J. Madison Wright Morris
Encyclopedia
Jessica Madison Wright was an American
actress. Born in Cincinnati, she spent her early years being raised in London
, Laurel County, Kentucky
.
in television adverts. The Wright family relocated to Los Angeles
in order to pursue Madison's blooming acting career and, in 1994, she had her acting debut in the comedy Grace Under Fire, then aged nine years old.
by producer Steven Spielberg
. The show only lasted one season, airing between 1994–1995, and Madison moved onto other projects, including to portray a sick child in the Emmy-nominated episode of ER
, where incidentally she played the first child character to die in the show's history. Her other roles included the family film Shiloh
, the science-fiction film The Warlord: Battle for the Galaxy
, The Burning Zone
and the 1998 Disney film Safety Patrol
.
and general ill-health, a chest X-ray revealed that she was suffering from restrictive cardiomyopathy
, a condition that required her to receive a heart transplant. The then fifteen-year-old was on the donor waiting list for a short term before she was admitted to the Cleveland Clinic
in March 2000, where she received the transplant. Clancy Brown
, the actor who played the screen father of Madison's character in Earth 2, led an appeal to raise money to cover the medical insurance costs that the Wrights were struggling to cope with.
Madison quickly recovered back to good health and, between concentrating on her school work and enjoying cheerleading
in her extracurricular time, she began giving talks to various groups highlighting the importance of organ donation
. After finishing at South Laurel High School, she then went to attend the University of the Cumberlands
in Williamsburg to study English before studying for her teaching credentials. Once graduating from university in summer 2006, Madison planned to begin a job teaching English
to tenth grade children at George Rogers Clark High School
, located in Winchester, Kentucky.
Just as her academic life flourished, her social life did as well. On July 8th, 2006, Madison married Brent Joseph Morris, a University of Kentucky
medical student. The couple honeymooned in Hawaii
for two weeks. A day after she returned, Madison fell ill and was admitted to the University of Kentucky Medical Center. On July 21, 2006, she died of a heart attack, only eight days shy of her twenty-second birthday. Her funeral was held at Corinth Baptist Church in London, Kentucky, the same church she was married in, before being buried at A. R. Dyche Memorial Park.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress. Born in Cincinnati, she spent her early years being raised in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Laurel County, Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
.
Early life
She was born to parents Scott and Melissa, and had a younger sister Victoria and two younger brothers Isiah and Elijah. Madison's showbiz career initially started, at aged five, as a child model and she even won a summer contract to model in New York. It was there where she experienced her first taste of actingActing
Acting is the work of an actor or actress, which is a person in theatre, television, film, or any other storytelling medium who tells the story by portraying a character and, usually, speaking or singing the written text or play....
in television adverts. The Wright family relocated to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
in order to pursue Madison's blooming acting career and, in 1994, she had her acting debut in the comedy Grace Under Fire, then aged nine years old.
Career success
A few months later, her big break came when she was personally cast in the role of ten-year-old True Danziger in the science-fiction show Earth 2Earth 2 (TV series)
Earth 2 is an American science fiction television series which aired on NBC from November 6, 1994 to June 4, 1995. The show was canceled after one season of 22 episodes...
by producer Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
. The show only lasted one season, airing between 1994–1995, and Madison moved onto other projects, including to portray a sick child in the Emmy-nominated episode of ER
ER (TV series)
ER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994 to April 2, 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
, where incidentally she played the first child character to die in the show's history. Her other roles included the family film Shiloh
Shiloh (film)
Shiloh is a Family/Drama film produced and directed by Dale Rosenbloom in 1996. It was shown at the Heartland Film Festival in 1996, but its general release came on April 27, 1997. The original book by the same name was written by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor...
, the science-fiction film The Warlord: Battle for the Galaxy
The Warlord: Battle for the Galaxy
The Warlord: Battle for the Galaxy was a science fiction film which aired on January 27, 1998 on television. The film was written by screenwriter Caleb Carr, who wrote the novel The Alienist, and directed by Joe Dante. It was intended to be the pilot for a series called The Osiris Chronicles that...
, The Burning Zone
The Burning Zone
The Burning Zone is a television drama broadcast on the UPN network as part of its 1996–97 lineup. It ran for 19 episodes. The series was rerun on SciFi Channel in the mid to late 90's....
and the 1998 Disney film Safety Patrol
Safety Patrol (film)
Safety Patrol is a 1998 direct-to-TV Disney film that covers the exploits of Scout Bozell, a middle school student aspiring to become a member of the school's safety patrol . The film, originally, aired on ABC and was aired, repeatedly, on the Disney Channel in 1999...
.
