Fiona Gaunt
Birth nameFiona Elizabeth Keet-Gaunt
Birth date25 May 1947 (age 79)
Birth placeBeirut, Lebanon

Fiona Elizabeth Keet-Gaunt (born 25 May 1947) is an English actress and the mother of actress Genevieve Gaunt.

Personal life

According to a 1972 newspaper profile, Gaunt was born in Beirut to Scottish Presbyterian parents and lived in Uganda until she was 16.[1] In 1985 she met the Dutch actor Frederik de Groot. Their daughter, Genevieve, was born in January 1991.[2]

Career

Fiona Gaunt trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, graduating in 1969.[3] She subsequently played opposite Anthony Hopkins - as Hélène Kuragina, wife of Pierre Bezukhov - in the BBC's 1972 production of War and Peace.[4] She then starred as psychiatrist Helen Smith in the 1973 science fiction series Moonbase 3.[5][6] To prepare for her role, Gaunt studied tapes of the Apollo missions.[7]

Gaunt appeared in a 1973 episode of the comedy series Sykes, playing an upper-class girl who tricks Eric Sykes' character into getting engaged. She had a handful of roles in The Two Ronnies, including as a stowaway in their spoof of The Onedin Line, and starred as Grace Lovell in the 1978 TV adaptation of A Horseman Riding By.[8] She was also in the first production of Tom Stoppard's 1979 play, Undiscovered Country.[9]

Filmography

YearFormatTitleRole
1978TV seriesA Horseman Riding ByGrace Lovell.[8]
1973TV seriesMoonbase 3Dr. Helen Smith.[5]
1973TV seriesThe Two Ronnies.[10]Various roles.
1973TV seriesSykes: An Engagement.[11]
1973TV seriesJustice: Malicious DamageDiana Blumenthal
1972TV seriesWar and Peace.[12]Hélène Kuragina.[13]
1971MiniseriesCousin BetteLeonie.[14]
1970Anthology SeriesTales of UneaseGirl

Selected stage credits

References

Citations

  1. ^ Gavin Weightman, 'TV star who wins their hearts', Nottingham Evening Post, 1 December 1972, p. 11.
  2. ^ "Genevieve Gaunt on her 'Amanda Knox' role... and how Cambridge acting helped her get a double first". Evening Standard. 29 August 2014.
  3. ^ 'The Ortolan', The Stage, 27 March 1969, p. 15.
  4. ^ "Saturday Television". The Pantagraph (Bloomington, Illinois). 15 October 1977. Retrieved 25 May 2016. – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Butler, Andrew M. (2012). Solar Flares: Science Fiction in the 1970s. Liverpool University Press. p. 41. ISBN 9781781387986.
  6. ^ Rolinson 2010, p. 79.
  7. ^ Rolinson 2010, p. 88.
  8. ^ Terrace, Vincent (1985). Encyclopedia of Television Series, Pilots and Specials. Vol. 2. New York Zoetrope. p. 197. ISBN 0918432618.
  9. ^ Stoppard, Tom (2000). Plays 4: Dalliance, Undiscovered Country, Rough Crossing, The Seagull. Faber Contemporary Classics. ISBN 9780571197507.
  10. ^ "The Two Ronnies". BBC. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  11. ^ "Listings". Genome. Archived from the original on 18 October 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  12. ^ "TV Movie Tips". Independent Press-Telegram. 25 November 1973. Retrieved 25 May 2016. – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Educational TV". Kingsport News. 5 January 1974. Retrieved 25 May 2016. – via Newspaper Archive.
  14. ^ "Cousin Bette". Genome. Archived from the original on 13 September 2025. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  15. ^ 'Chit Chat', The Stage, 18 December 1969, p. 8.
  16. ^ 'Chit Chat', The Stage, 3 September 1970, p. 10.
  17. ^ 'Gate: The Bedbug', The Stage, 14 February 1980, p. 24.

Sources