You may not recognize Frances O’Connor at first. While the Australian actress has been in dozens of films, American audiences are more likely to look at her with heads cocked and muse, “Hmmm, where have I seen her before?” The answer depends. Perhaps you’re a fan of costumed dramas and caught her in the slyly subversive (not to mention a tad lesbian-ish) “Mansfield Park,” my favorite Jane Austen adaptation to date. Or perhaps you’re a sci-fic fan and caught her as the mother in “A.I.” Or perhaps you’re a feminist enthusiast and caught her in the HBO suffrage drama “Iron Jawed Angels.” Or perhaps you’re a comedy buff and caught her in the Elizabeth Hurley-as-devil laughter “Dedazzled,” where she played the girl Brendan Fraser kept selling his soul for. Those are a lot of perhapses.
But what I can tell you for certain is that I first caught her a dozen or so years ago in a little Aussie charmer called “Love and Other Catastrophes” where Frances played the commitment-phobic girlfriend of Radha Mitchell. From the moment they kissed on the stairs, I was smitten. Frances has that undeniably delicious combination of sweetness and spunk. Plus she has a sly grin that curls up the edges of her mouth, which totally works for me. I couldn’t be more pleased that she has found a starring role in the high-profile new series “Cashmere Mafia.” Sure, I wish she was the one with the lesbian storyline. But just knowing that she is close to a lesbian storyline is good enough for me. The series just got its premiere date, so you can look forward to catching, and for some of you being introduced to, Frances starting 10 p.m. Thursday Jan. 3 on ABC. The following week it will slide into its permanent timeslot, 10 p.m. Wednesdays. A weekly dose of Frances? Now I’m the one with the Cheshire Cat grin. Happy weekend, all.
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