http://www.collinwood.net/cast/moltke.htm

"Her name is Victoria. I cannot take care of her." It was these words, scraw
led
on a scrap of paper, which provided Victoria Winters with the only link with
 her
past. Abandoned outside a New York foundling home on a cold night, Victoria 
was
named Winters for the season she was left during. Life within the foundling
home, both as a resident and later as a worker, has taught Victoria the valu
es
of compassion and modesty, which mask a desperate yearning to learn the true
identities of her parents, and link her past to her future. When Elizabeth
Collins Stoddard makes her curious, unsolicited proposal that Victoria comes
 to
Collinwood to work as governess to David Collins, that the girl realises tha
t
her destiny lies in the dark mansion on the crest of Widows' Hill.

Alexandra Moltke was born on 11 February 1945, in Denmark. The daughter of C
ount
Carl Adam Moltke of Denmark, her father had been engaged in much undercover
resistance work against the Nazis throughout the Second World War. Learning 
that
their resistance was no longer secret, the Moltke family were forced to flee
 to
the United States. The three-month-old Alexandra was placed in a laundry bas
ket
and transported with her parents via a United States Bomber, beginning a new
life in New York, where the Moltke family settled. Alexandra spent time duri
ng
her childhood in Denmark and Ireland, one of her mother's favourite countrie
s.
Whilst there, the family stayed in a house surrounded by moors and Mount Eri
gal,
perhaps foreshadowing her role on Dark Shadows.

Following education at the respected Chaplin school, Alexandra then studied 
at
the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, eventually graduating in 1965. During
this time, she essayed many roles, including parts in I Remember Mama and Th
e
Reluctant Debutant.

Dark Shadows formed Alexandra's first role in front of the camera, and Dan
Curtis picked her for the pivotal role of Victoria, claiming that she "was t
he
only innocent looking actress in New York." Sadly, as the show moved towards
 the
supernatural, Victoria's role became greatly reduced and Alexandra favoured 
a
more complex, perhaps even villainous role, which the producers refused.

Alexandra left Dark Shadows when she became pregnant with her son Adam.
Following this, she appeared in the television movie Certain Honorable Men i
n
1968, under her married name, Alexandra Isles. She also acted infrequently i
n
the theatre along with working backstage, and declined the invitation to ret
urn
to Dark Shadows, feeling that Victoria Winters had grown bland and clichéd.

In the 1980s, Alexandra was the subject of unwelcome publicity, when called 
as a
witness during the notorious Claus Von Bulow manslaughter trial, which was
widely televised. Following a period of intense public scrutiny, she chose t
o
retain a low profile in the years that followed.

In recent years, Alexandra has carved a new career for herself as a document
ary
filmmaker. Her 1995 directorial debut was with The Power of Conscience: The
Danish Resistance and the Rescue of the Jews, which she dedicated to the mem
ory
of her father. She also directed Scandalise My Name, a film exploring the
blacklisting of performers during the McCarthy administration.

In 2001, Alexandra paid homage to her time on Dark Shadows when she penned t
he
foreword to the tribute book Dark Shadows Memories, which she followed with 
an
appearance as part of the Museum of Television and Radio's salute to the sho
w,
held in Los Angeles.

Report this post to a moderator

[  Post Follow-up to this message ]