As Clare Woodgate (her birth name), this ambitious actress had performed on the British stage and TV but was refused an audition for Mike Newell's "An Awfully Big Adventure" (1995). She subsequently won the role of Stella after she dyed her hair red, changed her name to Georgina Cates, and knocked two years from her age. Her portrayal of a stage-struck, naive yet feisty 16-year-old who loses her innocence after joining a Liverpool theatrical group won the admiration of co-stars Hugh Grant and Alan Rickman, as well as general critical acclaim. Cates legally adopted her new stage name. She also