Amanda Pays

Amanda Pays
Pays in 2018
Born (1959-06-06) 6 June 1959 (age 65)
London, England
Occupations
  • Actress
  • interior designer
Years active1984–present
Spouses
Peter Kohn
​
​
(m. 1984; div. 1987)​
​
(m. 1988)​
Children4
Parents
RelativesMandy Miller (aunt)

Amanda Pays (born 6 June 1959) is an English interior designer, actress, and television presenter.

She is known for her roles as Theora Jones in Max Headroom and as Tina McGee in The Flash and the 2014 series of the same name.

As an interior designer, Pays hosts the show Breathing Room on Fine Living Network.

Early life

Pays was born on 6 June 1959[1] in London, the daughter of actors Jan Miller and Howard Pays.[2][3][4] Her aunt is the former child actress Mandy Miller.[5]

Career

Pays made her film debut in Oxford Blues (1984) and she played a French nun, Sister Nicole, in Off Limits (1988 film) with Willem Dafoe, Gregory Hines and Fred Ward.[6] Pays also had a guest role as Phoebe Green in the episode "Fire" (1993) of The X-Files, in the episode "Cindy Plumb" (2006) of Nip/Tuck, and in the episode "Black and Tan: A Crime of Fashion" (2008) of Psych, opposite her husband Corbin Bernsen.[7][8]

She also appeared in early 1980s music videos, including those for "Love Shadow" by Fashion and "Smooth Operator" by Sade.

Pays is an interior designer and hosts Fine Living Network's Breathing Room.[7][9]

She made her television debut in the dual role of Carla Martin and Christa Bruckner in the 1984 cable film The Cold Room, portrayed Sarah in the 1985 miniseries AD (known as Anno Domini in some releases), and narrated the 1988 documentary Computer Dreams. She also appeared in the low-budget 1987 horror film The Kindred and 1989's Leviathan.[6]

Corbin Bernsen and wife Amanda Pays at the Emmy Awards Governor's Ball, August 1990

In 1985 she played Nikki South in the television film Minder on the Orient Express, alongside Dennis Waterman and George Cole.[10]

Pays was cast in the 2014 The Flash series to play a reimagined version of the character she played in the first series.[11][12]

Personal life

From 1984 until her 1987 divorce, Pays was married to Peter Kohn, the son of producer John Kohn and the grandson of producer Sam Jaffe. On 19 November 1988, Pays married American actor Corbin Bernsen, with whom she has four sons. Her mother-in-law was The Young and the Restless actress Jeanne Cooper.[13][14]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role
1984 Oxford Blues Lady Victoria Wingate
1986 The Frog Prince
1987 The Kindred Melissa Leftridge
1988 Off Limits Nicole
1989 Leviathan Elizabeth "Willie" Williams
1991 A Grande Arte Mariet
1995 Solitaire for 2 Katie Burrough
1996 Subterfuge Alex
1997 Spacejacked Dawn
2001 Ablaze Jennifer Lewis
2020 Mary for Mayor Olivia
2020 Wake Up To Love Claudia Brady
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1984 The Cold Room Carla Martin/Christa Bruckner
1985 AD Sarah 5 episodes
1985 Thirteen at Dinner Geraldine Marsh
1985 Dempsey and Makepeace Tiffany Grace 1 episode
1985 Mr. and Mrs. Edgehill Vivienne
1984 Minder on the Orient Express Nikki South Television film
1985 Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future Theora Jones Television film
1987–1988 Max Headroom Theora Jones
1988 CBS Summer Playhouse Alexandra Greer 1 episode
1990 Parker Kane Sarah Taylor
1990–1991 The Flash Christina "Tina" McGee Some episodes were edited into films and released on videocassette as
  • The Flash (1990)
  • The Flash II: Revenge of the Trickster (1991)
  • Flash III: Deadly Nightshade (1992)
1991 Dead on the Money Jennifer Ashford
1993 Age of Treason Helena
1993 Sade – Life Promise Pride Love Gangster's Girlfriend (segment "Smooth Operator")
1993 The X-Files Phoebe Green Episode: "Fire"
1994 I Know My Son is Alive Katherine Elshant
1997 Hollywood Confidential Joan Travers
1996–1998 Thief Takers Anna Dryden
1999 Vengeance Unlimited Gail Dawson Episode: "Vendetta"
1999 7th Heaven Emily Grant Episode: "Sometimes That's Just the Way It Is"
1999 It's Like, You Know... Angela Blendal 1 episode
1999 Martial Law Dr. Broderick 1 episode
1999 Any Day Now Helen 1 episode
2000 Grapevine Paulina 1 episode
2002 Breathing Room Host
2002 The Santa Trap Doris Spivak
2006 Nip/Tuck Interior Designer 1 episode
2008 Psych Susan B 1 episode: "Black and Tan: A Crime of Fashion"
2014–2016 The Flash Dr. Christina "Tina" McGee 5 episodes
Video game
Year Title Role
1996 Privateer 2: The Darkening Assassin #3

References

  1. ^ Famous birthdays for June 6. UPI. Accessed 2023-01-01.
  2. ^ "Amanda Pays Biography (1959–)". Film Reference.
  3. ^ Buchanan, Jason, "Howard Pays", Movies & TV Dept., The New York Times, archived from the original on 11 April 2013
  4. ^ "Howard Pays". Variety. 21 May 2002. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  5. ^ Maxford, H. (2019). Hammer Complete: The Films, the Personnel, the Company. McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. p. 559. ISBN 978-1-4766-2914-8. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Amanda Pays". BFI. Archived from the original on 3 February 2019.
  7. ^ a b "Amanda Pays - TV Guide". TVGuide.com.
  8. ^ "Amanda Pays". www.aveleyman.com.
  9. ^ "Home Made". C Magazine. Archived from the original on 3 February 2019. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  10. ^ "Minder on the Orient Express (1985) - Francis Megahy - Cast and Crew". AllMovie.
  11. ^ "Original Flash Actress Amanda Pays To Play Dr. Tina McGee Again In The CW's Flash". Comicbook.com.
  12. ^ "Amanda Pays - Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos". AllMovie.
  13. ^ "Psych TV Show - Watch Psych Online". USA Network. 13 May 2013.
  14. ^ "Fine Living TV". Archived from the original on 18 May 2009. Retrieved 1 November 2008.
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