Cornelia Frances

Cornelia Frances Zulver (7 April 1941 – 28 May 2018), credited professionally as Cornelia Frances, was an English-Australian actress. After starting her career in British films, she became best known for her acting career in Australia after emigrating there in 1970, particularly her iconic television soap opera roles with portrayals of nasty characters. Frances was known for her role as Morag Bellingham on Home and Away since its inception in 1988, after leaving that series, she appeared on a semi-regular basis as the storyline permitted, rejoining briefly as a permanent cast member in 2001, before going back to an itinerant basis. In 1993, Frances auditioned for the role of Carol Jackson on the British soap opera EastEndersand was narrowed down to the last two actresses before being beaten by Lindsey Coulson.

In the early 2000s, she was best known to Australians and Icelanders as the hostess of the Australian and Icelandic versions of quiz show The Weakest Link. Shortly before the Australian version was cancelled in 2002, the Icelandic production company RÚV was already expressing an interest of broadcasting their own version. Without a job, Frances put her best foot forward before auditions even began. They accepted her since they thought she would be suitable for the Icelandic audience. Cornelia began the photo shoot in April, and recording began in May. She gained popularity as the first episode in September reached 98,000 viewers, at that time a quarter of the country. She continued to host the show until Frances decided to leave in July 2007. Her final episode reached over 300,000 viewers. When she left, RÚV made the decision not to continue the show, as it wouldn't be the same without Frances.

In January 2018, she revealed that she was battling bladder cancer that had spread to her hip, but stated that she was hopeful of reprising her role of Morag in Home and Away for the show's 30th anniversary. However, she succumbed to the cancer, after it had metastasized to her spine, despite having undergone chemotherapy and radiation treatment, and died on 28 May 2018 at the age of 77 at the Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney. A private funeral was held later that week.