Maggie Kirkpatrick
| Maggie Kirkpatrick | |
|---|---|
 Kirkpatrick at the opening of Driving Miss Daisy at Theatre Royal, Sydney, 2013 | |
| Born |
Margaret Ann Downs 29 January 1941 Albury, New South Wales |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active |
1960–2002 (theatre) 1971–2008 (film & television) |
| Notable work | Prisoner |
| Spouse(s) | Norman Kirkpatrick (deceased) (1963–1979) (divorced) |
| Children | One |
| Website | maggiekirkpatrick.co.uk |
Margaret Anne "Maggie" Kirkpatrick (née Downs; born 29 January 1941) is an Australian actress who is best known for her portrayal of the character Joan Ferguson, a sinister and cold lesbian prison officer, nicknamed "The Freak", in the popular Australian television soap opera Prisoner. She performed as Madame Morrible in an Australian production of the musical Wicked. Kirkpatrick has appeared in such popular series as Water Rats, Home and Away and All Saints.
Early years
Margaret Anne Downs was born in Albury, New South Wales, to James and Crissie Downs. When she was seven months old her father was killed while on active national service as a soldier in North Africa. Her mother brought her up alone. Her mother later married John Anderson and had a son, Adrian. The family moved to Newcastle, New South Wales, where Kirkpatrick grew up. She had had an interest in acting from an early age and appeared in several school plays. By November 1955 she became fed up with school and left. Her mother sent her to drama lessons.
In 1960, at the age of 19, Kirkpatrick took her first professional acting job, with the theatre impresario John Alden (theatre) with his John Alden Shakespeare Company. After this initial production she promptly gave up acting. Kirkpatrick subsequently took various jobs, working in dress shop, as a medical receptionist, compère of fashion parades, and also had jobs in bars, restaurants and hotels.
Personal life
Downs married Norman Kirkpatrick, a merchant seaman of the Shankill Road in Belfast, in September 1963. Five years later they moved to Sydney where Kirkpatrick decided to resume her acting career. After appearing in two plays she put her acting career on hold once again, this time due to the arrival of her daughter Caitlin. Kirkpatrick resumed theatre work as Caitlin got older, and eventually moved on to television and cinema.
Kirkpatrick appeared in the music video for Anthem for the Year 2000 by rock band Silverchair. She is a strong supporter of gay rights, having made numerous appearances at "Fair Day" as part of the annual Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival. She has been awarded the Sydney Gay Community's DIVA award for her work.
In July 2015, Kirkpatrick was charged with child sexual assault against a 13-year-old girl in the 1980s. She strongly denied the allegations and said she would fight to clear her name of the two counts of indecent assault and one count of gross indecency with a person under 16. In a statement Kirkpatrick said, "Yes, allegations have been levelled at me, are they true? Absolutely not."[1][2] She appeared in court in August 2015 and was found guilty on 20 August.[3] She was subsequently sentenced to an 18-month community corrections order, including 100 hours of community service.[4] Kirkpatrick appealed the case and won, with Judge Geoffrey Chettle finding there was reasonable doubt and dismissing the conviction and charges.[5]
Filmography
Film
| Title | Year | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summer of Secrets | |
||
| The FJ Holden | |
Betty Armstead | |
| The Night, the Prowler | |
Madge Hopkirk | |
| The Getting of Wisdom | Sarah | ||
| The Pirate Movie | |
Ruth | |
| Encounters | |
Aunt Helen | Alternative title: "Voyage Into Terror" |
| Billy's Holiday | |
Maureen O'Hara | |
| Lilian's Story | |
Uncredited role | |
| Welcome to Woop Woop | |
Ginger | |
| Hetty | |
Thelma |
Television
| Title | Year | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Godfathers | |
TV series | |
| The Thursday Creek Mob | TV series | ||
| Snake Gully with Dad and Dave | |
TV series | |
| Who Do You Think You Are? | |
TV series | |
| Father, Dear Father in Australia | |
Mrs. Floyd | Season 1, episode 12 "The Wisdom of Patrick" |
| Chopper Squad | Mrs. Roland | Season 2, episode 3 "A Deed Without a Name" | |
| The Oracle | |
TV series | |
| Jonah | |
Mini-series | |
| Spring & Fall | Season 2, episode 4 "Thanks Brother" | ||
| Prisoner | |
Joan Ferguson | Leading role; seasons 4–8; 389 episodes Alternative title: "Prisoner: Cell Block H" |
| Richmond Hill | |
Ivy Hackett | TV series |
| Dearest Enemy | |
TV series | |
| The Ham Funeral | |
Mrs. Fauburgus | TV film |
| Betty's Bunch | Betty | Leading role; Season 1; 13 episodes | |
| The Miraculous Mellops | |
Mrs. Kafka | Season 1, episode 5 Season 1, episode 12 |
| Home and Away | Jean Chambers | 7 episodes of season 4 | |
| Hey Dad..! | |
Sister Maureen | Season 8, episode 1 "Nun the Wiser" |
| The Ferals | |
Aunt Mavis | Season 1, episode 8 "Rock Horror" |
| G.P. | |
Joan Mullins | Season 7, episode 13 "Relative Strangers" |
| Water Rats | |
Sadie Seymor | Season 4, episode 20 "Red Light" |
| Pizza | |
Joan Ferguson | Season 1, episode 9 "Gambling Pizza" |
| Blue Heelers | Marj Cummings | Season 7, episode 21 "The Gumshoe" | |
| All Saints | |
Dawn Healy | Season 4, episode 18 "Bed of Roses" |
| Home and Away | |
Viv "The Guv" Standish | Recurring role; 11 episodes; season 16 / season 17 |
| All Saints | |
Maria | Season 11, episode 7 "Little Decisions" |
References
- ↑ "Australian actress faces child sex charges". BBC. 27 July 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
- ↑ Prisoner star Maggie Kirkpatrick on child sex charge The Australian Retrieved 27 July 2015
- ↑ "Maggie Kirkpatrick, Prisoner star, found guilty of child sex offences". ABC News. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
- ↑ "Prisoner star Maggie Kirkpatrick avoids jail over teen sex abuse". The Sydney Morning Herald.
- ↑ "Prisoner star Maggie Kirkpatrick cleared of indecently assaulting young fan". ABC News. 8 December 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2015.