birth date	July 26, 1945
birth name	Helen Lydia Mironoff
birth place	Chiswick, London, England
occupation	Actor
years active	1965–present
spouse	Taylor Hackford(1997–present)
partner	Taylor Hackford(1986–1997)
website	Official site }}

Dame Helen Mirren, DBE (born 26 July 1945) is an English actor. She has won an Academy Award for Best Actress, four SAG Awards, four BAFTAs, three Golden Globes, four Emmy Awards, and two Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Awards.

Early life and family

Mirren was born Helen Lydia Mironoff in Queen Charlotte's Hospital, Chiswick, West London. Her father, Vasiliy Petrovich Mironov (1913–1980), was of Russian origin, and her mother, Kitty (née Kathleen Alexandrina Eva Matilda Rogers; 1909–1996), was English. Mirren's paternal grandfather, Colonel Pyotr Vasilievich Mironov, was in the Tsarist Army and fought in the 1904 Russo-Japanese War. He later became a diplomat, and was negotiating an arms deal in Britain, when he and his family were stranded during the Russian Revolution. The former diplomat became a London cab driver to support his family.

His son, Helen Mirren's father, changed the family name to the Scottish-sounding Mirren in the 1950s and became known as Basil Mirren. He played the viola with the London Philharmonic before World War II, and later drove a cab and was a driving-test examiner, before becoming a civil servant with the Ministry of Transport. Mirren's mother was from West Ham, East London, and was the 13th of 14 children born to a butcher whose father had been the butcher to Queen Victoria. Mirren considers her upbringing to have been "very anti-monarchist".

The first house she remembers living in was in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, when she was two or three years old, after the birth of her younger brother, who was named Peter Basil after his grandfather and great-great-grandfather. Mirren was the second of three children, born two years after her older sister Katherine ("Kate"; born 1942). She later lived in Leigh-on-Sea.

Education

Mirren attended St Bernard's High School for Girls in Southend-on-Sea, where she acted in school productions, and subsequently a teaching college, the New College of Speech and Drama in London, "housed within Anna Pavlova's old home, Ivy House" on the North End Road – which leads from Golders Green to Hampstead, N. London. At age eighteen, she auditioned for the National Youth Theatre and was accepted. By the time she was 20, she was Cleopatra in the NYT production of ''Antony and Cleopatra'' at the Old Vic, which led to her signing with the agent Al Parker.

Theatre

Early years

Her work for the NYT led to Mirren joining the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), playing Castiza in Trevor Nunn's 1966 staging of ''The Revenger's Tragedy'', Diana in ''All's Well That Ends Well'' in 1967, Cressida in ''Troilus and Cressida'' and Phebe in ''As You Like It'' in 1968, Julia in ''The Two Gentlemen of Verona'' in 1970, and Tatiana in Gorky's ''Enemies'' at the Aldwych and the title role in ''Miss Julie'' at The Other Place in 1971. She also appeared in four productions, directed by Braham Murray for Century Theatre at the University Theatre in Manchester between 1965 and 1967.

In 1970 Director/producer John Goldschmidt made the documentary film ''Doing Her Own Thing'' about Mirren at the Royal Shakespeare Company. The film was made for ATV and shown on the ITV Network in the UK.

In 1972–73 Mirren worked with Peter Brook's International Centre for Theatre Research, and joined the group's tour in North Africa and the US which created ''The Conference of the Birds''. Returning to the RSC she played Lady Macbeth at Stratford in 1974 and at the Aldwych Theatre in 1975.

As reported by Sally Beauman in her 1982 history of the RSC, Mirren, while appearing in Nunn's ''Macbeth'' (1974) and in a highly publicised letter to ''The Guardian'' newspaper, attacked both the National Theatre and the RSC for their lavish production expenditure, declaring it "unnecessary and destructive to the art of the Theatre," and adding, "The realms of truth, emotion and imagination reached for in acting a great play have become more and more remote, often totally unreachable across an abyss of costume and technicalities..." There were no discernible repercussions for this rebuke of the RSC.

West End and RSC

At the Royal Court in September 1975 she notably played rock star Maggie in ''Teeth 'n' Smiles'', a musical play by David Hare, which was revived at Wyndham's Theatre in May 1976 winning her the Plays & Players Best Actress award, voted by the London critics.

From November 1975 Mirren played in West End repertory with the Lyric Theatre Company as Nina in ''The Seagull'' and Ella in Ben Travers' new farce ''The Bed Before Yesterday'' ("Mirren is stirringly voluptuous as the Harlowesque good-time girl": Michael Billington, ''The Guardian'', 10 December 1975). At the RSC in Stratford in 1977, and at the Aldwych the following year, she played a steely Queen Margaret in Terry Hands' production of the three parts of ''Henry VI'', while 1979 saw her 'bursting with grace' with an acclaimed performance as Isabella in Peter Gill's otherwise unexceptional production of ''Measure for Measure'' at Riverside Studios.

In 1981 she returned to the Royal Court for the London premiere of Brian Friel's ''Faith Healer''. In the same year she also received acclaim for her performance in the title role of John Webster's ''The Duchess of Malfi'', a production of Manchester's Royal Exchange Theatre which transferred to The Roundhouse in Chalk Farm, London. Reviewing her portrayal for ''The Sunday Telegraph'', Francis King wrote: "Miss Mirren never leaves it in doubt that even in her absences, this ardent, beautiful woman is the most important character of the story."

Her performance as Moll Cutpurse in ''The Roaring Girl'' at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in January 1983, and at the Barbican Theatre April 1983), "swaggered through the action with radiant singularity of purpose, filling in areas of light and shade that even Thomas Middleton and Thomas Dekker omitted." – Michael Coveney, ''Financial Times'', April 1983.

After a relatively barren sojourn in the Hollywood Hills, she returned to England at the beginning of 1989 to co-star with Bob Peck at the Young Vic in the London premiere of the Arthur Miller double-bill, ''Two Way Mirror'', performances which prompted Miller to remark: "What is so good about English actors is that they are not afraid of the open expression of large emotions" (interview by Sheridan Morley: ''The Times'' 11 January 1989). In ''Elegy for a Lady'' she played the svelte proprietress of a classy boutique, while as the blonde hooker in ''Some Kind of Love Story'' she was "clad in a Freudian slip and shifting easily from waif-like vulnerability to sexual aggression, giving the role a breathy Monroesque quality" (Michael Billington, ''The Guardian'').

Broadway debut

A further stage breakthrough came in 1994, in an Yvonne Arnaud Theatre production bound for the West End, when Bill Bryden cast her as Natalya Petrovna in Ivan Turgenev's ''A Month in the Country''. Her co-stars were John Hurt as her aimless lover Rakitin and Joseph Fiennes in only his second professional stage appearance as the cocksure young tutor Belyaev. "Instead of a bored Natalya fretting the summer away in dull frocks, Mirren, dazzlingly gowned, is a woman almost wilfully allowing her heart's desire for her son's young tutor to rule her head and wreak domestic havoc....Creamy shoulders bared, she feels free to launch into a gloriously enchanted, dreamily comic self-confession of love." (John Thaxter, Richmond & Twickenham Times, 4 March 1994).

Mirren was twice nominated for Broadway's Tony Award as Best Actress (Play): in 1995 for her Broadway debut in ''A Month in the Country'', now directed by Scott Ellis ("Miss Mirren's performance is bigger and more animated than the one she gave last year in an entirely different London production", Vincent Canby in the NY Times, 26 April 1995). Then again in 2002 for August Strindberg's ''Dance of Death'', co-starring with Sir Ian McKellen, their fraught rehearsal period coinciding with the terrorist attacks on New York on September 11, 2001 (as recorded in her ''In the Frame'' autobiography, September 2007).

National Theatre

Mirren had an unhappy experience at the National Theatre in 1998 when she played Cleopatra to Alan Rickman's Antony. In 2000 Nicholas Hytner, who had worked with Mirren on the film version of ''The Madness of King George'', cast her as Lady Torrance in his revival of Tennessee Williams' ''Orpheus Descending'' at the Donmar Warehouse in London. Michael Billington, reviewing for ''The Guardian'', described her performance as "an exemplary study of an immigrant woman who has acquired a patina of resilient toughness but who slowly acknowledges her sensuality."

At the National Theatre in November 2003 she again won praise playing Christine Mannon ("defiantly cool, camp and skittish", ''Evening Standard''; "glows with mature sexual allure", ''Daily Telegraph'') in a revival of Eugene O'Neill's ''Mourning Becomes Electra'' directed by Howard Davies.

“This production was one of the best experiences of my professional life, The play was four and a half hours long, and I have never known that kind of response from an audience ... It was the serendipity of a beautifully cast play, with great design and direction, It will be hard to be in anything better.” (''In the Frame'', September 2007).

She played the tragic title role in Jean Racine's ''Phèdre'' at the National in 2009, in a production directed by Nicholas Hytner. The production was also staged at the amphitheater of Epidaurus on 11 and 12 July 2009.

Selected stage credits

Cleopatra, ''Anthony and Cleopatra'', Old Vic Theatre, London, 1965

Cathleen, ''Long Day's Journey Into Night'', Century Theatre, Manchester,England 1965

Kitty, ''Charley's Aunt'', Century Theatre, Manchester, 1967

Nerissa, ''The Merchant of Venice'', Century Theatre,Manchester, 1967

Castiza, ''The Revenger's Tragedy'', Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford-upon-Avon, England, 1967

Diana, ''All's Well That Ends Well'', Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford-upon-Avon, 1967

Cressida, ''Troilus and Cressida'', Royal Shakespeare Company, Aldwych Theatre, London, 1968

Hero, ''Much Ado about Nothing'', Aldwych Theatre, 1968–1969

Win-the-Fight Littlewit, ''Bartholomew Fair'', Aldwych Theatre, 1969

Lady Anne, ''Richard III'', Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford-upon-Avon, 1970

Ophelia, ''Hamlet'', Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford-upon-Avon, 1970

Julia, ''The Two Gentlemen of Verona'', Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford-upon-Avon, 1970

Tatyana, ''Enemies'', Royal Shakespeare Company, Aldwych Theatre, 1971

Harriet, ''The Man of Mode'', Royal Shakespeare Company, Aldwych Theatre, 1971

Title role, ''Miss Julie'', Royal Shakespeare Company, Aldwych Theatre, 1971

Elayne, ''The Balcony'', Royal Shakespeare Company, Aldwych Theatre, 1971

Isabella, ''Measure for Measure'', Riverside Studios Theatre, London,1974

Lady Macbeth, ''Macbeth'', Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford-upon-Avon, 1974, then Aldwych Theatre, 1975

Maggie, ''Teeth 'n' Smiles'', Royal Court Theatre, London, 1975, thenWyndham's Theatre, London, 1976

Nina, ''The Seagull'', Lyric Theatre, London, 1975

Ella, ''The Bed before Yesterday'', Lyric Theatre, 1975

Queen Margaret, ''Henry VI, Parts I, II and III'', Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford-upon-Avon, 1977, then Aldwych Theatre, 1978

Title role, ''The Duchess of Malfi'', Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, England, 1980, then Mound House Theatre, London, 1981

Grace, ''Faith Healer'', Royal Court Theatre, 1981

Cleopatra, ''Antony and Cleopatra'', Pit Theatre, London, 1983

Moll Cutpurse, ''The Roaring Girl'', Barbican Theatre, London, 1983

Marjorie, ''Extremities'', Duchess Theatre, London, 1984

''Madame Bovary'', 1987

Angela, "Some Kind of Love Story," and dying woman, "Elegy for a Lady," in ''Two-Way Mirror'' (double-bill), Young Vic Theatre, *London, 1989

''Sex Please We're Italian'', 1991

Natalya Petrovna, ''A Month in the Country'', London, 1994, then Criterion Theatre, New York City, 1995

''Antony and Cleopatra'', Royal National Theatre, London, 1998

''Collected Stories'', London, 1999

Lady Torrance, ''Orpheus Descending'', Donmar Warehouse, London, 2000

Alice, ''Dance of Death'', Broadhurst Theatre, New York City, 2001–2002

''Mourning Becomes Electra'', Lyttelton Stage, Royal National Theatre, 2003

''Phedre'', National Theatre, 2009

Also appeared as Susie Monmican, The Silver Lassie; in ''Woman in Mind'', Los Angeles.

