Christopher Shannon "Chris" Penn (October 10, 1965 – January 24, 2006) was an American film and television actor known for his roles in such films as The Wild Life, Reservoir Dogs, Footloose, Rush Hour, True Romance, All the Right Moves and Pale Rider and in the videogame Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

Early life[link]

Penn was born in Los Angeles, California, the youngest son of Leo Penn, an actor and director, and Eileen Ryan (née Annucci), an actress. His paternal grandparents were Jewish emigrants from Lithuania and Russia,^[1] and his mother was a Roman Catholic of Italian and Irish descent.^[2] According to Penn's mother, Leo Penn may have had distant Sephardic ancestry, as the family's surname was originally "Piñón".^[2] His brothers are actor Sean Penn and musician Michael Penn.

Career[link]

Penn started acting at the age of 12 at the Loft Studio and made his film debut in 1979’s Charlie and the Talking Buzzard, starring Christopher Hanks. In 1983, he was featured in Francis Ford Coppola’s youth drama Rumble Fish and appeared in the high school football drama All the Right Moves as the best friend of Tom Cruise's character. He also appeared in the hit dance movie Footloose in 1984 as the best friend of Kevin Bacon's character; played a villain in the Clint Eastwood western Pale Rider (1985); and co-starred with his brother Sean Penn and mother Eileen Ryan in At Close Range (1986).

Penn was typically cast as a tough character, featured as a villain or a working-class lug, or in a comic role. Two of his more memorable performances were in Reservoir Dogs as Nice Guy Eddie and True Romance as Nicky Dimes (both characters in scripts written by Quentin Tarantino). In 1996 he won the award for Best Supporting Actor at the Venice Film Festival for The Funeral.

Penn, who had a black belt in karate, appeared in the 1989 motion picture Best of the Best as Travis Brickley, a cocky member of the U.S. karate team taking on the team from Korea. The film also starred James Earl Jones, Sally Kirkland, Eric Roberts, Phillip Rhee and Simon Rhee. Penn reprised his role in 1993’s Best of the Best 2.

In Robert Altman's ensemble film Short Cuts, Penn played a troubled swimming pool cleaner who is disturbed by his wife’s profession (a telephone sex worker who takes calls from clients at home) to which Penn’s character is obliged to listen. He also appeared as a fall guy in a criminal conspiracy in Murder by Numbers alongside Sandra Bullock.

Penn was meant to appear in American Pie 2 as Steve Stifler's father, but the scenes featuring him were eventually cut as there was not sufficient time to include him in the film's plot. However, they appeared on the deleted scene reel from the movie's DVD.

In 2003, he appeared on the Will & Grace episode, Fanilow as Barry Manilow's tour director and a character who is interested romantically in Will. Penn was featured in an episode of the television crime drama Law & Order: Criminal Intent ("Death Roe") during the 2004–2005 season. He was also featured on the 2004 video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas as the voice of Officer Eddie Pulaski. Penn played himself on a 2005 episode of the HBO series Entourage. He appeared in The Darwin Awards, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival one day after his death.

Penn appears in Jay-Z's "Can I Get A..." music video as a bartender who mixes drinks and dances.

Death[link]

Penn was found dead in his Santa Monica condominium on January 24, 2006, at the age of 40. Although Penn had used multiple drugs in the past, an autopsy performed by a Los Angeles County medical examiner revealed the primary cause of death was "nonspecific cardiomyopathy" (heart disease), with the prescription drug promethazine with codeine and an enlarged heart being possible contributing circumstances. Sean Penn has said publicly in a TV interview on Larry King Live that his brother probably died because of his weight.^[3]

There is conflicting information about Chris Penn's age at the time of death, with some obituaries giving 1962 as his year of birth.^[4] His mother indicated that his date of birth was October 10, 1965, in Richard T. Kelly's book, Sean Penn: His Life and Times (2004).

Penn is interred in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.^[5] Penn is cited in the End Credits of Rush Hour 3.

