Veronica A. Cartwright (born April 20, 1949) is an English/American actress.
Born in Bristol, England, Cartwright began her career as a child actress in 1958, with a role in In Love and War. Among her early appearances was a semi-regular part in the television series Leave it to Beaver (1959) (as "Violet Rutherford") and an episode of The Twilight Zone titled "I Sing the Body Electric" (1962). She appeared in the films, The Children's Hour (1961) and Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (1963) which were both very successful, and she was a regular on the television series Daniel Boone from 1964 until 1966. Cartwright's career slowed down during the 1960s, however she continued to work sporadically and achieved two of her biggest successes with Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) and Alien (1979). She was originally cast as Alien's heroine Ellen Ripley, but director Ridley Scott switched her role with Sigourney Weaver's just prior to shooting the movie.
Other film roles include: Spencer's Mountain with Henry Fonda and Kym Karath (1963), Inserts (1976), Goin' South (1978), The Right Stuff (1983), Flight of the Navigator (1986), The Witches of Eastwick (1987), Shoot the Moon (1996), Money Talks (1997), Scary Movie 2 (2001), Kinsey (2004), and Straight-Jacket (2004).
A frequent performer in television, she has played guest roles in such series as The Mod Squad, Miami Vice, Baywatch, L.A. Law, ER, The X-Files, Chicago Hope, Will & Grace, Touched by an Angel, Judging Amy and Six Feet Under. Cartwright has received three Emmy Award nominations, one for her work in ER in 1997, and two for her work on The X-Files in 1998 and 1999.
She is the sister of the actress Angela Cartwright, who appeared in The Sound of Music (1965) and in the television series Lost in Space. She will co-star in the fourth remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. She currently appears on the cover art for the Scissor Sisters 2006 single I Don't Feel Like Dancin' as well as on their second album "Ta-dah".
Born in England, Veronica is the older sister of popular television child actress Angela Cartwright. In her early career, she was cast in a number of popular films such as Children's Hour, The (1961), Spencer's Mountain (1963) and Alfred Hitchcock (I)'s Birds, The (1963). As such, she was cast as "Jemima Boone" in the popular television series "Daniel Boone" (1964), which ran from 1964-66. Her career after "Boone" may have been influenced by Hitchcock as she appeared in both the remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) and the horror classic Alien (1979). On television, she appeared twice as Lumpy's younger sister, "Violet Rutherford" and once as "Peggy MacIntosh" on "Leave It to Beaver" (1957) and had a small role in the television movie Still the Beaver (1983) (TV). She also appeared in "Robert Kennedy & His Times" (1985) (mini), "Tanner '88" (1988) (mini) and had a recurring role on "L.A. Law" (1986). Her big screen features included Right Stuff, The (1983), Flight of the Navigator (1986) and Witches of Eastwick, The (1987). Veronica worked on the stage in "Electra", "Talley's Folly", "Homesteaders", "Butterflies are Free" and "The Triplet Connection". Alternating between television and big screen movies in the 90s, she appeared in such films as Hitler's Daughter (1990) (TV) and Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995).
