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"Holding Out for a Hero" is a song written by Jim Steinman and Dean Pitchford, originally recorded by Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler. It was released in 1984 on the soundtrack to the film Footloose. It later appeared on Tyler's Secret Dreams and Forbidden Fire album. It hit #96 for the first time in UK in 1984, #2 in 1985, #69 in 1991. The opening couplet – "Where have all the good men gone and where are all the gods?/ Where's the street-wise Hercules to fight the rising odds?" – could be seen as an example of the ubi sunt motif in literature.

The song's instrumental break was reused from "Stark Raving Love" on Steinman's 1981 album Bad for Good.

Music video[link]

Produced by Jeffrey Abelson, directed by Doug Dowdle, concept by Keith Williams, it was the first music-video that successfully promoted a movie while having no movie footage in the video.

At the beginning of the music video, Bonnie Tyler escapes from a burning house; the video is set primarily in the vicinity of the burning house and on the edge of the Grand Canyon – interspersed with shots of angelic background singers dressed all in white. Evil cowboys dressed in black, carrying neon whips appear before Tyler, threatening her; a cowboy hero dressed in white, brandishing a pistol, appears on horseback and the evil cowboys flee on horseback, with the hero in pursuit. As the song fades out, the hero cowboy appears in front of Bonnie Tyler.^[1]

It was used as the opening theme for the Channel 4 American Football show in the 1980's.

Awards[link]

BPI [1]

• Silver Certification (Single), September 1, 1985
• Top Selling Single #31 from 1985 (367.000).

Soundtrack appearances[link]

• Cover Up (TV series) Series theme song (September 22, 1984 to April 6, 1985)
• Footloose 1984 (US #1)
• Short Circuit 2 1988
• Who's Harry Crumb? 1989
• Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman [TV Series] Pilot (September 12, 1993)
• Bandits 2001 (US #165, top soundtracks #15)
• Shrek 2 2004 (covered by Frou Frou and covered by Jennifer Saunders)
• Nacho Libre 2006
• Smallville [TV Series] Episode 8, Season 9 Idol (November 13, 2009)
• Saints Row: The Third (November 15, 2011)
• Regular Show [TV Series] Eggscellent ( February 27 2012)
• The Amazing World of Gumball "The Debt" (not direct song, but same basic structure)

Video[link]

• The Magic of David Copperfield VI Floating Over the Grand Canyon 1984, David Copperfield & Bonnie Tyler
• Bonnie Tyler The Video 1986
• 50 Jahre Rock 2004
• Discomelodies and Rhythms in Russian 2005

Track listings and formats[link]

1984 7" single

1. "Holding Out for a Hero" – 4:22
2. "Faster Than the Speed of Night" – 4:40

1984 12" single

1. "Holding Out for a Hero" (Extended Remix) – 6:19
2. "Holding Out for a Hero" (Instrumental) – 5:15
3. "Faster Than the Speed of Night" – 4:40

1991 12"/CD single

1. "Holding Out for a Hero" – 4:41
2. "Faster Than the Speed of Night" – 4:40
3. "Total Eclipse of the Heart" – 6:49

Charts[link]

Cover versions[link]

It has been covered by a number of artists, including

• Demon Kogure for his 2008 album GIRLS' ROCK √Hakurai
• Emery for the 2005 compilation Punk Goes 80's
• Darren Maycock a.k.a. Alk-E-D for the eurodance compilation series Dancemania, specifically Dancemania SPEED 7 released in 2001, with the different name Hero 2001.
• Joss Stone
• Alvin and the Chipmunks for their TV series episode "Three Alarm Alvin."
• Graveworm
• Frou Frou and Jennifer Saunders on the Shrek 2 soundtrack
• Serbian punk rock band Six Pack recorded a version on their 2008 covers album Discover.
• Opera Magna, a Spanish power metal band.
• Yuko Nakazawa, in Japanese.
• Pop punk band Amazing Transparent Man covered it for their 2003 EP, Taking Back The Covers.
• Asakura Miki on the Japanese TV Drama School Wars 1984
• Melba Moore covered the song in a public appearance during Macy's 1989 Thanksgiving Day Parade, on a float with actors dressed as Marvel Comics superheroes.^[2]
• Lucie Vondráčková - Czech female pop singer covered the song with Czech lyrics titling the song "Vítr" (translates as "The Wind").
• The Nolans
• Ajda Pekkan, with Turkish lyrics
• Icelandic musician Rúnar Eff covered the song in 2010 - watch on YouTube
• Greek power metal band Emerald Sun covered the song on their second longplayer, Regeneration, released in February 2011.
• Rockstar Steady (Japanese Singer Nanase Aikawa's project) first album Gossip bonus track, released February 16.2011.
• Sopor Aeternus & the Ensemble of Shadows for their album Have You Seen This Ghost? (2011)
• This song was sung during a performance in the inaugural Youth Olympic Games 2011.
• One of the songs used in the musical "Love at First Fright" at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, IL. The show has been performed every October since 1991 when the park's Fright Fest Halloween event began. It has since been reproduced at other Six Flags theme parks.

