Look up Gemma or gemma in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Gemma may refer to:

In science:

• Gemma (botany), an asexual reproductive structure in plants and fungi
• (Gemma), a genus of clam in the family Veneridae; see amethyst gem clam
• Gemma (star), the traditional name for the binary star Alpha Coronae Borealis in the constellation of Corona Borealis

People:

A given female name meaning "jewel" or "precious stone" which peaked in popularity in the United Kingdom during the 1980s. It was the third most popular female name in 1984, but had fallen out of the top 10 within a decade and by 2003 it wasn't even in the top 100.^[1]

Notable people with the name Gemma include -

• Gemma Arterton (born 1986), English actress
• Gemma Atkinson, English actress and model
• Gemma Beadsworth, Australian water polo player
• Gemma Bissix, English actress
• Gemma Bond, American ballet dancer
• Gemma Craven, Irish actress
• Gemma di Manetto Donati, the wife of Dante Alighieri
• Gemma Doyle (politician), British Labour Party politician
• Gemma Frisius (1508–1555), Frisian mathematician, cartographer and instrument maker
• Gemma Galgani (1878–1903), Italian mystic with signs of stigmata, venerated in the Roman Catholic Church as a saint
• Gemma Hayes, Irish singer-songwriter
• Gemma Jones, English actress
• Gemma Sanderson, Australian model and the winner of Australia's Next Top Model, Cycle 1
• Gemma Ward, Australian model
• Giuliano Gemma (born 1938), Italian actor, also known from several Spaghetti Westerns as Montgomery Wood

In fiction:

• The name of one of the characters in the children's Hospital Radio series "The Space Gypsy Adventures", narrated by John Leeson
• The title character of a four volume series in the genre of children's literature written by Noel Streatfeild
• Gemma of Syr, Princess of Ossetia, is a fictional character in Melanie Rawn's Dragon Prince series
• Gemma Doyle, heroine of Libba Bray's novels A Great and Terrible Beauty, Rebel Angels, and The Sweet Far Thing, see List of Gemma Doyle Trilogy characters
• Gemma, (gemmers19), a fictional girl in the lonelygirl15 universe
• Gemma, first series of the Sky One supernatural Television series Hex in the United Kingdom
• In the Dragonriders of Pern series by Anne McCaffrey, the book Dragonflight features Lady Gemma, the main wife of the main character's enemy, Lord Fax; she bears the next lord of Ruatha hold
• Gemma Teller Morrow, a character in "Sons of Anarchy"
• Gemma Warren, heroine of The Gadfly
• Gemma, the Silver Ranger in the television show Power Rangers: RPM

Works:

• Losing Gemma, a 2006 UK television drama based on a novel by Katy Gardner

Organization:

• Gemma (organization), an English organization for disabled lesbians

Religion:

• Gemma is Arabic for Friday, the holy day of the week in Islam

Ships

• MV Gemma, a Dutch coastal tanker lost in 1951.
• SS Gemma, a German cargo ship in service during 1928

References[link]

1. ^ [1]

See also[link]

• All pages beginning with "Gemma"
• Emma (name)
• Jemma (name)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Gemma Atkinson
Gemma Atkinson in 2006
Born	Gemma Louise Atkinson (1984-11-16) 16 November 1984 (age 27)[1] Bury, Greater Manchester, England
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Hair colour	Brunette (often Blonde)
Eye colour	Green
Measurements	36E-24-36 [1]
Dress size	10 (UK)
Website
http://www.gemmaatkinson.tv/

Gemma Atkinson in 2009

Gemma Louise Atkinson (born 16 November 1984 in Bury, Greater Manchester) is an English actress, television personality and glamour and lingerie model.

Personal life[link]

Originally from Bury, Greater Manchester, Atkinson took her GCSEs at Castlebrook High School before becoming a commercial and photographic model.

Atkinson was engaged to Marcus Bent but they have since split up.^[2]

Acting career[link]

Atkinson rose to fame playing Lisa Hunter on the Channel 4 teenage soap opera Hollyoaks. Atkinson and Marcus Patric (who played the character Ben Davies) subsequently appeared in a "spin-off" series called Hollyoaks: Let Loose for E4, in which their characters started a new life together in Chester. This was followed by Hollyoaks: In the City, also screened on E4.

Atkinson made her debut video game appearance in Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 (2008) in the role of Lt. Eva McKenna,^[3] which she reprised in Command & Conquer Red Alert 3: Uprising (2009). She also took part in EA's "Be The One" event in Trafalgar Square on 29 October 2008, which forms part of the London Games Festival.^[4]

Atkinson has also played Goldie Lookin Chain's love interest in the music video for the single "R'n'B" and featured on the cover of the CD single release.^[5]

In theatre, Atkinson appeared in Peter Pan at the Manchester Opera House in December 2008. She took the title role alongside John Thomson who played Captain Hook.^[6]

Other TV roles included appearing as herself in the pilot for Plus One, part of the pilot series Comedy Showcase in October 2009. In early April 2009 she finished filming for an episode of The Bill. She plays Ria Crossley the girlfriend of a drug dealer.

