Samantha Davis
Samantha Davis | |
|---|---|
| Born | Samantha Burroughs 30 January 1971 |
| Died | 24 March 2024 (aged 53) |
| Citizenship | British |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1988–2022 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3, including Annabelle |
| Father | Peter Burroughs |
Samantha Davis (née Burroughs; 30 January 1971 – 24 March 2024) was a British actress and co-founder of the charity Little People U.K.[1] She worked on films such as Labyrinth and Willow, where she met her husband Warwick Davis.[2][3] Her father is actor Peter Burroughs.[1]
Personal life
[edit]She was born with achondroplasia, a hereditary genetic condition that results in dwarfism.[3]
As a teenager, she began to work as an extra on movie sets with her father Peter Burroughs. It was while working on the film Willow that she met her husband Warwick Davis [3] though he already knew her from the set of Labyrinth which they had both worked on a few years prior.[1] In 1988, the same year they met on Willow, the two were in a play together at the Cambridge Arts Centre and began dating.[2] They dated for three years and were married in 1991.[3]
Their first child together died shortly after birth due to complications from inheriting both the genetic conditions that cause dwarfism from each parent (achondroplasia and SED).[4][3][5]
The couple went on to have two other children together, Annabelle and Harrison, who like their parents have both acted in film and television[6] and like their father have Spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita, a genetic condition that causes dwarfism.[4]
Death
[edit]In 2019, Davis faced a life-threatening case of sepsis due to complications from surgery and received treatment in hospital. She died of illness in 2024.[1]
Career
[edit]Davis appeared as an extra in many films, mostly uncredited. She worked on the film Labyrinth with her father Peter Burroughs[2] and she had an uncredited role as a Nelwyn villager in Willow,[7] a role she reprised (again uncredited) in the revival TV series for Disney+.[6] She also appeared as a goblin in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 and in the educational BBC show Through the Dragon's Eye in 1989.
Charity work
[edit]Samantha Davis co-founded Little People UK in 2012 with husband Warwick Davis.[1][8] The purpose of the charity was to help people with dwarfism in the United Kingdom.[9][10] It connects people with dwarfism to each other through events as well to educational and medical resources.[10] One component is an annual convention where hundreds of people with dwarfism meet.[10] The charity often helps children with dwarfism feel less isolated, connect with people, and gain more self-confidence.[9][11][12]
Filmography
[edit]- Labyrinth (1986)[2]
- Willow (1988)
- Leprechaun 2 (1994)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)
TV
[edit]- Honky Sausages (1999) 1 episode
- Through the Dragon's Eye (1989) 3 episodes
- Willow (2022) (uncredited)[6]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 Tenreyro, Tatiana (18 April 2024). "Samantha Davis, Actress and Co-Founder of Little People U.K. With Husband Warwick Davis, Dies at 53". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
- 1 2 3 4 Warwick, Davis (2011). Size Matters Not: The Extraordinary Life and Career of Warwick Davis. John Wiley & Sons. p. 206. ISBN 978-1-118-11939-6.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Elliott-Gibbs, Sam (18 April 2024). "Warwick Davis' wife Samantha's cause of death as Harry Potter star speaks out". The Mirror. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
- 1 2 McGrath, Nick (31 March 2012). "Warwick Davis: My family values". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
- ↑ Gibler, Gerald (22 October 2011). "Size matters: Warwick Davis is no small talent". The Independent. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
- 1 2 3 "'Willow' Star Warwick Davis Took Inspiration from Mark Hamill's 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' Performance". The Hollywood Reporter. 2 December 2022. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
- ↑ Evans, Greg (19 April 2024). "Samantha Davis Dies: Actor Wife Of Warwick Davis, Co-Founder Of Little People UK Charity Was 53". Deadline. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
- ↑ "About Us". Little People UK. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
- 1 2 Wightwick, Abbie (27 January 2024). "'People take photos and shout at me in the street but I want to change that'". Wales Online. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
- 1 2 3 Dorsey, Jack (12 September 2017). "One big celebration of little people!". Best.
- ↑ "Life as a teenage dwarf: 'People think I'm four or five years old'". Retrieved 11 December 2024.
- ↑ "Hollywood star Warwick Davis proves big hit with kids". Rotherham Advertiser. 25 September 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2024.