Madeline was born in Hartfield, Sussex, in a huge old house that had been requisitioned by the Army during the war. By August 2nd, 1949, it had been temporarily converted into a nursing home. Her life, however, was far from grand – starting out as it did in a tin bath above the little Brockhurst dairy her grandfather had acquired. This was the London Road, in East Grinstead — now a dual carriageway! From there, Madeline moved again to Forest Row, before finally settling in Kew Gardens.
The misery of convent school was soon eclipsed by the overwhelming joy of modelling. Madeline began her modelling career in the first catalogue for BIBA, one of London’s most successful and iconic fashion labels, synonymous with the swinging sixties. Then followed a long stint as a model for Lucy Clayton.
After roles in several Hammer horror cult classics (including Taste the Blood of Dracula & The Vampire Lovers), Madeline was cast as Roger Moore’s first Bond girl in Live and Let Die. She cut her teeth in comedy in the TV series Doctor At Large, followed by a guest stint on The Two Ronnies.
From film and TV, she moved on to touring theatre and the West End, working opposite Alec Guinness and Donald Sinden, among others, before taking some time out of acting to get an English degree from Goldsmiths. Madeline loves to write and now contributes to The Oldie magazine.
Her darling daughter Emily was born in 1984, after which Madeline made the move into children’s TV, starring in Clive Doig’s Eureka for the BBC.
And here she is today, after a versatile and storied career; ready, willing and able.