In film, Atkinson has appeared in the British independent film Boogie Woogie,^[7] which premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in June 2009.^[8] She has done filming for a forthcoming horror film called 13Hrs^[9] in February 2009 and a new UK gangster film called Baseline^[10] in March 2009.

Atkinson appeared in the West End production of Tim Firth's Calendar Girls at the Noël Coward Theatre, from July 28 to October 17 where she played the character of Elaine.^[11]

Atkinson also went on tour with Calendar Girls, she played Celia aka Miss September in the production. The January to April 2010 tour of Calendar Girls also starred Lynda Bellingham, Judith Barker, Debbie Chazen, Letitia Dean and Jan Harvey.

Atkinson played the lead female role, Belinda, in Neil LaBute's play This Is How It Goes at The King's Head Theatre in Islington, London from Sept 7th - Oct 3rd 2010.

In 2010 she appeared in the film The Sweet Shop, a romantic comedy about a Hollywood superstar and a small town sweetshop owner.^[12]

She finished filming in Dec 2010 on the romantic comedy How to Stop Being a Loser with Richard E. Grant, Jill Halfpenny and Pamela Anderson produced by 'Press On Features Ltd'.The film is due out in October 2011.^[13]

At the beginning of May 2011 Atkinson started filming for her part in BBC medical drama Casualty. She played the part of Tamzin, a paramedic. Atkinson appeared onscreen from Sat 13 August 2011, but had confirmed on Twitter that she was only there for 10 weeks (10 episodes)^[14] She left the show on 1st October 2011, after her sixth appearance. It has been announced that she is rejoining the series, again playing Tamzin.

The premiere of Atkinson's latest film How to Stop Being a Loser took place on 14th Nov 2011.^[15]

Her upcoming film Airborne is still in post-production. A first version has been displayed at the 2011 The Cannes Film Festival. ^[16]

Atkinson started filming her next project on 2 Dec 2011. It is a remake of Night of the Living Dead, which is to be shot in a 3-D format. She plays Barbara, the main female character.^{[citation needed]}

Atkinson finished filming the movie The Dyatlov Pass Incident in March 2012...It is a film directed by Renny Harlin. ^[17]

Atkinson has just started filming for BBC1s Casualty.She was initially on the show for three months last year 2011, but she confirmed via Twitter that she is currently filming new episodes in Cardiff. She's filming until August 2012.^[18]

TV personality[link]

Atkinson has appeared as a contestant on reality TV series such as I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, Celebrity Weakest Link (with Marcus Patric) in December 2006, Celebrity MasterChef and ITV1's Soapstar Superstar in January 2007. She reached the last four stage of Soapstar Superstar.^[19]

Songs performed on Soapstar Superstar:

• Day 1: "Who Knew" (Pink)
• Day 2: "Fields of Gold" (Eva Cassidy)
• Day 3: "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" (Arrows)
• Day 4: "Love at First Sight" (Kylie Minogue)
• Day 5: "You're Still the One" (Shania Twain)
• Day 6: "Brass in Pocket" (The Pretenders); Pink Medley: "Just like a Pill"/"Feel Good Time"/"Last to Know"

In November 2007, she appeared on ITV1 in I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! in Australia, coming fifth in the competition.

In January 2008, Atkinson appeared on Celebrity Mastermind, with Marcus Patric.

On 15/16 March 2008, Atkinson co-presented the Play.com Live gaming expo at Wembley Stadium with Virgin Radio presenter Iain Lee.

Atkinson and her family appeared on All Star Family Fortunes on 20 September 2008, competing against Antony Cotton and his family. The Atkinsons did not win the show; however, Gemma was given £1,000 for her chosen charity.

On 12 November 2008, she appeared in Jack Osbourne's ITV2 show Adrenaline Junkie filmed in South Africa. She did a bungee jump, a skydive, a glider flight and swam with great white sharks.