Film

Mirren has also appeared in a large number of films throughout her career. Some of her earlier film roles include ''Age of Consent'', ''O Lucky Man!'', ''Caligula'', ''Excalibur'', ''2010'', ''The Long Good Friday'', ''White Nights'', ''When the Whales Came'' and ''The Mosquito Coast''. She appeared in ''Some Mother's Son'', ''Painted Lady'', ''The Prince of Egypt'' and ''The Madness of King George''. One of her other film roles was in Peter Greenaway's ''The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover'', as the eponymous thief's wife, opposite Michael Gambon. Her favourite film is ''Teaching Mrs. Tingle'', in which she plays sadistic History teacher, Mrs Eve Tingle.

Mirren continued her successful film career when she starred more recently in ''Gosford Park'' with Maggie Smith and ''Calendar Girls'' where she starred with Julie Walters. Other more recent appearances include ''The Clearing'', ''Pride'', ''Raising Helen'', and ''Shadowboxer''. Mirren also provided the voice for the supercomputer "Deep Thought" in the film adaptation of Douglas Adams' ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. During her career, she has portrayed three British queens in different films and television series: Elizabeth I in the television series ''Elizabeth I'' (2005), Elizabeth II in ''The Queen'' (2006), and Queen Charlotte, the wife of George III, in ''The Madness of King George'' (1994). She is the only actress ever to have portrayed both Queens Elizabeth on the screen.

Mirren's title role of ''The Queen'' earned her numerous acting awards including a BAFTA, a Golden Globe, and an Academy Award, among many others. During her acceptance speech at the Academy Award ceremony, she praised and thanked Elizabeth II and stated that she had maintained her dignity and weathered many storms during her reign as Queen. Mirren later appeared in supporting roles in the films ''National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets'', ''Inkheart'', ''State of Play'', and ''The Last Station'', for which she was nominated for an Oscar.

In preparation for her role as a retired Israeli Mossad agent in the film ''The Debt'', Mirren reportedly immersed herself in studies of Hebrew language, Jewish history, and Holocaust writing, including the life of Simon Wiesenthal, while in Israel in 2009 for the filming of some of the movie's scenes. The film is a remake of a 2007 Israeli film of the same name (Hebrew: Ha-khov).

Television

Mirren is known for her role as detective Jane Tennison in the widely viewed ''Prime Suspect'', a multiple award-winning television drama that was noted for its high quality and popularity. Her portrayal of Tennison won her three consecutive BAFTA awards for Best Actress between 1992 and 1994.

Some of Mirren's other television performances include ''Cousin Bette'' (1971); ''As You Like It'' (1979); ''Blue Remembered Hills'' (1979); ''The Twilight Zone'' episode "Dead Woman's Shoes" (1985); ''Losing Chase'' (1996); ''The Passion of Ayn Rand'' (1999), where her performance won her both the Emmy and the Golden Globe; ''Door to Door'' (2002); and ''The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone'' (2003). In 1976, she appeared with Laurence Olivier, Alan Bates and Malcolm McDowell in a production of Harold Pinter's ''The Collection'' as part of the ''Laurence Olivier Presents'' series. She also played Elizabeth I in 2005, in the television serial ''Elizabeth I'', for Channel 4 and HBO, for which she received an Emmy Award. Mirren won another Emmy Award on 16 September 2007 for her role in ''Prime Suspect: The Final Act'' on PBS in the same category as in 2006.

Mirren hosted ''Saturday Night Live'' on 9 April 2011.

Awards and recognition

Film awards

In 1984, Mirren won Best Actress for her role in the film ''Cal'' at the Cannes Film Festival and the 1985 Evening Standard British Film Awards. In 1994 and 2001, she was nominated for the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for her roles in ''The Madness of King George'' and ''Gosford Park'', respectively. In 1995, she had also been awarded for Best Actress once again in Cannes for playing Queen Charlotte in ''The Madness of King George''. In 2002, she received the SAG Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture for ''Gosford Park''. Mirren is the first female actress to be nominated for three acting performances at the Golden Globe Awards in the same year. She won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Leading Role in the movie drama category for Stephen Frears' ''The Queen'' in 2006 (along with two nominations in the Actress in a Mini-series or TV Movie category for ''Elizabeth I'', and ''Prime Suspect: Final Act''). She won both Golden Globes for ''The Queen'' and ''Elizabeth I'' and also won two SAG awards the same year for the same roles. Mirren is the third actor to win two Golden Globes in the same year, and the first ever to win for both leading roles in TV and film in the same year. She is one of only three actresses (the first was Liza Minnelli in 1973 and then decades later Helen Hunt) to win a Golden Globe, an Oscar and an Emmy for performances given in the same year.

Along with the Golden Globe, Mirren's acclaimed performance in ''The Queen'' won her the 2007 Academy Award for Best Actress. She also received Best Actress awards from the Venice Film Festival, Broadcast Film Critics, National Board of Review, Satellite Awards, Screen Actors Guild and a BAFTA, as well as critics awards from all over the world. Entertainment Weekly recently ranked her Number 2 for Entertainer of the Year for 2006 and also won the award for best actress in film at the new Greatest Britons Awards for her role in ''The Queen''. In 2007, Mirren became an Honorary Patron of the University Philosophical Society at Trinity College Dublin.

She won the Best Actress award at the 2009 Rome International Film Festival for her performance as Tolstoy's wife in ''The Last Station''.

Academy Award nominations

Best Actress

* '''2006 – ''The Queen''

* 2009 – ''The Last Station''

Best Supporting Actress

* 1994 – ''The Madness of King George''

* 2001 – ''Gosford Park''

Television awards

Mirren won a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Mini-series or TV Movie in 1997 for her role in ''Losing Chase''. She received two nominations in the Actress in a Mini-series or TV Movie category for ''Elizabeth I'', and ''Prime Suspect: The Final Act'', where she only won the Golden Globe for her title role performance in ''Elizabeth I''. In that same year she won an SAG award for that same role. Mirren also won an Emmy for her role in ''Elizabeth I'' in category Lead Actress in a Mini-Series or a Movie in 2006. She had previously won an Emmy twice before, in that same category, in 1996 for her role in ''Prime Suspect: Scent of Darkness'' and in 1999 for ''The Passion of Ayn Rand''.

At the end of a triumphant year of awards for her acclaimed movie performance as Queen Elizabeth II in ''The Queen'', Dame Helen also collected a 2007 Emmy Television award as Best Actress in a Mini-Series for her performance as Detective Superintendent Jane Tennison in ''Prime Suspect: The Final Act''. She now has four Emmy awards. This seventh, and apparently concluding instalment, of the ''Prime Suspect'' saga portrayed Tennison as an alcoholic destined for retirement. It was screened in the US on the public service network PBS.

Emmy Awards

Awards won are indicated by bold lettering.

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie

1993 – ''Prime Suspect 2''

1994 – ''Prime Suspect 3''

1996 – ''''Prime Suspect 4'': "Scent of Darkness"''

1997 – ''Prime Suspect 5: Errors of Judgment''

1999 – ''The Passion of Ayn Rand''

2003 – ''The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone''

2004 – ''Prime Suspect 6: The Last Witness''

2006 – ''Elizabeth I''

2007 – ''Prime Suspect: The Final Act''

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie

2003 – ''Door to Door''

Critics' Circle Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts

Each year, since 1988, The Critics' Circle has presented an award for Distinguished Service to the Arts voted for by all members of the Circle embracing: Dance, Drama, Film, Music, Visual Arts and Architecture. At a celebratory luncheon, on 10 April 2007 in the National Theatre's Terrace Restaurant, the award for 2006 was presented to Dame Helen Mirren. As David Gritten, chairman of the Film section made clear, the decision to make the award was voted on in November 2006, well in advance of the awards hubbub that surrounded her performance in ''The Queen''. Accepting the award, an engraved crystal rose bowl, Mirren described it as the most useful she has ever received, while reflecting poignantly that this now "might be the last award I will win in my life. It has been a most incredible year. You do the work and then....." Previous recipients include Peter Hall (1988), Judi Dench (1997) and Ian McKellen (2003).

Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire

On 5 December 2003, she was invested as a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE). When she received the honour, Mirren commented that Prince Charles was "very graceful" but forgot to give her half of the award. Another person had to remind him to give Mirren the star. She also said that she felt wary about accepting the award and had to be persuaded by fellow comrades to accept the DBE. In 1996, she had declined appointment as a Commander of the order (CBE).

Personal life

Mirren married American director Taylor Hackford (her partner since 1986) on 31 December 1997, his 53rd birthday. The ceremony took place at the Ardersier Parish Church near Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. The couple had met on the set of ''White Nights''. It is her first marriage, and his third (he has two children from his previous marriages). Mirren has no children and says she has "no maternal instinct whatsoever."

In the August 2011 issue of Esquire magazine, Mirren said, "I am quite spiritual. I believed in fairies when I was a child. I still do sort of believe in the fairies. And the leprechauns. But I don't believe in God."

Mirren's autobiography, ''In the Frame: My Life in Words and Pictures'', was published in the UK by Weidenfeld and Nicolson in September 2007. Reviewing for ''The Stage'', John Thaxter wrote: "Sumptuously illustrated, at first sight it looks like another of those photo albums of the stars. But between the pictures there are almost 200 pages of densely printed text, an unusually frank story of her private and professional life, mainly in the theatre, the words clearly Mirren's own, delivered with forthright candour."

In 1990, Mirren stated in an interview that she is an atheist.

In a ''GQ'' interview in 2008, Mirren stated she had been date raped as a student and had often taken cocaine at parties during the 1980s. She stopped using the drug after reading that Klaus Barbie made a living from cocaine dealing.

On 11 May 2010, Mirren attended the unveiling of her waxwork at Madame Tussauds London. The figure reportedly cost £150,000 to make and took four months to complete.

Controversy

In July 2010, during the Anglo-American BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Mirren declared herself to be "embarrassed and mortified at being British" had England defeated the US at football during the 2010 FIFA World Cup. "I was so relieved it was a draw because, you know, if Britain had beaten America, what with BP, which to my mind stands for bloody p***-poor."

This provoked an angry response in the UK, where British tabloid ''The Daily Mail'' accused her of being disloyal and cynically playing up to her American audience.

References in pop culture

The Mars Volta on their 2008 album The Bedlam in Goliath have a song called "Ilyena" that is named after Mirren. Mars Volta lyricist/singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala has stated an affinity for Mirren.

Filmography

+Film and television credits	! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1967	''Herostratus''
1968	''''	Hermia
1969	''Red Hot Shot''
1969		Cora Ryan
1972	''Miss Julie''	Miss Julie
1972	''Savage Messiah''	Gosh Boyle
1973	''O Lucky Man!''	Patricia
1975	''Caesar and Claretta''	Claretta Petacci
1976	''Hamlet''	Ophelia (character)
1979	''''	Joanne
1979		[[Caesonia
1980	''Hussy''	Beaty
1980	''''	Alice Rage
1980	''''	Victoria
1981		Morgana
1984		Marcella
1984		Tanya Kirbuk
1984		Princess Amelia	TV series: 1 episode
1985	''Heavenly Pursuits''	Ruth Chancellor
1985	''Coming Through''	Frieda von Richtofen Weekley
1985		Galina Ivanova
1986	''''	Mother Fox
1988		Lydia Neuman
1989	''When the Whales Came''	Clemmie Jenkins
1989	''''	Georgina Spica
1990	''Bethune: The Making of a Hero''	Frances Penny Bethune
1990	''''	Caroline
1991		Jane Tennison	TV series
1991		Lilia Herriton
1993	''''	Annie Marsh
1993		Geruth
1994	''''
1995	''''	Snow Queen	(voice)
1996	''Some Mother's Son''	Kathleen Quigley	Also Associate Producer
1992	''Losing Chase''	Chase Phillips	TV
1997	''Critical Care''	Stella
1998	''Sidoglio Smithee''
1998	''''	The Queen	(voice)
1999	''''	Ayn Rand
1999	''Teaching Mrs. Tingle''	Mrs. Eve Tingle
2000	''Greenfingers''	Georgina Woodhouse
2001	''''	Doctor
2001		The Boss
2001	''Happy Birthday''	Distinguished Woman	Also Director
2001		Amy
2001	''Gosford Park''	Mrs. Wilson
2003	''''	Karen Stone	TV
2003	''Calendar Girls''	Chris Harper
2004	''''	Eileen Hayes
2004	''Raising Helen''	Dominique
2005	''''	Deep Thought	(voice)
2005
2005	''Shadowboxer''	Rose
2006	''''	Queen Elizabeth II
2007	''National Treasure: Book of Secrets''	Emily Appleton
2008		Elinor Loredan
2009		Cameron Lynne
2009	''''
2010	''Love Ranch''	Grace Bontempo
2010	''''
2010		Ida
2010		Victoria
2010	''Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole''	Nyra	(voice)
2011		Lillian Hobson
2011	''''	Rachel Singer

Further reading

''Command Performance'', a profile of Helen Mirren written by John Lahr in The New Yorker magazine, 2 October 2006

''In the Frame: My Life in Words and Pictures'' (autobiography) by Helen Mirren, Weidenfeld and Nicholson, 2007 ISBN 978-0-297-85197-4.

