Georgina Cates, Star of An Awfully Big Adventure, Dies at 51

British actor Georgina Cates, known for An Awfully Big Adventure, Clay Pigeons and the BBC sitcom 2point4 Children, has died at 51. Her daughter, Naiia, said Cates died on May 6. No cause of death has been publicly announced.

News of her death reached a wider audience months later, after 2point4 Children creator Andrew Marshall posted a tribute. Cates is survived by her children, Naiia and Jakob, whom she shared with former husband Skeet Ulrich.

A bold reinvention led to her breakthrough

Born Clare Elaine Woodgate in Colchester, England, Cates began acting as a teenager. She played Jenny Porter during the first two seasons of 2point4 Children, appearing under her birth name before adopting the professional identity that defined the next phase of her career.

Her best-known early film role came in Mike Newell’s 1995 drama An Awfully Big Adventure. After initially missing out on the part, she returned with red hair, a Liverpool accent and a newly created persona, eventually winning the role of Stella Bradshaw. The performance placed her opposite Hugh Grant and Alan Rickman in a story set around a postwar repertory theater company.

From British television to American independent film

Cates later moved to Los Angeles and appeared in the 1998 black comedy Clay Pigeons with Joaquin Phoenix and Vince Vaughn. Her other credits included Frankie Starlight, Illuminata, A Soldier’s Sweetheart, Sinner and Jackass: Bad Grandpa.

She received a leading-actress award at the Brooklyn Arts Council International Film & Video Festival for Sinner in 2007. Her final screen credit was the 2016 film Everlasting, and she later worked as a photographer.

Cates’ career was not built around one recurring type. She moved between family comedy, period drama, dark independent film and character roles, carrying the same willingness to transform that had helped her secure her breakthrough. Her daughter remembered her as creative, curious and committed to being herself.