established her as an International film star.
superb Spring and Port Wine (1970). This film, like others of the British "New Wave" of the 1960s, is set in the bleak, industrial north of e
Susan George was born in Surbiton in 1950. Her parents were both in showbusiness - her father as a musician (tenor saxophonist) and her mother was a showgirl. Susan was destined to act from the age of four when she was seen in a commercial for Horlicks.
She appeared on stage aged 12, in the The Sound of Music; on TV aged 13 in Swallows and Amazons (1963) and on the 'big screen' aged 15 in Cup Fever (1965). She had formal training at London’s Corona Stage Academy after which followed appearances in Billion Dollar Brain (1967); the 'Swingin' Sixties' drama All Neat in Black Stockings (1968) and The Strange Affair (1968).
She also played the title role, as a schoolgirl living in sin with Charles Bronson, in Twinky (1969), a film that brought her much recognition.
The violent and highly controversial Straw Dogs (1971) saw Susan George cast as Amy, opposite Dustin Hoffman as a mild-mannered maths teacher, in the Sam Pekinpah directed film, with its infamous, and explicit, rape scene. This film, much of which was filmed on location in Cornwall was a personal triumph for her and establishe
The same year Susan played Amanda in the horror film Fright (1971), with Honor Blackman and Ian Bannen. She plays the babysitter who has to defend the child from his demented father, recently escaped from an asylum.
A departure from the horror genre came with Dirty Mary Crazy Larry (1974) a cult classic for lovers of car-chase films, where Susan's character is Mary, the side-kick to Larry, a racing-car driver & robber, played by Peter Fonda.
Susan George had several high-profile relationships (with singers Bennie Thomas, Jack Jones and
formed 'Amy International Artists' (named after Susan's role in Straw Dogs). The company, based at Shepperton Studios, co-produced Stealing Heaven in 1988. They had another success in 1989 with That Summer of White Roses, for which Susan won a British Film institute award - as songwriter (yet another one of her talents!) of the title track. She also starred opposite Tom Conti and Rod Steiger in this Yugoslavian WW2 film,
Susan and Simon soon tried their hand at film producing, and
Dogs; Mandingo (1975)
An odd Italian 'spaghetti western' called La Cronaca Criminale del Far West (known in England as Far West Story and in the US as Bandits) was released in 1972, with Susan George as Sonny, and Tomas Milian as
Susan has made a number of memorable TV appearances. In 1971 she was Michelle Devigne, the niece of a coin forger, in The Persuaders! with Roger Moore and Tony Curtis. In 1979 & 1980 she was seen in two episodes of Tales of the Unexpected. She played
Susan's other great interest is horses, and much of her time these days is taken up with her Exmoor stud farm called Georgian Arabians, where she breeds champion Arabian horses. As she says on her website, she has been an enthusiast practically all her life, learning to ride, as a teenager, on Chobham Common in Surrey, and
In September 2007, Petley's Fine Art gallery in Mayfair held an exhibition of Susan's fabulous photographic prints and etchings - the first time that the gallery had held a photographic exhibition. It was called The Spirit of Equus (click link to see the exhibition prints on Susan's website).
Susan has also developed her own line of homeopathic treatments for horses called Susan George Naturally, with its own website to advertise and sell the products.
She is also an exceptional photographer of these beautiful creatures, who are distinguished from other horse breeds by their inward curving noses (resembling humans in this respect).
In May 1995, Hello! Magazine ran a feature on Susan and Simon, complete with some lovely photographs taken at the farm that was then their home.
I was really pleased to meet actress Susan George at Autographica in London in October 2008. She signed several photographs for me and I was able to have a chat to her about her horses and her photography. She explained the differences between Arabian horses and other breeds.
Susan also agreed to let me take some portrait photographs of her for the photography course that I am doing at college
I even got to sit next to Susan at the Gala Dinner, to make the event even more memorable!
Spring and Port Wine Website
Susan George
Susan George as Amanda in Fright
Susan George & Michael York in
Susan George
Film Poster for All Neat in Black Stockings
The Strange Affair
Susan George as Hilda in Spring and Port Wine
Her sexiness and sensuality became noticed by film producers, and she brought these qualities to the part of Hilda, James Mason's recalcitrant daughter in the
of England, in this case, Bolton. The film is a wonderful example of its type and deserves to be much better known.
Spring and Port Wine
Spring and Port Wine
Spring and Port Wine
Susan George with Diana Coupland in
Susan George with Adrienne Posta in
Susan George with Hannah Gordon in
Susan George with James Mason in
Spring and Port Wine
Susan George with Dustin Hoffman in
Straw Dogs
Susan George in Straw Dogs
as her lover Jed. The two are robbers pursued by Telly Savalas as the revengeful Sheriff Franciscus.
Susan George as Sonny in Far West Story
Susan George as Audrey in The Sorcerers
Susan George in The House Where Evil Dwells
Susan George as Gabriella in Tintorera
Susan George in Die Screaming, Marianne
saw her team up again with James Mason in a steamy drama centred around the slave trade; Tintorera (1977) has similarities with later 'shark films' like Jaws, and Venom (1982), was a horror film co-starring Oliver Reed and Klaus Kinski.
Susan George appeared in other horror films around this time but they were not especially successful - Die Screaming, Marianne (1971) was filmed around the same time as Straw
Susan George as Mary Coombs in
Dirty Mary Crazy Larry
Bee Gee Andy Gibb) before she married actor Simon MacCorkindale in 1984.
which is also known by the title Djavolji raj.
murdered prostitute Kate Eddowes in Jack the Ripper (1988); was Mrs Peacock in six episodes of Cluedo, and in 2001 was cast as Margaret Walker for 11 episodes of the long-running soap Eastenders.
Susan George in Jack the Ripper
Susan George in The Persuaders
With Brian Blessed in Tales of the Unexpected
Susan in Eastenders
buying her first Arabian horse in California in 1971. Susan is
Susan with Andy Gibb
Simon & Susan
© Hello! Magazine
Susan posed for this photo for me
at Autographica
now the Honorary president of the Horse of the Year Show.
Susan signed these two photographs for me at Autographica
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VIDEO
Susan George in 1966
Susan George
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Arabian Horses