Eileen Marguerite McNenemy (8 February 1938 – 28 July 2004) professionally known as Margo McLennan, she was also billed in her early acting career as Margo Mayne and briefly as Margot McLennan and Marco McLennan, was a British-born actress , singer and dancer who was active in England and Australia, where she became best known to international audiences for her role in the Australian TV cult soap opera '' Prisoner'', (known in United States and UK as ''Prisoner: Cell Block H'' and ''Caged Woman'' in Canada)

Biography

Born in

Peckham Peckham () is a district in southeast London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720. History "Peckham" is a Saxon p ...

, South London, to a father who was a licensed virtualler and professional violinist and a mother who dabbled in real estate speculation, she originally trained to be an ice skater at the

Streatham Ice and Leisure Centre Streatham Ice and Leisure Centre is an ice rink and leisure centre in Streatham, London. It is the only Olympic-sized skating rink in the city, and is the home ice of the Streatham IHC and Streatham Storm ice hockey teams. It replaced the older S ...

, before deciding instead a career as an actress, having trained in the arts at the Italia Conti Academy. her career spanned some 50 years. One of the most popular actresses of the 1960s she was a theatre, film and TV star, who appeared on magazine covers and in commercials, after being spotted as a dancer in cabaret, she appeared in such stage roles as '' The Merchant of Venice'' and ''Goodnight Mrs. Puffin'', the latter which marked her debut in West End theatre She was married to fellow actor Tony Doonan from 1962 until their divorce in 1969. They had one child, Nicola, from that union. She changed her name to Margo Mayne. In the 1960s and early 1970s she appeared in several British screen roles including ''

Spaceflight IC-1 ''Spaceflight IC-1: An Adventure in Space'' is a 1965 British science-fiction movie starring Bill Williams and Norma West. The civilized world is controlled by an all-powerful computerized government that is carefully choosing colonists for it ...

'' and ''

Love Is a Splendid Illusion ''Love is a Splendid Illusion'' is a 1970 British sex comedy concerning a businessman (Simon Brent) whose cheating ways come to a head in Italy when the secret lover of his equally cheating wife (Lisa Collings) turns out to be a potential business ...

'' as well as numerous TV series including '' Night Train to Surbiton'' and ''Ransom For A Pretty Girl''. She went on to play a succession of glamorous characters in shows such as ''

The Gentle Killers ''The Gentle Killers'' is a 1957 television serial. The six-part half-hour series was produced by ATV and aired on ITV. Cast included Tony Church and Hazel Court. It was written by Lewis Greifer and Leigh Vance. There is very scarce information ...

'', ''

Motive for Murder ''Motive for Murder'' is a 1957 British documentary television drama. The six-part thriller serial was produced by ATV and aired on ITV. The half-hour series was written by Jimmy Sangster. Cast included Vincent Ball, Gene Anderson, Geoffrey C ...

'' and ''

Man from Interpol ''Man from Interpol'' is a 1960 TV series produced by The Danzigers. The NBC series was filmed in England and the music was scored by jazz musician Tony Crombie. Premise Anthony Smith, an agent based at Britain's Interpol Division at Scotlan ...

''. Having moved to Australia, Margo joined the cult series ''Prisoner'' in 1979 as Catherine Roberts, in a controversial storyline where she is sent to prison for killing her daughter's

rapist Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, Abusive power and control, ...

. During 1982 she returned to the show for a three episode guest role of Prison Officer Parsons. After Prisoner she took guest roles in numerous TV series '' The Flying Doctors'', ''

A Country Practice ''A Country Practice'' is an Australian television soap opera which broadcast on the Seven Network from 18 November 1981 until 5 November 1993, airing at 7:30 pm on Monday and Tuesday evenings. Altogether, 14 seasons and 1,058 episodes were p ...

'', '' Blue Heelers'' and '' The Secret Life of Us''. In later life, under the name Margo Lady McLennen, she was an advocate for gay and lesbian marriage, and was a celebrant. Upon learning she had cancer, she returned to Britain with her second husband, Australian actor Rodney McLennan. McLennan's final acting role was in ''Prisoner Queen'' (2003), playing Mrs. Gelding. She died in West Sussex, Britain from metastasised cancer, aged 66.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McLennan, Margo 1938 births 2004 deaths Actresses from London English film actresses English television actresses English soap opera actresses Australian film actresses Australian soap opera actresses Deaths from cancer in England 20th-century Australian actresses 20th-century English actresses 21st-century Australian actresses 21st-century English actresses