Victoria O'Keefe


Victoria O'Keefe was an English actress. She was best known for her role as Jane in the BBC apocalyptic anti-war television film Threads.

Early life

Victoria O'Keefe was born on 27 March 1969 in Dewsbury, where she attended St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, St John Fisher Catholic High School, and Dewsbury College. She joined the Dewsbury Arts Group at the age of 11 and later studied at the Batley School of Art.

Career

O'Keefe began her television career in 1983, playing Nicola Brooke in Nanny. The following year, she appeared as Letty Boot in the miniseries Letty, and gained wider recognition for her performance as Jane in the BBC nuclear docudrama Threads. In 1987, she played Christine in the episode "Hook, Line and Sinker" of the youth drama Y.E.S. and Sally Newman in four episodes of Emmerdale.
In 1989, O'Keefe appeared on stage with the Dewsbury Arts Group, playing Sybyl Burlington in a production of Daisy Pulls It Off. Later that year, she played Ann Deever in their production of All My Sons. In November, she appeared as the Beauty in the group's production of Beauty and the Beast. Her later credits included appearances in the soap opera Hollywood Sports and the BBC television film The Luddites. Her final role before her death was Tracey in the short film Positively Negative.

Death

On 17 April 1990, O'Keefe and her boyfriend were returning from an Easter outing with their friends Sharon and Paul, who brought their 11-month-old daughter Jade. Her boyfriend was driving the eight-year-old Ford Escort on the M62 motorway when it lost control on a contraflow system, crossed into the oncoming lane, and collided with a lorry. O'Keefe, Sharon, Paul, and Jade were pronounced dead on arrival at a hospital in nearby Bold, Merseyside. O'Keefe was 21. Her boyfriend was taken to Whiston Hospital, where he recovered with serious internal and facial injuries, and the lorry driver was treated for shock. An investigation found that the road's surface was wet from rain.
O'Keefe's funeral service was held at St Joseph's Church in Batley Carr, which she had attended as a child, and attracted over 500 mourners. She was interred at St Paul's Churchyard in Hanging Heaton.