*Rather than writing an autobiography Helen Mirren was commissioned by Alan Samson at Orion Books to write about her life in a series of chapters based on pictures from her extensive personal collection of photography and memorabilia. Edited by Chris Worwood, with whom she worked on the Award-winning HBO series ''Elizabeth'', the book covers every aspect of her life from her aristocratic Russian heritage to her days with Peter Hall's RSC company to her Academy Award for ''The Queen''.

References

External links

Official website

Helen Mirren at the MBC Encyclopedia of Television

Helen Mirren Biography at Tiscali

The Helen Mirren Appreciation Society, official fan club

Arifa Akbar, "Helen Mirren: The good, the bad and The Queen", (interview), ''The Independent'' (London), 27 May 2007

Kevin Maher, ''Dame Helen Mirren: I'm an Essex Girl'' (interview), ''The Times'' (London), 12 February 2010

Morley Safer profile of Helen Mirren on ''CBS'' ''60 Minutes'', 7 January 2007

Category:1945 births Category:Living people Category:20th-century actors Category:21st-century actors Category:Actors from Essex Category:Actresses awarded British damehoods Category:Alumni of Middlesex University Category:Audio book narrators Category:BAFTA winners (people) Category:Best Actress Academy Award winners Category:Best Drama Actress Golden Globe (film) winners Category:Best Miniseries or Television Movie Actress Golden Globe winners Category:Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Category:Emmy Award winners Category:English atheists Category:English film actors Category:English people of Russian descent Category:English radio actors Category:English stage actors Category:English television actors Category:English voice actors Category:European Film Award for Best Actress winners Category:Golden Orange Honorary Award winners Category:Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners Category:Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role Screen Actors Guild Award winners Category:Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie Screen Actors Guild Award winners Category:People from Westcliff-on-Sea Category:Royal National Theatre Company members Category:Royal Shakespeare Company members

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birth date	July 26, 1945
birth name	Helen Lydia Mironoff
birth place	Chiswick, London, England
occupation	Actor
years active	1965–present
spouse	Taylor Hackford(1997–present)
partner	Taylor Hackford(1986–1997)
website	Official site }}

Dame Helen Mirren, DBE (born 26 July 1945) is an English actor. She has won an Academy Award for Best Actress, four SAG Awards, four BAFTAs, three Golden Globes, four Emmy Awards, and two Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Awards.

Early life and family

Mirren was born Helen Lydia Mironoff in Queen Charlotte's Hospital, Chiswick, West London. Her father, Vasiliy Petrovich Mironov (1913–1980), was of Russian origin, and her mother, Kitty (née Kathleen Alexandrina Eva Matilda Rogers; 1909–1996), was English. Mirren's paternal grandfather, Colonel Pyotr Vasilievich Mironov, was in the Tsarist Army and fought in the 1904 Russo-Japanese War. He later became a diplomat, and was negotiating an arms deal in Britain, when he and his family were stranded during the Russian Revolution. The former diplomat became a London cab driver to support his family.

His son, Helen Mirren's father, changed the family name to the Scottish-sounding Mirren in the 1950s and became known as Basil Mirren. He played the viola with the London Philharmonic before World War II, and later drove a cab and was a driving-test examiner, before becoming a civil servant with the Ministry of Transport. Mirren's mother was from West Ham, East London, and was the 13th of 14 children born to a butcher whose father had been the butcher to Queen Victoria. Mirren considers her upbringing to have been "very anti-monarchist".

The first house she remembers living in was in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, when she was two or three years old, after the birth of her younger brother, who was named Peter Basil after his grandfather and great-great-grandfather. Mirren was the second of three children, born two years after her older sister Katherine ("Kate"; born 1942). She later lived in Leigh-on-Sea.

Education

Mirren attended St Bernard's High School for Girls in Southend-on-Sea, where she acted in school productions, and subsequently a teaching college, the New College of Speech and Drama in London, "housed within Anna Pavlova's old home, Ivy House" on the North End Road – which leads from Golders Green to Hampstead, N. London. At age eighteen, she auditioned for the National Youth Theatre and was accepted. By the time she was 20, she was Cleopatra in the NYT production of ''Antony and Cleopatra'' at the Old Vic, which led to her signing with the agent Al Parker.

Theatre

Early years

Her work for the NYT led to Mirren joining the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), playing Castiza in Trevor Nunn's 1966 staging of ''The Revenger's Tragedy'', Diana in ''All's Well That Ends Well'' in 1967, Cressida in ''Troilus and Cressida'' and Phebe in ''As You Like It'' in 1968, Julia in ''The Two Gentlemen of Verona'' in 1970, and Tatiana in Gorky's ''Enemies'' at the Aldwych and the title role in ''Miss Julie'' at The Other Place in 1971. She also appeared in four productions, directed by Braham Murray for Century Theatre at the University Theatre in Manchester between 1965 and 1967.

In 1970 Director/producer John Goldschmidt made the documentary film ''Doing Her Own Thing'' about Mirren at the Royal Shakespeare Company. The film was made for ATV and shown on the ITV Network in the UK.

In 1972–73 Mirren worked with Peter Brook's International Centre for Theatre Research, and joined the group's tour in North Africa and the US which created ''The Conference of the Birds''. Returning to the RSC she played Lady Macbeth at Stratford in 1974 and at the Aldwych Theatre in 1975.

As reported by Sally Beauman in her 1982 history of the RSC, Mirren, while appearing in Nunn's ''Macbeth'' (1974) and in a highly publicised letter to ''The Guardian'' newspaper, attacked both the National Theatre and the RSC for their lavish production expenditure, declaring it "unnecessary and destructive to the art of the Theatre," and adding, "The realms of truth, emotion and imagination reached for in acting a great play have become more and more remote, often totally unreachable across an abyss of costume and technicalities..." There were no discernible repercussions for this rebuke of the RSC.

West End and RSC

At the Royal Court in September 1975 she notably played rock star Maggie in ''Teeth 'n' Smiles'', a musical play by David Hare, which was revived at Wyndham's Theatre in May 1976 winning her the Plays & Players Best Actress award, voted by the London critics.

From November 1975 Mirren played in West End repertory with the Lyric Theatre Company as Nina in ''The Seagull'' and Ella in Ben Travers' new farce ''The Bed Before Yesterday'' ("Mirren is stirringly voluptuous as the Harlowesque good-time girl": Michael Billington, ''The Guardian'', 10 December 1975). At the RSC in Stratford in 1977, and at the Aldwych the following year, she played a steely Queen Margaret in Terry Hands' production of the three parts of ''Henry VI'', while 1979 saw her 'bursting with grace' with an acclaimed performance as Isabella in Peter Gill's otherwise unexceptional production of ''Measure for Measure'' at Riverside Studios.

In 1981 she returned to the Royal Court for the London premiere of Brian Friel's ''Faith Healer''. In the same year she also received acclaim for her performance in the title role of John Webster's ''The Duchess of Malfi'', a production of Manchester's Royal Exchange Theatre which transferred to The Roundhouse in Chalk Farm, London. Reviewing her portrayal for ''The Sunday Telegraph'', Francis King wrote: "Miss Mirren never leaves it in doubt that even in her absences, this ardent, beautiful woman is the most important character of the story."

Her performance as Moll Cutpurse in ''The Roaring Girl'' at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in January 1983, and at the Barbican Theatre April 1983), "swaggered through the action with radiant singularity of purpose, filling in areas of light and shade that even Thomas Middleton and Thomas Dekker omitted." – Michael Coveney, ''Financial Times'', April 1983.

After a relatively barren sojourn in the Hollywood Hills, she returned to England at the beginning of 1989 to co-star with Bob Peck at the Young Vic in the London premiere of the Arthur Miller double-bill, ''Two Way Mirror'', performances which prompted Miller to remark: "What is so good about English actors is that they are not afraid of the open expression of large emotions" (interview by Sheridan Morley: ''The Times'' 11 January 1989). In ''Elegy for a Lady'' she played the svelte proprietress of a classy boutique, while as the blonde hooker in ''Some Kind of Love Story'' she was "clad in a Freudian slip and shifting easily from waif-like vulnerability to sexual aggression, giving the role a breathy Monroesque quality" (Michael Billington, ''The Guardian'').

Broadway debut

A further stage breakthrough came in 1994, in an Yvonne Arnaud Theatre production bound for the West End, when Bill Bryden cast her as Natalya Petrovna in Ivan Turgenev's ''A Month in the Country''. Her co-stars were John Hurt as her aimless lover Rakitin and Joseph Fiennes in only his second professional stage appearance as the cocksure young tutor Belyaev. "Instead of a bored Natalya fretting the summer away in dull frocks, Mirren, dazzlingly gowned, is a woman almost wilfully allowing her heart's desire for her son's young tutor to rule her head and wreak domestic havoc....Creamy shoulders bared, she feels free to launch into a gloriously enchanted, dreamily comic self-confession of love." (John Thaxter, Richmond & Twickenham Times, 4 March 1994).

Mirren was twice nominated for Broadway's Tony Award as Best Actress (Play): in 1995 for her Broadway debut in ''A Month in the Country'', now directed by Scott Ellis ("Miss Mirren's performance is bigger and more animated than the one she gave last year in an entirely different London production", Vincent Canby in the NY Times, 26 April 1995). Then again in 2002 for August Strindberg's ''Dance of Death'', co-starring with Sir Ian McKellen, their fraught rehearsal period coinciding with the terrorist attacks on New York on September 11, 2001 (as recorded in her ''In the Frame'' autobiography, September 2007).

National Theatre

Mirren had an unhappy experience at the National Theatre in 1998 when she played Cleopatra to Alan Rickman's Antony. In 2000 Nicholas Hytner, who had worked with Mirren on the film version of ''The Madness of King George'', cast her as Lady Torrance in his revival of Tennessee Williams' ''Orpheus Descending'' at the Donmar Warehouse in London. Michael Billington, reviewing for ''The Guardian'', described her performance as "an exemplary study of an immigrant woman who has acquired a patina of resilient toughness but who slowly acknowledges her sensuality."

At the National Theatre in November 2003 she again won praise playing Christine Mannon ("defiantly cool, camp and skittish", ''Evening Standard''; "glows with mature sexual allure", ''Daily Telegraph'') in a revival of Eugene O'Neill's ''Mourning Becomes Electra'' directed by Howard Davies.

“This production was one of the best experiences of my professional life, The play was four and a half hours long, and I have never known that kind of response from an audience ... It was the serendipity of a beautifully cast play, with great design and direction, It will be hard to be in anything better.” (''In the Frame'', September 2007).

She played the tragic title role in Jean Racine's ''Phèdre'' at the National in 2009, in a production directed by Nicholas Hytner. The production was also staged at the amphitheater of Epidaurus on 11 and 12 July 2009.

