Georgina Cates, star of An Awfully Big Adventure, dies aged 51
English actor Georgina Cates has died at the age of 51.
She died on May 6, and her death went unreported until her daughter Naiia announced it on Instagram, The Hollywood Reporter reported on 18 October 2026. The gap between those dates means more than five months passed before the news became public.
Cates was born Clare Elaine Woodgate on 4 April 1975 in Colchester, Essex, according to the trade. She worked as an actor in British television before moving into film. She was 51 at the time of her death.
Her early television credit was Jenny Porter on 2point4 Children. She played the part across the first two seasons in 1991 and 1992, the trade reported. The show was a BBC series, The Independent noted.
For viewers who did not see that run, it was her introduction on mainstream television. The role placed her in a family ensemble at the start of her career. She then sought film work.
Her best-known film part was Stella Bradshaw in An Awfully Big Adventure, released in 1995, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The credit put her alongside established names in a British feature. It remains the role most often attached to her name in obituaries.
Three years later she appeared in Clay Pigeons, released in 1998. She played a cheating wife alongside Joaquin Phoenix and Vince Vaughn, the trade reported. The part placed her in an American crime story with two young leading men.
Away from the screen, Cates was married to actor Skeet Ulrich from 1997 until their divorce in 2005, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The marriage lasted eight years. Ulrich later became widely known for screen work in the United States.
No cause of death has officially been provided, The Independent reported. That remains the position at publication. Family disclosure on Instagram is so far the only public account of her passing.
For fans, this means the loss occurred quietly in the spring and is only now being widely recorded. The details available describe a short career that moved from BBC television to British and American film in the 1990s. Further information has not been released.
