Sophie Heathcote
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Sophie Heathcote (December 25, 1972 – January 4, 2006) was an Australian actress.
Heathcote was born in Melbourne. She began her acting career with a role in medical drama series A Country Practice as Stephanie "Steve" Brennan from 1990 to 1991. She followed this with a role in film Reckless Kelly (1993).
She graduated from Australia's National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) alongside Bridie Carter, Tom Long and Martin Kovacic in late 1994.
Other acting roles included roles in Bordertown, GP, the English mini-series Soldier Soldier and The Valley Between ("Sun on the Stubble"). Subsequent to this she took the on-going role of Constable Fiona Cassidy in police drama Water Rats (1996-1997), followed by a role in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation series Raw FM (1997) in which she played sexy lesbian dancer Sam, a role she said challenged her more than anything she'd done since leaving NIDA. Heathcote's film credits include The Heel Bar Scandal and Three Chords and a Wardrobe. She won an AFI award in 2000 for her role in ABC's Grass Roots.
Along with her husband she established an annual fundraising event that raises $500,000 a year for the neonatal unit at the Royal Children's Hospital. The staff there saved the life of their first child, Madeleine, who is believed to have suffered respiratory problems. The couple moved to the US in 2005, basing themselves in New York.
Heathcote died suddenly in Connecticut from an aneurysm. She had also been suffering from skin cancer (malignant melanoma).
Her funeral was held on 18 January, 2006 at St Peter's Church in Toorak, Victoria, Australia.
She was survived by her husband and fellow Australian, Chris Clarke (an advertising agency chief), their daughter Madeleine, and their 16-month-old son James.
[edit] Filmography
- Grass Roots (2000)
- Pigs Breakfast (1999)
- Three Chords and a Wardrobe (1998)
- Raw FM (1997)
- Water Rats (1996-2001)
- Sun on the Stubble (1996)
- Bordertown (1995)
- Reckless Kelly (1993)
- A Country Practice (1981-1993)
