Veronica was born in Bristol, England and
emigrated to the United States as a young girl with her parents and sister Angela.
She
began her career modeling and doing print ads. She became the Kellogg's Girl doing commercials for Kellogg's Corn Flakes, Sugar Smacks and Rice Krispies.
At the age of
nine Veronica appeared in IN LOVE AND WAR, playing Robert Wagner's sister,
following that as a semi-regular on the CBS series, LEAVE IT TO BEAVER, as
Violet Rutherford, famed for giving Beaver his first kiss. Other shows followed such as
THE ELEVENTH HOUR, ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS and the classic
episode of THE TWILIGHT ZONE called I Sing the Body Electric as
young Anne. There were many guest appearances on various shows and then the NBC serial,
DANIEL BOONE," where she played Jemima Boone from 1964 to 1966.
At age 15 she won a Emmy for Best Actress in a
television movie called TELL ME NOT IN MOURNFUL NUMBERS, an actual
case-history of a young girl who was admitted to the Children's Psychiatric Unit of Los
Angeles County General Hospital, who thought, drew and spoke only in numbers. It was the
only case of "numbers syndrome" in psychiatric records.
Her film career began in the classic films, such
as THE CHILDREN'S HOUR, with Audrey Hepburn and Shirley McLaine and directed
by William Wyler, Alfred Hitchcock's THE BIRDS, starring Tippi Hedren, Jessica
Tandy and Rod Taylor, and SPENCER'S MOUNTAIN, with Henry Fonda and
Maureen O'Hara.
She made her transition into adult roles in such
films as INSERTS with Richard Dryfuss and GOIN' SOUTH, the first
of three films in which she starred opposite Jack Nicholson. Veronica appeared in two
science fiction classics in the 1970's, Philip Kaufman's remake of INVASION OF THE
BODY SNATCHERS starring Donald Sutherland, Jeff Goldblum and Leonard Nimoy, and
Ridley Scott's masterpiece thriller, ALIEN.
In the 1980's Veronica starred as Betty Grissom
in the epic dramatization of NASA's space program based on Tom Wolfe's novel, THE
RIGHT STUFF, also directed by Kaufman. She made an indelible impression on
movie-goers in 1987 with her standout performance in THE WITCHES OF EASTWICK,
alongside Cher, Michelle Pfeiffer, Susan Sarandon and Nicholson.
Among Veronica's other film credits are MAN
TROUBLE, again with Nicholson, and CANDYMAN II, based on a Clive Barker
story.
In 1997 Veronica starred in MONEY
TALKS, opposite Chris Tucker and Charlie Sheen. She will next be seen in Darren
Stein's wonderful comedy, SPARKLER, opposite Park Overall, and A
SLIPPING DOWN LIFE, opposite Guy Pierce and Lili Taylor.
Veronica has appeared in numerous television
movies and series, including THE RAT PACK, THE LOTTERY, MY
BROTHERS KEEPER opposite John Lithgow, DEAD IN THE WATER, and RFK:
HIS LIFE AND TIMES in which she played Ethel Kennedy opposite Brad Davis. She also
had a memorable recurring television role as the zealous prosecutor, Margaret Flanagan
on L.A. LAW.
Veronica has been nominated
three other times for an
Emmy Award. In 1997 for her guest starring role of Mrs. Huston in two widely acclaimed
episodes of ER called Whose Appy Now? and Faith. In 1998 the Television
Academy nominated her twice for her pivotal role of Cassandra Spender on Fox's THE X
FILES, for the episodes Patient X and The Red and the Black. In 1999 she
returned in two more episodes as Cassandra.
Her many theater credits from New York to Los
Angeles include ELECTRA, TALLY'S FOLLY, and THE MASTER
BUILDER, all of which she received brilliant reviews. Her performances in THE
HANDS OF ITS ENEMY, THE TRIPLET COLLECTION and
HOMESTEADERS, each brought her DramaLogue Awards for Best Actress.
Most recently, Veronica appeared on television in CSI, COLD CASE, OCTOBER ROAD, SIX FEET UNDER, LAW & ORDER SVU, BOSTON LEGAL, THE CLOSER, INVASION, WILL & GRACE, and other hit television shows. In movie theaters besides JUST MARRIED and SCARY MOVIE 2 she appeared in KINSEY, and THE INVASION among others.
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