The daughter of a British Army brigadier, capable auburn-haired beauty
Samantha Eggar was educated at a convent and began her acting career
in her teens with several Shakespearean companies in the provinces,
and for two seasons at the Oxford Playhouse. Whilst appearing in the
Royal Court Theatre production of A Midsummer Night's Dream she was
discovered by Rank producer Betty Box who cast her as a college student
in The Wild and the Willing (1962) and a love-interest in Doctor
in Distress (1963), she was also affecting as Donald Pleasence’s
mistress in Dr. Crippen (1962).
She won critical reviews and an Oscar nomination for her performance
as the anxious kidnap victim of William Wyler's haunting The
Collector (1965), co-starring Terence Stamp. There then followed
a succession of unremarkable film roles including Psyche 59 (1964),
Walk, Don't Run (1966) and as the object of Rex Harrison's affection
in Doctor Doolittle (1967). Though she had several excellent films to
her credit including J. Lee Thompson’s noirish thriller Return
from the Ashes (1965), she mysteriously failed to become a major
star. For the rest of her prolific career, she co-starred in few big
US films, notably The Molly Maguires (1970) and produced a notable performance
in The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1976), and subsequently appeared in
routine US telemovies and horror features like The
Uncanny (1977) and The Brood (1979). In the 90s, Eggar has appeared
in minor roles in big-budget productions including a society mother
in Simon Wincer's The Phantom (1996) and a cameo role in The Astronaut's
Wife (1999).
