Susan George Biography
Susan George's journey from sultry teenage star to international film star has always been packed with incident and eagerly chronicled by the worlds' press. From her star roles in some of the seminal movies of the seventies, STRAW DOGS; DIRTY MARY, CRAZY LARRY; MANDINGO, through the publicity which seemed to follow her constantly, to now running her World recognisedArabian stud farm( Georgian Arabians), her equine therapeutic company (Susan George Naturally and her photographic company (Susan Geoge Photography).
The daughter of a saxophone player turned hotelier father and a beautician mother she was born in the London suburb of Surbiton in 1950 and became a well known face in Great Britain before she had even reached her teens. Her debut was in a Horlicks commercial at just four years old. By the time she reached her twelfth birthday, she had completed eleven television plays and dozens more commercials.
She grew up in the business, leaving conventional school at the age of eleven to go to stage school and with in the first few months she landed a role as one of the Von Trapp children in THE SOUND OF MUSIC at the Palace Theatre in London. At this tender age, she would attend the Corona Academy during the day then rush to the West End for THE SOUND OF MUSIC at night.
Throughout the early sixties, she was scarcely away from our television screens appearing in, amongst other productions, the BBC series SWALLOWS AND AMAZONS; the BBC film drama DRACULA with Denholm Elliott; THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL for Yorkshire TV and The LIFE CLASS, one of the first recorded live plays made for BBC2.
It was inevitable that her undeniable screen presence would lead to a career in films and, in 1966, she landed her first screen role - two lines in Ken Russell's THE BILLION DOLLAR BRAIN starring Michael Caine. After this came UP THE JUNCTION.
In 1967, her first starring role introduced Susan George, as the young hippie Fred who seduced policeman Michael York, in David Greene's THE STRANGE AFFAIR. George's charismatic and flirtatious performance garnered exceptional reviews.