Bonnie Tyler re-recorded the song on her 2004 album Simply Believe. She always includes this song on her setlist on stage and has performed it on the UK TV spin-off series Hollyoaks Later from Hollyoaks. She acted during the scene and performed the song as a duet.

References[link]

UK [2] USA [3]

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (May 2010)

Bonnie Tyler
Tyler live at La Cigale in 2005
Background information
Birth name	Gaynor Hopkins
Also known as	Sherene Davis
Born	(1951-06-08) 8 June 1951 (age 61) Skewen, Wales
Genres	Rock, country rock, wagnerian rock, progressive rock, rock and roll, pop
Occupations	Singer
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1975–present
Labels	RCA, Chrysalis, CBS Records, Columbia, Hansa, Atlantic, East West Records, CMC Records, Sony, Stick Music
Website	Official Site

Bonnie Tyler (born Gaynor Hopkins^[1] on 8 June 1951) is a Welsh singer. She is most notable for having several hits in the 1970s and 80s, including "Lost in France", "It's a Heartache", "Total Eclipse of the Heart" and "Holding Out For A Hero" as well as her European 2004 hit "Si demain... (Turn Around)".

With a distinctively husky voice due to damaged vocal cords, Tyler is a three-time Grammy Award nominee and three-time Brit Award nominee,^[2][3] and three-time Goldene Europa award winner. Tyler was also the first Welsh female artist to reach the top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 music charts.

Early life[link]

Tyler was born in Skewen, Neath, Wales to a family that included three sisters and two brothers. Her father, Glyn Hopkins, worked in a coal mine and her mother, Elsie Hopkins, (an opera lover) shared her love for music with her children, and was known to have been part of the local church choir. Tyler grew up listening to Motown music and female artists like Janis Joplin and Tina Turner.^[4] She concluded her education in the sixties and began working in the local grocery shop, then as a supermarket cashier.

In 1970, aged 19, she entered a talent contest, singing the Mary Hopkin hit "Those Were the Days", and finished in second place, winning £1. She then was chosen to sing in a band with front man Bobby Wayne, known as Bobby Wayne & The Dixies. Two years later, she formed her own band called Imagination (not related to the 1980s British dance band of the same name) and performed with them in pubs and clubs all over southern Wales. It was then that she decided to adopt the stage name of "Sherene Davis",^[5] taking the names from her niece's forename and favourite aunt's surname.^[6] Despite the two name changes, her family and friends still know her as Gaynor.^[7]

On July 4, 1973, she married Robert Sullivan, a real estate agent, Swansea night club manager and Olympic judoka.^[8] In 1975, she was discovered by Roger Bell who arranged a recording contract for her with RCA Records. Before signing, she was asked to choose a different stage name and settled on Bonnie Tyler.^[9]

Career[link]

The 1970s[link]

In 1976, Tyler was spotted in "The Townsman Club" in Swansea by the songwriting and producing team of Ronnie Scott and Steve Wolfe, who became her managers, songwriters and producers.^[10]

Tyler first began by recording a track entitled "My! My! Honeycomb", which did not receive any chart success, but did gain local airplay in Swansea.^[11] The track was later released on the 2002 compilation, "Total Eclipse Anthology" and on a re-release of "The World Starts Tonight" in 2009, along with the rare track, "Baby I Remember You".^[12]

