She was the head of make-up at the BBC from the late 1950s to the early 1960s, during which time she worked on numerous television dramas, including An Age of Kings, A for Andromeda, and the 1963 adaptation of Hedda Gabler starring Ingrid Bergman.
She was also noted for preparing Queen Elizabeth II for the first televised Royal Christmas Message in 1957.
[1] Manderson later served as make-up supervisor on a number of theatrical films, including Ridley Scott's Alien, Bill Forsyth's Local Hero, Roland Joffé's The Killing Fields and The Mission, Euzhan Palcy's A Dry White Season, and Jim Sheridan's The Field.
She also did make-up on films such as John Cassavetes' Husbands, Alan Parker's Bugsy Malone, James Ivory's Quartet, and Ron Howard's Willow.
[2] She received BAFTA Award nominations for her work on The Killing Fields and the 1987 mini-series adaptation of Porterhouse Blue.