Glamour modelling[link]

In early 2006, Atkinson underwent breast enlargement surgery, which took her bra size to a 34E.^[20] She said in an interview that she lost weight due to a fitness regime and her bust size declined and that the surgery then gave them the original shape they once had.^[21]

Since launching her parallel career as a glamour model, Atkinson has appeared in provocative photoshoots in lingerie and swimwear, for men's magazines such as Arena, FHM, Loaded, Maxim, Zoo and Nuts. In October 2006, she appeared in three of the aforementioned magazines in one month, becoming one of the most prolific celebrity glamour models in the UK. She has also released calendars yearly since 2006, with the 2008 and 2009 being shot in Thailand .^[22]

Since 2006, she has appeared in FHM's 100 Sexiest Women list, debuting at number 32 in 2006;^[23] following her appearance on the cover of FHM, she moved up to 23 in 2007;^[23] rising again to 18 in 2008^[23] and falling to 81 in 2009.^[24] She ranked number 46 in AskMen.com's 99 Sexiest Women of 2008.^[25]

Promotional work[link]

Atkinson has undertaken a wide range of promotional work; she was the female face of the 2007 British Grand Prix^[26] and worked for the Orange promotion "On Yer Bike London" prior to the Tour De France.^[27]

She has also modelled for lingerie brands, including being the face of La Senza^[28] and Ultimo's D-G range.^[29] She opened Ultimo stores within Debenhams branches in London,^[30] Belfast and Glasgow.

Charity work[link]

In September 2007, Atkinson did a 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) charity run for breast cancer awareness.

She embarked upon a 228 kilometres (142 mi) walk along the Great Wall of China in April 2008, as part of a charity event organised by Olivia Newton-John's breast cancer awareness charity. She was joined on her section of the walk by celebrities Marcus Patric and Ant and Dec amongst others. The walk was intended to symbolise the steps cancer patients must take on their road to recovery.^[31]

Atkinson visited The Home and Garden Show at Chester Racecourse on 5 June 2008 to unveil the room she designed with furniture store owner Arighi Bianchi which would be suitable for teenagers in conjunction with the Teenage Cancer Trust charity. Her room design later won first prize and she collected a trophy for her efforts. It was created in association with Teenage Cancer Trust (TCT), the Home and Garden Show's official charity, and the design will now be incorporated into the TCT unit at Christie Hospital, Manchester. Atkinson has also been asked to become a full ambassador for the TCT charity.

On 8 January 2009, Atkinson was at Spinningfields in Manchester helping to launch The Great Manchester Run, a 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) run for charity that took place on 17 May 2009. At the launch, she was joined by singer Russell Watson, and actors Anthony Cotton and Britt Ekland. Atkinson ran to raise funds for the New Children's Hospital appeal.^[32] She finished the 10k run on 17 May 2009 with a time of 1 hour 6 mins.

In May 2010 Atkinson again took part in the Great Manchester Run, she was competing on behalf of Manchester's The Christie hospital. She hoped to beat her time from the previous year's run of 1 hour 6 mins. She ran a time of 57 minutes, beating her 2009 time by 9 minutes.

In May 2011 Atkinson again took part in the Great Manchester Run, she was competing on behalf of Manchester's The Christie hospital. She again beat her previous years time. She did the run in 55 minutes.

Filmography[link]

See also[link]

• List of glamour models

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Gemma Atkinson

• Gemma Atkinson at the Internet Movie Database
• Official website

Gemma Hayes
Background information
Born	(1977-08-11) 11 August 1977 (age 34)
Origin	Ballyporeen, Tipperary, Ireland
Genres	Alternative rock, indie rock, folk
Years active	2001–present
Labels	Source Records (2001–2005)[1] Second Motion Records (2008–present) Fullfill Music (2012-present)
Website	http://www.gemmahayes.com

Gemma Claire Hayes (born 11 August 1977, Ballyporeen, Tipperary, Ireland) is an Irish singer-songwriter and member of The Cake Sale.

Early life[link]

One of eight children, Hayes was surrounded by music from an early age, both from any of her seven siblings' bedrooms and being played by her father, a keyboardist in a local band. By the time she left for boarding school in County Limerick, Hayes was already proficient at piano and found that the music used to counter the boredom of living in a small village.^[2] Although she enrolled at University in Dublin, Hayes soon left to concentrate on music, working part-time in a laundrette during the day and playing the city's circuit at night.^[1]

Music career[link]

Hayes signed to the French independent record label, Source Records in 2001, and issued the 4.35am EP and the Work to a Calm EP before releasing her debut album, Night on my Side, in 2002.^[1] In 2002 she won Best Female Singer at the Hot Press Awards. The album was nominated for the 2003 Mercury Prize but lost out to Ms. Dynamite's, A Little Deeper.^[1] After touring Night on my Side Hayes took two years out from the music industry; "All I do know is that I didn't want to listen to music at all. I stopped listening to the radio. It was like I'd overdosed on music".^[3]

In late 2005, Hayes returned with her second album, The Roads Don't Love You, and picked up the Best Irish Female Artist award at the 2006 Meteor Ireland Music Awards, while completing a small tour of Ireland and the United Kingdom. Shortly after this she left Source Records parent company EMI-Virgin as EMI-Virgin was undergoing an overhaul of artists and bands.^[1] During this time Hayes co-wrote the song "Hazy" with Adam Duritz.

