Accomplished character actress Veronica Cartwright has been particularly adept at-- and oft typecast as--hard-nosed, even nasty or bitchy, characters, whether they be mothers of career women. Born in England, she began acting as a young girl after her family moved to Los Angeles in the mid-1950s. During that decade, Cartwright toiled in guest appearances and smaller roles while her younger sister Angela earned her place as a trivia question by playing Danny Thomas' daughter on "Make Room For Daddy". Veronica landed good feature roles, however, ranging from her debut in "In Love and War" (1958) to the kleptomaniac forced to lie about her teachers in William Wyler's "The Children's Hour" (1961). In 1963, she was also the daughter of the family terrorized by Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" and Henry Fonda's child in "Spencer's Mountain". Although her sister had become the TV regular, from 1959, Cartwright had the recurring role of the bullying Violet Rutherford (who gave Theodore his first kiss) on ABC's "Leave It to Beaver" and she spent two seasons (1964-66) as the frontiersman's daughter Jemima, on the NBC series "Daniel Boone".

Like many child performers, Cartwright hit an awkward stage and the acting jobs were not forthcoming. By the end of the 60s, her career had all but petered out so she returned to her native Britain. After nearly a decade, with only one feature appearance (in the dreadful "Inserts" 1975), Cartwright returned to the USA and resumed her acting career with a fresh outlook. Beginning slowly, she made a guest appearance on an episode of "Serpico" (NBC, 1976). Jack Nicholson cast her as his ex-lover in his directorial debut, "Goin' South" (1978). Cartwright then appeared in back-to-back sci-fi classics: Philip Kaufman's remake of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (1978) and Ridley Scott's "Alien" (1979). During the 80s, she continued to find interesting roles, notably as the shrill wife of astronaut Gus Grissom furious she can't meet Jackie Kennedy after his space capsule is lost on his return in Kaufman's "The Right Stuff" (1983) and as the town harpy who denounces "The Witches of Eastwick" (1987). By the 90s, however, she could be seen in the unnecessary horror sequel "Mirror, Mirror 2: Raven Dance" (1994) and as the grand dame of a New Orleans family terrorized in "Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh" (1995).

In the 80s, her small screen roles improved. She was wife to cult leader Jim Jones in "Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones" (CBS, 1980) and portrayed Ethel Kennedy in the 1985 CBS miniseries "Robert Kennedy and His Times". Cartwright was a reporter covering the presidential campaign in Robert Altman's spoof of American politics "Tanner '88" (HBO, 1988). The actress had her best exposure in the recurring role of prosecuting attorney Margaret Flanaghan in the NBC legal drama "L.A. Law" from 1989-1992. In particular, she was the assistant D.A. who came head-to-head with Michael Kuzak (Harry Hamlin) during the prosecution of Earl Williams (Carl Lumbly), a college professor who is accused of murdering a student he was having an affair with, but was, in fact, found to be not guilty. Several years before the nation got to see Marcia Clark prosecute O J Simpson, they saw Cartwright do anything to get her conviction, including, as it turned out, subvert the law. Cartwright is also remembered as a mother in denial that her daughter was being sexually abused by her husband in "Abby, My Love", a 1991 "CBS Schoolbreak Special". She was the blindly ambitious wife of a vice president who would do anything to become First Lady in the USA Network movie "Hitler's Daughter" (1990) and a local society woman with lustful impulses in the USA Network original "Dead in the Water" (1991). During the 1996-1997 season, Cartwright made several appearances on "ER" (NBC) as the hard-edged mother of a teenager who wants to disconnect from his life support, a role for which she earned an Emmy nomination as Best Guest Actress in a Drama Series.

from movies.yahoo.com

  The Visiting (2006) (post-production) .... Wendy

Barry Dingle (2006) .... Eleanor Dingle
Kinsey (2004) .... Sara Kinsey
Straight-Jacket (2004) .... Jerry Albrecht
Twisted (2004/I) (uncredited) .... Landlady
Just Married (2003) (uncredited) .... Mrs. McNerney ("Pussy")
... aka Voll verheiratet (Germany)
Mackenheim (2002) .... Eleanor
Scary Movie 2 (2001) .... Megan's Mother
... aka Scarier Movie (UK)
Inside the Osmonds (2001) (TV) .... Olive Osmond
... aka The Osmonds
In the Bedroom (2001) .... Minister on Television

