Kate O'Mara est une actrice anglaise, née le 10 août 1939 à Leicester, et morte le 30 mars 2014. Elle est connue pour sa prestation dans le feuilleton Dynastie, pour le rôle de Caress Morell, sœur d'Alexis Carrington Colby (interprété par Joan Collins).

Elle est aussi remarquée dans deux productions de la Hammer (Les Horreurs de Frankenstein, The Vampire Lovers), rejoignant ainsi les actrices plantureuses de ce studio anglais comme Barbara Shelley ou Yvonne Romain.

Elle fait également beaucoup d'apparitions dans des séries à la télévision, comme Chapeau melon et bottes de cuir, Doctor Who, Le Saint ou Absolutely Fabulous.

Biographie

O'Mara was married twice, first to Jeremy Young in 1961; the couple divorced in 1976. In 1993, she married Richard Willis, but the marriage was dissolved in 1996. She had two sons, Dickon Young (1964–2012) and Christopher Linde, both from previous relationships, although Dickon took his stepfather's surname. She gave up Linde for adoption and he was named by his adoptive parents, Derek and Joy Linde. Linde (born 1965), from whom the actress was long estranged, was born from her relationship with actor David Orchard.

Dickon Young (1964–2012), whose biological father was reportedly actor Ian Cullen, was a stage manager for the Royal Shakespeare Company before setting up his own company building tree-houses in the mid-1990s. He was found hanged, a presumed suicide, at the family home in Long Marston, Warwickshire on 31 December 2012. O'Mara was hospitalised with pneumonia at the time of her son's death and his body was not discovered for three weeks.

O'Mara wrote four books, two novels (When She Was Bad (ISBN 0261667157) and Good Time Girl (ISBN 0002242915)), and two autobiographical books, Vamp Until Ready (ISBN 1861057008) and Game Plan: A Woman's Survival Kit (ISBN 0283060573).

Speaking about her bouts of depression, later in her life, O'Mara said: "... I've since learnt a cure for depression: listening to J.S. Bach and reading P.G. Wodehouse. This got me through the break-up of my second marriage 17 years ago. The great thing about Wodehouse is that his books are full of romantic problems and yet so hilarious that it puts things in perspective ... I'm not frightened of dying, but I love the countryside so much and I’m going to miss it. I'd like to be out in the wind and the trees for ever."