Filmography[link]

• Charlie and the Talking Buzzard (1979)
• All The Right Moves (1983)
• Rumble Fish (1983)
• The Wild Life (1984)
• Footloose (1984)
• Pale Rider (1985)
• At Close Range (1986)
• Made in U.S.A. (1987)
• Return from the River Kwai (1989)
• Best of the Best (1989)
• Mobsters (1991)
• Future Kick (1991)
• Reservoir Dogs (1992)
• Leather Jackets (1992)
• Best of the Best 2 (1993)
• The Pickle (1993)
• Beethoven’s 2nd (1993)
• Josh and S.A.M. (1993)
• The Music of Chance (1993)
• True Romance (1993)
• Short Cuts (1993)
• Imaginary Crimes (1994)
• Fist of the North Star (1995)
• Sacred Cargo (1995)
• To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995)
• Under the Hula Moon (1995)
• Dead Mans Walk (1996
• Mulholland Falls (1996)
• The Funeral (1996)
• The Boys Club (1997)
• Papertrail (1997) (a.k.a. Trail of a Serial Killer)
• Deceiver (1997)
• One Tough Cop (1998)
• Rush Hour (1998)
• Family Attraction (1998)
• Cement (1999)
• The Florentine (1999)
• Kiss Kiss (Bang Bang) (2000)
• American Pie 2 (2001) {as Stifler's Dad in a deleted storyline}
• Corky Romano (2001)
• Murder by Numbers (2002)
• Redemption (2002)
• Stealing Harvard (2002)
• Masked and Anonymous (2003)
• CSI:Miami,Season 1, in episode 20 Grave Young men (2003)
• Shelter Island (2003)
• Will & Grace, Season 3, in episode 10 Fanilow (2003)
• Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (voice of Eddie Pulaski) (2004)
• Starsky & Hutch (2004)
• After the Sunset (2004)
• Pauly Shore is Dead (2004)
• Everwood (2005)
• The Darwin Awards (2006)
• King of Sorrow (2006)
• Holly (2006)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Chris Penn at the Internet Movie Database
• Chris Penn at AllRovi
• “The price of fame: The final reel of Chris Penn”, Biographical article from The Independent
• “Let us praise Chris Penn—in all his guises,” from SFGate.com

Sean Penn
Penn at the premiere for Milk at the Castro Theatre, San Francisco, October 2008
Ambassador-at-large for Haiti
Incumbent
Assumed office January 31, 2012
President	Michel Martelly
Personal details
Born	Sean Justin Penn (1960-08-17) August 17, 1960 (age 51) Los Angeles County, California, U.S.
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Madonna (1985–1989) Robin Wright (1996–2010)
Relations	Aimee Mann (sister-in-law), Leo Penn (father), Eileen Ryan (mother), Chris Penn (brother), Michael Penn (brother)
Children	1 son, 1 daughter
Residence	Los Angeles, California
Alma mater	Santa Monica College
Occupation	Actor, screenwriter, director, producer
Religion	Agnostic
Awards	Academy Award, Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild Award, Christopher Reeve First Amendment Award

Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor, screenwriter and film director, also known for his left-wing political and social activism (including humanitarian work). He is a two-time Academy Award winner for his roles in Mystic River (2003) and Milk (2008), as well as the recipient of a Golden Globe Award for the former and a Screen Actors Guild Award for the latter.

Penn began his acting career in television with a brief appearance in a 1974 episode of Little House on the Prairie, directed by his father Leo Penn. Following his film debut in 1981's Taps and a diverse range of film roles in the 1980s, Penn emerged as a prominent leading actor with the 1995 drama film Dead Man Walking, for which he earned his first Academy Award nomination and the Best Actor Award at the Berlin Film Festival. Penn received another two Oscar nominations for Sweet and Lowdown (1999) and I Am Sam (2001), before winning his first Academy Award for Best Actor in 2003 for Mystic River and a second one in 2008 for Milk. He has also won a Best Actor Award of the Cannes Film Festival for She's So Lovely (1997), and two Best Actor Awards at the Venice Film Festival for Hurlyburly (1998) and 21 Grams (2003).

Penn made his feature film directorial debut with 1991's The Indian Runner, followed by the drama film The Crossing Guard (1995) and the mystery film The Pledge (2001). In 2002, Penn directed one of the 11 segments of 11'09"01 September 11, a compilation film made in response to the September 11 attacks. His fourth feature film, Into the Wild (2007), garnered critical acclaim and two Academy Award nominations.

In addition to his film work, Penn is known for his political and social activism, most notably his criticism of the George W. Bush administration, his contact with the Presidents of Venezuela and Cuba, and his humanitarian work in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Penn also attracted media attention for his previous marriages to pop icon Madonna and actress Robin Wright.

