Sarah Douglas

At the 2006 Dallas Comic Con.
Photo by Corey Bond.

Born

December 12, 1952 (age 55)
Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire, England, United Kingdom

Spouse(s)

Richard LeParmentier (1981 - 1984)

Biography

Early life

Douglas was born in Stratford-Upon-Avon, Warwickshire, the second daughter of Beryl (née Smith), a physiotherapist who often worked upon RSC actors, and also of Edward Douglas, a career member of the Royal Air Force.¹² Having been educated locally, she then trained with the National Youth Theatre, then turning professional by working on several productions alongside well-known British actors such as Roy Dotrice and Jon Pertwee. Eventually, Douglas's career took her in front of the cameras.

Career

After a small appearance in the 1973 film The Last Days of Man on Earth (alternatively known as The Final Programme), Douglas became known to British television audiences in the 1970s by appearing in prominent shows such as The Inheritors and Space:1999, before appearing in the films The People That Time Forgot (in a role where she was nominated for a Saturn Award), and the highly controversial and rarely seen film The Brute.

In 1978, her career skyrocketed after she played "Ursa" in Superman (1978) and Superman II (1980) having beaten a staggering 600 actresses to the part. Douglas also appeared in Conan the Destroyer (1984) (as Queen Taramis). On television, Douglas played Pamela Lynch in the primetime soap opera Falcon Crest for two seasons between 1983-85, and played another "Pamela" in the 1984 television mini-series V: The Final Battle. In the 1990s, she guest starred in the Babylon 5 first season episode "Deathwalker" as Deathwalker/Jha'Dur, and Stargate SG-1's second season two-part episode "The Tok'ra" as Garshaw. Douglas has also appeared in various horror, comedy and action films, including Solarbabies, The Return of Swamp Thing, The Stepford Husbands, Return of the Living Dead 3 and Spitfire, where she played a tough CIA agent in pursuit of Lance Henriksen.

Recent appearances

In 2008, Douglas's vocal talents have been lent to various audio projects, returning to work alongside David Warner, for a new BBC Audio CD entitled The Brightonomicon, and most recently participating in the new audio recordings for Stargate Atlantis.

In 1981, she was married to her longtime boyfriend, American actor Richard LeParmentier (best known for playing Motti in Star Wars), whom she met on the set of the original Rollerball film. However, they divorced in 1984. Interesting trivia to note with regard to Sarah Douglas's career is that she remains the first woman to "fly" in motion picture history, having portrayed the Kryptonian villainess and she holds the unique distinction of working with three of the iconic creations of James Cameron. She worked with The Terminator cyborg Arnold Schwarzenegger, Aliens android Bishop Lance Henriksen and Terminator 2 T-1000 Robert Patrick.