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Annabel Schofield, a model who was a fixture in 1980s L.A. nightlife and landed a guest-starring role in the 11th season of the CBS series \u201cDallas,\u201d has died after a battle with cancer that spread to her brain. She was 62. <\/p>\n
Schofield died Saturday in Los Angeles, according to the Hollywood Reporter<\/a>, which confirmed the news via model and designer Catalina Guirado. <\/p>\n \u201cI hate asking for help,\u201d she wrote in December on a GoFundMe<\/a> campaign she organized apparently out of necessity. \u201cI\u2019ve done it so much, but I have no choice. I have no other means of support. The small amount I was left by my dad has gone a long time ago, and any unemployment I was due was eaten up by the pandemic. I know begging for help is not sustainable in the long term, but I\u2019m praying this ENT doctor will be able to remove this large tumor and I\u2019ll finally be able to get back to a normal life, and to start working again.\u201d<\/p>\n The final update was from Jan. 18, after she had emergency surgery to remove that tumor, and her mood was one of momentary relief. Boldface names donating to the cause included composer Hans Zimmer, singer-songwriter Donovan Leitch and actor Lisa Edelstein. <\/p>\n Born in Llanelli, Wales, on Sept. 4, 1963, she was the daughter of movie producer John D. Schofield, whose credits included \u201cAs Good as It Gets\u201d and \u201cJerry Maguire.\u201d Schofield started modeling in London, a city she later described to Mirror80<\/a> as being on the cutting edge of 1980s fashion with \u201cthe New Romantics, the tail end of punk, Vivienne Westwood<\/a>, Katharine Hamnett, Body Map, Buffalo style … and all the resulting street styles.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c[I]n London we ALL dressed up, both boys and girls all the time; especially for the clubs,\u201d she told the retro-style outlet in 2012. \u201cI really miss that sartorial creativity. Now it seems that girls just want to show as much flesh as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n She worked with brands including Versace, Yves St. Laurent, Revlon, Avon and Levi\u2019s, according to a biography<\/a> posted in connection with a novel she wrote, and appeared on more than 60 magazine covers and in more than 120 TV commercials.<\/p>\n Schofield gained international recognition for a late \u201980s jeans commercial<\/a> that had her speeding through the desert in a black Ferrari, then screeching to a stop after spotting a strapping young man standing on the side of the road in jeans and a white T-shirt. Rolling down the passenger-side window, she said, \u201cExcuse me. Are those Bugle Boy jeans you\u2019re wearing?\u201d Getting an affirmative answer, she told the man, \u201cThank you,\u201d then rolled up her window and sped away, leaving him in the dust. <\/p>\n At the height of her modeling career, THR said, Schofield up and moved from London to L.A. She landed that \u201cDallas\u201d guest-star gig in 1988. It was only her second acting credit, after a 1982 role in a movie about an adventurer who frees an aquatic monster<\/a> that forces locals to sacrifice virgins. That movie, \u201cBloodtide,\u201d was executive produced by her father. <\/p>\n As Laurel Ellis in the nighttime drama, Schofield entranced Clayton Farlow, played by Howard Keel<\/a>. But there was no romance between their characters: In one episode<\/a>, Laurel told matriarch Miss Ellie (Barbara Bel Geddes<\/a>) \u2014 who would later marry Clayton \u2014 that Clayton was \u201calmost a father figure\u201d to her, and she had simply been trying to show him \u201cwhat a wonderful man\u201d he was. \u201cNothing ever happened between us,\u201d Laurel told Miss Ellie. <\/p>\n Off the set of the hit series, \u201cL.A. was having a moment\u201d at that time, event producer David Rodgers told The Times in 2006<\/a>. \u201cMelrose Avenue was cool, Helmut Newton was out every night with Annabel Schofield, Greg Gorman, Herb Ritts, Sandra Bernhard, Barbara and Timothy Leary and Tina Chow. We saw a different mix then; it wasn\u2019t just about celebrities. No one wore designer clothes. It was about, \u2018Are you cool now?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Schofield\u2019s other acting credits included lead roles in 1996\u2019s \u201cExit in Red\u201d with Mickey Rourke and \u201cMidnight Blue\u201d (1997) with Harry Dean Stanton<\/a> and Dean Stockwell<\/a>. <\/p>\n After the turn of the millennium, Schofield went behind the camera as a producer for several projects. She also worked as her father\u2019s assistant on movies he executive produced including \u201cThe Brothers Grimm<\/a>,\u201d \u201cDoom\u201d and \u201cHow Do You Know<\/a>.\u201d The last was written and directed by James L. Brooks<\/a> and starred Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd and Jack Nicholson. <\/p>\n She formed her own boutique production company, Bella Bene Productions, in 2010, and into September 2022 the company was working on short films, events and fashion campaigns, according to Schofield\u2019s posts on Facebook<\/a>. <\/p>\n That novel she wrote, by the way, was \u201cThe Cherry Alignment,\u201d released in late 2013. The semi-autobiographical story \u201cfollows the roller-coaster life of the witty, uninhibited and gorgeous Angelika Douglas; a legendary \u201980\u2019s supermodel, actress and full-time bon vivant.\u201d Amazon has it filed under \u201cErotica,\u201d in the \u201cHumorous\u201d sub-category. <\/p>\n Schofield\u2019s friends remembered her fondly, leaving tributes on Instagram over the weekend.<\/p>\n \u201cShe was beautiful inside and out: a model, actress, producer, animal lover, warm and weird in the best way possible,\u201d writer and friend Merle Ginsberg wrote Sunday on social media<\/a>. \u201cShe will be so missed. But at least she won\u2019t suffer anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRIP Annabel Schofield \u2014 an old friend and a truly gifted, beautiful British actress and top model whose career in print, television and film took her from the UK to Hollywood,\u201d British TV producer, journalist and entertainment personality Sean Borg wrote<\/a> Sunday. \u201cYou fought so hard, Annabel. You had such a special light about you. You will be missed by so many. Fly high and rest in peace.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n