Following the Top 10 success of her 1976 song "Lost in France", Tyler released her first album in 1977 entitled The World Starts Tonight. A further single from the album, "More Than a Lover", made the UK Top 30,^[13] and the follow-up single, "Heaven", reached the Top 30 in Germany.^[14]

In 1977, Tyler was diagnosed with nodules on her vocal cords that were so severe that she needed to undergo surgery to remove them. After the surgery, she was ordered not to speak for six weeks to aid the healing process, but she accidentally screamed out in frustration one day. This caused her voice to take on a raspy quality. At first she believed that her singing career was ruined;^[15] but to her surprise her next single, "It's a Heartache," made her an international star. The song reached #4 in the UK, #3 in the US, #2 in Germany, and topped the charts in several countries (including France and Australia).^[16] The song was originally released by Ronnie Spector and Juice Newton separately, but Tyler's version was the most recognised and credited recording of the song. Tyler's second album, Natural Force, was also retitled It's a Heartache for the U.S. market and certified Gold there. Tyler performed in the Long Miles Country Music Festival prior to the release of Natural Force alongside musicians such as Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson. In 1978, Tyler was given a Bravo Otto award in Germany for her success in Europe.

Though further global success was elusive during this era, Tyler did have some regional hits: "Here Am I" made the German Top 20 in spring of 1978; "My Guns Are Loaded" peaked at number 3 in France in 1979; and she scored a minor UK Top 40 hit with "Married Men" in summer 1979 (the theme to the film The World Is Full of Married Men). Tyler released the albums Diamond Cut in 1979 and Goodbye to the Island in 1981. The track "Sitting on the Edge of the Ocean" was the Grand Prix winner of the 1979 Yamaha World Song Festival held in Tokyo.^[17]

The 1980s[link]

Tyler released four albums for RCA Records from 1977 to 1981, but she became increasingly dissatisfied with Scott and Wolfe's management as they were trying to market her as a pop-country music artist.^[10] When her contract with RCA expired, she signed with David Aspden Management and sought help from songwriter Jim Steinman, most familiar to audiences as Meat Loaf's primary collaborator, to give her music the rock style she wanted. She signed with Columbia Records in 1982.

Her next album, Faster Than the Speed of Night, was released in Spring 1983 and included the power-ballad "Total Eclipse of the Heart", which was written by Steinman. The song was a worldwide hit, reaching No. 1 in the UK, Ireland, France, Australia, and in the United States where it remained at the top for four weeks. Her presence in the US chart was at a time when almost one third of the Billboard Hot 100 was filled by songs from UK based acts - a situation not seen since the 1960s British Invasion and Beatlemania.^[18] Faster Than the Speed of Night entered the UK Albums Chart at number 1, and also became a Top Five bestseller in the US and Australia. "Total Eclipse of the Heart" also brought Tyler a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Also in 1983, Tyler was offered to sing the title song of the James Bond film, Never Say Never Again. Tyler disliked the song and turned down the offer,^[19] and so the song was given to American singer Lani Hall instead. In 1984, Tyler performed "Total Eclipse of the Heart" at the Grammy Awards, and received another Grammy nomination as Best Rock Female Vocalist for "Here She Comes",^[20] a song that was part of the soundtrack for the 1984 restoration of the film Metropolis. She also released the singles "A Rockin' Good Way", a duet with fellow Welsh artist Shakin' Stevens, which made #5 in the UK, and "Holding Out for a Hero", for the Footloose soundtrack, which made the U.S. Top 40 and later peaked at number 2 in UK in the summer of 1985. "Holding Out For A Hero" (written by Steinman and Dean Pitchford) was also used as the main theme for the 1984 US television series Cover Up, though the version heard on the TV series was not Tyler's original but performed by E.G. Daily.^[21]

The following albums, Secret Dreams and Forbidden Fire (1986) and Hide Your Heart (1988), achieved some success in France, Switzerland, Scandinavia, South Africa, Australia, but were not successful in the UK or the US. One of the single releases, "If You Were A Woman (And I Was A Man)", became another Top 10 hit in France in 1986 and was certified Silver. In 1987, Tyler recorded a bilingual track with the Brazilian singer Fábio Junior entitled "Sem Limites Pra Sonhar" or "Reaching for the Infinite Heart" in English.^[22] In the same year, she sang the title song for Mike Oldfield's album Islands. Tyler also sang backing vocals with Cher for the song "Perfection" on Cher's self-titled 1987 album, and "Emotional Fire" on Cher's 1989 album Heart Of Stone.

