British actress Joely Richardson is the daughter of actress Vanessa Redgrave and director Tony Richardson, the granddaughter of actors Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson, niece of actors Corin and Lynn Redgrave, and sister of actress Natasha Richardson. Thus, it would be fair to say that Richardson has acting in her genes. Her film credits range from Peter Greenaway's arthouse favorite Drowning By Numbers (1988) -- in which she is one of three murderesses, all named Cissy Colpitts -- to the abortive musical I'll Do Anything (1993) to the winning 1996 remake of 101 Dalmatians. She has repeatedly demonstrated a capacity for tackling difficult subjects, as was the case with Sister My Sister (1994), which cast her as a maid caught up in an incestuous lesbian love affair with her sister, and Hollow Reed (1996), in which she played the divorced mother of a young boy who is abused by her live-in boyfriend. In 2000, she was seen in a number of projects, including the romantic comedy Return to Me and the revolutionary war drama The Patriot. In 2003, Richardson landed a starring role as Dr. Sean McNamera's (Dylan Walsh) frustrated wife on F/X's popular nighttime drama, Nip/Tuck.

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