On 14 August 2006 Hayes announced, via her MySpace profile,^[4] that she had begun work on her third album in the Black Box Studios in France, to be produced by her former guitarist, David Odlum.^[1] Hayes posted demo versions of a few of the songs on MySpace during recording, including "Out of Our Hands", "Home", and "This Is What You Do".

Gemma Hayes kicking off The Hollow of Morning tour at Cyprus Avenue, Cork City 22 April 2008

Hayes' third album The Hollow of Morning was independently-released on 2 May 2008 in Ireland, and debuted at number 12 in the Irish Albums Chart.^[1] Following this she signed a recording contract with the United States record label, Second Motion where The Hollow of Morning was released in the US on 30 September 2008. Second Motion works with Daniel Lanois, Adam Franklin of Swervedriver, Brian Vander Ark and others.

Whilst on her 2008 UK tour, Hayes announced that she planned to release an acoustic album by the end of 2008, thought the album has never surfaced. During this time during some promotional work and touring Hayes confirmed that she would start recording her fourth album in August 2008.^[5]

In January 2009, it was announced that Hayes had been nominated for Best Irish Female, at the 2009 Meteor Ireland Music Awards, which took place on 17 March 2009 in Dublin. She lost out to Imelda May. On 13 February 2009 she released her new music video for the song "Home" on Myspace; the track was from her 2008 release The Hollow of Morning. On 19 February 2009 she performed at the Oscar Wilde party in Los Angeles, California. The annual event takes place days before the Oscars, and celebrates the best of Irish popular culture.

On 22 February 2009 it was stated on her website that her new EP Oliver will be available for purchase on 9 March 2009.^[6][7] However, it was subsequently announced on Myspace on 9 March that the EP's release had been delayed. A new track called "Ghost" appeared on Myspace the same day.

On 13 March 2009 Oliver was released on iTunes.

On 14 April 2009 it was announced on her Myspace blog ^[8] that Hayes began to write new material for the next album.

On 3 September 2009 Gemma performed at the 2012 stage at the 2009 Århus Festival.^[9] Her set-list featured new songs Waiting for You and Shock to the System.

On 20 October 2009 Gemma confirmed through her Twitter page that she was recording new material in France in the Blackbox studios.^[10]

On 19 November 2009 Gemma began a short European tour with performances in Austria, Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom. During these tour dates Gemma played new songs including Tokyo, Waiting for You and Shock to the System. At her gig in Cork on 3 December, Gemma performed a cover of Kate Bush' "Cloudbusting".

On 22 December 2009 Gemma released her cover of "Cloudbusting" for free from her website.^[11]

In March 2010, Gemma featured on Ceol 2010^[12] a special album in the Irish language. Gemma previously appeared on Ceol 2007. On the Ceol 2010 album Gemma's song Rith me go Crich appeared on the album alongside Bell X1, Kila, The Walls.

Gemma Hayes originally stated on Irish music site Muzu TV that her yet to be titled fourth album would be released in September 2010.^{[13][dated info]}. However, in October 2010 on Tom Dunne's radio show on Newstalk 106-108, Gemma Hayes said that her new album will not be released until early 2011.^[14] In an interview with Irish music website State.ie she confirmed that the album would be released in mid-Spring 2011 either late February or March.^[15]

Gemma Hayes has written some original music for the 2010 movie Janie Jones, by writer/director David M. Rosenthal. Abigail Breslin sings and plays her music. The three songs to appear in the film will include Just a Game, Fight for Me and Hurricane.^[16]

Gemma Hayes returned to live performances in autumn 2010. She launched her autumn tour in Cork City, Ireland were she performed some new tracks which included Noise, Hurricane and Beside Me.

On Thursday, 13 February 2011, Gemma Hayes confirmed on RTE Radio 1's Today with Pat Kenny that her fourth studio album would be released sometime in May 2011 and that she would tour Ireland in early summer 2011.^[17] It was later confirmed on gemmahayes.com that the fourth album is due for May release with a single due mid-Spring as recording in Ireland and France neared completion.^[11] Gemma confirmed that 'Shock to the System' will appear on the album.^[18] On 15 March 2011 Gemma confirmed on her Twitter account that a track called Noise will feature on the album.^[19] On 10 April 2011 Gemma confirmed through her website that the new album will be released on 27 May 2011 in Ireland.^{[dated info]} The album will be called Let It Break.

Gemma confirmed that she has written two songs for Michael Uppendahl (director of US TV series Mad Men, Weeds, and Becker) for a forthcoming film directed by him.^[20]

On 11 October 2011 the soundtrack to Janie Jones is released in Europe and Australia. The album features three tracks written by Gemma Hayes. It also features the studio version of 'Waiting for You' which Gemma played as a promo track and on her tours throughout 2010 and 2011.

