J. Madison Wright Morris
Jessica Madison Wright Morris (July 29, 1984 – July 21, 2006), known professionally as J. Madison Wright, was an American actress. Born in Cincinnati, she spent her early years being raised in Lexington, Kentucky. She was best known for her role as Sam Wallace in Shiloh. She co-starred in Shiloh with her younger sister Tori Wright.[1]
J. Madison Wright Morris | |
|---|---|
 In Earth 2 (1994) | |
| Born | Jessica Madison Wright July 29, 1984 Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | July 21, 2006 (aged 21) Lexington, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Resting place | A. R. Dyche Memorial Park |
| Other names | J. Madison Wright |
| Alma mater | University of the Cumberlands |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1994–1999 |
| Spouse(s) | Brent Joseph Morris ( m. 2006–2006) |
Early life
Madison Wright was born to parents Scott and Melissa. In addition to Tori she had two younger brothers, Isaiah and Elijah. Madison's showbiz career started when she was five years old, as a child model, and she won a summer contract to model in New York. There she experienced her first taste of acting in television commercials. The Wright family relocated to Los Angeles in order to pursue Madison's blooming acting career. In 1994, at the age of 9, she made her acting debut in the comedy Grace Under Fire.
Career
A few months later, her big break came when she was cast in the role of ten-year-old True Danziger in the science fiction television series Earth 2 by producers Cleve Landsberg, Chip Masamitsu, Janace Tashjian and Tony To. The show lasted only one season, airing between 1994 and 1995. Madison moved onto other projects, including portraying a sick child in an Emmy-nominated episode of ER, where she played the first child character to die in the show's history. Her other roles included the family film Shiloh alongside her little sister Tori Wright, the science fiction film The Warlord: Battle for the Galaxy, The Burning Zone and the 1998 Disney film Safety Patrol.
Later life and death
By 1999 she retired from acting. Her family moved back to Kentucky. After repeated bouts of pneumonia and general ill-health, Madison was diagnosed with restrictive cardiomyopathy, a condition that required her to receive a heart transplant. After a short wait on the donor waiting list, the then fifteen-year-old Madison received the transplant at the Cleveland Clinic in March 2000. Clancy Brown, the actor who played the father of Madison's character in Earth 2, led an appeal to raise money to cover the Wrights' medical costs.
After a quick recovery, and between concentrating on her school work and enjoying cheerleading in her extracurricular time, Madison gave talks to various groups on the importance of organ donation. After finishing at South Laurel High School, she attended the University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, where she studied English and worked to obtain her teaching credentials.[2]
On July 8, 2006, J. Madison Wright married Brent Joseph Morris, a University of Kentucky medical student. A day after she returned from her honeymoon in Hawaii, Madison suffered a heart attack and was admitted to the University of Kentucky Medical Center where she died on July 21, 2006, two weeks after her wedding, and eight days before her 22nd birthday.[3] Her funeral was held at Corinth Baptist Church in London, Kentucky, the same church in which she was married, and she was buried at A. R. Dyche Memorial Park. Prior to her death J. Madison Wright was planning to teach English at George Rogers Clark High School.[4]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Grace Under Fire | Caroline Baldwin | "Grace and Beauty" |
| 1994 | The Nanny | Betty Jo | "I Don't Remember Mama" |
| 1994–1995 | Earth 2 | True Danziger | Main role |
| 1995 | The Secretary | Shari Grayson | TV film |
| 1995 | ER | Molly Phillips | "Hell and High Water" |
| 1996 | Shiloh | Samantha "Sam" Wallace | |
| 1997 | The Burning Zone | Cathy Mason | "The Last Five Pounds Are the Hardest" |
| 1998 | The Warlord: Battle for the Galaxy | Nova Thorpe | TV film |
| 1998 | Safety Patrol | Jillie | TV film |
References
- J.M. Wright Morris, 21; Child Actress Got a New Heart
- "J. Madison Wright Morris Dies of Heart Attack". Archived from the original on 2018-08-28. Retrieved 2018-03-28.
- TV actress Morris dead at age 21
- Former child actress J. Madison Wright Morris dies