Here’s Why ‘Flowers in the Attic: The Origin’ Cast Member Jemima Rooper Looks Familiar

The 2014 Lifetime movie Flowers in the Attic, based on V.C. Andrews’ controversial book of the same name, was a hit despite its horrifying premise of locking four children in an attic. Now comes Lifetime’s four-part limited series Flowers in the Attic: The Origin. It attempts to show how the transformation of a young Olivia Foxworth could turn into a grandmother who imprisons her grandchildren. Jemima Rooper, who plays Olivia in this prequel series, does an admirable job of making viewers empathize with her, even if we know what she becomes later in life. 

You might recognize Rooper from some of her other projects, as she’s created a successful career across numerous movie, TV, and theater projects. Here are a few that made her famous and others on the horizon. 

‘Flowers in the Attic: The Origin’ is the prequel to V.C. Andrews’ book series

As with several recent Lifetime movies and TV series, Flowers in the Attic: The Origin is based on a cult classic by V.C. Andrews. In this case, it takes inspiration from Garden of Shadows, which was not complete upon Andrews’ death in 1986. Ghostwriter Andrew Neiderman finished it. 

In the TV miniseries, Rooper plays the innocent, unassuming Olivia, who’s wooed by the nation’s most eligible bachelor, Malcolm Foxworth. She quickly finds herself the matron of Foxworth Hall following a whirlwind courtship and marriage. Soon, Olivia discovers that what she thought would be a fairy tale life is the makings of a nightmare. 

Rooper said filming the series was “a complete privilege and a joy” despite the dark nature of the character she plays. “I was reading these scripts on my phone. It was incredible — this meaty, brilliant, three-dimensional character — and fascinating finding out … where she ends up and seeing how she gets there,” Rooper told ET Canada. 

Jemima Rooper starred in ‘Lost in Austen’ and several other TV and movie projects before ‘Flowers in the Attic: The Origin’

If you think Jemima Rooper looks familiar, you’ve probably seen her in one of the many projects she’s appeared in since her beginnings as a child star in the mid-’90s and early 2000s. She became a household name when she played George in the TV series The Famous Five. She landed another significant TV role playing Nicki Sutton on As If from 2000 to 2004.

Rooper’s blockbuster debut came in 2006 when she starred as Lorna Mertz in The Black Dahlia, IMDb reports. She also played a lead role in Lost in Austen, a British miniseries in which modern-day Amanda (Rooper) lives out the plot of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice through a portal in her bathroom. 

Next for Rooper is the movie ‘Matriarch’ and the TV series ‘The Split’ 

Aside from watching Rooper in Flowers in the Attic: The Origin, fans can also see the actor in a few other projects in 2022. She guest-starred in Sundance Now’s hit TV series The Split earlier this year. She will also appear in a leading role as Laura in Matriarch, a film directed by Ben Steiner set for release later this year. 

Regarding her character in Flowers in the Attic: The Origin, Rooper said the premise is immediately “intriguing” because Olivia seems relatable at first even though viewers familiar with the later plotlines know the monster she becomes. “How do you go from A to B in that way? That’s a journey,” she told ET Canada. 

Flowers in the Attic: The Origin Episode 4 airs Saturday, July 30, at 8 p.m. ET on Lifetime.