Patsy Kensit
Kensit at the 2009 BAFTAs
Born	Patricia Jude Francis Kensit (1968-03-04) 4 March 1968 (age 44) Hounslow, Greater London, England, UK
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1972–present
Spouse	Dan Donovan (1988–91, divorced) Jim Kerr (1992–96, divorced) Liam Gallagher (1997–2000, divorced) Jeremy Healy (2009–present, separated)

Patricia Jude Francis "Patsy" Kensit (born 4 March 1968) is an English actress, singer, model and former child star, known for her television and film appearances. Her films include Lethal Weapon 2 and she has been married to rock stars Jim Kerr and Liam Gallagher, as well as herself fronting the band Eighth Wonder. In May 2004 she returned to television acting, taking the role of Sadie King in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale.

Early life[link]

Born to James Henry Kensit (1915–1987)^[1] and Margaret Rose Kensit (née Doohan, 1947–1993),^[1] a native of Ireland who died from breast cancer, Patsy Kensit has an older brother Jamie.^[1] Her mother was a publicist; her father was an associate of the notorious London gangsters the Kray twins.^[2] Nicknamed "Jimmy the Dip",^[1] he was also reportedly an associate of the rival Richardsons,^[1] running long firms for the gang. He served time in prison before Kensit was born; she believed he was an antiques dealer.^[1][3] Her paternal grandfather was a robber and counterfeiter,^[4] and her brother's godfather was Reggie Kray.^[5] She attended Corona Theatre School.

Kensit is a practising Catholic,^[6] having begun attending church after her mother's death.^[7]

Career[link]

Early work[link]

At the age of four, Kensit appeared in a television advert for Birds Eye frozen peas.^[1] In 1972, she had her first big screen role in the film For the Love of Ada. Her next film role was two years later in The Great Gatsby^[1] starring with Mia Farrow—whom she would later portray in the 1995 biopic Love and Betrayal: The Mia Farrow Story. She also appeared in a BBC mini series based on the famous historical novel Penmarric (1979).

As a pupil at the Italia Conti Academy stage school, Kensit's first starring roles were in British children's television programmes such as The Adventures of Pollyanna (1982) and Luna. She also appeared as Estella in a BBC adaptation of Great Expectations in 1981 and as Lady Margaret Plantagenet in the 1982 BBC production of Shakespeare's Richard III.

Rise to fame[link]

Kensit in France (1991)

In 1985 Kensit led a dual career as a singer and an actress. At the time, Kensit stated: "All I want is to be more famous than anything or anyone".^[4]

In 1986, she won the lead female role in the film version of Absolute Beginners, based on the book by Colin MacInnes. In November 1987, she sang a duet with the Italian singer and songwriter, Eros Ramazzotti, entitled 'La luce buona delle stelle', which in English translates to 'The Good Light Of The Stars'

In 1988, Kensit's band Eighth Wonder had two Top 40 singles ("I'm Not Scared", written and produced by the Pet Shop Boys, which reached Number 7 in the British charts, and "Cross My Heart", which went up to Number 13, Eighth Wonder appeared on Top of the Pops, while Kensit also starred as Eppie in an adaptation of Silas Marner, with Ben Kingsley. Although the band's success quickly waned, "I'm Not Scared" appeared in the 1989 film Lethal Weapon 2, in which Kensit, now focused solely on being an actress, played Rika van den Haas, a South African consulate secretary with whom cop Martin Riggs (played by Mel Gibson) falls in love.

Following Lethal Weapon 2, she appeared in the 1991 independent feature, Twenty-One for which she was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead. Of her role, Variety magazine wrote, "Fans of Kensit get plenty of her; her lovely face and form are always the center of attention. The cool control with which she executes the role is admirable".^[8] In 1992, she had a leading role in the British film Blame it on the Bellboy as Miss Carolyn Wright, a desperate real estate dealer in Venice who would stop at nothing to clinch a deal.

In 1995, Kensit starred in Angels & Insects, with Kristin Scott Thomas and Mark Rylance, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Costume Design and directed by Philip Haas . Kensit's last major lead film role was in the Newcastle-based The One and Only.

