Sarah Douglas (actress)

British actress (born 1952)

For other people with a similar name, see Sarah Douglas.

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|

Sarah Douglas

Douglas at GalaxyCon Richmond in 2023

Born|  (1952-12-12) 12 December 1952 (age 72)

Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England

Alma mater| Rose Bruford College
Occupation| Actress
Years active| 1966-present
Spouse|

Richard LeParmentier

(m. 1981; div. 1984)​

Website| www.sarah-douglas.com

Sarah Douglas (born 12 December 1952) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Ursa in Superman (1978) and Superman II (1980), Queen Taramis in Conan the Destroyer (1984), Pamela Lynch in Falcon Crest (1983-85), and Jindah Kol Rozz in Supergirl (2018).

## Early life and career

[edit]

Douglas was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, the second daughter of Beryl (née Smith), a physiotherapist who often worked upon RSC actors, and Edward Douglas, a career member of the Royal Air Force.[1] She attended Alcester Grammar School before training with the National Youth Theatre and the Rose Bruford College.[2]

Eventually, Douglas's career took her in front of the camera with small appearances in the 1973 film The Final Programme (alternatively known as The Last Days of Man on Earth) and Rollerball in 1975. After this, she became known to British television audiences in the 1970s by appearing in The Howerd Confessions, the 1973 television edition of Dracula, The Inheritors, Space: 1999, and Return of the Saint, and appeared in the film The People That Time Forgot (1977) and the controversial film The Brute (1977), in which she played an abused wife.

After an intensive casting call in which she beat out over 600 actresses for the part, including Caroline Munro and Marilù Tolo, Douglas secured her first major feature film role as the supporting antagonist Ursa in Superman (1978) and Superman II (1980); her performance garnered critical acclaim and became her signature role.[3][4] She then accepted the role of the main antagonist Queen Taramis opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger, Grace Jones and Olivia d'Abo in the sword-and-sorcery epic fantasy film Conan the Destroyer (1984).

Douglas also continued to appear on television, and was a series regular in the short-lived British sitcom Thundercloud in 1979. Throughout the 1980s, she went on to appear in a variety of guest roles in UK and US series such as The Professionals, Bergerac, Hotel, Magnum, P.I., Sledge Hammer! and Remington Steele. However, her most prominent television role was that of Pamela Lynch in the primetime soap opera Falcon Crest, which she played for two seasons from 1983 to 1985. She also played Pamela in the 1984 television miniseries V: The Final Battle and portrayed supporting characters in The Return of Swamp Thing (1989), Beastmaster 2: Through the Portal of Time (1991) and Return of the Living Dead 3 (1993) among others.

In the 1990s, she returned to science fiction, guest starring in Babylon 5 (in the 1994 episode "Deathwalker"), and in Stargate SG-1 (in the 1998 two-part episode "The Tok'ra"). She also voiced characters in episodes of several animated TV series, including Iron Man, The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest, Superman: The Animated Series, Heavy Gear: The Animated Series, and Batman Beyond.

In 2003, Douglas returned to the UK to appear in a nationwide tour of Hamlet playing alongside actress Emily Lloyd.[citation needed] The following year, she completed a run in London's West End in the play Roast Beef playing the role of Clytemnestra.[citation needed] Also in 2004, Douglas completed an audio commentary for the Special Edition DVD of Conan the Destroyer.

In 2006, she performed in the audio drama Sapphire and Steel: The Mystery of the Missing Hour alongside David Warner, and she was reunited with many of her Superman co-stars in Los Angeles as a new version of Superman II (known as Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut) was released with previously unseen footage. At the same time, a new Superman DVD boxset was released, featuring an interview with Douglas and her original screen test.

Douglas' later appearances included the television films Gryphon (2007), Witchville (2010) and Strippers vs Werewolves (2012), and she participated in the audio recordings for Stargate Atlantis. Additionally, Douglas completed work on a series of radio plays for the BBC and voiced Scar in Green Lantern: The Animated Series. After this, she returned to the London stage, appearing in The Hallowe'en Sessions at the Leicester Square Theatre from 29 October to 3 November 2012 to positive reviews.[5][6] She has continued to appear on film, stage, television and radio, in addition to appearing in Supergirl (2018) continued the tradition of re-casting former Superman stars, and cast Douglas as Jindah Kol Rozz in the episode "Fort Rozz".[7]. In 2017 Douglas appeared as Mrs. Averill in the Netflix production A Christmas Prince and its two subsequent sequels.

