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Warwick Davis' wife Samantha tragically dies aged 53: Heartbroken Harry Potter star's beloved actress wife who he met on set of Willow and had three children with during three-decades long marriage passes away
The wife of Harry Potter star Warwick Davis has died at the age of 53.
Samantha Davis, who was an actor, met her husband when she had an uncredited role in his 1988 film Willow.
She had a brush with death in 2019 when she fell ill with sepsis ahead of a family holiday.
Davis, now 54, previously told how he and the couple's children 'sort of said goodbye' by her bedside before she pulled through.
The actor and his wife lost baby son Lloyd just nine days after he was born in 1991 - the year they got married.
- The wife of Harry Potter star Warwick Davis has died at the age of 53. Samantha Davis, who was also an actor, met her husband when she had an uncredited role in his 1988 film Willow
- Warwick and Samantha Davis with their children Harrison and Annabelle at the premiere of Star Wars: the Last Jedi in California in 2017
He and Samantha met when Davis starred as sorcerer Willow Ufgood in the 1988 film named after the character.
Samantha and her father Peter - who is Davis's business partner - had minor roles as villagers.
She also had an uncredited role as a a goblin in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 in 2011, in which Davis portrayed Filius Flitwick - Hogwarts' charms professor - for the final time.
In 1989, she had a part in BBC educational series Through the Dragon's Eye.
Davis and Mr Burroughs, 77, co-founded Willow Management in 1995 with the aim of changing the way people with dwarfism were represented on screen.
Mr Burroughs is also an actor and has appeared both on stage and in TV and film productions including The Legend of King Arthur, Hamlet, and as an Ewok in 1983 Star Wars film Return of the Jedi.
Davis and his wife have actress daughter Annabelle, 27, and son Harrison, 21, together.
Harrison also appeared as a goblin in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. Annabelle portrayed Lacey Lloyd in Hollyoaks until January this year.
Speaking of his first son's death to People in 2022, Davis said: '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.'
Lloyd inherited dwarfism from both his parents and died from complications caused by the condition.
The couple lost a second child - who they named George - when Samantha miscarried at 20 weeks in 1993.
- Warwick Davis and his wife Samantha Burroughs on their wedding day in 1991
- Samantha Davis and Warwick Davis attend the ITV Palooza! held at The Royal Festival Hall on October 16, 2018
- Samantha Davis with her husband when he starred in Spamalot at the Playhouse Theatre, London, in 2013
- Warwick Davis, wife Samantha, daughter Annabelle and son Harrison attend the premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens at Leicester Square on December 16, 2015
- Warwick with his wife Samantha and children Harrison and Annabelle at the screening of Disney+ series Willow
- Davis and his wife Samantha at the London Palladium in 2015
- Samantha Davis had a brush with death in 2019 when she fell ill with sepsis ahead of a family holiday. Above: Being hugged by her daughter in hospital
The star previously said the tragedies made him and Samantha stronger as a couple.
Speaking on Bear Grylls' television show Bear's Mission in 2018, he said: 'Prior to Annabelle and Harrison we had a baby boy, Lloyd, who inherited both our conditions… and that is something that proves fatal.
'It's something that a baby won't survive. But Lloyd he lived for survived for nine days, but yeah he was beautiful… but it was a tough time. And yeah, we had a stillborn too.'
The star said he and his wife had made it through the painful time together, saying: 'That kind of stuff it just makes you stronger [as a couple].'
Davis was born with an extremely rare condition called spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita (SED), where the bone endings fail to form. It meant he never grew taller than 3ft 6in.
His wife had a different form of dwarfism called achondroplasia.
Samantha fell ill with sepsis ahead of a family caravan holiday in 2019.
She initially thought that her symptoms were caused by stress from preparing for the trip.
When her exhaustion led to her not being able to stand without support, her husband called an out-of-hours doctor and she was rushed to hospital.
Davis said in 2022: 'The next few hours were the longest of my life as I waited on the ward with our children in the empty space left by Sam's hospital bed. I hoped it would not symbolise a future for us without her.'
He continued: Our family gathered by her bedside; although optimistic, we were sort of saying goodbye in case Sam didn't survive.'
- Warwick Davis as Filius Flitwick in Harry Potter. He portrayed the charms professor in all of the Harry Potter films
- Davis with Val Kilmer in 1988 film Willow. He met his future wife Samantha while making the film
- Warwick Davis meets King Charles, then the Prince of Wales, at the charity premiere of Willow
- Warwick Davis as sorcerer Willow Ufgood in 1988 film Willow
- Davis reprised his role as Ufgood in TV series Willow, which aired in 2022 but was then cancelled after just one season
Doctors became concerned about a scar on Samantha's back from a recent spinal surgery she had undergone. Davis said it was 'inflamed with fluid, red, and hot to touch.'
Tests came back showing Sam had a deadly Streptococcus bacteria and meningitis infection, meaning she needed emergency surgery.
However, she pulled through and was nursed back to help by Davis over the course of three months.
Davis reprised his role as Ufgood in TV series Willow, which aired in 2022 but was then cancelled after just one season.
Warwick Davis' wife Samantha tragically dies aged 53
Samantha Davis, who was an actress in her own right, met her husband when she had an uncredited role in his 1988 film Willow. She had a brush with death in 2019 when she fell ill with sepsis.