Hayes revealed in an interview with Evening Echo's 'Downtown' published on Thursday, 16 February 2012 that she has recorded a version of Chris Isaak's 'Wicked Game' which is to feature in a future episode of US Teen drama 'Pretty Little Liars'. The song also featured on her 2012 tour playlist.^[21]

It has been confirmed that Hayes will appear on Paul Noonan's debut solo album.^[22] Noonan has previously worked on Hayes' previous albums.

On 1 March 2012 gemmahayes.com confirmed her cover of "Wicked Games" will appear on Pretty Little Liars on 12 March and will be available to download as a single.^[23]

Popular culture[link]

This "In popular culture" section may contain minor or trivial references. Please reorganize this content to explain the subject's impact on popular culture rather than simply listing appearances, and remove trivial references. (May 2012)

• "Wicked Game", originally by Chris Isaak, covered by Gemma Hayes was featured in ABC Family's Pretty Little Liars second season. It appeared at the end of the 24th episode.
• "Sad Ol' Song" and "Chasing Dragons" featured in the final episode of Season 3 of RTÉ One's Raw on 13 February 2011.
• "Brittle Winter" featured on ABC Family's Pretty Little Liars.^[24]
• "Out Of Our Hands" taken from Hollow of Morning featured in episode "The Return" of season 2 of Vampire Diaries.^[25]
• "November" taken from the Oliver EP featured on US drama series One Tree Hill. The song featured on the episode "At the Bottom of Everything".^[26] The episode was broadcast on Monday 15 February 2010 on CW.^[11]
• "Sad Ol Song" a track from The Hollow of Morning featured on episode 6 of RTÉ drama series RAW first broadcasted on RTÉ One on Sunday 14 February 2010.^[27]
• "Under a Canopy" a track from The Hollow of Morning album featured on episode 5 of RTÉ drama series RAW first broadcasted on RTÉ One on Sunday 7 February 2010.^[27]
• Her song "Chasing Dragons" was featured on Private Practice episode 301: "A Death in the Family" which first aired on ABC on 6 October 2009.^[28]
• Her song "Out of Our Hands" was featured in ER episode "T-Minus-6" (from Season 15) which aired on 26 February 2009 on NBC, 10 May 2009 on RTÉ One.,^[29] and in the episode "Bad Moon Rising" on the CW show The Vampire Diaries on 23 September 2010.
• The song "Two Step" was featured in a season 2 episode of the hit TV show Grey's Anatomy.^[30]
• She was also featured in a duet with Norwegian singer Magnet on a Bob Dylan cover, "Lay Lady Lay" in the 2005 feature film Mr. & Mrs. Smith.^[31]
• Hayes was on the Ceol '07 album, which was released on 2 March 2007, singing "Rith Mé Go Crích", an Irish language version of "Ran For Miles", which originally appeared on Night on my Side. Other Irish artists who appeared included Bell X1 and Paddy Casey.^[32] The track "Rith Mé Go Crích" reappeared on Ceol 2010 which was released in 2010.
• She appeared on the cover of the June 2008 edition of State magazine.^[33]
• "4:35am" appeared in the 2006 film, Flicka.^[34]
• She dueted with Julian Lennon on "Faithful" from his album Photograph Smile.

Discography[link]

• Night on My Side (2002)
• The Roads Don't Love You (2005)
• The Hollow of Morning (2008)
• Let It Break (2011)

Awards[link]

• 2001 - Best Female Artist - Hot Press Awards - Winner
• 2002 - Mercury Prize - Nomination
• 2003 - Irish Tatler Woman of the Year Music Award
• 2006 - Best Irish Female Artist - Meteor Ireland Music Awards - Winner
• 2009 - Best Irish Female Artist - Meteor Ireland Music Awards - Nomination
• 2009 - Best Solo Female - Irish Music Television: Video Music Awards - Home (Video) - Nomination ^[35]

See also[link]

• The Cake Sale
• List of singer-songwriters
• List of dream pop artists
• List of artists who have released Irish language songs
• List of Irish people

References[link]

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2012)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Gemma Hayes

External links[link]

• Official website
• Gemma Hayes at the Internet Movie Database
• Gemma Hayes at Irish Music Central

Katey Sagal
Katey Sagal, at the San Diego Comic-Con International, in July 2010.
Born	Catherine Louise Sagal (1954-01-19) January 19, 1954 (age 58)[1] Hollywood, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, singer-songwriter
Years active	1971–present
Spouse	Freddy Beckmeier (m. 1977–1981) Jack White (m. 1993–2000; 2 children) Kurt Sutter (m. 2004–present; 1 child)
Children	2 daughters and one son
Website
www.kateysagal.net

Catherine Louise "Katey" Sagal (born January 19, 1954) is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She first achieved widespread fame as Peggy Bundy on the long-running Fox comedy series Married... with Children, for which she was nominated for four Golden Globe Awards for Best Actress in a Comedy Television Series and two American Comedy Awards during the show's run.

