Prior to her acting career, she originally aspired to become a ballerina and trained at
Elmhurst Ballet School in Surrey. Before to her breakout in 1973, she also auditioned for the film
Nicholas and Alexandra (1971) as one of the Grand Duchesses, as well as the title role of Alice in ''
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1972). At 14, Makepeace's debut role was as Sara Crewe in the
BBC television remake of
A Little Princess (1973). She was selected out of over 200 girls for this part, which was originally played by
Shirley Temple in 1939. The following year she landed a minor role playing the younger
Janet Suzman as
Florence Nightingale in the television film
Miss Nightingale (1974), which was followed by the leading role in the BBC six-part children's adventure series,
The Chinese Puzzle (1974). By 1975, she was starring in bit parts and reoccurring roles in various television productions. She played
Nigel Davenport’s daughter on an adaptation of the 1928 play
The Apple Cart for
BBC Play of the Month, which also starred a young
Helen Mirren. Makepeace also landed a reoccurring role as a student nurse on the hit BBC television series,
Angels. She then appeared as
Princess Helena of the United Kingdom in three episodes of the Emmy and BAFTA winning ATV costume drama series,
Edward the Seventh (1975). Other television credits include
Just William (1977),
Penmarric (1979),
Byron: A Personal Tour (1981), and
Sorry (1987). She appeared in rep at
Pitlochry Festival Theatre in the 1978 season. She had roles in
The Tempest, While the Sun Shines and
The Chalk Garden. In 1984, she received critical acclaim for her portrayal of Bianca in a stage production of
The Taming of the Shrew. Makepeace made her
voice acting debut in 1993 for the English dub of the
anime The Heroic Legend of Arislan as Elam. She would also provide voices for the English dub of
Rumic World: Fire Tripper, where she provided the voice of Suzuko (credited as Cynthia Meade), and the English dub of
Seiden RG Vega, which would ultimately be her final known credit. She died from cancer on 2 February 1999. Her funeral services were held on Friday February 11, 1999 at South London Crematorium, and she was interred in Hailsham Cemetery in Hailsham, Wealden District, East Sussex, England. ==Filmography==