Selected stage credits

Cleopatra, ''Anthony and Cleopatra'', Old Vic Theatre, London, 1965

Cathleen, ''Long Day's Journey Into Night'', Century Theatre, Manchester,England 1965

Kitty, ''Charley's Aunt'', Century Theatre, Manchester, 1967

Nerissa, ''The Merchant of Venice'', Century Theatre,Manchester, 1967

Castiza, ''The Revenger's Tragedy'', Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford-upon-Avon, England, 1967

Diana, ''All's Well That Ends Well'', Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford-upon-Avon, 1967

Cressida, ''Troilus and Cressida'', Royal Shakespeare Company, Aldwych Theatre, London, 1968

Hero, ''Much Ado about Nothing'', Aldwych Theatre, 1968–1969

Win-the-Fight Littlewit, ''Bartholomew Fair'', Aldwych Theatre, 1969

Lady Anne, ''Richard III'', Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford-upon-Avon, 1970

Ophelia, ''Hamlet'', Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford-upon-Avon, 1970

Julia, ''The Two Gentlemen of Verona'', Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford-upon-Avon, 1970

Tatyana, ''Enemies'', Royal Shakespeare Company, Aldwych Theatre, 1971

Harriet, ''The Man of Mode'', Royal Shakespeare Company, Aldwych Theatre, 1971

Title role, ''Miss Julie'', Royal Shakespeare Company, Aldwych Theatre, 1971

Elayne, ''The Balcony'', Royal Shakespeare Company, Aldwych Theatre, 1971

Isabella, ''Measure for Measure'', Riverside Studios Theatre, London,1974

Lady Macbeth, ''Macbeth'', Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford-upon-Avon, 1974, then Aldwych Theatre, 1975

Maggie, ''Teeth 'n' Smiles'', Royal Court Theatre, London, 1975, thenWyndham's Theatre, London, 1976

Nina, ''The Seagull'', Lyric Theatre, London, 1975

Ella, ''The Bed before Yesterday'', Lyric Theatre, 1975

Queen Margaret, ''Henry VI, Parts I, II and III'', Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford-upon-Avon, 1977, then Aldwych Theatre, 1978

Title role, ''The Duchess of Malfi'', Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, England, 1980, then Mound House Theatre, London, 1981

Grace, ''Faith Healer'', Royal Court Theatre, 1981

Cleopatra, ''Antony and Cleopatra'', Pit Theatre, London, 1983

Moll Cutpurse, ''The Roaring Girl'', Barbican Theatre, London, 1983

Marjorie, ''Extremities'', Duchess Theatre, London, 1984

''Madame Bovary'', 1987

Angela, "Some Kind of Love Story," and dying woman, "Elegy for a Lady," in ''Two-Way Mirror'' (double-bill), Young Vic Theatre, *London, 1989

''Sex Please We're Italian'', 1991

Natalya Petrovna, ''A Month in the Country'', London, 1994, then Criterion Theatre, New York City, 1995

''Antony and Cleopatra'', Royal National Theatre, London, 1998

''Collected Stories'', London, 1999

Lady Torrance, ''Orpheus Descending'', Donmar Warehouse, London, 2000

Alice, ''Dance of Death'', Broadhurst Theatre, New York City, 2001–2002

''Mourning Becomes Electra'', Lyttelton Stage, Royal National Theatre, 2003

''Phedre'', National Theatre, 2009

Also appeared as Susie Monmican, The Silver Lassie; in ''Woman in Mind'', Los Angeles.

Film

Mirren has also appeared in a large number of films throughout her career. Some of her earlier film roles include ''Age of Consent'', ''O Lucky Man!'', ''Caligula'', ''Excalibur'', ''2010'', ''The Long Good Friday'', ''White Nights'', ''When the Whales Came'' and ''The Mosquito Coast''. She appeared in ''Some Mother's Son'', ''Painted Lady'', ''The Prince of Egypt'' and ''The Madness of King George''. One of her other film roles was in Peter Greenaway's ''The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover'', as the eponymous thief's wife, opposite Michael Gambon. Her favourite film is ''Teaching Mrs. Tingle'', in which she plays sadistic History teacher, Mrs Eve Tingle.

Mirren continued her successful film career when she starred more recently in ''Gosford Park'' with Maggie Smith and ''Calendar Girls'' where she starred with Julie Walters. Other more recent appearances include ''The Clearing'', ''Pride'', ''Raising Helen'', and ''Shadowboxer''. Mirren also provided the voice for the supercomputer "Deep Thought" in the film adaptation of Douglas Adams' ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. During her career, she has portrayed three British queens in different films and television series: Elizabeth I in the television series ''Elizabeth I'' (2005), Elizabeth II in ''The Queen'' (2006), and Queen Charlotte, the wife of George III, in ''The Madness of King George'' (1994). She is the only actress ever to have portrayed both Queens Elizabeth on the screen.

Mirren's title role of ''The Queen'' earned her numerous acting awards including a BAFTA, a Golden Globe, and an Academy Award, among many others. During her acceptance speech at the Academy Award ceremony, she praised and thanked Elizabeth II and stated that she had maintained her dignity and weathered many storms during her reign as Queen. Mirren later appeared in supporting roles in the films ''National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets'', ''Inkheart'', ''State of Play'', and ''The Last Station'', for which she was nominated for an Oscar.

In preparation for her role as a retired Israeli Mossad agent in the film ''The Debt'', Mirren reportedly immersed herself in studies of Hebrew language, Jewish history, and Holocaust writing, including the life of Simon Wiesenthal, while in Israel in 2009 for the filming of some of the movie's scenes. The film is a remake of a 2007 Israeli film of the same name (Hebrew: Ha-khov).

Television

Mirren is known for her role as detective Jane Tennison in the widely viewed ''Prime Suspect'', a multiple award-winning television drama that was noted for its high quality and popularity. Her portrayal of Tennison won her three consecutive BAFTA awards for Best Actress between 1992 and 1994.

Some of Mirren's other television performances include ''Cousin Bette'' (1971); ''As You Like It'' (1979); ''Blue Remembered Hills'' (1979); ''The Twilight Zone'' episode "Dead Woman's Shoes" (1985); ''Losing Chase'' (1996); ''The Passion of Ayn Rand'' (1999), where her performance won her both the Emmy and the Golden Globe; ''Door to Door'' (2002); and ''The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone'' (2003). In 1976, she appeared with Laurence Olivier, Alan Bates and Malcolm McDowell in a production of Harold Pinter's ''The Collection'' as part of the ''Laurence Olivier Presents'' series. She also played Elizabeth I in 2005, in the television serial ''Elizabeth I'', for Channel 4 and HBO, for which she received an Emmy Award. Mirren won another Emmy Award on 16 September 2007 for her role in ''Prime Suspect: The Final Act'' on PBS in the same category as in 2006.

Mirren hosted ''Saturday Night Live'' on 9 April 2011.

Awards and recognition

Film awards

In 1984, Mirren won Best Actress for her role in the film ''Cal'' at the Cannes Film Festival and the 1985 Evening Standard British Film Awards. In 1994 and 2001, she was nominated for the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for her roles in ''The Madness of King George'' and ''Gosford Park'', respectively. In 1995, she had also been awarded for Best Actress once again in Cannes for playing Queen Charlotte in ''The Madness of King George''. In 2002, she received the SAG Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture for ''Gosford Park''. Mirren is the first female actress to be nominated for three acting performances at the Golden Globe Awards in the same year. She won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Leading Role in the movie drama category for Stephen Frears' ''The Queen'' in 2006 (along with two nominations in the Actress in a Mini-series or TV Movie category for ''Elizabeth I'', and ''Prime Suspect: Final Act''). She won both Golden Globes for ''The Queen'' and ''Elizabeth I'' and also won two SAG awards the same year for the same roles. Mirren is the third actor to win two Golden Globes in the same year, and the first ever to win for both leading roles in TV and film in the same year. She is one of only three actresses (the first was Liza Minnelli in 1973 and then decades later Helen Hunt) to win a Golden Globe, an Oscar and an Emmy for performances given in the same year.

Along with the Golden Globe, Mirren's acclaimed performance in ''The Queen'' won her the 2007 Academy Award for Best Actress. She also received Best Actress awards from the Venice Film Festival, Broadcast Film Critics, National Board of Review, Satellite Awards, Screen Actors Guild and a BAFTA, as well as critics awards from all over the world. Entertainment Weekly recently ranked her Number 2 for Entertainer of the Year for 2006 and also won the award for best actress in film at the new Greatest Britons Awards for her role in ''The Queen''. In 2007, Mirren became an Honorary Patron of the University Philosophical Society at Trinity College Dublin.

She won the Best Actress award at the 2009 Rome International Film Festival for her performance as Tolstoy's wife in ''The Last Station''.

Academy Award nominations

Best Actress

* '''2006 – ''The Queen''

* 2009 – ''The Last Station''

Best Supporting Actress

* 1994 – ''The Madness of King George''

* 2001 – ''Gosford Park''

Television awards

Mirren won a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Mini-series or TV Movie in 1997 for her role in ''Losing Chase''. She received two nominations in the Actress in a Mini-series or TV Movie category for ''Elizabeth I'', and ''Prime Suspect: The Final Act'', where she only won the Golden Globe for her title role performance in ''Elizabeth I''. In that same year she won an SAG award for that same role. Mirren also won an Emmy for her role in ''Elizabeth I'' in category Lead Actress in a Mini-Series or a Movie in 2006. She had previously won an Emmy twice before, in that same category, in 1996 for her role in ''Prime Suspect: Scent of Darkness'' and in 1999 for ''The Passion of Ayn Rand''.

At the end of a triumphant year of awards for her acclaimed movie performance as Queen Elizabeth II in ''The Queen'', Dame Helen also collected a 2007 Emmy Television award as Best Actress in a Mini-Series for her performance as Detective Superintendent Jane Tennison in ''Prime Suspect: The Final Act''. She now has four Emmy awards. This seventh, and apparently concluding instalment, of the ''Prime Suspect'' saga portrayed Tennison as an alcoholic destined for retirement. It was screened in the US on the public service network PBS.

Emmy Awards

Awards won are indicated by bold lettering.

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie

1993 – ''Prime Suspect 2''

1994 – ''Prime Suspect 3''

1996 – ''''Prime Suspect 4'': "Scent of Darkness"''

1997 – ''Prime Suspect 5: Errors of Judgment''

1999 – ''The Passion of Ayn Rand''

2003 – ''The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone''

2004 – ''Prime Suspect 6: The Last Witness''

2006 – ''Elizabeth I''

2007 – ''Prime Suspect: The Final Act''

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie

2003 – ''Door to Door''

Critics' Circle Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts

Each year, since 1988, The Critics' Circle has presented an award for Distinguished Service to the Arts voted for by all members of the Circle embracing: Dance, Drama, Film, Music, Visual Arts and Architecture. At a celebratory luncheon, on 10 April 2007 in the National Theatre's Terrace Restaurant, the award for 2006 was presented to Dame Helen Mirren. As David Gritten, chairman of the Film section made clear, the decision to make the award was voted on in November 2006, well in advance of the awards hubbub that surrounded her performance in ''The Queen''. Accepting the award, an engraved crystal rose bowl, Mirren described it as the most useful she has ever received, while reflecting poignantly that this now "might be the last award I will win in my life. It has been a most incredible year. You do the work and then....." Previous recipients include Peter Hall (1988), Judi Dench (1997) and Ian McKellen (2003).

Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire

On 5 December 2003, she was invested as a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE). When she received the honour, Mirren commented that Prince Charles was "very graceful" but forgot to give her half of the award. Another person had to remind him to give Mirren the star. She also said that she felt wary about accepting the award and had to be persuaded by fellow comrades to accept the DBE. In 1996, she had declined appointment as a Commander of the order (CBE).

Personal life

Mirren married American director Taylor Hackford (her partner since 1986) on 31 December 1997, his 53rd birthday. The ceremony took place at the Ardersier Parish Church near Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. The couple had met on the set of ''White Nights''. It is her first marriage, and his third (he has two children from his previous marriages). Mirren has no children and says she has "no maternal instinct whatsoever."

In the August 2011 issue of Esquire magazine, Mirren said, "I am quite spiritual. I believed in fairies when I was a child. I still do sort of believe in the fairies. And the leprechauns. But I don't believe in God."

Mirren's autobiography, ''In the Frame: My Life in Words and Pictures'', was published in the UK by Weidenfeld and Nicolson in September 2007. Reviewing for ''The Stage'', John Thaxter wrote: "Sumptuously illustrated, at first sight it looks like another of those photo albums of the stars. But between the pictures there are almost 200 pages of densely printed text, an unusually frank story of her private and professional life, mainly in the theatre, the words clearly Mirren's own, delivered with forthright candour."

