Louie Ramsay was a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 actress perhaps best known to television audiences for her portrayal of the wife of Chief Inspector Reg Wexford on the ITV television series, Ruth Rendell Mysteries. In real life, Ramsay married the man who played Reg Wexford in the series, actor George Baker

George Baker (actor)

George Baker, MBE was an English actor and writer. He was best-known for portraying Tiberius in I, Claudius, and Inspector Wexford in The Ruth Rendell Mysteries.-Personal life:...

.

Ramsay was born to Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 parents in South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

 in 1929, but was raised in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. She was educated at the North London Collegiate School

North London Collegiate School

North London Collegiate School is an independent day school for girls founded in 1850 in Camden Town, and now in the London Borough of Harrow.The Good Schools Guide called the school an "Academically stunning outer London school in a glorious setting which, in 2003, demonstrated its refusal to rest...

. She became friends with Patricia Hitchcock, daughter of film director Alfred Hitchcock

Alfred Hitchcock

Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...

, who cast her in a small role in his 1950 film, Stage Fright

Stage Fright (film)

Stage Fright is a 1950 British crime film directed and produced by Alfred Hitchcock starring Jane Wyman, Marlene Dietrich, Michael Wilding and Richard Todd...

. Ramsay made her West End debut in 1951 as a member of the chorus line in the musical, South Pacific

South Pacific (musical)

South Pacific is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and book by Hammerstein and Joshua Logan. The story draws from James A. Michener's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1947 book Tales of the South Pacific, weaving together characters and elements from several of its...

.

In the 1970s Ramsay acted at Laurence Olivier

Laurence Olivier

Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...

's National Theatre

National Theatre

National Theatre may refer to: -in Africa:*Kenya National Theatre in Nairobi, Kenya*National Theatre in Accra, Ghana-in Asia:*National Theater and Concert Hall, Republic of China in Taipei, Taiwan*National Theatre of Japan in Tokyo, Japan...

, in Peter Shaffer

Peter Shaffer

Sir Peter Levin Shaffer is an English dramatist and playwright, screenwriter and author of numerous award-winning plays, several of which have been filmed.-Early life:...

's Equus

Equus

Equus may refer to:* Equus , a genus of animals including horses, donkeys, zebras and onagers* Equus , a play by Peter Shaffer* Equus , a film adaptation of the Peter Shaffer play...

, The Misanthrope

The Misanthrope

The Misanthrope is the first EP from metal band Darkest Hour. It was released in 1996 on the defunct label Death Truck Records. It is much more hardcore orientated metalcore unlike their later releases.- Track listing :# "Vise" - 5:30...

, with Alec McCowen

Alec McCowen

Alexander Duncan "Alec" McCowen CBE is an English actor. He is known for his work in numerous film and stage productions. He was awarded the CBE in the 1985 New Year's Honours List.-Personal:...

 and Diana Rigg

Diana Rigg

Dame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg, DBE is an English actress. She is probably best known for her portrayals of Emma Peel in The Avengers and Countess Teresa di Vicenzo in the 1969 James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service....

 and as Joan Plowright

Joan Plowright

Joan Ann Plowright, Baroness Olivier, DBE , better known as Dame Joan Plowright, is an English actress, whose career has spanned over sixty years. Throughout her career she has won two Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award and has been nominated for an Academy Award, an Emmy, and two BAFTA Awards...

's sister in Olivier's acclaimed production of JB Priestley's Eden End

Eden End

Eden End is a play by J. B. Priestley, first produced by Irene Hentschel at the Duchess Theatre, London, on 13 September 1934.-Plot introduction:...

. On the first night of Eden End, taking a curtain call with Olivier and Priestley himself, she said to herself quietly: "Lou, I think you've just peaked."

Ramsay died on 6 March 2011, at the age of 81. She was survived by her husband, actor George Baker

George Baker (actor)

George Baker, MBE was an English actor and writer. He was best-known for portraying Tiberius in I, Claudius, and Inspector Wexford in The Ruth Rendell Mysteries.-Personal life:...

, as well as her son from her previous marriage to Irish actor Ronan O'Casey. Baker himself died just seven months later.

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