Sagal also voices the character of Leela on the animated series Futurama and its related direct-to-DVD movies since 1999. She is also known for starring on the show 8 Simple Rules in the role of Cate Hennessy, where she worked with John Ritter until his death, leading to Sagal taking over as the series' lead for the remainder of the show's run.

Since 2008, she has played the role of matriarch Gemma Teller Morrow in the FX drama series Sons of Anarchy, for which she won a Golden Globe in 2011. She has been married to the show's creator, Kurt Sutter, since 2004.

Early life[link]

Sagal was born in California to a show business family of five children,^[2] including younger sisters Jean and Liz Sagal, a pair of twin actresses, and actor Joe Sagal. Her mother, Sara Zwilling, a writer and producer, died of heart disease, and her father, Boris Sagal, a director,^[3] died in an accident on the set of the television movie World War III.^[2] Sagal and her siblings grew up in Brentwood, Los Angeles.^[2]

Career[link]

Sagal began her career in Hollywood, appearing in several made for TV movies between 1971 and 1975, including a small role as a receptionist in the Columbo installment Candidate for Crime (directed by her father) and in 1973 working as a backing vocalist for various singers, including Bob Dylan and Tanya Tucker.

In 1978, Kiss bassist Gene Simmons asked her to sing background vocals on his self-titled solo album. During this time she was also a member of the rock group The Group With No Name. She also sang backup for Bette Midler, who hired her for her 1979 tour as one of The Harlettes. In 1981, Sagal appeared as a backup singer on the Molly Hatchet album Take No Prisoners.

Sagal returned to television in 1985 in the series Mary starring Mary Tyler Moore. This led to her being cast as Peggy Bundy on the sitcom Married... with Children (1987–1997). She portrayed the lower-class, sex-starved wife of shoe salesman Al Bundy. During her audition for the role, Sagal brought her own red bouffant wig and with the producers' approval, the look transitioned into the show. As Peg, she wore the wig, capri-length leggings with a large belt, and high slip-on heels, which were all fashion styles from the 1960s. The series ran for eleven years.

After the end of Married... with Children, several more television films followed, and she also contributed to the children's cartoon Recess as the voice of Spinelli's mother. In 1999, Matt Groening cast her as the purple-haired, cyclopian spaceship captain, Leela, in his science fiction cartoon comedy Futurama. The show developed a cult following, but was canceled after five seasons.^[4] However, airings in syndication on Adult Swim^[5] and Comedy Central^[6] increased the show's popularity and led Comedy Central to commission a series of Futurama direct-to-DVD films, which the network later rebroadcast as 16 episodes.^[7] She reprised her role as Leela in these films, and in the new season that began airing June 24, 2010.^[8]

Sagal guest starred as Edna Hyde, Steven Hyde's mother, in three episodes of That '70s Show. She starred in the short-lived NBC sitcom Tucker the following year.

She was cast as the wife of John Ritter in the sitcom 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter in 2002. Ritter had completed only three episodes of the second season of 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter before his death. The show was cancelled in 2005 after its third season.

In 2005, she made two appearances on Lost as Helen Norwood. In 2007, she had a role in the season finale of The Winner as Glen Abbot's former, and Josh's current, teacher, with whom Glen has his first sexual experience. The following year, she appeared in four episodes of the short-lived series Eli Stone. She currently stars as Gemma Teller Morrow on the TV show Sons of Anarchy, created by her husband, Kurt Sutter.

In January 2009, Sagal reunited with her TV son David Faustino (Bud Bundy from Married with Children) for an episode of Faustino's show Star-ving.^[9] In 2010, she appeared twice more on Lost. In 2009 she starred in the film House Broken with Danny DeVito.

In 2010, she returned to the stage in Randy Newman's musical Harps & Angels.^[10]

Musical career[link]

Sagal is also a songwriter. In 1976, while a member of The Group With No Name, she contributed to the album Moon over Brooklyn. She was a member of Bette Midler's backup group The Harlettes in 1978, and again from 1982–83.^[11] She performed backing vocals on the self-titled solo album by Gene Simmons as well as background vocals on Olivia Newton-John's 1985 single "Soul Kiss". Sagal also provided the vocals for "Loose Cannons", the theme song for the movie featuring Gene Hackman and Dan Aykroyd in 1990. The song featured her singing most of the song, while Aykroyd sang the chorus and had some background impersonations from the movie.