## Personal life

[edit]

Douglas married actor Richard LeParmentier in 1981. They divorced in 1984, and he died in 2013.[8][9]

## Filmography

[edit]

### Film

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

1973  | The Final Programme | Catherine  |
1977  | The Brute | Diane  |
The People That Time Forgot | Charly  |
1978  | Superman | Ursa |
1980  | Superman II |
1984  | Conan the Destroyer | Queen Taramis |
1986  | Solarbabies | Shandray  |
1987  | Steele Justice | Kay  |
1988  | Nightfall | Roa  |
1989  | The Return of Swamp Thing | Dr. Lana Zurrell  |
1991  | Dalí | Gala  |
Beastmaster 2: Through the Portal of Time | Lyranna  |
The Art of Dying | Sara  |
Puppet Master III: Toulon's Revenge | Elsa Toulon  | Direct-to-video
1992  | Meatballs 4 | Monica Shavetts  |
1993  | Return of the Living Dead 3 | Lieutenant Colonel Sinclair  |
Quest of the Delta Knights | Madam Maaydeed  | Direct-to-video
1994  | Mirror, Mirror 2: Raven Dance | Nicolette  |
1995  | Spitfire | Carla Davis  |
The Demolitionist | The Surgeon  |
Voodoo | Professor Conner  |
Monster Mash | Countess Natasha 'Nasty' Dracula  |
1997  | Asylum | Dr. Emily Hill  |
1998  | Hell Mountain | Daneeka  |
1999  | Changing Directions | Sarah Johnson  | Short film
2007  | Gryphon | Queen Cassandra of Delphi  |
2011  | Halloween: H33 | Dr. Loomis  | Short film
2012  | Strippers vs Werewolves | Jeanette  |
2016  | Displacement | Dr. Miles  |
2017  | A Christmas Prince | Mrs. Averill  |
2018  | A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding |
2019  | A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby |

