Actress Nicola Pagett was born 80 years ago today in Cairo. She gained fame on both sides of the Atlantic by starring as daughter Elizabeth Bellamy in the British drama series "Upstairs, Downstairs" in the 1970s. After leaving the series at the end of season 2 (she walked off the show and never returned after an argument about her character not being included in a proposed cinematic movie based on the series), she continued in TV dramas (an outstanding performance in the 1977 BBC mini-series production of 'Anna Karenina'), movies (1973's "Frankenstein: The True Story"), and theater (1976's "GasLight" on The West End).
In 1995, while appearing in "What The Butler Saw" at the National Theatre, she began behaving erratically and was ultimately diagnosed as having acute manic depression. She reached her lowest point when she was escorted from her home by four men to be confined in a closed psychiatric unit, but was afterward able to control her illness with medication and self-awareness.
In 1997, she went public with her diagnosis of bipolar disorder, after becoming obsessed with the then prime minister's chief press secretary Alastair Campbell. She divorced her husband Graham Swanell that same year, after 22 years of marriage. She wrote about her suffering and partial recovery in her 1998 memoir, 'Diamonds Behind My Eyes'. Her last project was on the short-lived British comedy series "UpRising" for five episodes in 2000.
Pagett then removed herself from the public, and moved to southwest London. She chose to live alone and in private for the rest of her life, spending her days power-walking, cooking and gardening. She was diagnosed with a brain tumor in mid-February, 2021 and died less than three weeks later on March 3, 2021 in London at the age of 75 , leaving behind her daughter Eve from her first marriage.