On April 19, 1994, she released her first solo album, Well... On June 1, 2004, she released her second album, Room.^[12] She has also contributed to the Sons of Anarchy soundtrack.^[13]

Personal life[link]

Sagal was married to German American musician Freddie Beckmeier (1978–1981) and country music drummer Jack White (November 26, 1993–July 24, 2000). In 1991, Sagal learned she was pregnant. This was unexpected by the directors of Married... with Children, so the pregnancy was written into the storyline of the show. However, in October 1991, she had to have an emergency Caesarean section in her seventh month of pregnancy, ending in the stillbirth of a daughter. The pregnancy on the show was then regarded as a "dream", which was mentioned only briefly at the end of the episode "Al Bundy, Shoe Dick". She also had an early miscarriage around this time. She and White eventually had two children. The writers of Married... with Children deliberately didn't write Sagal's two later pregnancies into the show due to the earlier stillbirth, opting instead to shoot her in instances where her midsection was obscured, such as in a taxicab or at a craps table in Las Vegas.^[14]

Sagal married writer-producer Kurt Sutter in a private ceremony on October 2, 2004, at their home in Los Feliz, California. They have a daughter, who was born through a surrogate mother.^[15]

Filmography[link]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Katey Sagal

• Official website
• Katey Sagal on Twitter
• Katey Sagal at the Internet Movie Database
• Katey Sagal cast bio on The WB

Gemma Galgani
"The Flower of Lucca" and "The Virgin of Lucca"
Born	(1878-03-12)March 12, 1878 Borgo Nuovo, Camigliano, Italy
Died	April 11, 1903(1903-04-11) (aged 25) Lucca, Italy
Honored in	Roman Catholic Church
Beatified	May 14, 1933 by Pope Pius XI
Canonized	May 2, 1940, Saint Peter's Basilica, Vatican City by Pope Pius XII
Major shrine	Passionist Monastery in Lucca, Italy
Feast	April 11 (celebrated by Passionists on May 16)
Attributes	Passionist robe, flowers (lilies and roses), guardian angel, stigmata, heavenward gaze
Patronage	Students, pharmacists, tuberculosis patients, love, hope, spinal injury
Controversy	Visions, stigmata, ecstasy

Maria Gemma Umberta Pia Galgani (March 12, 1878 – April 11, 1903) was an Italian mystic, venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church since 1940.^[1] She has been called the "Daughter of Passion" because of her profound imitation of the Passion of Christ.^[2]

Early life[link]

Maria Gemma Umberta Pia Galgani (or Gemma Galgani as she became commonly known) was born on March 12, 1878, in the hamlet of Borgo Nuovo in the provincial town of Capannori. Gemma was the fifth of eight children; her father, Enrico Galgani, was a prosperous pharmacist.

Soon after Gemma's birth, the family relocated north from Borgo Nuovo to a large new home in the Tuscan city of Lucca in a move which was undertaken to facilitate an improvement in the children's education. Gemma's mother, Aurelia Galgani, contracted tuberculosis. Because of this hardship, Gemma was placed in a private nursery school run by Elena and Ersilia Vallini when she was two-and-a-half years old, and was regarded as a highly intelligent child.^[1]

Several members of the Galgani family died during this period. Their firstborn child, Carlo, died at an early age. On September 17, 1885, Aurelia Galgani died from tuberculosis, which she had for five years. Gemma's beloved brother Gino, while studying for the priesthood, died from tuberculosis and her little sister Giulia also died at a young age.^[1]

Education[link]

Gemma was sent to a Catholic half-boarding school in Lucca run by the Sisters of St. Zita. She was excelled in French, arithmetic and music . Gemma was allowed at age nine to receive her first communion. Later she was not accepted by the Passionists to become a nun because of her poor health and her visions. At age 20, Gemma developed spinal meningitis, but was healed, attributing her extraordinary cure to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through the intercession of Venerable Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows (later canonized a saint), and Saint Marguerite Marie Alacoque.^[1]

Gemma was orphaned shortly after she turned 18, making her responsible for the upbringing of her younger siblings, which she did with her aunt Carolina. She declined two marriage proposals and became a housekeeper with the Giannini family.^[1]

Mysticism[link]

According to a biography written by her spiritual director, the Reverend Germanus Ruoppolo, CP (now a venerable), Gemma began to display signs of the stigmata on June 8, 1899, at the age of twenty-one. She stated that she had spoken with her guardian angel, Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and other saints—especially Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows. According to her testimonies, she sometimes received special messages from them about current or future events. With her health in decline, Ruoppolo directed her to pray for the disappearance of her stigmata; she did so and the marks ceased.^[1] . She said that she resisted the Devil's attacks often.

