- Born
- Birth nameJudith C. Matheson
- Nickname
- The Exquisite Miss M
- Elegant, charismatic, and beautiful, Judy Matheson is one of the most iconic ladies to have featured in Hammer films.
Judith C. Matheson was born in Thurrock, Essex, England. She began her career near the end of the swinging sixties after drama school. She first worked for the Bristol Old Vic Theatre Company, with which she toured the United States; this included a season on Broadway. She also made appearances in three prestigious Shakespeare productions, with the most prominent being Sir Tyrone Guthrie's production of Measure for Measure.
She got her big break starring alongside a culturally diverse cast in the horror art house film Las crueles (1969). Her bold and groundbreaking performance skyrocketed her career, and soon she became a big hit among the horror film scene in Great Britain (particularly for Hammer). She made memorable appearances in a string of horror films such as Les Sévices de Dracula (1971), La soif du vampire (1971), Crucible of Terror (1971), Le rideau de la mort (1972), and more. She also made several appearances on televisions shows throughout the 1970s, including Blake's 7 (1978), Episode #1.2818 (1977), Harriet's Back in Town (1972), and more.
She left the acting business at the end of the 1970s and has since married and had children. With her iconic status as a Hammer Girl, she still makes occasional appearances at film conventions meeting fans and signing autographs.- IMDb mini biography by: Foster Hitchman
- SpousesDouglas Jarvis(1995 - present) (2 children)Paul Freeman(1967 - ?) (divorced)
- Long brunette hair with straight bangs
- Her regal mannerisms/behavior and cut-glass British accent
- Sparkling sultry eyes
- Often wore the silver hand charm pendant necklace from Las crueles (1969) in her subsequent films.
- In the film Les Sévices de Dracula (1971), her character is executed by being burned at the stake. The stunt was performed by Matheson herself, with no special effects or stunt double. There was also a Fire Safety Officer present on the set for everyone's safety. Ironically, Matheson has stated that instead of being nervous over performing a potentially dangerous stunt, she was more excited about the fact that she was working with Peter Cushing, whom she had great admiration for.
- Is good friends with fellow actress, Helen Mirren. They appeared together in a TV movie Doing Her Own Thing (1970).
- Worked as a television personality and news anchor for Television South (TVS) in Great Britain during the 1980s.
- In an interview with Kensington Gore Publishing she stated that out of all her films from her career, her favorite is Las crueles (1969).
- After production wrapped on Las crueles (1969), the film's director, Vicente Aranda, presented her with a special gift, a necklace with a hand charm. She still has the necklace to this day, and even occasionally wore it on screen in her subsequent films.
- [on Lynne Frederick] She was totally lovely. We were once marooned in a shared hotel room in The Hague for three weeks. Hardly the stuff of stardom, as we moaned at the time. We were waiting for producers to 'produce' the money to make a film that never materialized. We had fun though, she was delightful company.
- [on Capucine] Capucine, my co-star, was the most beautiful woman I have ever met, and also one of the most complex. I adored her.
- [on her favorite film from her career] My favorite of my movies was the first one. Variously called "Las Crueles", "The Exquisite Cadaver", and "The Exquisite Corpse". I won the role over many others, which was quite a coup. We filmed it on location in Spain and Rome. It seemed very exotic to be one of the stars surrounded by a wonderful Spanish crew & director.
- [on Peter Cushing] He was the kindest, most gentle, and friendliest of actors. Yet transformed into the character he was playing with ease and always with truth. Impressive in every way.
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