“My beautiful, free-spirited mom lived a hard life and still found ways to make herself and others laugh and smile,” Naiia wrote. “Now she can rest easy.”

Her tribute painted a vivid picture of a woman who never seemed interested in fitting neatly into anyone else’s expectations.

Naiia recalled the little details she will always associate with her mother: black-and-white photographs, Virginia Slims, oversized clothes, big sunglasses, doodling while talking, flip-flops and the unmistakable sense that Georgina Cates preferred to live according to her own rules.

“I love you, thank you for your creativity, curiosity and your bravery to always be true to yourself — no matter what,” she wrote.

Born Clare Woodgate in Colchester, England, in 1975, Cates developed an interest in acting while she was still young.

She once explained that part of the attraction came from being able to step outside herself and become somebody completely different.

That imagination would eventually become central to one of the biggest breakthroughs of her career.

British television viewers first came to know her through the BBC sitcom 2point4 Children, where she played Jenny Porter.

But Cates wanted to push herself further.

When she auditioned for the role of Stella Bradshaw in An Awfully Big Adventure, she was initially rejected.

Instead of simply accepting the decision, she reportedly reinvented herself.

She returned using the name Georgina Cates, changed her appearance, dyed her hair red and adopted a Liverpool accent.

The transformation worked.

She won the role.

Released in 1995, An Awfully Big Adventure also starred Hugh Grant and Alan Rickman and became one of the performances most closely associated with Cates.

Her portrayal of Stella combined toughness, innocence and emotional vulnerability, helping establish her as an actress willing to disappear deeply into a character.

More film work followed.

Cates later appeared in Clay Pigeons alongside Joaquin Phoenix and Vince Vaughn, as well as Illuminata, Frankie Starlight, Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa and Everlasting, which became her final screen credit.

Her life in Hollywood also led to a high-profile romance.

Cates met actor Skeet Ulrich at an Oscars party, and the couple married in 1997.

They later welcomed twins, daughter Naiia and son Jakob.

Their marriage ended in divorce in 2005.

Outside acting, Cates eventually found another creative outlet through photography.

That transition seemed fitting for someone who had always resisted being confined to one role or one version of herself.

She once explained that she never wanted to keep repeating the same type of character.

“I always want to do something different,” she said. “I don’t want to play the same role. I’m just not built that way.”

Those words now feel especially meaningful.

Cates’ career may be remembered through films, television appearances and the actors she worked alongside, but her daughter’s tribute suggests that the woman behind those performances mattered just as much.

She was remembered as curious.

Creative.

Unconventional.

And determined to remain herself even when that made life more difficult.

Naiia ended her tribute with a simple message that captured the depth of that bond.

“You will always be in my heart,” she wrote. “I love you.”

Georgina Cates is survived by her children, Naiia and Jakob. ❤️