In 1988, Tyler performed at the Reading Festival, accompanying performers such as Meat Loaf and Jefferson Starship. Tyler was victim to violent abuse from an aggressive crowd hurling bottles at her on stage after the organiser's failed attempt to introduce pop music to the annual event. Tyler was credited for carrying on and completing her set despite the audience's treatment.^[23] She even managed to get the audience to join in with "It's A Heartache" at the end of her set performance.^[24]

The 1990s[link]

Throughout the 1990s, Tyler's success was limited to continental Europe. In the early 1990s, she switched to the German label Hansa and found a new producer in Dieter Bohlen. Her first album for the label was Bitterblue, released in late 1991, which saw her leaving the rock genre of the 1980s and establishing a more soft-pop sound. The album went quadruple-platinum in Norway, platinum in Austria, and gold in Germany, Switzerland and Sweden. Following the success of this album, two volumes of compilation albums were released entitled 'The Very Best Of Bonnie Tyler'. The first disc sold over 600,000 copies.^[25]

Tyler followed this up with the albums Angel Heart (1992) and Silhouette in Red in 1993. In light of her success in Germany, Tyler won Best International Female Vocalist at the RSH Gold Award, the "Goldene Europa" Award and the ECHO Award in 1994.

In April 1992, Tyler participated in a Greek ensemble CD with Sofia Arvaniti. The track was released on Arvaniti's 'Parafora' album on the EMI label, which was composed by Greek musician Michalis Rakintzis. It was named "The Desert Is In Your Heart", or "Petheno Stin Erimia" in Greek, and was a bilingual track (Greek and English). An instrumental version of the song was also released on Arvaniti's album.^[26] The album reached Gold.

In 1993, the first volume of Tyler's compilation The Very Best of Bonnie Tyler was released. It received a strong backing of advertising support. The featured tracks were selections from the 1970s to 1991, in chronological order and included a biography of Tyler's career. Over 600,000 copies were sold in Germany, dominating the charts over artists such as Madonna, Cher and Tina Turner.^[27] Later, in 1994, Columbia Records released Heaven & Hell, a Bonnie Tyler and Meat Loaf compilation album which featured tracks from both artists. The compilation became a Gold record in the UK.

After her three albums with producer Dieter Bohlen, Tyler wanted to have a more international sound on her next record. She switched labels to Warner Music in 1995 and recorded Free Spirit, an album on which she worked again with Jim Steinman as well as other prolific producers such as David Foster and Humberto Gatica. However, the album was only a minor success in continental Europe, though the single "Making Love Out of Nothing at All" (previously a hit for Air Supply in 1983) narrowly missed the UK Top 40. The single featured Tyler's mother's operatic vocals on the intro to the song. The album was re-released in 1996, now including the track "Limelight" which was used as the official song of the German Olympic Team.^[28] Tyler continued to record, releasing the folk influenced All in One Voice in 1999, though this was even less successful. Also in 1999, Tyler was part of an ensemble vocal unit for Rick Wakeman's Return to the Centre of the Earth CD.^[29] Tyler also recorded the track "Tyre Tracks And Broken Hearts" on the Jim Steinman and Andrew Lloyd Webber composed album Whistle Down The Wind.

The 2000s[link]

In 2003, Tyler was approached by her manager,David Aspen, to record an album that would consist of cover versions of Tyler's choice.David Aspden became the producer of the album. Tyler picked out 13 of her favourite songs, some of which are by U2, Richard Marx, Phil Collins and The Beatles. The tracks were recorded by City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, but Tyler requested for her band to feature on the tracks also.

