Elizabeth Shepherd

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For the musician of The Elizabeth Shepherd Trio, see Elizabeth Shepherd (musician).

Elizabeth Shepherd

Born	12 August 1936 London, England

Elizabeth Shepherd (born 12 August 1936) is a British character actress whose work has spanned the stage and both the big and small screens. Her surname has been alternately billed as "Shephard" and "Sheppard".

She is possibly best known as the ill-fated reporter Joan Hart in Damien: Omen II, and being the original choice to play Emma Peel in the 1960s television series The Avengers. However, after filming nearly two episodes, Shepherd left the production and was replaced by Diana Rigg. One of her most famous film roles was that of Lady Rowena in Roger Corman's The Tomb of Ligeia (1965). She later appeared in the cult series The Corridor People and played one of The Cleopatras in the BBC historical drama.

In 2006 Elizabeth Shepherd became a victim of identity theft and mortgage fraud, after subletting her home for five months. The renters created a false Elizabeth Shepherd, who sold the home to another member of the group (using a false name), who in turn put a $250,000 mortgage on the property, took the cash, defaulted, disappeared, and left the real Elizabeth Shepherd on the hook. Shepherd went public with her story in the hopes of warning other people to be careful when renting out their homes.^[1]