In 1990, Mirren stated in an interview that she is an atheist.

In a ''GQ'' interview in 2008, Mirren stated she had been date raped as a student and had often taken cocaine at parties during the 1980s. She stopped using the drug after reading that Klaus Barbie made a living from cocaine dealing.

On 11 May 2010, Mirren attended the unveiling of her waxwork at Madame Tussauds London. The figure reportedly cost £150,000 to make and took four months to complete.

Controversy

In July 2010, during the Anglo-American BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Mirren declared herself to be "embarrassed and mortified at being British" had England defeated the US at football during the 2010 FIFA World Cup. "I was so relieved it was a draw because, you know, if Britain had beaten America, what with BP, which to my mind stands for bloody p***-poor."

This provoked an angry response in the UK, where British tabloid ''The Daily Mail'' accused her of being disloyal and cynically playing up to her American audience.

References in pop culture

The Mars Volta on their 2008 album The Bedlam in Goliath have a song called "Ilyena" that is named after Mirren. Mars Volta lyricist/singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala has stated an affinity for Mirren.

Filmography

+Film and television credits	! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1967	''Herostratus''
1968	''''	Hermia
1969	''Red Hot Shot''
1969		Cora Ryan
1972	''Miss Julie''	Miss Julie
1972	''Savage Messiah''	Gosh Boyle
1973	''O Lucky Man!''	Patricia
1975	''Caesar and Claretta''	Claretta Petacci
1976	''Hamlet''	Ophelia (character)
1979	''''	Joanne
1979		[[Caesonia
1980	''Hussy''	Beaty
1980	''''	Alice Rage
1980	''''	Victoria
1981		Morgana
1984		Marcella
1984		Tanya Kirbuk
1984		Princess Amelia	TV series: 1 episode
1985	''Heavenly Pursuits''	Ruth Chancellor
1985	''Coming Through''	Frieda von Richtofen Weekley
1985		Galina Ivanova
1986	''''	Mother Fox
1988		Lydia Neuman
1989	''When the Whales Came''	Clemmie Jenkins
1989	''''	Georgina Spica
1990	''Bethune: The Making of a Hero''	Frances Penny Bethune
1990	''''	Caroline
1991		Jane Tennison	TV series
1991		Lilia Herriton
1993	''''	Annie Marsh
1993		Geruth
1994	''''
1995	''''	Snow Queen	(voice)
1996	''Some Mother's Son''	Kathleen Quigley	Also Associate Producer
1992	''Losing Chase''	Chase Phillips	TV
1997	''Critical Care''	Stella
1998	''Sidoglio Smithee''
1998	''''	The Queen	(voice)
1999	''''	Ayn Rand
1999	''Teaching Mrs. Tingle''	Mrs. Eve Tingle
2000	''Greenfingers''	Georgina Woodhouse
2001	''''	Doctor
2001		The Boss
2001	''Happy Birthday''	Distinguished Woman	Also Director
2001		Amy
2001	''Gosford Park''	Mrs. Wilson
2003	''''	Karen Stone	TV
2003	''Calendar Girls''	Chris Harper
2004	''''	Eileen Hayes
2004	''Raising Helen''	Dominique
2005	''''	Deep Thought	(voice)
2005
2005	''Shadowboxer''	Rose
2006	''''	Queen Elizabeth II
2007	''National Treasure: Book of Secrets''	Emily Appleton
2008		Elinor Loredan
2009		Cameron Lynne
2009	''''
2010	''Love Ranch''	Grace Bontempo
2010	''''
2010		Ida
2010		Victoria
2010	''Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole''	Nyra	(voice)
2011		Lillian Hobson
2011	''''	Rachel Singer

Further reading

''Command Performance'', a profile of Helen Mirren written by John Lahr in The New Yorker magazine, 2 October 2006

''In the Frame: My Life in Words and Pictures'' (autobiography) by Helen Mirren, Weidenfeld and Nicholson, 2007 ISBN 978-0-297-85197-4.

*Rather than writing an autobiography Helen Mirren was commissioned by Alan Samson at Orion Books to write about her life in a series of chapters based on pictures from her extensive personal collection of photography and memorabilia. Edited by Chris Worwood, with whom she worked on the Award-winning HBO series ''Elizabeth'', the book covers every aspect of her life from her aristocratic Russian heritage to her days with Peter Hall's RSC company to her Academy Award for ''The Queen''.

References

External links

Official website

Helen Mirren at the MBC Encyclopedia of Television

Helen Mirren Biography at Tiscali

The Helen Mirren Appreciation Society, official fan club

Arifa Akbar, "Helen Mirren: The good, the bad and The Queen", (interview), ''The Independent'' (London), 27 May 2007

Kevin Maher, ''Dame Helen Mirren: I'm an Essex Girl'' (interview), ''The Times'' (London), 12 February 2010

Morley Safer profile of Helen Mirren on ''CBS'' ''60 Minutes'', 7 January 2007

Category:1945 births Category:Living people Category:20th-century actors Category:21st-century actors Category:Actors from Essex Category:Actresses awarded British damehoods Category:Alumni of Middlesex University Category:Audio book narrators Category:BAFTA winners (people) Category:Best Actress Academy Award winners Category:Best Drama Actress Golden Globe (film) winners Category:Best Miniseries or Television Movie Actress Golden Globe winners Category:Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Category:Emmy Award winners Category:English atheists Category:English film actors Category:English people of Russian descent Category:English radio actors Category:English stage actors Category:English television actors Category:English voice actors Category:European Film Award for Best Actress winners Category:Golden Orange Honorary Award winners Category:Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners Category:Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role Screen Actors Guild Award winners Category:Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie Screen Actors Guild Award winners Category:People from Westcliff-on-Sea Category:Royal National Theatre Company members Category:Royal Shakespeare Company members

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Birthname	Emily Olivia Leah Blunt
Birth date	February 23, 1983
Birth place	London, England
Yearsactive	2003–present
Occupation	Actress
Spouse	John Krasinski (2010–present)
Relatives	Crispin Blunt (uncle)Peter Blunt (grandfather) }}

Emily Olivia Leah Blunt (born 23 February 1983) is an English actress best known for her roles in ''The Devil Wears Prada'' (2006), ''The Young Victoria'' (2009), and ''The Adjustment Bureau'' (2011). She has been nominated for two Golden Globe Awards, two London Film Critics' Circle Awards, and one BAFTA Award. She won a Golden Globe Award for her work in the BBC television drama ''Gideon's Daughter'' (2007).

Early life

Emily Blunt was born 23 February 1983 in Roehampton, London, England. She is the second of four children born to Janice M. (née Dixon), an English teacher and former actress, and barrister Oliver Simon Peter Blunt, QC, one of the highest-profile barristers in the United Kingdom Her grandfather was Major-General Peter Blunt and one of her paternal uncles is Crispin Blunt, Conservative Member of Parliament for Reigate.

At the age of 16, Blunt went to Hurtwood House, a private sixth-form college known for its performing arts programme. There, she was discovered by an agent. Blunt made her professional debut in ''Bliss'', a new musical written by Paul Sellar, at the 2000 Edinburgh Fringe while she was still an A-level student. She went on to perform at the National Theatre and at Chichester Festival Theatre.

Film career

In 2003, Blunt made her screen debut in the British television drama ''Boudica'', about the life of the ancient Celtic warrior-queen who fought the Romans. That same year, she was praised for her performance as the 16th-century queen Catherine Howard in the two-part British television drama ''Henry VIII''.

In 2004, Blunt delivered her breakout performance as Tamsin in the dark British film, ''My Summer of Love'', a story of deception and lesbian love in the English countryside. She shared an Evening Standard British Film Award for Most Promising Newcomer with co-star Natalie Press.

In 2005, Blunt co-starred with Bill Nighy and Miranda Richardson in the British television drama ''Gideon's Daughter'', an original screenplay written and directed by Stephen Poliakoff, in which she played the troubled only child of New Labour spin doctor Gideon Warner, played by Nighy. Blunt won a Golden Globe for her performance.

In 2006, Blunt appeared opposite Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway in the box-office success ''The Devil Wears Prada''. Streep and Hathaway received most of the critical attention initially, but Blunt proved to be equally memorable with ''Entertainment Weekly'' naming her the Best Female Scene-Stealer in their end-of-summer special issue. She appeared at the 79th Academy Awards where she co-presented the award for best costume design with her ''Prada'' co-star Hathaway. Blunt spoke about the weight loss, claiming she had to go "painfully thin." That same year, Blunt co-starred with Susan Sarandon in the independent drama ''Irresistible''. Following production, Sarandon strongly suggested to director David Auburn that he cast Blunt in his next film, ''The Girl in the Park''— a role she did not accept.

In 2007, Blunt appeared in four films: ''Wind Chill'', ''The Jane Austen Book Club'', ''Dan in Real Life'', and ''Charlie Wilson's War''. In 2008, Blunt appeared in two films, ''Sunshine Cleaning'' in the role of Norah Lorkowski, and ''The Great Buck Howard'' as Valerie Brennan.

In 2009, Blunt played Queen Victoria in ''The Young Victoria'', directed by Jean-Marc Vallée and written by Julian Fellowes. She also starred in the Toby Spanton-directed short film ''Curiosity''. She was director Jon Favreau's first choice to play the Black Widow in ''Iron Man 2'' but scheduling conflicts with ''Gulliver's Travels'' forced her to cede the role to Scarlett Johansson. She voiced Angelina's mother, Matilda Mouseling, in the television series, ''Angelina Ballerina: The Next Steps''.

In 2010, Blunt co-starred with Benicio del Toro and Anthony Hopkins in the big-budget movie ''The Wolfman'', which was released on 12 February. She also starred in ''Gulliver's Travels'' and in ''The Adjustment Bureau'', alongside Matt Damon, as a ballet dancer "being mysteriously kept apart" from Damon's character. Blunt was offered the female lead in the ''Captain America: The First Avenger'' movie but turned it down.

In January 2011, Blunt began filming an American science-fiction film ''Looper'', directed by Rian Johnson and co-starring Bruce Willis. She appeared in the British comedy film ''Salmon Fishing in the Yemen'', directed by Lasse Hallström and co-starring Ewan McGregor and Kristin Scott Thomas. She also completed work on the upcoming film ''The Five-Year Engagement'', directed by Nicholas Stoller and co-starring Jason Segel. She is scheduled to star in "Arthur Newman, Golf Pro" with Colin Firth in 2012.

Personal life

Blunt had a three-year relationship with Canadian singer Michael Bublé. They met in Melbourne backstage at the Australian television Logie Awards in 2005 and later shared a home in Vancouver, Canada. They broke up in 2008.

In November 2008, Blunt began dating American actor John Krasinski. On 10 July 2010, they married in Como, Italy.