Also in 2003, French vocalist Kareen Antonn sent Tyler a demo recording of Antonn singing a French arrangement of "Total Eclipse of the Heart", entitled "Si demain... (Turn Around)", requesting for a duet with her. Tyler, completely unaware of whether Antonn was famous or not, accepted immediately and began recording the track soon after, despite the discomfort of not knowing whether the song was suitable for a duet. Released in December 2003, it went to number 1 in France, holding that chart position for ten weeks, and 12 weeks in total, as well as Belgium and Poland, selling a total of two million copies. The follow-up, "Si tout s'arrête (It's A Heartache)", another French language remake with Antonn, also made the French Top 20. Both tracks were included on Tyler's 2004 album, "Simply Believe". Also on this album, Tyler worked with Stuart Emerson, who wrote several songs on Tyler's Free Spirit album in 1995, and who also worked with Jim Steinman and Meat Loaf in the 1980s. Emerson wrote and produced six tracks on this album, two of which were re-recordings from her 1995 album.

By 2005, Tyler had already been working on her sixteenth studio album, Wings. The sixteen-track album included 12 new tracks, two French re-recordings and two re-recordings of "Total Eclipse of the Heart" and "It's a Heartache". Tyler co-wrote most of the tracks, and was given two new tracks from Stuart Emerson, one of which was recorded as a duet between Tyler and her friend Lorraine Crosby. The track was "I'll Stand By You" and was based on the theme of friendship. Tyler's two singles from the album were "Louise" and "Celebrate", both of which received no chart success and nor did the album. In 2006, the album was re-released in the UK with 14 tracks, and called Celebrate. Again, this received little chart success. For Tyler's birthday in 2005, Tyler performed several tracks from her new album at La Cigale in Paris and Zaragoza in Spain. Extracts from the concerts were released on CD (Bonnie Tyler Live) and DVD (Bonnie on Tour) in 2006 and 2007 respectively.

In 2006, French record label Stick Music released Tyler's first live album, Bonnie Tyler Live, which featured songs from her 2005 album Wings as well as a handful of her greatest hits. In September 2006, Tyler made her first appearance on U.S. television in years, as she sang a duet of "Total Eclipse of the Heart" with actress Lucy Lawless on the American show Celebrity Duets.

In 2007, a new Greatest Hits collection, From the Heart: Greatest Hits, was released. The compilation reached #2 in the Irish album charts and #31 in the UK. Also in 2007, Tyler featured on a charity album called "Over the Rainbow". The event was filmed and shown on British TV series Challenge Anneka. Anneka Rice was set the challenge to put together a thirteen-track compilation album made up of songs from musicals in five days and organise a promotional concert for the release of the CD. The proceeds went to the Chase Trust disabled children's charity. Tyler selected "I Don’t Know How to Love Him" from one of her favourite musicals, Jesus Christ Superstar.^[30] In March 2007, Tyler appeared in the 20th season of the British TV show, "Never Mind The Buzzcocks".

In 2009, it was announced by Mal Pope that he had recruited Tyler to perform the title track to his self-written musical, Cappuccino Girls, which would tour in Wales in the following months. She mimed the title song on the closing night in the theater to celebrate its conclusion.^[31] Tyler made a guest appearance in Hollyoaks Later (the late night edition of the British Channel 4 teen soap Hollyoaks) in which she sang her hit "Holding Out For a Hero" with one of the characters. She also recorded a new version of "Total Eclipse of the Heart" with the Welsh male voice choir Only Men Aloud! for their second album Band of Brothers which was released in October 2009.

Sony re-released Tyler's first two albums, "The World Starts Tonight" and "Natural Force" in 2009 with the addition of two B-Sides, which were not featured on the albums in the original release in the 1970s.^[32][33] This was to be the first official release of four of Tyler's co-written songs from the 1970s since the release of Total Eclipse Anthology in 2002.

On 1 November 2009, Tyler joined artists such as Escala, Joss Stone and Bananarama in a charity concert in support of breast cancer research. It was held at the Royal Albert Hall as a fundraiser for Pinktober.^[34]

The 2010s[link]

In 2010, Tyler appeared in a television advertisement for MasterCard singing a parody of "Total Eclipse of the Heart".^[35] Tyler performed in Australia for the first time in her career in the end of October, first as a supporting guest for Robin Gibb^[36] and then performing her own shows in Australia and New Zeland.

In November, Albert Hammond released an album called Legend, which featured some of his most successful compositions, with many re-recorded as duets.^[37] Hammond and Tyler recorded a version of Starship's "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now".

