Samantha Eggar facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Samantha Eggar
Eggar in 1964
Born	Victoria Louise Samantha Marie Elizabeth Therese Eggar (1939-03-05) 5 March 1939 (age 86) Hampstead, London, England
Citizenship	British American
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1960–2012
Spouse(s)	Tom Stern ​ ​ (m. 1964; div. 1971)​
Children	Nicolas Stern Jenna Stern

Samantha Eggar (born March 5, 1939) is a talented English actress who is now retired. She started her acting journey in plays by William Shakespeare. She became famous for her role in the movie The Collector (1965). For this role, she won a Golden Globe Award and a Cannes Film Festival Award. She was also nominated for an Academy Award.

Samantha Eggar also appeared in other well-known films. These include Emma Fairfax in Doctor Dolittle (1967) and the drama The Molly Maguires (1970). In the early 1970s, she moved to the United States and Canada. There, she starred in several horror movies. Some of these were The Dead Are Alive (1972), The Uncanny (1977), and the popular thriller The Brood (1979).

Eggar also used her voice for animated characters and video games. She was the voice of Hera in Disney's Hercules (1997). She also lent her voice to games like Gabriel Knight 3: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned. On television, she had roles in Fantasy Island and played Charlotte Devane in the soap opera All My Children.

Growing Up and Early Life

Samantha Eggar was born Victoria Louise Samantha Marie Elizabeth Therese Eggar. Her birthday is March 5, 1939, in Hampstead, London. Her father, Ralph Alfred James Eggar, was a high-ranking officer in the British Army. Her mother, Muriel Olga Palache-Bouma, had Dutch and Portuguese family roots.

Soon after she was born, her family moved to Bledlow, Buckinghamshire. This was during World War II, and she spent her childhood there. Samantha was raised as a Roman Catholic. She went to St Mary's Providence Convent school in Woking, Surrey.

Even though she was interested in acting, her parents did not want her to become an actress. She was offered a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. However, she chose to study fashion for two years first. After that, she joined the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London to study acting.

Acting Career Highlights

Starting in Theatre and Film

Samantha Eggar began her acting career in plays by William Shakespeare. She played Titania in A Midsummer Night's Dream in 1962. She was also in a play called Landscape with Figures. A talent scout saw her there and cast her in her first movie, Dr. Crippen (1962).

In 1965, Eggar starred in the thriller The Collector. She played a character who was kidnapped. Her performance earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. She also won a Golden Globe Award and the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival in 1966.

Big Screen and TV Roles

After The Collector, Eggar appeared in the comedy Walk, Don't Run (1966). She acted alongside Cary Grant in his very last movie. Then she had a main role as Emma Fairfax in the musical Doctor Dolittle (1967).

In 1963, she played Claire Avery in an episode of The Saint TV series. For the next 10 years, she focused mostly on movies. These included The Molly Maguires (1970) with Sean Connery. She also starred in The Walking Stick and The Light at the Edge of the World (1971).

Moving to the United States

In 1973, Samantha Eggar moved to Los Angeles, California. She started appearing more on television. She guest-starred in shows like Starsky & Hutch, Hart to Hart, and Columbo.

She also starred in several horror films during this time. Some notable ones include A Name for Evil (1973) and Demonoid Messenger of Death (1981). She was also in two British-Canadian movies: Welcome to Blood City and The Uncanny.

One of her most famous Canadian films was David Cronenberg's sci-fi movie The Brood (1979). In 1980, she filmed the Canadian horror movie Curtains.

Later, she provided the voice of Hera in Disney's animated film Hercules. She continued to voice Hera in the TV series that followed. Eggar also had a role in the sci-fi thriller The Astronaut's Wife (1999) with Johnny Depp.

On television, she appeared in Star Trek: The Next Generation. She also played Sara Templeton in Commander in Chief with Geena Davis. In 2000, she had a role as Charlotte Devane in All My Children.

Personal Life

In 1964, Samantha Eggar married actor Tom Stern. They had two children together: a film producer named Nicolas Stern and an actress named Jenna Stern. Samantha and Tom divorced in 1971.

Samantha Eggar has citizenship in both the UK and the United States. She is now retired and lives in Los Angeles.

Filmography

Film

Television

Stage Roles

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Samantha Eggar para niños