Early life[link]

Penn was born in Los Angeles County, California,^[1] the middle son of actor and director Leo Penn and actress Eileen Ryan (née Annucci). His older brother is musician Michael Penn. His younger brother, actor Chris Penn, died in 2006. His paternal grandparents were Jewish emigrants from Lithuania and Russia,^[2][3][4] while his mother is a Catholic of Italian and Irish descent.^[4][5] Penn was raised in a secular home^[2] and is an agnostic.^[6] He attended Santa Monica High School^[7] and began making short films with some of his childhood friends, including actors Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen, who lived near his home.^[8]

Career[link]

Acting[link]

Penn appeared in a 1974 episode of the Little House on the Prairie television series as a then blond-haired extra when his father, Leo, directed some of the episodes.

Penn launched his film career with the 1981 action-drama Taps, where he played a key role, as a military high school cadet, opposite protagonist Timothy Hutton.^[8] Tom Cruise also made one of his first film appearances, as another cadet. A year later, Penn appeared in the hit comedy Fast Times at Ridgemont High, in the role of surfer-stoner Jeff Spicoli, with his character helping popularize the word "dude" in popular culture.^[8] In 1983, Penn appeared as Mick O'Brien, a troubled youth, in the drama Bad Boys.^[8] The role earned Penn favorable reviews and jump-started his career as a serious actor.

In 1985, Penn played Andrew Daulton Lee in the film The Falcon and the Snowman, which closely followed an actual criminal case.^[8] Lee was a former drug dealer by trade, convicted of espionage for the Soviet Union and originally sentenced to life in prison, later being paroled in 1998. Penn later hired Lee as his personal assistant, partly because he wanted to reward Lee for allowing him to play Lee in the film; also, he was a firm believer in rehabilitation and thought Andrew Lee should be successfully reintegrated into society, since he was a free man again.^[9]

At the 1997 Cannes Film Festival.

In 1986, he starred in the drama At Close Range, opposite Christopher Walken.^[8] The film featured his then-wife Madonna's single "Live to Tell". The music video for the song, which featured clips from the film, played heavily on MTV and helped promote the film. Penn stopped acting for a few years in the early 1990s, having been dissatisfied with the industry, and focused on making his directing debut.^[8]

Penn, nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor five times, has won the award twice. The Academy first recognized his work in nominating him for playing a racist murderer on death row in Tim Robbins' 1995 drama Dead Man Walking. Penn was nominated again for his comedic performance as an egotistical jazz guitarist in Woody Allen's 1999 release Sweet and Lowdown. He received his third nomination after portraying a mentally-handicapped father in 2001's I am Sam. Penn finally won for his role in Clint Eastwood's 2003 Boston crime-drama Mystic River. In 2004, he played a disturbed man bent on killing the president in The Assassination of Richard Nixon. He was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2004.^[10]

In 2006, he portrayed populist governor Willie Stark (based on Huey Long) in an adaptation of the classic American novel All the King's Men, though the film was a critical and commercial failure. In November 2008, Penn earned rave reviews for his portrayal of real-life gay-rights icon and politician Harvey Milk in the biopic Milk and was nominated for best actor for the 2008 Independent Spirit Awards.^[11] The film also earned Penn his fifth nomination and second win for the Academy Award for Best Actor. In 2010 he starred as Joseph Wilson in Fair Game, a film adaptation of Valerie Plame's 2007 memoir. Penn co-starred with Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain in the drama The Tree of Life which won the Palme d'Or at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.

Directing[link]

In 1991, Penn made his directorial debut with The Indian Runner, a film based on Bruce Springsteen's song "Highway Patrolman", from the Nebraska album.^[8] He also directed music videos, such as Shania Twain's "Dance with the One That Brought You" and Lyle Lovett's "North Dakota" in 1993, and Peter Gabriel's "The Barry Williams Show" in 2002. He has since directed three more films, all of which^{[citation needed]} were well-received by critics: The Crossing Guard in 1995, The Pledge in 2001, and Into the Wild in 2007.

Personal life[link]

Penn with Robin Wright in 2006

Penn was engaged to actress Elizabeth McGovern, his co-star in 1984's Racing with the Moon. Penn's personal life began to attract media attention when he married pop star Madonna in 1985. The two starred in the panned and much-derided Shanghai Surprise, directed by Jim Goddard, and Madonna dedicated her third studio album True Blue to Penn, referring to him in the liner notes as "the coolest guy in the universe".^[12] The relationship was marred by violent outbursts against the press, including one incident for which he was arrested for assaulting a photographer on a film set; Penn was sentenced to 60 days in jail in mid-1987, of which he served 33 days.^[13] It is also alleged that when Penn discovered the paparazzo in his hotel room, he hung him by his ankles from the ninth-floor balcony.^[14] Later in the marriage, Penn was charged with felony domestic assault, a charge for which he pleaded to a misdemeanor.^[15] Penn and Madonna divorced in 1989.