Later life and death
By 1999, Madison left her acting career and her family moved back to their home town in Kentucky. After repeated bouts of pneumoniaPneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
and general ill-health, a chest X-ray revealed that she was suffering from restrictive cardiomyopathy
Restrictive cardiomyopathy
Restrictive cardiomyopathy is a form of cardiomyopathy in which the walls are rigid, and the heart is restricted from stretching and filling with blood properly....
, a condition that required her to receive a heart transplant. The then fifteen-year-old was on the donor waiting list for a short term before she was admitted to the Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland Clinic
The Cleveland Clinic is a multispecialty academic medical center located in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. The Cleveland Clinic is currently regarded as one of the top 4 hospitals in the United States as rated by U.S. News & World Report...
in March 2000, where she received the transplant. Clancy Brown
Clancy Brown
Clarence J. "Clancy" Brown III is an American actor and voice actor. He is known for his roles in live action as The Kurgan in the cult classic film Highlander, Byron Hadley in the award-winning The Shawshank Redemption, Brother Justin Crowe in HBO's critically acclaimed Carnivàle, and Career...
, the actor who played the screen father of Madison's character in Earth 2, led an appeal to raise money to cover the medical insurance costs that the Wrights were struggling to cope with.
Madison quickly recovered back to good health and, between concentrating on her school work and enjoying cheerleading
Cheerleading
Cheerleading is a physical activity, sometimes a competitive sport, based on organized routines, usually ranging from one to three minutes, which contain the components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting to direct spectators of events to cheer on sports teams at games or to participate...
in her extracurricular time, she began giving talks to various groups highlighting the importance of organ donation
Organ donation
Organ donation is the donation of biological tissue or an organ of the human body, from a living or dead person to a living recipient in need of a transplantation. Transplantable organs and tissues are removed in a surgical procedure following a determination, based on the donor's medical and...
. After finishing at South Laurel High School, she then went to attend the University of the Cumberlands
University of the Cumberlands
University of the Cumberlands is a private, liberal arts college located in Williamsburg, Kentucky, with an enrollment of approximately 3,200 students...
in Williamsburg to study English before studying for her teaching credentials. Once graduating from university in summer 2006, Madison planned to begin a job teaching English
English studies
English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
to tenth grade children at George Rogers Clark High School
George Rogers Clark High School (Kentucky)
The city's only public high school, George Rogers Clark High School opened in the fall of 1963, consolidating the Clark County High School and Winchester High School locally referred to as county high and city high respectively. The school has a strong record in athletics, celebrating state...
, located in Winchester, Kentucky.
Just as her academic life flourished, her social life did as well. On July 8th, 2006, Madison married Brent Joseph Morris, a University of Kentucky
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...
medical student. The couple honeymooned in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
for two weeks. A day after she returned, Madison fell ill and was admitted to the University of Kentucky Medical Center. On July 21, 2006, she died of a heart attack, only eight days shy of her twenty-second birthday. Her funeral was held at Corinth Baptist Church in London, Kentucky, the same church she was married in, before being buried at A. R. Dyche Memorial Park.
Filmography
- Safety PatrolSafety Patrol (film)Safety Patrol is a 1998 direct-to-TV Disney film that covers the exploits of Scout Bozell, a middle school student aspiring to become a member of the school's safety patrol . The film, originally, aired on ABC and was aired, repeatedly, on the Disney Channel in 1999...
(1998) - The Warlord: Battle for the GalaxyThe Warlord: Battle for the GalaxyThe Warlord: Battle for the Galaxy was a science fiction film which aired on January 27, 1998 on television. The film was written by screenwriter Caleb Carr, who wrote the novel The Alienist, and directed by Joe Dante. It was intended to be the pilot for a series called The Osiris Chronicles that...
(1998) - The Burning ZoneThe Burning ZoneThe Burning Zone is a television drama broadcast on the UPN network as part of its 1996–97 lineup. It ran for 19 episodes. The series was rerun on SciFi Channel in the mid to late 90's....
(1997) - ShilohShiloh (film)Shiloh is a Family/Drama film produced and directed by Dale Rosenbloom in 1996. It was shown at the Heartland Film Festival in 1996, but its general release came on April 27, 1997. The original book by the same name was written by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor...
(1996) - ERER (TV series)ER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994 to April 2, 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
(1995) - The Secretary (1995)
- Earth 2Earth 2 (TV series)Earth 2 is an American science fiction television series which aired on NBC from November 6, 1994 to June 4, 1995. The show was canceled after one season of 22 episodes...
(1994) - The NannyThe Nanny (TV series)The Nanny is an American television sitcom co-produced by Sternin & Fraser Ink, Inc., and Fran Drescher in association with TriStar Television for the CBS network...
(1994) - Grace Under Fire (1994)