Gemma was frequently found in a state of ecstasy. She has also been reputed to levitate. In one instance, in the dining room of her home was a large crucifix that was highly venerated by the whole family, particularly by Gemma. She claimed that at least once that she found herself raised from the floor with her arms around the crucifix while kissing the wound on the side of the crucified.^[3]

Stigmata[link]

Gemma Galgani at age 7 (right)

Saint Gemma was one of the recipients of the Holy Wounds of Christ. She tells what took place when she received the Holy Stigmata on June 8 in the year 1899, a Thursday, on the eve of the feast of the Sacred Heart. The Saint discloses:

"I felt an inward sorrow for my sins, but so intense that I have never felt the like again . . . My will made me detest them all, and promise willingly to suffer everything as expiation for them. Then the thoughts crowded thickly within me, and they were thoughts of sorrow, love, fear, hope and comfort."

Saint Gemma then experienced a rapture in which she saw her guardian angel in the company of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Saint Gemma tells what took place next:

"The Blessed Virgin Mary opened her mantle and covered me with it. At that very moment Jesus appeared with his wounds all open; blood was not flowing from them, but flames of fire which in one moment came and touched my hands, feet and heart. I felt I was dying, and should have fallen down but for my Mother (Blessed Virgin Mary) who supported me and kept me under her mantle. Thus I remained for several hours. Then my Mother kissed my forehead, the vision disappeared and I found myself on my knees; but I still had a keen pain in my hands, feet and heart. I got up to get into bed and saw that blood was coming from the places where I had the pain. I covered them as well as I could and then, helped by my guardian angel, got into bed." ^[4]

Reception[link]

A series of articles on Christian mysticism
Articles Aspects of meditation • Christian meditation • Contemplative prayer • Hesychasm • Mystical theology • Reflection on the New Age Early period Gregory of Nyssa • Bernard of Clairvaux • Guigo II 13th and 14th centuries Francis of Assisi • Dominic de Guzmán • Bonaventure • Catherine of Siena 15th and 16th centuries Ignatius of Loyola • Francisco de Osuna • John of Avila • Teresa of Avila • John of the Cross 17th and 18th centuries Francis de Sales • Pierre de Bérulle 19th century Therese of Lisieux • Gemma Galgani • Conchita de Armida 20th century Maria Valtorta • Faustina Kowalska • Thomas Merton

Family and public[link]

Gemma was well-known in the vicinity of Lucca before her death, especially to those in poverty. Opinions of her were divided. Some people admired her extraordinary virtues and referred to her as The Virgin of Lucca out of pious respect and admiration. Others mocked her (including her younger sister, Angelina, who apparently used to make fun of Gemma during such experiences, and during Gemma's canonization process was deemed as 'unfit' to testify due to accusations of attempting profit from Gemma's reputation). In light of the extraordinary events surrounding her life, some skeptics thought that she had a mental illness.

Church[link]

Gemma was often treated with disdain by some in the Church's hierarchy; even her own confessor was at times skeptical of her mystical gifts. Her spiritual director, the Reverend Ruoppolo, was initially reserved, but after a thorough and prudent examination of the ongoing events surrounding her, he became completely convinced of the authenticity of her mystical life. After her death, he wrote a detailed biography of her life and was responsible for gathering all her writings, including her diary, autobiography, and letters.

In early 1903, Gemma was diagnosed with tuberculosis, and thus began a long and often painful death. There were numerous extraordinary mystical phenomena that occurred during her final illness. One of the religious nursing sisters who attended to her stated, "We have cared for a good many sick people, but we have never seen anything like this." At the beginning of Holy Week 1903, her health quickly deteriorated, and by Good Friday she was suffering tremendously. Gemma died in a small room across from the Giannini house on April 11, 1903—Holy Saturday. After a thorough examination of her life by the Church, she was beatified in 1933 and canonized in 1940. Galgani's relics are housed at the Passionist monastery in Lucca, Italy.

She was beatified within 30 years from the date of her death which included the mandatory five years waiting period before the process of canonization starts. Very few in the Catholic Church have had sainthood conferred on them this quickly.

As one of the most popular saints of the Passionist Order, the devotion to Gemma Galgani is particularly strong both in Italy and Latin America. She is a patron saint of students (said to be the top of her class before having to leave school) and of pharmacists.

Bibliography[link]

• The Life of St. Gemma Galgani by Germanus 2009 TAN Books ISBN 0-89555-669-3

References[link]

Sources[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Gemma Galgani

Spirituality portal

• Orsi, Robert A.; "Two Aspects of One Life: Saint Gemma Galgani and My Grandmother in the Wound between Devotion and History, the Natural and the Supernatural," in Between Heaven and Earth: The Religious Worlds People Make and the Scholars Who Study Them (Princeton University Press, 2005), 110–45.