Filmography

+ Film
Year	Title	Role	Notes
2003		Isolda
2003		Catherine Howard	Television film
2003	''Foyle's War''	Lucy Markham
2004	''Agatha Christie's Poirot''	Linnet Ridgeway
2004	''My Summer of Love''	Tamsin
2005		Camane	Miniseries
2005	''The Strange Case of Sherlock Holmes & Arthur Conan Doyle''	Jean Leckie	Television film
2005	''Gideon's Daughter''	Natasha	Television film
2006		Mara
2006	''''	Emily
2007		Girl
2007	''''	Prudie
2007	''Dan in Real Life''	Ruthie Draper
2007	''Charlie Wilson's War''	Jane Liddle
2008	''Sunshine Cleaning''	Norah Lorkowski
2008	''''	Valerie Brennan
2009	''''	Juliet Hobbes (voice)	Episode: "Lisa the Drama Queen"
2009	''''	Queen Victoria
2009	''Angelina Ballerina: The Next Steps''	Matilda Mouseling (voice)	Television series
2009		Emma	Short film
2010	''Wild Target''	Rose
2010	''''	Gwen Conliffe
2010		Princess Mary
2011	''Gnomeo & Juliet''	Juliet (voice)
2011	''''	Elise Sellas
2011	''Your Sister's Sister''	Iris
2011	''Salmon Fishing in the Yemen''	Harriet Chetwode-Talbot
2011	''''	Miss Piggy's receptionist
2012	''The Five-Year Engagement''	Violet Barnes	''Post-production''
2012		Sara	''Post-production''

+ Theatre
Year	Title	Role	Theatre
2000	''Bliss''	Maddy	Edinburgh Fringe Festival
2001	''''	Gwen	West End Theatre
2002	''Vincent in Brixton''	Eugenie Loyer	RNT
2002	''Romeo & Juliet''	Juliet	Chichester Festival Theatre
2004	''Bumps and Bruises''	Holly	BBC Radio 4

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result
2004		Most Promising Newcomer
		British Newcomer of the Year
	Most Promising Newcomer
2006	Teen Choice Award	Choice Breakout	rowspan="7"
		Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Rising Star
	British Actress of the Year in a Supporting Role
MTV Movie Award	Best Comedic Performance
ALFS Award	British Supporting Actress of the Year
	Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television	''Gideon's Daughter ''
		Best Actress	rowspan="4"
Satellite Awards	Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama
Broadcast Film Critics Association	Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
Golden Globes	Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture
Satellite Awards	Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture	''Sunshine Cleaning''

References

External links

Emily Blunt Interview: Blunt Force ''Los Angeles Times Magazine''

Emily Blunt Video Interview ''Los Angeles Times Magazine''

Category:1983 births Category:21st-century actors Category:Actors from London Category:Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe (television) winners Category:English expatriates in the United States Category:English film actors Category:English stage actors Category:English television actors Category:English voice actors Category:Living people Category:People from Roehampton Category:Royal National Theatre Company members Category:People educated at Hurtwood House

ar:إيميلي بلنت az:Emili Blant cs:Emily Blunt da:Emily Blunt de:Emily Blunt et:Emily Blunt es:Emily Blunt fa:امیلی بلانت fr:Emily Blunt gv:Emily Blunt hy:Էմիլի Բլանտ it:Emily Blunt he:אמילי בלאנט ka:ემილი ბლანტი la:Aemilia Blunt lv:Emilija Blanta hu:Emily Blunt nl:Emily Blunt ja:エミリー・ブラント no:Emily Blunt pl:Emily Blunt pt:Emily Blunt ro:Emily Blunt ru:Блант, Эмили sr:Емили Блант fi:Emily Blunt sv:Emily Blunt th:เอมิลี บลันต์ tr:Emily Blunt uk:Емілі Блант zh:愛美莉·賓特

name	Graham Norton
birth name	Graham William Walker
birth date	April 04, 1963
birth place	Clondalkin, Dublin, Ireland
medium	Television, radio, stand-up
nationality	Irish
active	1992–present
genre	Observational comedy
subject	Everyday life, pop culture, current events, celebrities, sex
awards
notable work	''So Graham Norton''''V Graham Norton''''The Graham Norton Effect''''Graham Norton's Bigger Picture''''The Graham Norton Show'' }}

Graham William Walker, known by his stage name Graham Norton, (born 4 April 1963) is an Irish actor, comedian, television presenter and columnist. He is the host of comedy chat programme ''The Graham Norton Show'' on BBC One in the UK. ''Hot Press'' has described him as "the 21st century's answer to Terry Wogan", with both men sharing an Irish background and the common link of being a BBC Radio 2 presenter and the BBC television commentator of the Eurovision Song Contest.

Early life and career

Norton was born in Clondalkin, a suburb of Dublin, but grew up in Bandon, County Cork, Ireland. He was educated at Bandon Grammar School, in County Cork and then University College Cork but did not complete his studies.

In 1992 his stand-up comedy drag act in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe as a tea-towel clad Mother Teresa of Calcutta made the press when Scottish Television's religious affairs department mistakenly thought he represented the real Mother Teresa.

His first appearances in broadcasting were in his spot as a regular comedian and panellist on the BBC Radio 4 show ''Loose Ends'', when the show ran on Saturday mornings, in the early 1990s. His rise to fame began as one of the early successes of Channel 5, when he won an award for his performance as the stand-in host of a late-night TV talk show usually presented by Jack Docherty. This was followed by a comic quiz show on Channel 5 called ''Bring Me the Head of Light Entertainment'', which was not well received as a programme, but did further enhance Norton's individual reputation as a comic and TV host. In 1996, Norton co-hosted the late-night quiz show ''Carnal Knowledge'' on ITV with Maria McErlane.

In 1996, Norton played the part of Father Noel Furlong in three episodes ("Hell", "Flight Into Terror", "The Mainland") of the Channel 4 series ''Father Ted''. Father Noel Furlong was often seen taking charge of a small youth folk-group.

Channel 4

After this early success, Norton moved to Channel 4 to host his own chat shows including ''So Graham Norton'' and ''V Graham Norton''. As a performer who is not only openly gay, but also camp and flamboyant, it was here that Norton's act was fully honed as a cheeky, innuendo-laden joker.

In 2003, he was the subject of controversy when, on his show on Channel 4, he made a comedic reference to the recent death of Bee Gees singer Maurice Gibb. The Independent Television Commission investigated after complaints about this insensitivity were forwarded to it and eventually Channel 4 had to make two apologies: one in the form of a caption slide before the show, another from Norton in person.

Also in 2003, he was listed in ''The Observer'' as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy (though Norton is Irish, the bulk of his television career has been in the UK).

In the summer of 2004, Norton moved across the Atlantic to start a new venture in American television. ''The Graham Norton Effect'' debuted on 24 June 2004 on Comedy Central, and was also broadcast in the UK on BBC Three. In the midst of controversy surrounding Janet Jackson's Super Bowl performance, Norton was wary of moving into the market.

BBC

In 2005, Norton moved to the BBC and began hosting the Saturday evening reality TV series ''Strictly Dance Fever'' on BBC One, as well as a new comedy chat show, ''Graham Norton's Bigger Picture''. He also read stories some nights on the BBC children's channel CBeebies as part of ''Bedtime Hour''.

In 2006, Norton hosted the BBC One series ''How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?'' in which Andrew Lloyd Webber tried to find a lead actress for his West End version of ''The Sound of Music''. Norton has subsequently presented the 3 follow-up series: ''Any Dream Will Do'' in 2007, in which a group of males competed to win the role of Joseph in the West End production of ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat''; ''I'd Do Anything'' in 2008, in which Andrew Lloyd Webber seeks to find the part of Nancy and Oliver for Sir Cameron Mackintosh's production of Lionel Bart's ''Oliver!''; and ''Over the Rainbow'' in 2010, following a similar format to find a new Dorothy for a ''Wizard of Oz'' West end Production.

Norton hosted various other shows for the BBC during this time, including ''When Will I Be Famous?'' (2007), ''The One and Only'' (2008) and ''Totally Saturday'' (2009). Since 2007, Norton has also been a regular host of The British Academy Television Awards. On 7 July 2007, Norton presented at Live Earth and undertook a trip to Ethiopia with the Born Free Foundation to highlight the plight of the Ethiopian wolf – the rarest canid in the world. In the same year, he was the subject of an episode of the BBC1 genealogy documentary ''Who Do You Think You Are?''.

Norton's chat show, ''The Graham Norton Show'', began on 22 February 2007 on BBC Two. Although in a format that he had not been involved in for 4 years, it is very similar to his previous Channel 4 shows. On 6 October 2009, the show moved to BBC One, in a new one-hour format.

In May 2010, he stood in for Chris Evans' breakfast show on BBC Radio 2. Later that month, it was confirmed that he would be replacing Jonathan Ross's Saturday morning slot on the same station.

In December 2011, the panel show ''Would You Rather...? with Graham Norton'' premiered on BBC America in the time slot immediately following ''The Graham Norton Show''. Recorded in New York, it is one of BBC America's earliest efforts at producing original programming, and is also the first panel game the channel has shown, either of British or American origin.

In January 2012, he called on listeners to his Radio 2 show to help find his car hours after it was stolen. He called it "The Great Car Hunt" and told listeners to “Keep your eyes out for it. It was filthy by the way."

Eurovision

Norton hosted the first annual ''Eurovision Dance Contest'' alongside Claudia Winkleman which was held on 1 September 2007 in London, England. The format was based on the BBC's ''Strictly Come Dancing'' and the EBU's ''Eurovision Song Contest''. Norton and Winkleman also hosted the 2008 Contest in Glasgow, Scotland.

In October 2008, it was confirmed by the BBC that Norton would replace Terry Wogan as the BBC's presenter for the UK heats of the ''Eurovision Song Contest'', in a show to be called ''Your Country Needs You''.

On 5 December 2008 it was announced that Norton would also take over from Wogan as the presenter of the main Eurovision Song Contest. The 54th Eurovision Song Contest was held in the Olimpiyskiy (Olympic) Stadium, Moscow on 16 May 2009.

Norton's jokes during his debut received some positive reviews from the British media. ''The Guardian'' noted his comments on Iceland's entry, which finished in second place, had "rooted around in a cupboard and found an old bridesmaid dress from 1987" and the Armenian singers, who finished in tenth place, were sporting traditional dress, "which would be true if you come from the village where Liberace is the mayor."

His comment “The bad news is you’re about to watch Albania. She’s only 17 so please bear that in mind. Where was her mother? Why didn’t she step in and say no?” which was made just before Albanian singer Kejsi Tola was set to take the stage dubbed an insult by many, sent ripples of outrage through not only Albania, but also the Albanian population in Britain.He then announced that Albania should get no points and that he didn't care what anybody else thought. There was a petition circling the net calling for a formal apology from Norton. The petition, which called his comment “very rude and insulting,” had drawn over 1,000 signatures.He never responded.

In 2011, he snarked that if Jedward's entry into the competition that year won, the twins would never sleep again. In the end, they were eighth. Earlier in that year's televote, he joked "Quick, someone take a picture", when The British entry that year went temporarily in the lead early on after high votes from Russia(4), Bulgaria(12) and Italy(10). In the end, the song dropped down the 11th, earning 100 points. Very annoyed, Norton claimed 'We were better than Jedward'.

Other

In July 2000 Graham was one of three judges of the Miss Lesbian Beauty Contest 2000 held at The Talk of London, Dury Lane. The contest was won by 42 year old Carol Hutchins who wowed the audience with her sit-down comedy routine from a wheelchair. Graham described Carol as a "very bright, funny lady."

Graham Norton played Mr. Puckov in the 2006 American comedy spoof film ''Another Gay Movie''. In 2007, Norton played Taylor in the romantic comedy film ''I Could Never Be Your Woman''.

Norton was involved in a high-publicity advertising campaign for the UK National Lottery as an animated unicorn, the stooge to a character based on Lady Luck (played by Fay Ripley). He has also advertised McVitie's biscuits.

In 2007, Norton featured in Girls Aloud and Sugababes' Comic Relief video for the single "Walk This Way."

In January 2009, Norton made his West End stage debut in a revival of ''La Cage Aux Folles'' at the Playhouse Theatre.

Since 2009, Norton has been the host of the comedy game-show ''Most Popular'' on US cable television channel WE tv.

Norton currently writes an advice column in ''The Daily Telegraph'' newspaper. In October 2010, these columns were made into a book entitled ''Ask Graham'', published by John Blake Publishing.

Personal life

Norton has stated that he felt "out of place" growing up in Ireland; his family are Protestant yet the Republic of Ireland is overwhelmingly Catholic. Norton took part in the TV programme, ''Who Do You Think You Are?'', to trace his ancestry. It was discovered that his family were originally planters sent over from England to take over Irish land. Some members of his family had fought for the British Monarchy during the Irish Rebellion of 1798 and taken part in a massacre of Catholics in Carnew Castle. Another member of his family was later killed in battle by the United Irishmen. Norton said he was comforted to find out that his family had resided in Ireland for generations.

In 1989 while living in London, Norton was mugged, beaten and stabbed by a group of attackers on the street. He says he lost half his blood and nearly died, and he was hospitalised for two and a half weeks.

Norton is openly gay.

Norton suffers from vitiligo, a skin disorder in which patches of depigmented skin occur.

Norton caused controversy on 7 October 2006, when he described ecstasy as "fantastic."

Immediately after hosting the BAFTAs in 2009, he said he returned home only to fall down his stairs and break two ribs. Some sources claimed that he presented the next Graham Norton Show on crutches, but this is not true, although he did make a comment about it, related to ''Pushing Daisies'', by saying "in ''Pushing Daisies'' people die in all sorts of bizarre ways... someone else was killed by a man dressed as a crash-test dummy, and some idiot almost died when he got drunk and fell down the stairs after presenting the BAFTAs. As if that could happen in real life!"

