Margaret Anne Kirkpatrick (née Downs; born 29 January 1941) is an Australian stage and screen actress who has appeared in numerous theatre, television and feature film roles since the late 1950s. Kirkpatrick starred in the TV series ''

Prisoner A prisoner, also known as an inmate or detainee, is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement or captivity in a prison or physical restraint. The term usually applies to one serving a Sentence (law), se ...

'' (known as ''Prisoner: Cell Block H'' in the UK and North America), portraying the character "The Freak" Joan Ferguson, a sinister and cold lesbian prison officer. She performed in the premiere Australian production of the musical '' Wicked'' as Madame Morrible. Kirkpatrick has appeared in numerous TV series including '' Richmond Hill'', '' Water Rats'', '' G.P.'' and ''

Blue Heelers ''Blue Heelers'' is an Australian police drama series that was produced by Southern Star Group and ran for twelve years on the Seven Network, from 1994 to 2006. Although based around the policing of the town, the series generally depicted th ...

'', as well as two roles in '' All Saints'' and ''

Home and Away ''Home and Away'' (''H&A'') is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Alan Bateman and commenced broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. Bateman came up with the concept of the show during a trip to Kangaroo Point, N ...

''. In 2019, she released her autobiography ''The Gloves Are Off: The Inside Story From Prisoner to Wicked''.

Biography

Margaret Anne Downs was born in

Albury Albury (; ) is a major regional city that is located in the Murray River, Murray region of New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the twin city of Albury–Wodonga, Albury-Wodonga and is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, to James and Crissie Downs. When she was seven months old her father was killed while on active national service as a soldier in

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

, leaving her mother to bring her up alone. Her mother later married John Anderson and had a son, Adrian. The family moved to

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

, New South Wales, where Kirkpatrick grew up. She had had an interest in acting from an early age, and appeared in several school plays. By November 1955 she became fed up with school and left, whereupon her mother sent her to drama lessons. In 1960, at the age of 19, Kirkpatrick took her first professional acting job, with theatre impresario John Alden's Shakespeare Company. After this initial production she promptly gave up acting. Kirkpatrick subsequently took various jobs, including working in dress shop, as a medical receptionist, compère of fashion parades, and she also had jobs in bars, restaurants, and hotels. Downs married Norman Kirkpatrick, a merchant seaman of the

Shankill Road The Shankill Road () is one of the main roads leading through West Belfast, in Northern Ireland. It runs through the working-class, predominantly loyalist, area known as the Shankill. The road stretches westwards for about from central Belfast ...

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

, in September 1963. Five years later they moved to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

where Kirkpatrick decided to resume her acting career. After appearing in two plays she put her acting career on hold once again, this time due to the arrival of her daughter Caitlin. Kirkpatrick resumed theatre work as Caitlin got older from 1964 onwards, and from 1976 onwards moved on to

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

and cinema. Kirkpatrick appeared in the music video for " Anthem for the Year 2000" by rock band

Silverchair Silverchair was an Australian Rock music, rock band, which formed in 1992 as Innocent Criminals in Newcastle, New South Wales, with Daniel Johns on vocals and guitars, Ben Gillies on drums, and Chris Joannou on bass guitar. The group got thei ...

. She is a supporter of

gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Not ...

, having made numerous appearances at "Fair Day" as part of the annual Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival. She has been awarded the Sydney Gay Community's DIVA award for her work. Kirkpatrick returned to TV in 2017 after a 9-year hiatus, having in recent years appearing primarily in theatre roles, appearing in Australian TV mini-series ''The Letdown''.

Personal life

In July 2015, Kirkpatrick was charged with

child sexual assault A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''child ...

against a 13-year-old girl in the 1980s. She strongly denied the allegations and said she would fight to clear her name of the two counts of indecent assault and one count of gross indecency with a person under the age of 16. In a statement Kirkpatrick said, "Yes, allegations have been levelled at me. Are they true? Absolutely not." She appeared in court in August 2015 and was found guilty on 20 August. She was subsequently sentenced to an 18-month community corrections order, including 100 hours of community service. Kirkpatrick successfully appealed the case and won, with Judge Geoffrey Chettle finding that there was reasonable doubt surrounding the circumstances, and dismissing the conviction and charges. She was a lesbian on prisoner and secretly during her marriage.

Filmography

Film Television

Other appearances

Theatre

Source:

AusStage AusStage: The Australian Live Performance Database is an online database which records information about live performances in Australia, providing records of productions from the first recorded performance in Australia (1789, by convicts) up unt ...

Awards

Mo Awards

The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the Mo Awards), were annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia from 1975 to 2016. Maggie Kirkpatrick won one award in that time. (wins only) , - , 2000 , Maggie Kirkpatrick , Female Actor in a Play , , -

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kirkpatrick, Maggie 1941 births Living people Actresses from New South Wales Australian film actresses Australian soap opera actresses Australian stage actresses Australian LGBTQ rights activists Overturned convictions in Australia People from Albury 20th-century Australian actresses 21st-century Australian actresses