He soon began a relationship with actress Robin Wright, and their first child – a daughter named Dylan Frances – was born in 1991. Their second child, a son whom they named Hopper Jack, was born in 1993. Penn and Wright married in 1996 and lived in Ross, California. The relationship went through on-and-off periods in the late 2000s (decade).^{[citation needed]} The couple filed for divorce in December 2007, but reconciled several months later, requesting a court dismissal of their divorce case.^[16] In April 2009, Penn filed for legal separation, only to withdraw the case once again when the couple reconciled in May.^[17][18][19] On August 12, 2009, Wright Penn filed for divorce again.^[20][21] The couple's divorce was finalized on July 22, 2010, with the couple reaching a private agreement on child and spousal support, division of assets, and custody over their underage son.^[22]

Political and social causes[link]

Penn has been active in supporting several political and social causes. On June 10, 2005, Penn made a visit to Iran. Acting as a journalist on an assignment for the San Francisco Chronicle, he attended a Friday prayer at Tehran University.^[23]

On January 7, 2006, Penn was a special guest at the Progressive Democrats of America, where he was joined by author and media critic Norman Solomon, Democratic congressional candidate Charles Brown, and activist Cindy Sheehan. The "Out of Iraq Forum", which took place in Sacramento, California, was organized to promote the anti-war movement calling for an end to the War in Iraq.

In August 2008, Penn made an appearance at one of Ralph Nader's "Open the Debates" Super Rallies. He protested the political exclusion of Nader and other third parties.^[24]

In October 2008, Penn traveled to Cuba, where he met with and interviewed President Raúl Castro.^[25]

In March 2010 he called for the arrest of those referring to Hugo Chávez of Venezuela as a dictator ^[26]

In February 2012, he stood beside Hugo Chávez while Venezuela supported the Syrian government during the 2011–2012 Syrian uprising.^[27]

Criticism of President Bush[link]

Penn at an anti-war rally in Washington, D.C., January 27, 2007

On October 18, 2002, Penn placed a US$56,000 advertisement in the Washington Post asking then President George W. Bush to end a cycle of violence. It was written as an open letter and referred to the planned attack on Iraq and the War on Terror.^[28] In the letter, Penn also criticized the Bush administration for its "deconstruction of civil liberties" and its "simplistic and inflammatory view of good and evil."^[29] Penn visited Iraq briefly in December 2002.^[28]

This advertisement was cited as a primary reason for the development of his relationship with Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez. In one of his televised speeches, Chávez used and read aloud an open letter Penn wrote to Bush.^[14] The letter condemned the Iraq War, called for Bush to be impeached, and also called Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice "villainously and criminally obscene people.".^[30] In August 2007, Penn met with Chávez in Caracas for two hours, after which Chávez praised him for urging Americans to impeach Bush. Penn also visited a new film studio on the outskirts of Caracas, though he did not speak publicly.^[30]

On April 19, 2007, Penn appeared on The Colbert Report and had a "Meta-Free-Phor-All" versus Stephen Colbert that was judged by Robert Pinsky. This stemmed from some of Penn's criticisms of Bush. His exact quote was "We cower as you point your fingers telling us to support our troops. You and the smarmy pundits in your pocket– those who bathe in the moisture of your soiled and blood-soaked underwear– can take that noise and shove it."^[31][32] He won the contest with 10,000,000 points to Colbert's 1.^[33]

On December 7, 2007, Penn said he supported Ohio Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich for U.S. President in 2008, and criticized Bush's handling of the Iraq war. Penn questioned whether Bush's twin daughters supported the war in Iraq.^[34]

Hurricane Katrina[link]

In September 2005, Penn traveled to New Orleans, Louisiana, to aid Hurricane Katrina victims. He was physically involved in rescuing people,^[35] although there was criticism that his involvement was a PR stunt as he hired a photographer to come along with his entourage.^[36] Penn denied such accusation in an article he wrote for The Huffington Post.^[37]

Director Spike Lee interviewed Penn for his documentary When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts, about Hurricane Katrina.