Return to fame[link]

In 2004, Kensit joined the cast of British soap opera Emmerdale, playing the character Sadie King, and also regularly featured in the third series of Channel 4's Bo' Selecta! and its 2005 spin-off series A Bear's Tail. Kensit's success as the soap super-bitch and in a popular comedy brought her back to the attention of the British public.

In September and October 2005 she appeared as a celebrity contestant in Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon, progressing through to Play Your Cards Right before being eliminated by Carol Vorderman, the eventual winner of the series. Kensit was a special guest host on The Friday Night Project on 23 June 2006 with band Placebo. She appeared as The Grand High Witch of all the World at the Children's Party at the Palace in celebration of the Queen's 80th birthday in 2006. She also became the voice of online gambling website 32red.com.^[9]

Kensit left Emmerdale in September 2006, stating that commuting to Yorkshire and the resultant time away from her sons was too stressful. As part of a dramatic week of episodes which coincided with Jeff Hordley's exit from the show. Hordley's character Cain Dingle and Sadie hatched an elaborate kidnap plan involving Tom King - they set up the transfer of £2 million from the Kings to Cain in order for Tom to be released, however Cain double crossed Sadie. Her last appearance was at an airstrip watching Cain fly away, leaving her penniless and alone.

Kensit has played ward sister Faye Morton in the BBC One medical drama series Holby City since October 2006.^[10] Kensit is signed to Models 1 in London.From December 18th 2011 until 8th January 2012, she will be playing the Evil Queen in Snow White at the Churchill Theatre Bromley

On 14 March 2010, it was revealed that Kensit had decided to quit her role in Holby City. She stopped filming in September but will be onscreen until the end of the year. She has competed in the 2010 BBC TV series 8 of Strictly Come Dancing partnered by Robin Windsor, they finished in 7th place.

Personal life[link]

Kensit briefly dated Michael Head of The Pale Fountains whilst he was living in Breck Road, Hackney in the early 1980s.

Kensit has been married four times. In 1988, she married Dan Donovan of band Big Audio Dynamite. In 1992, she married Jim Kerr, lead singer of Simple Minds. During her second marriage, she gave birth to her first child, James in 1992. In 1997, she married Liam Gallagher from Oasis. Kensit and Gallagher had a son, Lennon, named after John Lennon; they divorced in 2000.

By 2000, Kensit's private life had brought her to as much attention as her acting or singing, as the tabloid newspapers detailed the breakdown of her marriage to Simple Minds singer Jim Kerr and her romance with Oasis singer Liam Gallagher. Her career stalled as she focused on her marriage, over which she claimed to cry every day until it ended,^[11] as it eventually headed towards divorce. This personal downward spiral led to the resumption of her acting career.

After her marriage to Gallagher ended in divorce, Kensit spoke openly about her breast augmentation, which took her bust measurement from a 32B to a 35C^{[citation needed]}. She has three tattoos: on her back; above the blade of her left foot (Gaelic words); and on her ankle.^[12] She changed the tattoo of her ex-husband's name from Liam to the name of their son, Lennon.

After reported relationships with Ally McCoist,^[13] Calum Best, David Walliams, Matt Holbrook, and in 2005 with Jean-Christophe Novelli, Kensit began dating rap artist and beatboxer Killa Kela. They split up after a year, with Kensit stating that she did not see a future with Killa.^[14]

Kensit later became involved with the DJ Jeremy Healy and announced that she was marrying for a fourth time on 29 November 2007.^[15] On 31 March 2008 it was reported that the pair had split by mutual consent and had called off their wedding.^[16] They eventually married on 18 April 2009, in an event covered by a magazine,^[17] but the Daily Mail reported in February 2010 that the couple had separated.^[18] Kensit has vowed never to marry again following this split, describing it as "embarrassing and humiliating".^[19] "This year has been truly, truly awful. I lost my confidence....... But I'm looking forward now, with one million per cent conviction, that I definitely won't be getting married again." she told She magazine.^[19]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Patsy Kensit

• United Agents, the literary and talent agency UnitedAgents.co.uk
• Patsy Kensit at the Internet Movie Database
• Models 1: Patsy Kensit Models1.co.uk
• Patsy Kensit profile Biogs.com
• Patsy Kensit RadioTimes.com