Movie and TV Actress Died in May, But Her Passing Is Just Now Being Reported

An actress died earlier in 2026, but media outlets and the public have just caught wind of her passing.

Georgina Cates, also known as Clare Woodgate, died on May 6, but her peers in the industry have sadly just now learned of her passing. Cates had a lengthy filmography in film and TV in the ’90s, with a few more notable roles coming in the late 2000s and early 2010s.

Cates’ passing at age 51 became wider public knowledge on Oct. 17 when Andrew Marshall shared it on X. Marshall created the sitcom 2point4 Children; it featured Cates’ breakout role as Jenny Porter.

“I’m very sad to report, I have just discovered, that lovely and talented Claire Woodgate aka Georgina Cates, our 1st Jenny in 2p4 died last May,” Marshal wrote. “I have no other details than [what’s] on IMDb. Sympathies to her family and children. If anyone has further details to share, please do.”

The Hollywood Reporter soon dug into the matter, finding a June 11 Instagram post from Cates’ daughter Naiia honoring the late actress. Naiia is one of the two children Cates shared with ex-husband Skeet Ulrich. Ulrich and Cates were married from 1997 to 2005.

“My beautiful, free-spirited mom lived a hard life and still found ways to make herself and others laugh and smile <3 now she can rest easy,” Naiia wrote. “I will always see you in black and white photos, Virginia slims, baggy clothes, no bras, big sunglasses, doodling while talking, pleasers, and flip flops and everything in between. I love you, thank you for your creativity, curiosity and your bravery to always be true to yourself – no matter what.”

In the ’90s, Cates appeared in notable flicks, such as the Vince Vaughn-starring Clay Pigeons and Burt Reynolds’ Big City Blues. She famously scored a role in 1995’s An Awfully Big Adventure after dyeing her hair and changing her name to pass herself off as an unknown.

Later in her career, she popped up in a Season 5 episode of The Closer and the 2013 Jackass project Bad Grandpa.

While such a gap between a passing and public reporting is uncommon, it has occurred several times in recent memory. Over at our sister site, Suggest.com, we covered similar delayed announcements about Mad Max 2 star Mike Preston, TV actor David Daker and notable special effects artist Screaming Mad George.