Veteran South African performer and producer Alice Maud Krige has had a significant impact on stage, screen, and television productions over the years with tremendous grace and style. She has acted in numerous plays, short films, feature films, TV movies, miniseries, and series, among other genres. In the musical drama “Vergeet My Nie” in 1976, she made her acting debut. In 1979, she made her professional television debut. She gained notoriety for her supporting performance as “Sybil Gordon” in the British historical drama “Chariots of Fire” in 1981. She gained even more prominence that year by participating in the “West End” theater performance of George Bernard Shaw’s “Arms and the Man,” which greatly increased her admiration. In the American horror movie “Ghost Story,” she simultaneously performed the roles of “Eva Galli” and “Alma Mobley.” She also played the “Borg Queen” in the American science fiction film “Star Trek: First Contact” in 1996, a role she went on to play a few more times. She has also appeared in movies like “Skin” and “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” TV miniseries like “Children of Dune” and “Dinotopia,” and a TV movie called “Dynasty: The Making of a Guilty Pleasure.” With the movies “Jail Caesar” and “Shingetsu,” Alice made her production debut. In each of these movies, she also performed.
Early Childhood & Life
Louis Krige and his wife Patricia welcomed her into the world on June 28, 1954, in Upington, Cape Province, South Africa. Her mother was a psychology professor, while her father was a doctor.
She grew up in Port Elizabeth with her two brothers. One of her brothers went on to become a surgical professor, and the other one ended up becoming a doctor. Alice once recalled her early years and said she came from a “very happy home.”
She initially enrolled at “Rhodes University” in Grahamstown, South Africa, with the intention of becoming a clinical psychologist.
After taking an acting course at “Rhodes University,” everything changed when she became passionate about performing. As a result, she earned a distinction-filled “Bachelor of Arts” degree and a “Honors” degree in drama in 1975. Following that, she moved to London where she enrolled in the “Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.” In April 2004, she received an honorary “Lit.D.” degree from “Rhodes University.”
Career of Alice Krige
She made her debut on the big screen in 1976’s musical drama “Vergeet My Nie,” in which she played “Welma de Villiers.”
She played the perfect pre-Victorian lady Lucie Manette in the 1980 American made-for-television historical drama “A Tale of Two Cities,” which was based on Charles Dickens’s well-known historical novel of the same name.
She made an appearance in the 1980 episode of “The Happy Autumn Fields,” a British TV anthology. She appeared in the same year’s “Operation Susie” episode of the British crime drama “The Professionals.”
She attracted enormous notice for her performance as “Sybil Gordon” in the 1981 British historical drama “Chariots of Fire,” which won an “Academy Award.” The movie, which takes place in 1924, is based on the true story of Olympic competitors Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell.
Alice played the dual roles of “Eva Galli/Alma Mobley” in the 1981 American horror film “Ghost Story,” which was based on Peter Straub’s 1979 book of the same name.
She received a “Laurence Olivier Award” for “Most Promising Newcomer” and a “Plays and Players Award” for her work in the 1981 “West End” theater production of George Bernard Shaw’s “Arms and the Man.” She then started working with the “Royal Shakespeare Company” and appeared in a number of plays, such as “Cyrano de Bergerac,” “The Taming of the Shrew,” “King Lear,” and “The Tempest.”
In the 1985 American historical drama “King David,” which starred Richard Gere in the title role, she played the lead character “Bathsheba.” However, both viewers and reviews were unimpressed with the movie.
She portrayed novelist “Mary Shelley” in the 1988 drama “Haunted Summer,” which was directed by Ivan Passer. The 1980s also saw Alice perform in the plays “Venice Preserv’d” and “Toyer,” as well as the miniseries “Ellis Island” (1984) and “Dream West” (1986). She also appeared in the TV movies “Wallenberg: A Hero’s Story” (1985), “Second Serve” (1986), and “Baja Oklahoma” (1988).
Along with Brian Krause and Mädchen Amick, Alice played “Mary Brady” in the American horror movie “Sleepwalkers,” which was released on April 10, 1992, and was a big financial hit.
Jonathan Frakes, who was seeking for an actor to play the “Borg Queen” in his debut as a director of the American science-fiction movie “Star Trek: First Contact,” was pleased by her performance in “Ghost Story.” The casting of Alice was completed for the part in the movie, which debuted on November 22, 1996, and went on to gross $146 million at the box office. She received a “Saturn” award in 1997 for the part, which she later performed in the 2004 short film “Star Trek: The Experience – Borg Invasion 4D” and in the 2001 episode of the TV show “Star Trek: Voyager” titled “Endgame.”
Following were several other noteworthy jobs. These included the roles of “Zephyr Eccles” in the fantasy-romance movie “Twilight of the Ice Nymphs” in 1997, “Mother Marianne Cope” in the Father Damien biopic “Molokai: The Story of Father Damien” in 1999, and “Christabella LaRoache” in the horror movie “Silent Hill” from Canada and France in 2006.
Alice continues to make appearances in numerous TV shows while appearing in significant films. She appeared in the TV movies “The Mystery of Natalie Wood” (2004), “Dynasty: The Making of a Guilty Pleasure” (2005), and “Persuasion” (2007), as well as the TV series “Deadwood” (2005) and “Spooks.” Some of her notable TV roles include her performances in the miniseries “Dinotopia” (2002), “Children of Dune” (2003), and “The Line of Beauty (2011).
She portrayed Morgan le Fay, a formidable enchantress, in the 2010 American action fantasy movie “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.” The movie, which starred Nicolas Cage, Jay Baruchel, Monica Bellucci, Teresa Palmer, and Alfred Molina, was a big box office success, grossing $215.3 million.
Alice made her producing debut with the 2012 award-winning movie “Jail Caesar,” in which she portrayed a “Pirate Captain.” Along with an ensemble cast that includes stars John Kani and Derek Jacobi, the movie was written and directed by her husband, Paul Schoolman, and it was filmed in three real jails.
She continued to be a member of the supporting cast in the 2013 superhero movie “Thor: The Dark World,” which also starred Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, and Anthony Hopkins. In the movie, Alice portrayed the Asgardian doctor “Eir,” which had a global box office haul of $644.6 million.
Additionally, she worked on the 2015 war drama “Shingetsu.” She received the “Special Jury Award” at the 2015 “International Film Festival for Peace, Inspiration, and Equality” (IFFPIE), which was held in Jakarta, for her leading part in the movie opposite Gunter Singer. She shared the honor with Andy Garcia and Jimmy Carter.
The role of “Queen Helena” in the American romantic comedy “A Christmas Prince,” which debuted on “Netflix” on November 17, 2017, was her most recent movie.
Individual Life of Alice Krige
Paul Schoolman, a writer, and director have been her husband since 1988.
Alice Krige’s Net Worth
With an estimated net worth of over $3 million dollars, Alice Krige continues to be one of the most renowned South African movie stars.