Support for same-sex marriage[link]

Filming Milk, 2008

On February 22, 2009, Penn received the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film Milk. In his acceptance speech, Penn said " ... I think that it is a good time for those who voted for the ban against gay marriage to sit and reflect and anticipate their great shame and the shame in their grandchildren's eyes if they continue that way of support. We've got to have equal rights for everyone!"^[38]

2010 Haiti earthquake: Manager of Relief Organization and Tent Camp[link]

After the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Sean Penn co-founded the J/P Haitian Relief Organization and has been running a 55,000 person tent camp.^[39]

Due to his visibility as an on-the-ground advocate for rescue and aid efforts in the aftermath, Penn was designated by president Michel Martelly as Ambassador-at-Large for Haiti, the first time that a non-Haitian citizen has been designated as such in the country's history. Penn received the designation on January 31, 2012.^[40]

Falkland Islands/Malvinas controversy[link]

In February 2012 Penn met with the President of Argentina, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in Buenos Aires where he made a statement on the long-running dispute between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the Falkland Islands saying "I know I came in a very sensitive moment in terms of diplomacy between Argentina and the UK over the Malvinas islands. And I hope that diplomats can establish true dialogue in order to solve the conflict as the world today cannot tolerate ridiculous demonstrations of colonialism. The way of dialogue is the only way to achieve a better solution for both nations."^[41][42][43] The comments evoked strong reactions in the British media, with one satirical article in The Daily Telegraph requesting that Penn "return his Malibu estate to the Mexicans."^[44] Penn described the deployment of Prince William to the region as a "provocation" and a message of "pre-emptive intimidation", citing war ships that would accompany him, and stated "My oh my, aren't people sensitive to the word colonialism, particularly those who implement colonialism."^[45][46] In a piece written in The Guardian, Penn wrote that the legalisation of Argentinian immigration to the "Malvinas/Falkland Islands is one that it seems might have been addressed, but for the speculative discovery of booming offshore oil in the surrounding seas this past year."^[46][47] Of the furore, Lauren Collins wrote in The New Yorker "As of today, Sean Penn is the new Karl Lagerfeld—the man upon whom, having disrespected something dear to the United Kingdom, the British papers most gleefully pile contempt".^[48]

Pakistan[link]

Penn gained significant attention in Pakistani media when he visited Karachi and Badin in 2012.

On 23 March 2012, he visited flood-stricken villages of Karim Bux Jamali, Dargah Shah Gurio and Peero Lashari in Badin District. He was accompanied by US Consul General Willian J. Martin and distributed blankets, quilts, kitchen items and other goods amongst flood survivors.^[49][50]

On 24 March 2012, Penn also visited Bilquis Edhi Female Child Home and met Pakistan’s iconic humanitarian worker Abdul Sattar Edhi and his wife, Bilquis Edhi. He also laid floral wreaths and paid respect at the shrine of Abdullah Shah Ghazi.^[51][52]

Filmography and awards[link]

On December 18, 2006, Penn received the Christopher Reeve First Amendment Award from the Creative Coalition.^[53]

Actor[link]

Director[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sean Penn

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Sean Penn

• Sean Penn at the Internet Movie Database
• Sean Penn at the Internet Broadway Database
• Guardian Interview, April 8, 2005
• Esquire magazine interview/profile
• Sean Penn's visit to Iran at the San Francisco Chronicle
• Smiles for Smirks by Sean Penn, The Huffington Post, April 21, 2009
• Sean Penn on Managing a Tent Camp of 55,000 Displaced Haitians – video report by Democracy Now!

Martine McCutcheon (born Martine Kimberley Sherrie Ponting^[1] on 14 May 1976) is an English singer, television personality and Laurence Olivier Award-winning actress. McCutcheon had minor success as one third of the pop group Milan in the early 1990s; however, it was her role as Tiffany Mitchell in BBC's EastEnders that made her a household name in the UK in 1995. McCutcheon left the series at the end of 1998 to embark on a pop career, this time as a solo artist. She had international success, reaching No. 1 in 5 countries with her debut single Perfect Moment. She released three albums to varying degrees of success, but her pop career stalled due to the poor reception of her third album in 2002. She has since appeared in various television programmes, in films such as Love Actually as 'Natalie', and on stage in My Fair Lady, where her portrayal of Eliza Doolittle won her a Laurence Olivier Award in 2002. She released her autobiography, Who Does She Think She Is?^[2] in 2000.