TV appearances

Main presenting credits

''Carnal Knowledge'' (TV series, co-presenter) (1996, 27 one hour shows)

''Bring Me the Head of Light Entertainment''

''So Graham Norton'' (1998–2002)

''V Graham Norton'' (2002–2003)

''NY Graham Norton'' (2004)

''The Graham Norton Effect'' (2004–2005)

''Graham Norton's Bigger Picture'' (2005–2006)

''Strictly Dance Fever'' (2005–2006)

BBC/Andrew Lloyd Webber musical theater talent searches (2006–present)

* ''How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?'' (2006)

* ''Any Dream Will Do'' (2007)

* ''I'd Do Anything'' (2008)

* ''Over the Rainbow'' (2010)

''The Big Finish'' (2006–)

''When Will I Be Famous?'' (2007)

''The Graham Norton Show'' (2007–present)

''The British Academy Television Awards'' (2007)

''Live Earth'' (2007)

''Eurovision Dance Contest'' (2007)

''The One and Only'' (2008)

''Eurovision Dance Contest'' (2008)

''Eurovision: Your Country Needs You'' (2009–present)

''Eurovision Song Contest'' (UK commentator, 2009–present)

''Totally Saturday'' (2009)

''Most Popular'' (2009–present)

''Would You Rather...? with Graham Norton'' (BBC America, 2011–present)

Other television credits

''Rex the Runt'': A Crap Day Out ''Absolutely Fabulous'': Gay ''Who Do You Think You Are? (British TV series)

!Year!!Title!!Character!!Broadcaster
1996–98	''Father Ted'':	* Hell	* Flight into Terror	* The Mainland	Father Noel Furlong	Channel 4
rowspan=3	2001	|	The Plants voice	BBC
''Rex the Runt'': Patio	Osvalde Halitosis voice
''The Kumars at No. 42''	Himself
2002	|	Himself	BBC
rowspan=4	2007	Who Do You Think You Are?'' ||	Himself	BBC
''Saving Planet Earth''	*Saving Wolves	Himself	BBC
''Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List''
''Robbie the Reindeer'' in Close Encounters of the Herd Kind	Computer voice

Radio

''Just a Minute''

Sitting in for Steve Wright August 2009 BBC Radio 2

Sitting in for Chris Evans May /July 2010 BBC Radio 2

On 2 October 2010, he began his weekly BBC Radio 2 Saturday show taking over from Jonathan Ross. The show airs from 10.00am-1.00pm and combines a mixture of music, chat and celebrity guests.

2011/12 Radio 2 Saturday mornings

Filmography

''Stargay'' ''Another Gay Movie'' ''I Could Never Be Your Woman''

!Year!!Title!!Character!!Production
1999	|	Graham Solex	Canal+
2006	|	Mr. Puckov	Luna Pictures
2007	|	Taylor	The Weinstein Company

Stand-Up videos

''Live At The Roundhouse'' (19 November 2001)

Awards

1999 : Gaytime Award for ''Gay Entertainer of the Year''

2000, 2001, 2002 : BAFTA Award for Best Entertainment Performance - ''So Graham Norton''

2001 : RTS Television Award for Best Presenter - ''So Graham Norton''

2001 : TRIC Award TV Personality of the Year

2011 : BAFTA Award for Best Entertainment Performance - ''The Graham Norton Show''

References

External links

Category:1963 births Category:Living people Category:Alumni of University College Cork Category:BBC Radio 2 presenters Category:Gay actors Category:Irish columnists Category:Irish expatriates in the United Kingdom Category:Irish male comedians Category:Irish people of English descent Category:Irish television talk show hosts Category:LGBT comedians from Ireland Category:LGBT people from Ireland Category:LGBT radio personalities from Ireland Category:LGBT television personalities from Ireland Category:People from County Cork Category:People from Dublin (city) Category:Survivors of stabbing Category:United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest

cy:Graham Norton de:Graham Norton es:Graham Norton fy:Graham Norton ga:Graham Norton nl:Graham Norton no:Graham Norton pl:Graham Norton ro:Graham Norton sv:Graham Norton

name	Tracey Ullman
birth date	December 30, 1959
birth place	Slough, Buckinghamshire (now Berkshire), England, UK
birth name	Trace Ullman
nationality	British / American
spouse	Allan McKeown (1983–present; 2 children)
notable work	Various in ''The Tracey Ullman Show'' Rosalie Boca in ''I Love You To Death'' Eden Brent in ''Bullets Over Broadway'' Various in ''Tracey Takes On...'' Frenchy in ''Small Time Crooks'' Sylvia Stickles in ''A Dirty Shame'' Various in ''Tracey Ullman's State of the Union''
genre	Comedy, sketch-comedy, social commentary, satire, character comedy
active	1980–present
Signature	Tracey Ullman Autograph.gif

}}

Tracey Ullman (born 30 December 1959) is a British stage and television actress, comedienne, singer, dancer, screenwriter and author.

Her early appearances were on British TV sketch comedy shows ''A Kick Up the Eighties'' (with Rik Mayall and Miriam Margolyes) and ''Three of a Kind'' (with Lenny Henry and David Copperfield). After a brief but high-profile singing career, she appeared as Candice Valentine in ''Girls On Top'' with Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders.

She emigrated from the UK to the US and created her own network television series, ''The Tracey Ullman Show'', from 1987 until 1990, from which ''The Simpsons'' was spun off in 1989. She later produced programs for HBO, including ''Tracey Takes On...'' (1996–1999), for which she has won numerous awards. She has also appeared in several feature films. Ullman's most recent sketch comedy series, ''Tracey Ullman's State of the Union'', ran from 2008 to 2010 on Showtime.

Early life

Ullman was born Trace Ullman in Slough, Buckinghamshire (now in Berkshire), the daughter of Dorin and Antony Ullman, a solicitor. Ullman later recalled, "My real name is Trace Ullman, but I added the 'y.' My mother said it was spelled the American way, but I don't think she can spell! I always wanted a middle name. My mum used to tell me it was Mary but I never believed her. I looked on my birth certificate and I didn't have one, just Trace Ullman." Ullman's mother was British and her father was a Polish soldier evacuated from Dunkirk in 1940, subsequently working as a furniture salesman and travel agent. When she was six, Ullman's father died of a heart attack while reading her a bedtime story. He was 50 years old. In an effort to cheer up her family, Tracey recounts putting on shows in her mother's bedroom, performing alongside her older sister, Patti. That first show was entitled ''The Patti Ullman Show''. "I was a spin-off!" recalled Ullman. In her nightly performances she mimicked anyone and everyone, including neighbours, family members, friends, even celebrities. Soon after, Ullman's mother remarried.

At the age of 12, a headmaster saw Ullman's future potential, and recommended her to the Italia Conti Academy stage school. Although the school gave Ullman her first taste of the stage, she does not look back on it fondly.

At the age of 16, Ullman began finding jobs as a dancer, and soon landed a role in ''Gigi'' in Berlin. Upon returning to England, she joined the "Second Generation" dance troupe. She also began appearing in variety shows.

The exposure led to her casting in numerous West End musicals, including ''Grease'', and ''The Rocky Horror Show''. During this time Ullman was cast in a play at London's Royal Court Theatre for an improvised play about club acts. Entering the competition, Ullman created the character Beverly, a born-again Christian chanteuse. The performance was a big hit and she won the "Best Newcomer Award". The BBC became interested and offered her the chance to star in her own show. In 1983, Ullman took part in the workshops for Andrew Lloyd-Webber's upcoming musical, ''Starlight Express'', playing the part of Pearl.

Music career

In 1983, Ullman succeeded as a singer on the punk label Stiff Records, although her style was more comic romantic than punk. She had six songs in the UK Top 100 in less than two years. Her 1983 debut album, ''You Broke My Heart in 17 Places'', featured her first hit single, "Breakaway" (famous for her performance with a hairbrush as a microphone); the international hit cover version of label-mate Kirsty MacColl's "They Don't Know" went to #2 in the UK, and #8 in the U.S. MacColl sang backing vocals on Ullman's version. It would later become the theme song to Ullman's later television series, ''Tracey Takes On...''.

Follow-up singles, a cover of Doris Day's "Move Over Darling", which reached #8 in the UK, and the cover of Madness' "My Girl", which Ullman changed to "My Guy's Mad at Me", were released. (The "My Guy" video featured the British Labour Party politician Neil Kinnock, at the time the Leader of the Opposition)

Ullman's songs were over-the-top evocations of 1960s and 1970s pop music with a 1980s edge, "somewhere between Minnie Mouse and The Supremes" as Britain's ''Melody Maker'' put it, or "retro before retro was cool", as a retrospective reviewer wrote in 2002. Her career received another boost when the video for "They Don't Know" featured a cameo from Paul McCartney; at the time Ullman was filming a minor role in McCartney's film ''Give My Regards to Broad Street''. Ullman released her second and last album, ''You Caught Me Out'', in 1984.

Her final hit, "Sunglasses" (1984), featured comedian Adrian Edmondson in its music video. During this time, she also appeared as a guest VJ on MTV in the United States.

In her HBO stand-up special, ''Tracey Ullman: Live and Exposed'', Ullman recreated her music career, recounting how she entered the business, and why she left it. Performances of many of her hit singles were also performed in front of an audience for the performance. In October 2006, Ullman took part in the BBC Four documentary series, ''If It Ain't Stiff'', a mini-series dedicated to the history of the label. A new "remastered" version of ''...17 Places'' was released in 2007.

Television career

Early years

Along with her stint in the music world, Ullman began working in television. Between 1981 and 1984 she starred in sketch comedies ''A Kick Up the Eighties'' and ''Three of a Kind'' for the BBC. In 1985, she donned a blond wig and took the role of a promiscuous gold digger named "Candice Valentine" on the ITV sitcom ''Girls On Top''. She left after one season, due to being pregnant and giving birth to her first child in 1986.

At this point, US television beckoned, and renowned television producer James L. Brooks came calling. The two had discussed working together previously, but it was not until 1987 that they created ''The Tracey Ullman Show''. Ullman played a variety of characters, completely unrecognizable with the help of makeup, prosthetics, and padding. The show was the first commercial hit for then unknown Fox channel. Paula Abdul served as the show's choreographer. The then-unknown Abdul even used her early music recordings for the series' strenuous dance numbers.

''The Tracey Ullman Show'' earned four Emmys and spawned ''The Simpsons'', which was featured in simple cartoon shorts (created by cartoonist Matt Groening at the behest of ''Ullman Show'' producer James L. Brooks). Ullman provided the voice of Emily Winthrop, a British dog trainer on ''The Simpsons'' episode "Bart's Dog Gets an F" (1991). In 1992 Ullman filed a lawsuit against Twentieth Century Fox in Los Angeles Superior Court over profits from the later half hour incarnation of ''The Simpsons''. She wanted a share of ''The Simpsons'' merchandising and gross profits and believed she was entitled to $2.5 million of the estimated $50 million Fox made in 1992. The Fox network had paid her $58,000 in royalties for ''The Simpsons'' as well as $3 million for the 3½ seasons her show was on the air. As Ullman had continued her professional relationship with former producer Brooks, only the studio and not Brooks was named in the suit. Brooks was allowed to videotape his testimony as he was in the middle of filming ''I'll Do Anything'', in which Ullman appeared. Eventually the courts ruled in favor of the network.

HBO

Ullman returned to television in 1993, but this time in cable television. Two specials were created allowing Ullman to bring life to a host of new characters. The first, ''Tracey Ullman: A Class Act'', took a humorous jab at the British class system, and co-starred Monty Python alumnus Michael Palin. For the second, ''Tracey Ullman Takes On New York'', Ullman decided to take on a more American subject, New York City. Both specials drew praise and awards. HBO became interested in doing a ''Tracey Takes On...'' series, and Ullman and her husband, Allan McKeown, set up production in Los Angeles in 1995.

''Tracey Takes On...'' premiered 24 January 1996, on HBO. Each episode would focus on a topic for Ullman to "take on" and examine. The series would have two to three long sketches, and many small interview-styled bits, with her many characters commenting on that week's topic. Unlike the Fox show, ''Tracey Takes On...'' was shot on location, not filmed in front of a live audience. Making the switch to a cable-produced series enabled Ullman free rein to do and say as she pleased.