### Television

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

1973  | ITV Sunday Night Theatre | Joyce Langland  | Episode: "Harlequinade"
Black and Blue | Beautiful Girl  | Episode: "Secrets"
1974  | Dracula | Dracula's Wife | Television film
Justice | Jenny Deane  | 2 episodes
The Inheritors | Jennie Garrett  | TV series
1976  | BBC2 Playhouse | Miss Radson  | Episode: "The Mind Beyond: Meriel, the Ghost Girl"
The Howerd Confessions | Lola  | Episode: "1.6"
Space: 1999 | B  | Episode: "The AB Chrysalis"
1977  | Warship | Amanda  | Episode: "Robertson Crusoe"
Esther Waters | Miss Peggy  | Episode: "1.1"
Seven Faces of Women | Marianne  | Episode: "She: Eye of the Beholder"
1978  | Return of the Saint | Sheila Northcott  | Episode: "The Arrangement"
1979  | Room Service | Mrs. Martindale  | Episode: "1.7"
Thundercloud | Bella Harrington  | TV series
1980  | The Professionals | Dr. Kate Ross  | Episode: "Wild Justice"
1981  | Bergerac | Anne Beresford  | Episode: "Last Chance for a Loser"
1983–1985  | Falcon Crest | Pamela Lynch  | 51 episodes: recurring (season 3), main cast (season 4)
1984  | V: The Final Battle | Pamela  | TV miniseries
1985  | Murder, She Wrote | Violet Weems  | Episode: "Sing a Song of Murder"
1986  | Magnum, P.I. | Isobel Dumout, Countess Jacklyn Fabre Dumout  | Episode: "All Thieves on Deck"
Hotel | Stella Falco  | Episode: "Hearts Divided"
The Wizard | Lady Whitehurst  | Episode: "It Takes a Chimp"
1987  | Remington Steele | Shannon Wayne  | Episode: "Steele Hanging in There"
Matlock | Barbara Sutcliffe  | Episode: "The Therapist"
Sledge Hammer! | Mrs. Emily Carstairs  | Episode: "Play It Again Sledge"
Eight Is Enough: A Family Reunion | Leona Stark  | Television film
1989  | A Fine Romance | Dr. Emma Gabor  | Episode: "It's Just the Gypsy in My Soul"
1990  | Father Dowling Mysteries | Mrs. Gibbons  | Episode: "The Royal Mystery"
Super Force | Dr. Verona  | Episode: "The Crime Doctor"
1991  | Tagget | Mrs. Sands  | Television film
1993  | Tarzán | Kiki Bluet  | Episode: "Tarzan and the Fountain of Youth"
Almost Home | Lady Harrington  | Episode: "The Fox and the Hound"
1994  | Babylon 5 | Deathwalker, Jha'Dur  | Episode: "Deathwalker"
Iron Man | Alana Ulanova (voice)  | Episode: "Enemy Within, Enemy Without"
1995  | Gargoyles | Una (voice)  | Episode: "M.I.A."[10]
1996  | The Stepford Husbands | Dr. Frances Borzage  | Television film
To the Ends of Time | Karnissa
The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest | Mrs. Cadbury (voice)  | Episode: "Village of the Doomed"[10]
1997  | L.A. Heat | Wilma  | Episode: "Electra"
1998  | Stargate SG-1 | Yosuuf, Garshaw of Belote  | Episode: "The Tok'ra"
1999  | Superman: The Animated Series | Mala (voice)  | Episode: "Absolute Power"[10]
1999–2000  | Batman Beyond | Donna Walker / Queen (voice)  | 2 episodes[10]
2001  | Heavy Gear: The Animated Series | Col. Magnilda Rykka (voice)  |
2005  | The Brief | Crown Court Judge  | Episode: "Blame"
2008  | Zorro: Generation Z | Gloria Sheffield  | Episode: "Poll Axed"
Doctors | Stacy Morgan  | Episode: "Hearts and Minds"
2010  | Witchville | The Red Queen  | Television film
2012–2013  | Green Lantern: The Animated Series | Scar (voice)  | 4 episodes[10]
2015  | Emmerdale | Consultant  | 2 episodes
2018  | Supergirl | Jindah Kol Roz  | Episode: "Fort Rozz"
2019  | Holby City | Victoria Parker  | Episode: "Ex Marks The Spot"

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Sarah Douglas Biography". Yahoo! Movies. AEC One Stop Group, Inc. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
2. ^ "Biography-Sarah Douglas". sarah-douglas.com. 2 November 2023.
3. ^ Krug, Kurt Anthony (28 December 2020). "Superman II's Sarah Douglas Looks Back On Ursa, Brando, and More 40 Years Later". SyFy. Archived from the original on 24 April 2024. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
4. ^ Prokopy, Steve (9 October 2024). "Interview: Sarah Douglas, Hosting Superman II Events in Batavia, Talks Christopher Reeve on Set, That Ursa Costume and More". 3CR: Third Coast Review. Archived from the original on 6 December 2024. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
5. ^ "Hallowe'en Sessions Review". Forbidden Planet. James Bacon. Archived from the original on 1 May 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
6. ^ "Hallowe'en Sessions Review". The Quietus.com. Manish Agarwal. 30 October 2012. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
7. ^ Anderson, Jenna (14 January 2018). "'Superman: The Movie' Alum Sarah Douglas Comes to 'Supergirl' in "Fort Rozz" Photos". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on 14 January 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
8. ^ Gajewski, Ryan (16 April 2013). "Star Wars Actor Dies at Age 66". Wet Paint. Archived from the original on 19 April 2013.
9. ^ "Star Wars actor Richard LeParmentier dies". ABC News. Australia. 17 April 2013. Archived from the original on 9 September 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
10. ^ a b c d e "Sarah Douglas (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Archived from the original on 30 July 2024. Retrieved 10 September 2023. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sarah Douglas.

* Official website
* Sarah Douglas at IMDb
* Sarah Douglas at the TCM Movie Database

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* United States
* Spain
* Israel

Artists|

* MusicBrainz

Other|

* IdRef
* Yale LUX

*[m.]: married
*[div.]: divorced