Early life[link]

McCutcheon was born as Martine Kimberley Sherri Ponting at the Salvation Army Mother's Hospital in Hackney, London, when her mother, Jenny Tomlin, was 20. She endured a turbulent early childhood due to the abusive and irrational behaviour of her drug addict father, Thomas Hemmings.^[3] Her earliest memory of her father is him dangling her over a balcony by her ankles, 30 feet up in the air, threatening to drop her unless her mother did what he wanted.^[4] Despite Hemmings leaving when McCutcheon was 2 years old, he would return periodically to threaten her mother so her early years were spent running and hiding in order to escape him. When McCutcheon was nine, her mother won sole custody and an injunction was made against Hemmings seeing McCutcheon until she was 18.^[4]

When McCutcheon was 10, her mother met and married window cleaner John McCutcheon (Martine's stepfather) which led to Martine taking her stepfather's surname. McCutcheon has a younger half-brother. ^[3] She knew she wanted to be a performer from a young age but, as her family could not afford the fees for a drama school, she had to find an alternative method to learn her trade. McCutcheon met a woman at a local dance class who had been to the Italia Conti stage school, and she suggested that the school would be a good environment for her. After a persuasive letter from McCutcheon, a Church of England trust agreed to sponsor her. She trained after school and every Saturday (learning tap, ballet, jazz and drama) in order to catch up with the more privileged children who were competing with her for a place at the prestigious school.^[3]

Career[link]

Early career[link]

At the age of 12, McCutcheon obtained her first acting role and was paid £350 to appear in an American television commercial for the drink, Kool-Aid, which was followed by modelling assignments and bit parts in TV shows such as in the ITV police drama The Bill.^[3] She also appeared in the music video for the song "Caribbean Blue" by Irish singer Enya. By the time she was 15, she had formed an all-girl group, 'Milan', with two fellow students and landed a record contract and a gig touring as the 'warm up' group for the British boyband, East 17. Milan were reasonably successful. They entered the dance charts three times but were not successful enough for the band to make a living and they collectively disbanded.^[3]

[edit] Mainstream success; EastEnders

In 1994, while working as a shopgirl at Knickerbox, McCutcheon was offered the small part of Tiffany Raymond on the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders. The role of Tiffany grew as did McCutcheon's popularity and 22 million viewers tuned in to see her final scenes in Albert Square in 1998 when her character was killed in a special episode screened on New Year's Eve.^[5] In reality, McCutcheon had decided to leave the soap in order to embark on a pop career and the death of her character was not viewed favourably by the actress as she had intended to return. Since leaving the show, McCutcheon has publicly slammed the BBC's "Controller of Continuing Drama Series", Mal Young, who made the decision to kill her character. She accused him of treating her unfairly and bringing her role in the soap to an end so irrevocably, merely as punishment for leaving.^[3] In turn, Young has hit back at McCutcheon, saying her anger only arose because she wanted him to keep her role in EastEnders open as a 'safety net', in case her pop career failed, and he was not prepared to do this. McCutcheon has subsequently written an autobiography entitled Who Does She Think She Is?: My Autobiography, which depicts Young less than favourably.^[3]

Pop career[link]

McCutcheon first appearance in the chart occurred in 1995 on a minor dance song "Are You Man Enough" with the dance producers "Uno clio". A promotional video was produced.

In 1999, McCutcheon debuted as a solo pop artist with Virgin Records and scored a number 1 in the UK Singles Chart with the ballad "Perfect Moment" (originally recorded by Edyta Górniak in 1997). The song was a global success reaching number 1 not only in the UK, but in Israel, Italy, Switzerland and Ireland. That same year she scored two more Top 10 hits, reaching number 6 with the singles "I've Got You" and later "Talking in Your Sleep", which featured the double A Side "Love Me", an album track that was re-recorded for the Children in Need appeal with all proceeds being donated to that cause. All three singles were taken from her debut album You, Me and Us, which peaked at number 2 in the UK Albums Chart and was certified as double platinum.

