Alison Doody

Alison Doody
Doody at the opening of the Grand Canal Theatre, Dublin in 2010.
Born	(1966-11-11) 11 November 1966 (age 45) Dublin, Ireland
Occupation	Actress/Model
Years active	1985–present (break 1994–2002)
Spouse	Gavin O'Reilly (1994–2006) (separated)

Alison Doody (born 11 November 1966) is an Irish actress and model. She is known for playing Jenny Flex in 1985's A View to a Kill, as well as her role as Elsa Schneider in 1989's Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

Early life

The youngest of three children, she was born in Dublin, Ireland. Her mother, Joan, was a beauty therapist, and her father, Patrick, worked in the property business and farmed.^[1] Doody attended Mount Anville Secondary School.

Career

Approached by a photographer, Doody took up modeling, which turned into a career in commercial modeling as she stringently avoided glamour and nude work—a clause which she extended to her acting career. She came to the attention of the casting director of a new James Bond film and accepted a part as Jenny Flex in 1985's A View to a Kill. She was just 18 at the time, making her the youngest bond girl ever.^[2] Doody was listed as one of 12 "Promising New Actors of 1986" in John Willis' Screen World, Vol. 38. [1986].

Still only 18 when she appeared as Jenny Flex, she was - and remains - the youngest Bond girl. Her character, a dedicated horse rider, was famously killed when a bomb planted by the villainous Max Zorin (Christopher Walken) flooded the mine where he was plotting to cause an even bigger explosion.^[3]

She then had a non-speaking role in the 1987 television adaptation of The Secret Garden with Derek Jacobi appearing as Archibald Craven's wife, Lilias, in his dream. Her next role was playing the lead in Jim Henson's The Storyteller as Sapsorrow opposite John Hurt, Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders.

Taking up acting professionally, Doody appeared in various television dramas in London including Selling Hitler, playing Gina Heidemann opposite Jonathan Pryce.^{[citation needed]} One of her first movie roles was playing the part of Siobhan Donovan alongside Liam Neeson in the movie A Prayer for the Dying with Mickey Rourke. She also played opposite Pierce Brosnan in the film Taffin before taking the role as Austrian Nazi-sympathiser and archaeologist Dr. Elsa Schneider in 1989's Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade playing opposite Harrison Ford.

She subsequently relocated to Hollywood.^{[citation needed]} Chosen to replace Cybill Shepherd as spokeswoman for L'Oréal,^{[citation needed]} she then went on to play opposite Charlie Sheen in Major League II as Flannery, his girlfriend/agent.

Doody returned to acting with a small role in the British comedy movie The Actors with Michael Caine, in which she played herself in an award ceremony scene.^[4] She played alongside Patrick Swayze in a television movie adaptation of King Solomon's Mines and also starred in a short called Benjamin's Struggle (2005),^{[citation needed]} a pamphlet about the Holocaust, and in the British TV series Waking the Dead (in a two-part episode called "The Fall") in 2007. In 2010, Doody shot a part in the latest Danny Dyer film, called The Rapture. She later currently guest starred in RTÉ's medical drama The Clinic.^{[citation needed]} She had a starring role in the 2011 remake of the 1970s horror cult classic The Asphyx.

Personal life

Doody married Gavin O'Reilly, CEO of the Independent News & Media on 25 June 1994, at the O'Reilly family residence Castlemartin. The couple made their home at Bartra House,^[5] a 10,000-square-foot (930 m²) home overlooking the sea in Dalkey. The marriage produced two daughters (Alanna in 1996; Lauren in 1999). She separated from O'Reilly in 2004.^[6]

References

External links

• Alison Doody at the Internet Movie Database