Son's touching tribute as iconic actress Cornelia Frances loses cancer battle
The son of Cornelia Frances posted a touching tribute to social media sharing his personal feelings during his mum’s final hours.
The iconic television actress’ death was announced on Tuesday, following a battle with cancer.
The 77-year-old’s son, Lawrence Eastland, posted a picture on Instagram of Frances asleep in bed next to a plush toy.
“A very personal photo of my mum during one of her resting moments, she is so peaceful, soft and serene,” he wrote.
“I truly love this woman.”
In January Frances revealed she had been diagnosed with bladder cancer 12 months earlier.
“I discovered I had bladder cancer. This then spread to my hip bone which fractured, and then I almost died from loss of blood due to an ulcer in my throat. Despite all this, I am still here, as the old song goes,” she told News Corp.
Her mother also died from cancer and the actress donated every year to cancer charities.
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Born Cornelia Frances Zulver on April 7, 1941 in Liverpool, England, she began her acting career in the UK.
But it wasn’t until after she moved to Australia in 1970 that her career flourished.
She played the hard-as-nails hospital enforcer Sister Grace Scott on the popular TV soap The Young Doctors, where she remained until 1978.
After a string of TV spots, Frances then starred in the comedy Kingswood Country before taking on the role of Barbara Armstrong in Sons and Daughters between 1982 and 1986.
Two years later she was cast as Morag Bellingham in Home and Away – a role she played on-and-off for almost 25 years.
Between seasons, Frances also hosted the Australian version of the quiz show The Weakest Link, starred in the series Always Greener, and provided the voice of the tortoise in the children’s series Magic Mountain.
