Eva Mottley

Born

1953-10-24

Died

1985-02-14

Birthplace

Barbados

Biography

Eva Mottley was a Barbadian-born British and Nigerian raised actress, who began her acting career following a 15 month prison sentence for possession of LSD. Her most famous role was Bella O'Reilly in the television drama Widows. She was due to star in the sequel but left the production claiming that she had been racially and sexually abused by the production team. By the time the sequel aired on TV (with Debby Bishop taking up the role of Bella) Mottley had committed suicide from an overdose of barbiturates and alcohol after running up a £25,000 from cocaine addiction. Mottley's other credits include the films Scrubbers and Superman III and Corinne, Denzil's wife, in Only Fools and Horses. She was romantically involved with David Bowie for two years and was part of a well-known political family in Barbados; Her grandfather, Ernest Motley, was the first mayor of Bridgetown, whilst her uncle, Elliott Motley, and cousin Mia Mottley are both politicians.