In 2011, Tyler made a guest appearance in the music video "Newport State of Mind", a parody of the Jay Z and Alicia Keys song "Empire State of Mind" for the BBC's Comic Relief charity. Towards the end of 2011, Tyler dueted with the singer Laura Zen on "Amour Éternel", a new French/English version of The Bangles' 1989 hit "Eternal Flame". It was released to French radio stations on 29 August 2011.^[38] It was then released as an MP3 download in France on 26 September 2011, and also included on Tyler's triple-disc Best Of 3 CD album on 3 October 2011. Also in 2011, Tyler won an award at the BMI London Awards for "It's A Heartache"^[39] and appeared on Ukraine X Factor as one of the three British guests, alongside Kylie Minogue and Cher Lloyd, performing "It's A Heartache", "Total Eclipse Of The Heart" and "Holding Out For A Hero". In December 2011, a portrait of Tyler by Rolf Harris was sold by Cathy Sims for £50,000 on BBC's Antiques Roadshow.^[40]

On 13 February 2012, news of the release of Tyler's new album was released on her website.^[41] It claimed that Tyler has been working in Nashville to record a new country/rock album which will be available as a CD and online for digital download for an expected release in 2012. David Huff has been named the producer and songwriters for the tracks include Desmond Child and Frank J. Myers as well as a duet with country musician Vince Gill. On 16 April, an update on Tyler's website confirmed the duet (named "What You Need From Me"), and commented that Tyler had arrived in Los Angeles two days prior to the update to assist with mixing the recorded tracks. It was later announced on Tyler's website that it is due to receive a new design in conjunction to the upcoming album.^[42]

In March 2012, a newly recorded track was released on SoundCloud entitled "Never Gonna Take No For An Answer". The song was written by Ed Poole and Martin Brown.^[43]

In April 2012, the record label Rdeg re-released Goodbye to the Island, Angel Heart and Bitterblue digitally.^[44][45]

Discography[link]

Filmography[link]

Tours[link]

• 1988: Hide Your Heart Tour
• 1994: Silhouette in Red Tour
• 1996: Free Spirit Tour
• 2003: Heart Strings Tour

Personal life[link]

After global success in the 1980s, Tyler and her husband Robert Sullivan decided to try to have a baby when she was aged 39. Tyler miscarried and did not conceive again.^[46]

Throughout her career, Tyler and her husband have owned a villa in Mumbles in Wales.^[47] They also own a home in the Algarve (in Albufeira, south Portugal), after Tyler recorded one of her albums there in the late 1970s.^[48] In 2005, Tyler was filmed for a short Polish entertainment TV show called Zacisze gwiazd, which explores the houses of actors and musicians.^[49]

Some of Tyler's siblings have also been recognised to have a career in music. Her bother, Paul Hopkins, is lead singer of local Swansea band, Sunshine Cab Co.^[50][51] He co-wrote most of Tyler's 1980s B-sides, including "Time" and "Gonna Get Better" as well as composing some tracks for her albums, such as "The Reason Why" from All in One Voice. Tyler's sister, Avis Hopkins, featured on Mal Pope's musical soundtrack of Cappuccino Girls, singing the track, "Today's My Birthday".^[52] Avis Hopkins changed her name in the 1980s to Amanda Scott and released the track, "Lies" in 1988.^[53][54]

Through her husband, Tyler is related to actress Catherine Zeta-Jones and attended her wedding to Michael Douglas, performing "Total Eclipse of the Heart".^[55]

Awards, nominations and accolades[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2009)

Music awards and nominations[link]

Grammy Awards

Brit Awards

Goldene Europa

Steiger Awards

Other commercial achievements[link]

• Tyler was listed as second most famous celebrity from Wales in 2005 by the BBC.^[60]
• Welsh singer Rhydian Roberts selected Tyler's track, "Faster Than The Speed Of Night", for the Tracks Of My Years segment of UK DJ Ken Bruce's BBC Radio 2 show on September 26, 2011.^[61]

See also[link]

• List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
• List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (United States)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website

