Susan George (actress)

Biography

She has recalled many holidays at the caravan park in Font-y-Gary in South Wales as a child. She trained at the Stage School, Corona Theatre School and has acted since the age of four, appearing on both television and film.

She is perhaps best known for such films as Straw Dogs (1971) with Dustin Hoffman, Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry (1974) with Peter Fonda and Mandingo (1975) with Ken Norton.

When asked in a 2013 interview about working with Hoffman and director Sam Peckinpah in Straw Dogs, George said:

I had a love-hate relationship with Sam, but he was a brilliant director and a genius of his time. Dustin was a generous actor to work with, who could be intense at times, but had a great personality and an incredibly mischievous sense of humour. Making the film was a fantastic experience and one that I cherish to this day.

In the early 1970s, George came to be associated with rather provocative, sometimes (as in Straw Dogs) controversial roles and became quite type-cast. Cinema writer Leslie Halliwell's rather terse summary of her career was: "British leading lady, former child actress; usually typed as sexpot".

Her lighter side was apparent in some of her TV appearances, such as in an episode ("The Gold Napoleon") of The Persuaders (1971) with Roger Moore and Tony Curtis. In 1988, George marked her film-producing debut with Stealing Heaven.

Personal life

Susan George was married to British actor Simon MacCorkindale from 5 October 1984 until his death from cancer on 14 October 2010. They had no children.

Prior to her marriage, her name was linked with several celebrities, including George Best and Prince Charles. She had a four-year relationship with Jack Jones, and later spent another four years as the partner of a casino manager, Derek Webster.

Filmography

Television

As executive producer

As miscellaneous crew

Equestrian interest

George breeds Arabian horses and has a stud farm called Georgian Arabians.