Heather Ripley (born c. 1961) is a Scottish former actress. She is best known for the film '' Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' (1968), in which she played Jemima Potts.

Early life

Ripley was raised in

Broughty Ferry Broughty Ferry (; Scottish Gaelic: ''Bruach Tatha''; Scots: ''Brochtie'') is a suburb of Dundee, Scotland. It is situated four miles east of the city centre on the north bank of the Firth of Tay. The area was a separate burgh from 1864 until 191 ...

, outside of Dundee, Scotland. Her father and grandfather owned an opticians' business, and her mother worked as a wardrobe mistress at

Dundee Rep Dundee Repertory Theatre, better known simply as the Dundee Rep, is a theatre and arts company in the city of Dundee, Scotland. It operates as both a producing house - staging at least six of its own productions each year, and a receiving house ...

. Ripley would accompany her mother to rehearsals and replaced a young actress in the play ''Roar Like a Dove'' one week before it opened, which gained the notice of a talent scout. Six months before filming began for '' Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'', she travelled to London with her parents to audition for the role of Jemima Potts. It was the first film for the two child stars, Ripley and Adrian Hall, who were cast after an extensive talent search. Ripley took lessons to change her accent for the film, and later recalled: "They thought I was perfect for the part, apart from the accent. But they said that wasn't a problem as they'd get rid of it. I thought that sounded a bit ominous. What did they mean? Brain surgery?”Garfield, Simon
"After the big Bang Bang..."
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 24 February 2002 Accompanied by her mother, Ripley was away from her Dundee home for 14 months for the filming of ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang''.

Later years

After making ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'', Ripley continued to audition for roles and eventually left the film industry. Her earnings from the film were held in trust until her 18th birthday, but she later recalled "After 10 years of it being invested, it was only about £7,000". She returned to Dundee, where she later joined the family optician business. Ripley also became involved in anti-nuclear activism and campaigns for the environment. Ripley participated in the 1999 documentary ''After They Were Famous: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang''. She attended the London premiere of the musical '' Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' at the

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in the famous area of Soho. The theatre holds 2,286 seats. Of the roster of stars who have played there, many have televised performances. Between 1955 a ...

in 2002.Smith, Laura
"The dream of fame that fell apart"
''

London Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'', 7 April 2002 In 2004, she made a brief appearance in the independent film ''The Interview'' which was screened at that year's Edinburgh Film Festival.Farquharson, Kenny
"My escape from the child catcher: The child star of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang tells Kenny Farquharson how she has finally put the film behind her"
''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'', 2 January 2005 In 2004, she was interviewed with members of the original cast on ITV1 on Christmas Eve. She was a guest at the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

premiere of the musical ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' at the Hilton Theatre in 2005. In 2016, Ripley was a volunteer worker at the Lagadikia refugee camp outside

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

in Greece which provided food, clothing and support to about 875 people. In 2020, she voiced the character Babs in the independent-made short animation ''Lavatory of Terror'',Fairburn, Robert
"Forgotten child star of ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' is lured back by loo role"
''

'', 15 January 2020 telephoning her lines in via her smartphone.Knox, David
"''Chitty Bang Bang'' star lured out of retirement by Langlee film-makers"
''The Border Telegraph'', 15 January 2020

Filmography

Films

* '' Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' (1968) - Jemima Potts

Television

*''After They Were Famous'' (as herself) - TV documentary (1999) *''After They Were Famous: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' (as herself) - interview (2004)Filmography of Heather Ripley

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery (United Kingdom), National Lot ...

Database

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ripley, Heather 1960s births Living people 20th-century Scottish actresses 21st-century Scottish actresses Actresses from Dundee Scottish anti–nuclear activists Findhorn community Scottish child actresses Scottish film actresses Scottish stage actresses Scottish television actresses