Harry Potter actress Samantha Davis, wife of Warwick Davis, dies at 53

Actress Samantha Davis, wife of Star Wars and Harry Potter actor Warwick Davis, has died at the age of 53.

Her death was confirmed in a statement by her husband Warwick, who revealed she had died on March 24.

‘Her passing has left a huge hole in our lives as a family. I miss her hugs,’ Warwick said in a statement, according to the BBC.

The actor described his wife, ‘Sammy’, as his ‘most trusted confidant and an ardent supporter of everything I did in my career’.

‘She was a unique character, always seeing the sunny side of life she had a wicked sense of humour and always laughed at my bad jokes.’

‘Mum is our best friend and we’re honoured to have received a love like hers,’ Davis’ children, Harrison and Annabelle, added.

Davis, who played a goblin in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 and was also co-founder of dwarfism charity Little People UK, had also featured in her husband’s cult favourite film Willow in 1988.

Warwick had been acting since he was a child, finding fame through Star Wars, in which he played several characters, including, most famously, Wicket the Ewok.

She appeared in an uncredited role as a Nelwyn villager alongside her father, Peter Burroughs.

The couple met on the set of the movie, with Burroughs later forming a business partnership with his son-in-law after they founded a talent agency together in 1995.

Willow Management specialises in representing actors under five feet as well as performers over seven feet tall.

‘With her by my side, I was sure I could achieve anything, it was like having a super-power,’ the Professor Flitwick actor continued.

‘Without Sammy, there would have been no Tenable quiz show, no Willow series. No Idiot Abroad Series 3.’

Davis and her 54-year-old husband share daughter actress Annabelle Davis, 27, who starred in the CBBC show The Dumping Ground as Sasha Bellman, and in Hollyoaks as Lacey Lloyd until earlier this year.

Their eldest son Lloyd had died at nine days old, after inheriting both spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita (SED) from his father and achondroplasia from his mother, a combination of different types of dwarfism which is fatal.

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SED is a rare genetic condition that results in short stature and skeletal anomalies, while Davis’ achondroplasia is a genetic condition that can slow down the growth of bone in the cartilage of the growth plate.

Youngest son Harrison is 21, and also appeared in the final Harry Potter instalment as a magic goblin.

The couple’s children also have SED.

Talking about his first son’s death to People in 2022, Warwick shared: ‘I think it brings you closer together, or something like that, but it’s an experience I wouldn’t wish on anyone, it’s devastating.

‘You do learn to live with it, eventually, over time, you’re able to better understand why it happened and can come to terms with it a bit more, but you never get over it.

‘I think the losses shaped our family dynamic, we love Annabelle and Harrison all that more because they’re here with us.’

The couple tragically lost another baby boy to miscarriage at 20 weeks, several years later, who they named George.

Alongside her charity work with Little People UK, Davis’ other acting credits include 1989 BBC educational series Through the Dragon’s Eye, Honky Sausages and ShortFellas.

Warwick also credited his wife, his ‘favourite human’, as being the one who had persuaded comedian Ricky Gervais to send him off with Karl Pilkington for the travel series Idiot Abroad.

Warwick revealed that his wife had struggled with her mobility in recent years but was ‘determined that it would not impact her quality of life’.

Disney, whose streaming platform revived Willow for one season of a TV series in 2022, called Davis a ‘beloved member of the UK film and TV community.

‘Our thoughts are with the Davis family during this difficult time,’ they added.

Davis had previously survived a terrifying battle with sepsis in 2019, with the family gathering by her bedside to say goodbye.

They later raised awareness of the dangerous condition.

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