Julie Dawn Cole

Julie Dawn Cole is an English actress from Guildford, Surrey. She is primarily remembered for playing the insatiably greedy and demanding character of Veruca Salt in the fantasy film "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" (1971). This was her film debut, and the first adaptation of the novel "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" (1964) by Roald Dahl. The character's nationality was never specified in the novel, But Cole's version of Veruca was depicted as a British girl.

Cole was educated in a boarding school. She was only 12-years-old in 1970, during the filming of "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory". Cole took central stage in the "I Want It Now" sequence of the film, where Veruca states her desires. The sequence was filmed on Cole's 13th birthday. Cole had recorded her vocals for the song earlier, and focused on the character's dancing moves during the filming of the sequence.

Shortly after her film debut, Cole was cast in the recurring role of Arabella in the first two seasons of the sitcom "..And Mother Makes Three" (1971-1973). Her character in this series was depicted as snobbish adolescent girl. Early in her career, Cole was typecast in playing "bad girls" in various television productions. Her characters included a number of juvenile delinquents, such as burglars and prisoners. She played against type when cast as Alice (from Alice In Wonderland) in Christmas commercials for the retail chain Woolworths.

Cole was given a more substantial role when cast as student nurse Jo Longhurst in the first 3 seasons of the medical drama "Angels" (1975-1983). Jo was depicted as a genuinely compassionate character, who had to question the cynical decisions of various authority figures. This was Cole's first major role in a television series.

Cole also played a complex character in the second (and last season) of the period drama "Poldark" (1975-1977). She portrayed Rowella Chynoweth, younger sister of the season's romantic lead Morwenna (played Jane Wymark). Rowella was the mistress of the Reverend Osborne Whitworth (played by Christopher Biggins), who was also Morwenna's husband and her own brother-in-law. Rowella was able to manipulate Osborne into arranging her marriage to a man she herself chose, and to provide her entire dowry.

Cole portrayed the supporting character of Lucy Deane is a 1979 television adaptation of the novel "The Mill on the Floss" (1860) by George Eliot. In the novel, Lucy is both a cousin and a friend to the protagonist Maggie Tulliver. Maggie's efforts to rescue Lucy from a river flood result in Maggie's death at the end of the novel.

Cole was a familiar face in television over the following decades, though she was often limited to playing one-shot characters. She was eventually cast in the regular role of Judy Hollingsworth in the short-lived sitcom "Married for Life" (1996). The series was a British remake of the American sitcom "Married... with Children", while the character of Judy was a British version of Marcy Rhoades from the original series. The British sitcom only lasted for 7 episodes.

By the end of the 1990s, Cole had earned qualifications as a fitness instructor and psychotherapist. She pursued these new careers in the 2000s, while regularly appearing in television roles. In 2004, Cole was a guest-star in a theatrical show called "Willy Wonka Explained (The Search for Veruca Salt)" which was part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. In 2016, Cole published her memoir. It was titled "I Want It Now!", named after Veruca Salt's famous song.

In 2019, Cole's keepsake props from the "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" were sold at auction for upwards of 15,000 pounds sterling. By 2022, Cole was 65-years-old. She has had no known television roles for several years, but she still has fans who fondly recall her debut role. Several actresses have followed her footsteps in playing Veruca Salt, with the character remaining popular for decades.