Georgina Elaine Cates (born Clare Elaine Woodgate; 4 April 1975) is an English film and television actress.
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Life and career
Born Clare Elaine Woodgate in Colchester, Cates attended Colchester County High School for Girls and broke into television acting when she was 16 years old, playing the role of Jenny Porter, in the first two series of the BBC's sitcom 2point4 Children.
In 1995, Cates (then still known as Clare Woodgate) auditioned for the role of Stella in the film An Awfully Big Adventure but was not cast. On returning home, she dyed her hair red and reinvented herself as a 17-year-old Liverpudlian girl called Georgina Cates who had no previous acting experience. When she re-applied for the same role, the casting director hired her. She went on to appear in such films as Frankie Starlight (1995), Illuminata (1998), and A Soldier's Sweetheart (1998). She received critical acclaim for her role as Amanda in Clay Pigeons (1998) with Vince Vaughn and Joaquin Phoenix. After a seven-year break from the film industry, Cates returned to the independent film genre to co-star in Sinner, for which she won a Best Actress award at the Brooklyn Arts Council International Film & Video Festival.
Awards
Best Actress in a Leading Role, Sinner, 41st Annual Brooklyn Arts Council International Film & Video Festival
Actress of the Year (Nominee), An Awfully Big Adventure, 1996 London Critics Circle Film Awards