Trash (1999) .... Principal Evans
... aka No Fear (UK)
... aka Nobody's Children (Europe: English title)
The Last Man On Planet Earth (1999) (TV) .... Director Elizabeth Riggs
A Slipping-Down Life (1999) .... Mrs. Casey
The Rat Pack (1998) (TV) .... Rocky Cooper
My Engagement Party (1998) .... Sarah Salsburg
Sparkler (1997) .... Dottie Delgato
Money Talks (1997) .... Connie Cipriani
Quicksilver Highway (1997) (TV) .... Myra
The Lottery (1996) (TV) .... Maggie Dunbar
Shoot the Moon (1996) .... Mrs. Thomas
My Brother's Keeper (1995) (TV) .... Pat
Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995) .... Octavia Tarrant
... aka Candyman II: Farewell to the Flesh
Dead Air (1994) (TV) .... The Caller
On Hope (1994) (TV) .... Woman in Grocery
Mirror, Mirror 2: Raven Dance (1994) .... Sister Aja
... aka Raven Dance (USA: short title)
Two Over Easy (1994) .... Molly
Triumph Over Disaster: The Hurricane Andrew Story (1993) (TV) .... Carla Hulin
It's Nothing Personal (1993) (TV) .... Barbara
Man Trouble (1992) .... Helen Dextra
Lincoln and the War Within (1992) (TV)
Lincoln & Seward (1992) (TV)
Dead in the Water (1991) (TV) .... Victoria Haines
Walking the Dog (1991)
Abby, My Love (1991) (TV) .... Mrs. Morris
... aka Schoolbreak Special: Abby, My Love (USA: series title)
Hitler's Daughter (1990) (TV) .... Patricia Benedict
A Son's Promise (1990) (TV) .... Dorothy Donaldson
False Identity (1990) .... Vera Errickson

Valentino Returns (1989) .... Patricia 'Pat' Gibbs
Baywatch: Panic at Malibu Pier (1989) (TV) (uncredited) .... Mrs. Harris
Desperate for Love (1989) (TV) .... Betty Petrie
"Tanner '88" (1988) (mini) TV Series .... Molly Hark
... aka Tanner: A Political Fable
The Witches of Eastwick (1987) .... Felicia Alden
Wisdom (1986) .... Samantha Wisdom
Flight of the Navigator (1986) .... Helen Freeman
... aka The Navigator (Norway)
Intimate Encounters (1986) (TV) .... Emily
... aka Encounters in the Night
"Robert Kennedy & His Times" (1985) (mini) TV Series .... Ethel Skakel Kennedy
My Man Adam (1985) .... Elaine Swit
The Right Stuff (1983) .... Betty Grissom
Nightmares (1983) .... Claire Houston (segment "Night of the Rat")
Prime Suspect (1982) (TV) .... Janice Staplin
The Big Black Pill (1981) (TV) .... Sister Theresa
... aka Joe Dancer (USA: reissue title)
Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones (1980) (TV) .... Marceline 'Marcy' Jones
... aka The Mad Messiah

Alien (1979) .... Lambert
... aka Alien: The Director's Cut (USA: director's cut)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) .... Nancy Bellicec
Goin' South (1978) .... Hermine, Moon's Old Gang
The Kid from Not-So-Big (1978) .... Corinne - Schoolteacher
Bernice Bobs Her Hair (1976) (TV) .... Marjorie
Inserts (1975) .... Harlene

Who Has Seen the Wind? (1965) (TV) .... Kiri Radek
"Daniel Boone" (1964) TV Series .... Jemima Boone (1964-1966)
One Man's Way (1964) .... Mary
Tell Me Not in Mournful Numbers (1964) (TV)
Spencer's Mountain (1963) .... Becky Spencer
The Birds (1963) .... Cathy Brenner
... aka Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (UK: complete title)
The Children's Hour (1961) .... Rosalie Wells
... aka The Loudest Whisper (UK)

In Love and War (1958) .... Allie O'Neill