Jennifer Saunders
Saunders in November 2008
Birth name	Jennifer Jane Saunders
Born	(1958-07-06) 6 July 1958 (age 53) Sleaford, Lincolnshire, England
Medium	Television, film
Nationality	British
Years active	1981–present
Genres	Comedy, Parody
Spouse	Adrian Edmondson (m. 1985–present)
Notable works and roles	Various in French & Saunders Edina Monsoon in Absolutely Fabulous Fairy Godmother in Shrek 2
Emmy Awards
Popular Arts 1994 Absolutely Fabulous
BAFTA Awards
Best Comedy 1992 Absolutely Fabulous Fellowship with Dawn French

Jennifer Jane Saunders (born 6 July 1958) is an English comedienne, screenwriter, singer and actress. She has won two BAFTAs, an International Emmy Award, a British Comedy Award, a Rose d'Or Light Entertainment Festival Award, two Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards, and a People's Choice Award.

She first came into widespread attention in the 1980s and early 1990s when she became a member of the Comic Strip after graduating from the Central School of Speech and Drama. With her comedy partner Dawn French, she writes and stars in their eponymous sketch show, French & Saunders, for which she and French received a BAFTA fellowship in 2009, and she has received international acclaim for writing and playing the lead role of Edina Monsoon in the BBC sitcom Absolutely Fabulous.

She has guest starred in the American sitcoms Roseanne and Friends, and won the American People's Choice Award for voicing the wicked Fairy Godmother in DreamWorks' animated Shrek 2.

Background[link]

Saunders was born in Sleaford, Lincolnshire on 6 July 1958.^[1][2] Her mother was a biology teacher, and her father served as a pilot in the Royal Air Force (RAF), reached the rank of Air Marshal and later worked for British Aerospace.^[3][4] Because her father was in the armed forces, Saunders moved to different schools many times.^[4] She was educated from the age of five to 18 in boarding schools and then at St Paul's Girls' School, an independent school in west London. After school, she worked for a year in Italy as an au pair.^[5]

She later received a place at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London on a drama teachers' course in 1977,^[4] where she met her future comedy partner, Dawn French.^[6] Both came from RAF backgrounds. They had grown up on the same base, even having had the same best friend, without ever meeting.^[3] The comic duo originally did not get on well, and as far as Saunders was concerned, French was a "cocky little upstart". The distrust was mutual: French considered Saunders snooty and uptight.^[3] French actually wanted to become a drama teacher,^[1] whereas Saunders loathed the idea and had not fully understood what the course was about; thus, she disliked French for being enthusiastic and confident about the course.^[4] Saunders was shocked to find that she was actually taking courses to become a teacher, as her mother had filled out the application form.^[4] Her mother, however, was saddened when Saunders chose not to apply for an Oxbridge university education.^[4]

After the initial friction, while at college Saunders and French shared a flat together. French has remarked on Saunders's messy habits when sharing the house, stating, "When we lived together in Chalk Farm she had a room at the top of the house. We got broken into and the police said, 'Well, it is quite bad, but the worst is that room at the top.' And, of course, nobody had been in there."^[4] The two performed together after graduation, working the festival, cabaret^[4] and stand-up circuits. They formed a double-act called The Menopause Sisters. Saunders described the act, which involved wearing tampons in their ears, as "cringeworthy."^[3] The manager of the club where they performed recalled, "They didn't seem to give a damn. There was no star quality about them at all."^[3]

Career[link]

Early career[link]

Saunders and French would eventually come to public attention as members of the informal comedy collective The Comic Strip, part of the alternative comedy scene in the early 1980s. They answered a 1980 advert in The Stage newspaper looking for female comedians to perform at The Comic Strip, which until that point, only had male performers.^[1][3] When they walked into the audition they were immediately told "You're booked. When can you start?".^[4]

Both Saunders and French became continuing members of the Comic Strip, which included Peter Richardson, Rik Mayall and Robbie Coltrane, as well as Saunders' future husband Adrian Edmondson.^[1][3] The group performed at the Boulevard Theatre, above Soho's Raymond Revuebar, and gained a cult following, with visiting audience members including Dustin Hoffman, Jack Nicholson and Robin Williams, who once joined in the performance.^[7] By the time French & Saunders became members of The Comic Strip, French was already working as a drama teacher, whilst Saunders was on the dole and spending a lot of her time sleeping in bed.^[3]

Television[link]

