Margaret Anne Kirkpatrick (née Downs; born 29 January 1941)[1] is an Australian stage and screen actress who has appeared in numerous theatre, television and feature film roles since the late 1950s.

[2] Kirkpatrick has appeared in numerous TV series including Richmond Hill, Water Rats, G.P.

When she was seven months old her father was killed while on active national service as a soldier in North Africa, leaving her mother to bring her up alone.

In 1960, at the age of 19, Kirkpatrick took her first professional acting job, with theatre impresario John Alden's Shakespeare Company.

[citation needed] Five years later they moved to Sydney where Kirkpatrick decided to resume her acting career.

After appearing in two plays she put her acting career on hold once again, this time due to the arrival of her daughter Caitlin.

[8] Kirkpatrick successfully appealed the case and won, with Judge Geoffrey Chettle finding that there was reasonable doubt surrounding the circumstances, and dismissing the conviction and charges.