boat Comes In	Jane Cromer	1 episode, "King for a Day"
1974	Bedtime Stories	Monica	1 episode, "The Snow Queen"
1975	The Sweeney	Caroline Selhurst	1 episode, "Chalk and Cheese"
1977	Play of the Month	Ellie Dunn	1 episode, " Heartbreak House"
1977	Supernatural	Felizitas	1 episode, "Mr. Nightingale"
1981	BBC2 Playhouse	Unity Mitford	1 episode, "Unity"
1984	The Last Days of Pompeii	Chloe	TV mini-series
1985	North and South	Madeline Fabray LaMotte	TV mini-series
1986	North and South, Book II	Madeline LaMotte Main
1989	CBS Summer Playhouse	Cassandra	1 episode, "Shivers"
1990	Dallas	Stephanie Rogers	13 episodes
1992	1775	Annabelle Proctor	TV pilot
1994	The Nanny	Chloe Simpson	1 episode, "Maggie the Model"
1994	Heaven & Hell: North & South, Book III	Madeline Main	TV mini-series
1996	Diagnosis: Murder	Catherine Windsor	1 episode, "A Model Murder"
1997-1999	Sunset Beach	Olivia Blake	TV series, Main cast
2001	Days of Our Lives	Lady Sheraton	5 episodes
2003-2012	The Bold and the Beautiful	Jackie Marone	TV series, Main cast

Awards and nominations

Year	Result	Award	Category	Film or series
1978	Won	Evening Standard British Film Awards	Most Promising Newcomer - Actress
1986	Nominated	Golden Globe Awards	Best Supporting Actress - Series, Miniseries or Television Film	North and South
1997	Won	Soap Opera Update Awards	Best Actress	Sunset Beach
2005	Won	Rose D'Or Light Entertainment Festival	Best Soap Female	The Bold and the Beautiful
2005	Nominated	Soap Opera Digest Awards	Favorite Return	The Bold and the Beautiful
2006	Won	TV Soap Golden Boomerang Award	Popular Supporting Female	The Bold and the Beautiful

[ Source: Wikipedia ]