A kiss with ''Tracey Ullman Show'' alum Julie Kavner kicked off the series' first episode. Ullman portrayed characters, both male and female, made up of many ethnicities. This included an Asian donut shop owner, a (male) cab driver from the Middle East, and an African-American airport security guard. The series went on to win eight Emmys, numerous CableACE Awards, and a host of other media awards, and was critically acclaimed. In 1997, it won the Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series Emmy Award category for the episode ''Vegas''. In 1998 the series was published in book form, ''Tracey Takes On...''. The series was also awarded GLAAD awards for its portrayal of gay and lesbian characters. ''Tracey Takes On...'' completed its four-season run in 1999.

Oxygen stint

In 2001, Ullman took a break from her character-based series and created a chat show for Oxygen, ''Tracey Ullman's Visible Panty Lines''. The show's main focus was fashion. Ullman had developed her own clothing website a few years prior. Interviewees included Arianna Huffington and Charlize Theron. The series lasted for two seasons, and ended in 2002.

Return to HBO

A ''Takes On...'' spin-off pilot was produced in 2003, ''Tracey Ullman in the Trailer Tales''. ''Tales'' spotlighted just one of Ullman's most popular characters, Ruby Romaine. The pilot aired, but no series was ever commissioned.

Tracey returned to HBO in the summer of 2005, with her autobiographical one-woman stage show, ''Tracey Ullman: Live and Exposed''. The show garnered another Emmy nomination.

Showtime

Upon her naturalization in the United States, it was announced in April 2007 that she would be making the move from her 14-year working relationship with cable network, HBO, to the rival, Showtime. Ullman was to create a brand new series for the network, that would be inspired in part by her recently gained naturalisation. The series would focus on America, "the good, the bad, and the absolutely ridiculous", which also served as the series tag line.

Ullman credits senior programmer, Robert Greenblatt, as a big influence in her decision for the move, and the network's budding roster of hit shows. Greenblatt was a young development director during her ''Tracey Ullman Show'' days, and was enthusiastic to get her over to Showtime. Five episodes were ordered for the first season.

For the first time since the early years of her career at the BBC, Ullman was not only creating a new lineup of original characters, but rather, also impersonating famous ones. ''Tracey Ullman's State of the Union'' debuted on 30 March 2008.

The critical response to "State of the Union" was overwhelmingly positive. One critic pointed out a change in Ullman's humour:

Ullman has commented that the United States is, "now able to laugh at itself more," embracing more satiric humor, rather than deeming it "unpatriotic". Now that she's an official citizen, Ullman joked that she, "won't end up in Guantánamo Bay," for speaking her mind.

Ullman hoped to continue the series after season one. Showtime announced that it had greenlighted a second season for 2009. It was commissioned for a third run for 2010.

Other notable work

Ullman was the modern-day cartoon voice of Little Lulu. She also had a recurring role as an unconventional psychotherapist in ''Ally McBeal'', a role that won her an American Comedy Award.

Ullman co-starred with Carol Burnett in the television adaptation of ''Once Upon a Mattress''. Ullman played Princess Winnifred, a role originally made famous by Burnett on Broadway, who took on the role of the evil Queen.

Film career

Along with her television work, Ullman has featured in many films throughout her career. Her first theatrical film was a small role in Paul McCartney's 1984 film ''Give My Regards to Broad Street''. This was followed by a supporting role in the 1985 Meryl Streep drama Plenty which gained Ullman international acclaim for her comic and dramatic performance.

After the cancellation of ''The Tracey Ullman Show'' in 1990, she made her starring debut alongside Kevin Kline, River Phoenix and Joan Plowright in ''I Love You to Death''. Ullman has also appeared in lead and supporting roles in ''Robin Hood: Men in Tights'', Nancy Savoca's ''Household Saints'', ''Bullets Over Broadway'', ''Small Time Crooks'', ''A Dirty Shame'', and ''Tim Burton's Corpse Bride''.

Ullman portrayed Mother Nature in the 2007 romantic-comedy film, ''I Could Never Be Your Woman'', starring Michelle Pfeiffer. Ullman acted as creative consultant on the 2006 Dreamworks feature, ''Flushed Away''.

Ullman signed on to voice along with such actors as Dustin Hoffman, Kevin Kline, William H. Macy, Stanley Tucci, Christopher Lloyd, Sigourney Weaver, and Emma Watson in the computer-animated ''The Tale of Despereaux''.

Stock footage of Ullman was used in the movie ''The Queen'' with Helen Mirren. The footage was used without her permission.

Personal life

Ullman married producer Allan McKeown on 27 December 1983; they have two children, Mabel Ellen McKeown (born 1986) and John Albert Victor McKeown (born 1991). Mabel McKeown works for Harriet Harman in a job funded by the Labour Party. She unsuccessfully ran as Labour's candidate in the by-election in Cremorne in Kensington and Chelsea Council in 2010. She once contributed to The Huffington Post. She has also campaigned for Labour in her native country.

Ullman became an American citizen in December 2006 and now holds dual citizenship of the United States and the United Kingdom. In 2006, Ullman topped the list for the "Wealthiest British Comedians", with an estimated wealth of £75 million.

Filmography

''Mackenzie'' (1980) TV Series – Lisa MacKenzie

''Three of a Kind'' (1981) TV Series

''Happy Since I Met You'' (1981) (TV) – Karen

''A Kick Up the Eighties'' (1981) TV Series – Various Roles

''Give My Regards to Broad Street'' (1984) – Sandra

''Plenty'' (1985) – Alice Park

''"Girls On Top"'' (1985) TV Series – Candice Valentine

''Jumpin' Jack Flash'' (1986) – Fiona

''The Tracey Ullman Show'' (1987-1990) – TV Series

''I, Martin Short, Goes Hollywood'' (1989) (TV) – Tina Wise

''I Love You to Death'' (1990) – Rosalie Boca

''Tracey Ullman: A Class Act'' (1992) (TV) – Various

''Death Becomes Her'' (1992) – Toni (scenes deleted)

''Happily Ever After'' (1993) (voice) – Thunderella and Moonbeam

''Robin Hood: Men in Tights'' (1993) – Latrine

''Household Saints'' (1993) – Catherine Falconetti

''Tracey Ullman Takes On New York'' (1993) (TV) – Various characters

''I'll Do Anything'' (1994) – Beth Hobbs

''Bullets Over Broadway'' (1994) – Eden Brent

''Prêt-à-Porter'' (1994) – Nina Scant

''The Little Lulu Show'' (1995) TV Series – Lulu (First few episodes)

''Tracey Takes On...'' (1996-1999) – TV Series

''Ally McBeal'' (1997–2000) – Dr Tracey Clark

''C-Scam'' (2000)

''Panic'' (2000) – Martha

''Small Time Crooks'' (2000) – Frenchy

''Visible Panty Lines'' (2001-2002) TV Series

''Tracey Ullman in the Trailer Tales'' (2003) (TV) – Ruby Romaine/Svetlana/Pepper Kane

''A Dirty Shame'' (2004) – Sylvia Stickles

''Tracey Ullman: Live and Exposed'' (2005)

''The Cat That Looked at a King'' (2004) (V) (voice) – The Cat

''Corpse Bride'' (2005) (voice) – Nell Van Dort/Hildegarde

''Kronk's New Groove'' (2005) (V) (voice) – Ms. Birdwell

''Once Upon a Mattress'' (2005) (TV) – Princess Winnifred

''I Could Never Be Your Woman'' (2007) – Mother Nature

''Dawn French's Girls Who Do Comedy'' Three part TV series (2006)

''The Tale of Despereaux'' (2008) (voice) – Mig

''Tracey Ullman's State of the Union'' (2008–2010) TV Series – Various characters

Stage

1982: ''Rita, Sue and Bob Too''

1990: ''The Taming Of The Shrew'' – Kate

1991: ''The Big Love'' – Florence Aadland

2005: ''Tracey Ullman: Live and Exposed''

2011: ''My City'' – Elizabeth Lambert

Discography

1983: ''You Broke My Heart In 17 Places'' UK #12 US #34

1984: ''You Caught Me Out'' UK #92

1984: ''Forever - The Best Of Tracey Ullman''

Charting singles

1983: ''Breakaway'' UK #4 US #70

1983: ''They Don't Know'' UK #2 US #8

1983: ''Move Over Darling'' UK #8

1984: ''My Guy'' UK #23

1984: ''Sunglasses'' UK #18

1984: ''Helpless'' UK #61

1985: ''Terry'' UK #81

Awards and honors

To date, Ullman is a seven time Emmy Award winning, and American Comedy Award winning actor.

On 5 December 2006, Tracey was honored at the Museum of Television and Radio along with likes of Carol Burnett, Lesley Visser, Lesley Stahl, Jane Pauley, and Betty White, in the She Made It category.

In April 2009, it was announced that Ullman would be awarded a Lifetime Achievement BAFTA Award, the following May. She became the first recipient of the Charlie Chaplin award on 9 May 2009.

Awarded

London Critics' Circle Award Most Promising New Actress "Four in a Million" 1981

BAFTA Award Best Light Entertainment Performance "Three of a Kind" and "A Kick Up the Eighties" 1983

Golden Globe Award Best Actress in a Television Series (Comedy or Musical) 1987

Emmy Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Program "Tracey Ullman Show" 1988–89

American Comedy Award Funniest Female Performer of the Year 1988

Emmy Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program "Tracey Ullman Show" 1989–90

Emmy Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program "The Best of the Tracey Ullman Show" 1989–90

Theatre World Special Award 1991

Emmy Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series "Love & War" 1992–93

American Comedy Award Funniest Female Performer in a Television Special "Funny Women of Television" 1992

Emmy Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program "Tracey Ullman: Takes On New York" 1993–94

CableACE Award Best Performance in a Comedy Series "Tracey Ullman: Takes on New York" 1994

Women in Film Lucy Award in recognition of her excellence and innovation in her creative works that have enhanced the perception of women through the medium of television 1995

Emmy Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series ''Tracey Takes On...'' 1996–97

CableACE Award Best Actress in a Comedy Series ''Tracey Takes On...'' 1996

CableACE Award Best Variety Special or Series ''Tracey Takes On...'' 1996

American Comedy Award Funniest Female Performer in a Television Special ''Women of the Night IV'' 1996

Golden Satellite Best Actress in a Television Series (Musical or Comedy) ''Tracey Takes On...'' 1997

The Actor Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series ''Tracey Takes On...'' 1998

Emmy Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series ''Ally McBeal'' 1998–99

American Comedy Award Funniest Female Leading Performer in a Television Series ''Tracey Takes On...'' 1998

American Comedy Award Funniest Female Guest Appearance in a Television Series ''Ally McBeal'' 1999

American Comedy Award Funniest Female Leading Performer in a Television Series ''Tracey Takes On...'' 1999

American Comedy Award Funniest Female Leading Performer in a Television Series ''Tracey Takes On...'' 2000

Satellite Awards – Best Performance in a Comedy Series, Tracey Ullman 2008

Bibliography

''Tracey Takes On...'' by Tracey Ullman 1998 (ISBN 9780786863402)

''Knit 2 Together: Patterns and Stories for Serious Knitting Fun'' by Tracey Ullman and Mel Clark 2006 (ISBN 9781584795346)

Further reading

''Guinness Book of British Hit Singles'' 7th Edition

Archive of an ''Entertainment Weekly'' story by Frank Spotnitz on 1992 lawsuit

Tracey Ullman TV.com "Awards"

References

External links

Emmy Awards for ''Tracey Takes On...''

The State of Tracey fanblog

Interview Magazine cover story, January, 1989: Tracking Tracey

Category:BAFTA winners (people) Category:Best Musical or Comedy Actress Golden Globe (television) winners Category:Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series Screen Actors Guild Award winners Category:English emigrants to the United States Category:Emmy Award winners Category:English film actors Category:English comedians Category:English stage actors Category:English television actors Category:English voice actors Category:English female singers Category:Alumni of the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States Category:People from Slough Category:Women comedians Category:British people of Polish descent Category:1959 births Category:Living people Category:English people of Polish descent Category:People educated at Licensed Victuallers' School Category:People educated at Burnham Grammar School

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