In 2000, McCutcheon released her second album Wishing, which was less successful, charting at number 25 in the UK Albums Chart. The album spawned two singles - the number 2 hit "I'm Over You" and her follow up song "On The Radio". Despite only peaking at #25 the album still managed to sell around 250,000 copies. McCutcheon released her third album Musicality, a Broadway influenced cover album, in 2002. It reached number 55 in the albums charts, however her pop career stalled when due to poor sales her recording contract was cancelled.^[3]

In December 2011, on Irelands "The Saturday Night Show" Martine confirmed she was in the studio working on a new album due for release sometime in 2012.

Film, stage and television[link]

McCutcheon appeared in ITV's The Knock as well as the British film Kiss Kiss (Bang Bang) in 2000. She went on to play Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady at the National Theatre in London. Despite missing many performances (citing health problems) and withdrawing nearly five months early from the production's transfer to the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane,^[6] she won the award for best actress in a musical at the 2002 Laurence Olivier Awards.

In 2002, McCutcheon presented the National Music Awards for ITV1 and in 2003 she featured in her first major film role. She appeared as tea-lady Natalie in the Richard Curtis romantic comedy Love Actually, where the British Prime Minister (played by Hugh Grant) falls in love with McCutcheon's character. The film received good reviews and was a box office success. McCutcheon went to America in the wake of the film's success, but a Hollywood career did not materialise. She did however, win Best Trans-atlantic breakthrough at the 2004 MTV Movie Awards.

In September 2005, she appeared in two episodes of hit BBC drama series Spooks, playing Tash, a waitress who witnesses a terrorist bombing. Screened on the UK television station ITV1 in December 2005, McCutcheon appeared in The English Harem, playing a woman in love with a Muslim man (Art Malik), who marries him despite knowing he already has two wives. That same year she presented and performed on ITV's entertainment programme, Moviemusic Mania.

In 2007, McCutcheon was seen in two independent films, Withdrawal opposite Patrick Swayze and Jump!, as well Marple episode At Bertram's Hotel, where she plays a maid named Jane Cooper that assists Miss Marple with her investigations. She was also a judge in the second series of ITV1's Soapstar Superstar. Her appearance on the show drew criticism, with reports alleging that she was becoming a hate figure for the contestants, who were said to have found her comments relentlessly critical and at times patronising.^[7] McCutcheon performed in an Art Plus fundraising event at the Whitechapel Art Gallery opposite Natalie Press, Samantha Morton and Rhys Ifans and in January 2008 she starred alongside actor Jason Donovan, in the ITV soap Echo Beach as character Susan Penwarden.^[8]

Other work[link]

McCutcheon released her autobiography, Who Does She Think She Is? in 2000, and in 2003 Martine McCutcheon: Behind the Scenes - A Personal Diary, was published by Harper Collins. McCutcheon, along with many global stars, also featured in a promotional film for London's successful bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics, in 2004. A fitness DVD, Martine McCutcheon: Dance body workout, was released in December 2005.

In August 2006, the supermarket chain, Tesco, announced that they would be using McCutcheon in a series of adverts to promote a new green scheme for recycling used plastic carrier bags.^[9] In 2006, she became "the face" of the fabric softener brand, Lenor.

In 2009, she had her first novel published by Pan MacMillan, called The Mistress.^[10]

In January 2010, she became the face on Danone's UK advertising campaign for its Activia yogurt brand.^[11]

Martine had worked on two BBC Radio plays, most recently with Ricky Tomlinson and Clive Anderson.

Personal life[link]

McCutcheon was engaged to DJ Gareth Cooke, but broke off the relationship in 1996.^[12] She is now engaged to singer Jack McManus,^[13] with whom she has been in a relationship since 2009.^[14]

Filmography[link]

• EastEnders (1995–98) - Tiffany Mitchell
• Kiss Kiss (Bang Bang) (2000) - Mia
• Love Actually (2003) - Natalie
• The English Harem (2005)
• Withdrawal (Indie short film) (2006)
• Jump! (2007) - Liuba Halsman

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Singles[link]

Other songs[link]

• 1999: "Mamma Mia" - from the ABBAMania compilation album
• 2002: "I Dreamed a Dream" - From 101 Songs from the musicals CD
• 2001: "On The Radio" - from "Now That's What I Call Music! 48"
• 1999: "Perfect Moment" - from "Now That's What I Call Music! 43"
• 2000: "I've Got You" - from "Now That's What I Call Music! 47"
• 2001: "Wouldn't It Be Loverly?" - from "My Fair Lady" 2001 London Cast Recording
• 2001: "I Could Have Danced All Night" - from "My Fair Lady" 2001 London Cast Recording

References[link]