1980s and 1990s[link]

The comedy group appeared on Channel 4's first night on air, in the first episode of The Comic Strip Presents: Five Go Mad In Dorset, broadcast on 2 November 1982.^[1][8] In the episodes "Bad News" and "More Bad News", Saunders plays a trashy rock journalist touring with the fictional heavy metal band Bad News. In 1985, Saunders starred in and co-wrote Girls On Top with French, Tracey Ullman and Ruby Wax, which portrayed four eccentric women sharing a flat in London.^[1] Saunders also appeared in Ben Elton's Happy Families where she played various members of the same family, including all four Fuddle sisters in the six-episode BBC situation comedy.^[1] Saunders starred in a Comic Strip film called The Supergrass, a little-known parody of slick 1980s police dramas directed by Peter Richardson. Saunders also played Meryl Streep playing Arthur Scargill's wife in Strike, a Comic Strip spoof on the 1984 Miners' strike. Oddly, many years later Meryl Streep would actually play Margaret Thatcher in the 2012 film "The Iron Lady". Saunders also appeared twice as guest on The Young Ones.^[1]

In 1987, she and French created French & Saunders, a popular sketch comedy series for the BBC, which aired until 2007.^[9] By the end of the 1980s, the show was an established comedy programme and became a staple in BBC viewing.^[3] Saunders has appeared in Amnesty International's The Secret Policeman's Biggest Ball live benefit in 1989, along with Dawn French and others.

Saunders and French followed separate careers as well as maintaining their comedy sketch show. Saunders' biggest solo success to date is Absolutely Fabulous. The comedy was in fact based largely on a fourteen minute French & Saunders sketch called "Modern Mother and Daughter".^[4] Saunders and French were going to star in the comedy together, but just as the studio had been booked, French received a long-awaited phone call confirming that an adoption agency had a new baby for her to adopt.^[4] Saunders proceeded to star in the comedy. The series, which she wrote and starred in as the irresponsible fashion PR agent Edina Monsoon alongside Joanna Lumley, who played Patsy Stone, brought her international acclaim and attention.^[1] The show ran for five full series, a two-part film and three special episodes over the course of thirteen years from 1992 to 2005.^[1] The series is also known as Ab Fab^[3] and was broadcast in the United States on Comedy Central and BBC America, becoming cult viewing.^[10] In 2011, gay-friendly network LOGO began airing the full run of the show, a nod to the large gay fan base the show was always known to have.^{[citation needed]} Rumors emerged that new episodes would be produced later in the year.^[11]

Saunders has appeared on the American sitcoms Roseanne, playing Edina Monsoon in the episode "Satan, Darling", and Friends as Andrea Waltham, the stepmother of Emily, Ross Geller's fiancée, in the episodes "The One After Ross Says Rachel" and "The One with Ross's Wedding". In 1999, she appeared alongside French in Let Them Eat Cake.^[1]

2000s[link]

Saunders wrote and starred in a comedy drama about a Women's Institute entitled Jam & Jerusalem, also known as Clatterford in America. The first series aired in 2006, the second in 2008 and the third in 2009 on BBC One.^[13]

In 2007, Saunders and psychologist Tanya Byron^[4] wrote BBC Two's The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle about a neurotic daytime talk show host. Saunders played the eponymous character whose programme features crude headlines such as "Wife a slapper? Lie detector reveals all"^[14] and "I want a vagina".^[15]

Also in 2007, the final series French & Saunders series aired. A Bucket o' French & Saunders featured a compilation of old and new sketches and aired on BBC One in September 2007. It was the third show she had written in a year.^[4] In 2008 and 2009, French & Saunders completed their final live tour, French & Saunders: Still Alive.^[16]

Saunders is currently listed as the fifth fastest "Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car" on BBC 2's Top Gear with a time of 1:46.1s. A self-confessed petrolhead, she has a passion for Alfa Romeo, and has so far owned four.^[17]

Film[link]

Saunders has also appeared in several films, such as In the Bleak Midwinter (1995), Muppet Treasure Island (1996), Fanny & Elvis (1999) and also made cameo appearances in the Spice Girls' film Spice World (1997) and Absolument fabuleux (2001), a French film based on Absolutely Fabulous.^[1][18]