Diana Quick

Diana Quick achieved success at an early age. She was appointed the first woman president of the Oxford University Dramatic Society, where she studied acting with goofball Michael Palin of the English comedy troupe Monty Python. Upon graduation, Quick found copious roles in British television, but her breakthrough came as Laura, the pragmatic love interest in exacting director Ridley Scott's Napoleonic War epic, "The Duellists." Quick went on to build a sterling reputation as a period actress, highlighted by her portrayal of the beautiful Julia Flyte in "Brideshead Revisited," a TV adaptation of the novel by Evelyn Waugh. The series and her performance were widely praised, and Quick received a BAFTA nomination in 1982. Now renowned for both her beauty and her talent, Quick adorned the cover of a 1984 magazine with the provocative caption, "Is this the most beautiful woman in the world?" Her status as a sex symbol solidified, she went on to star opposite handsome upstart Clive Owen in his big-screen debut, the onomatopoeic road romance "Vroom." Quick explored her range in the ensuing decade, appearing as memorable minor characters in a slew of TV and film projects. In 2002, she embodied the upper crust Lady Gryffoyn in "AKA," Duncan Roy's triptych class drama. The experimental film plays out on three adjacent screens rather than one.