Alison Doody
Irish actress and model (born 1966)
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Alison Doody (born 9 March 1966)[1] is an Irish actress and model. After making her feature film debut as Bond girl Jenny Flex in A View to a Kill (1985), she went on to play Elsa Schneider in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). Other roles include Siobhan Donavan in A Prayer for the Dying (1987), Caroline Nolan in Echoes (1988), Charlotte in Taffin (1988), Rebecca Flannery in Major League II (1994) and Catherine Buxton in RRR (2022). She also played Pam in Beaver Falls (2011–2012).
Alison Doody | |
|---|---|
Doody in 2009 | |
| Born | 9 March 1966[1] |
| Occupations | Actress, model |
| Years active | 1984–present |
| Spouse | |
| Partner(s) | Douglas De Jager (2011–2012; his death) Tadhg Geary (e. 2014; sep. 2015) |
| Children | 2 |
Early life
The youngest of three children, Doody was born in Dublin, Ireland. Her mother, Joan, was a beauty therapist, and her father, Patrick, worked in the property business and farmed.[2] Doody attended Mount Anville Secondary School.
Career
Approached by a photographer, Doody took up modeling, which turned into a commercial career. Doody avoided glamour and nude work, a point which she extended to her acting career.
Having come to the attention of the casting director of a new James Bond film, she accepted a small part as Jenny Flex in 1985's A View to a Kill. Doody was listed as one of 12 Promising New Actors of 1986 in John Willis' Screen World, Vol. 38. Still only 18 when she appeared in the role, Doody was – and remains – the youngest Bond girl to date.[3] Another early appearance was as IRA member Siobhan Donovan in A Prayer for the Dying (1987), which starred Mickey Rourke.
Doody had a non-speaking role in the 1987 television adaptation of The Secret Garden appearing as Archibald Craven's wife, Lilias, in his dream. Her first lead role was in a 1988 episode of Jim Henson fantasy series The Storyteller as Sapsorrow, opposite John Hurt, Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders.
She played opposite Pierce Brosnan in the film Taffin (1988) before taking probably her most high-profile part to date, as Austrian Nazi-sympathiser and archaeologist Elsa Schneider in 1989's Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade playing opposite Harrison Ford. The film also starred Sean Connery as Indy's father; Doody has acted alongside three actors (Moore, Connery, and Brosnan) who have portrayed James Bond.
In 1991, Doody co-starred opposite Jonathan Pryce in mini-series Selling Hitler, inspired by the publishing fraud known as the Hitler Diaries. She subsequently relocated to Hollywood.[citation needed] Chosen to replace Cybill Shepherd as spokeswoman for L'Oréal, she went on to play opposite Charlie Sheen in 1994's Major League II as Flannery, his girlfriend and agent.
After almost a decade away from the screen, Doody returned to acting with a small role in 2003 film The Actors with Michael Caine, playing herself in an award ceremony scene.[4] She played alongside Patrick Swayze in the 2004 television film King Solomon's Mines and also starred in a short called Benjamin's Struggle (2005),[citation needed] a pamphlet about the Holocaust, and in the TV series Waking the Dead (in a two-part episode called "The Fall"). In 2010, Doody shot a part in Danny Dyer's film The Rapture (2010). She later guest starred in RTÉ's medical drama The Clinic,[citation needed] and was set to star in a 2011 remake of horror classic The Asphyx, but the project later stalled.
In 2011, she began the first of two series on E4 comedy-drama Beaver Falls, playing Pam Jefferson. In 2014 she appeared in We Still Kill the Old Way.
On 21 November 2018, she received the "Almería, tierra de cine" award,[5] and she received a star on Almeria Walk of Fame.[6]
On 20 November 2019 she made her debut in the Indian film industry with the film RRR.[7]
Personal life
Doody married Gavin O'Reilly, CEO of the Independent News & Media, on 25 June 1994, at the O'Reilly family residence Castlemartin. The couple made their home at Bartra House,[8] a 10,000-square-foot (930 m2) home overlooking the sea in Dalkey; at the time of purchase, it was the most expensive house in Ireland.[9] The marriage produced two daughters. She separated from O'Reilly in 2004, and divorced him in 2006.[10][11][failed verification][citation needed]
During the 2011 filming of the comedy-drama Beaver Falls in South Africa, Doody met Douglas De Jager, a packaging tycoon from Cape Town. The couple had been keeping their relationship low-key, before De Jager died of a heart attack in July 2012.[12]
She was engaged to businessman Tadhg Geary from 2014 to 2015.[13]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role(s) | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | A View to a Kill | Jenny Flex | Film Debut | [14] |
| 1987 | A Prayer for the Dying | Siobhan Donovan | ||
| The Secret Garden | Mrs. Lilias Craven (dream; cameos) | |||
| 1988 | Taffin | Charlotte | ||
| 1989 | Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade | Elsa Schneider | [15] | |
| 1991 | Duel of Hearts | Lady Caroline Faye | ||
| 1992 | Ring of the Musketeers | Ann-Marie Athos | ||
| 1994 | Major League II | Rebecca Flannery | ||
| Temptation | Lee Reddick | |||
| 2003 | The Actors | Herself | ||
| 2005 | Benjamin's Struggle | Katrina Stockhausen | Short film | |
| 2010 | The Rapture | Professor Alison Hayes | ||
| 2011 | Billy & Chuck | Mother | Short film | |
| 2014 | We Still Kill the Old Way | Susan Taylor | [16] | |
| 2016 | Brother | Grace | [17] | |
| 2017 | Division 19 | Neilsen | [18] | |
| 2019 | The Rising Hawk | Rada | [19] | |
| Muse | Grace | [20] | ||
| 2022 | RRR | Lady Catherine Buxton | Indian film | [21] |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Deceptions | Waitress | Unknown episodes | |
| 1986–1987 | Howards' Way | Girl | Unknown episodes | |
| 1987 | Queenie | Bully | Episode: #1.1 | |
| 1987 | Harry's Kingdom | Debbie | TV film | |
| 1988 | Campaign | Alessandra Castorina | All 6 episodes | |
| 1988 | Echoes | Caroline Nolan | 3 episodes | |
| 1988 | The StoryTeller | Sapsorrow | Episode: "Sapsorrow" | |
| 1989 | The Jim Henson Hour | Episode: "Garbage" | ||
| 1989 | Women in Tropical Places | Celia | TV film | |
| 1991 | Selling Hitler | Gina Heidemann | All 5 episodes | |
| 2004 | King Solomon's Mines | Elizabeth Maitland | All 2 episodes | |
| 2007 | Waking the Dead | Katherine Keane | ”The Fall" Episodes 6.5 & 6.6 | |
| 2009 | The Clinic | Lucille | 4 episodes | |
| 2011–2012 | Beaver Falls | Pamela Jefferson | All 12 episodes |
Non-acting television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Wogan | Herself | Series 9 | |
| 2003 | Entertainment Tonight | |||
| 1st Irish Film & Television Awards | Presenter | TV special | ||
| 2004 | 2nd Irish Film & Television Awards | TV special | ||
| 2006 | The Hollywood Greats | Series 7 with Harrison Ford | ||
| 2008 | Indy's Women: The American Film Institute Tribute | Herself | ||
| Xposé | Herself | Season 3 Episode 16 | ||
| 2009 | The Late Late Show | Herself | ||
| 2010 | 7th Irish Film & Television Awards | Presenter | TV special | |
Documentaries
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Indiana Jones: Making the Trilogy | Herself | ||
| 2004 | Happy Birthday Oscar Wilde | |||