Collette is a surname or given name, and may refer to:

Surname

• Buddy Collette (born 1921), American jazz musician
• Ned Collette, Australian singer/songwriter
• Toni Collette (born 1972), Australian actress

Given name

• Collette Roberts, Australian singer, who performed under the stage name Collette
• Collette Cassidy, former primetime newsbreak anchor for MSNBC

Songs about Collette[link]

• Collette by The Durutti Column from the album The Return of the Durutti Column

See also[link]

• Colette (disambiguation)
• Collett (disambiguation)

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.

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. (July 2009)

Graham Norton
Norton in May 2010
Birth name	Graham William Walker
Born	(1963-04-04) 4 April 1963 (age 49) Clondalkin, Dublin, Ireland
Medium	Television, radio, stand-up
Nationality	Irish
Years active	1992–present
Genres	Observational comedy
Subject(s)	Everyday life, pop culture, current events, celebrities, sex
Notable works and roles	So Graham Norton V Graham Norton The Graham Norton Effect Graham Norton's Bigger Picture The Graham Norton Show

Graham William Walker, known by his stage name Graham Norton, (born 4 April 1963)^[1] is an Irish actor, comedian, television presenter and columnist. He is the host of comedy chat programme The Graham Norton Show on BBC One in the UK and BBC America in the US. Hot Press has described him as "the 21st century's answer to Terry Wogan", with both men sharing an Irish background and the common link of being a BBC Radio 2 presenter and the BBC television commentator of the Eurovision Song Contest.^[2] Norton has won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Entertainment Performance on five occassions.

Early life and career[link]

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

In 1992 his stand-up comedy drag act in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe as a tea-towel clad Mother Teresa of Calcutta made the press when Scottish Television's religious affairs department mistakenly thought he represented the real Mother Teresa.^[3]

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

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

Channel 4[link]

After this early success, Norton moved to Channel 4 to host his own chat shows including So Graham Norton and V Graham Norton. As a performer who is not only openly gay,^[6] but also camp and flamboyant, it was here that Norton's act was fully honed as a cheeky, innuendo-laden joker.

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

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

In the summer of 2004, Norton moved across the Atlantic to start a new venture in American television. The Graham Norton Effect debuted on 24 June 2004 on Comedy Central, and was also broadcast in the UK on BBC Three. In the midst of controversy surrounding Janet Jackson's Super Bowl performance, Norton was wary of moving into the market.^[7]

BBC[link]

Norton at 2009 BAFTA awards

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Eurovision[link]

Norton with Josh Dubovie at the Eurovision Song Contest 2010

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

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

On 5 December 2008 it was announced that Norton would also take over from Wogan as the presenter of the main Eurovision Song Contest.^[8] The 54th Eurovision Song Contest was held in the Olimpiyskiy (Olympic) Stadium, Moscow on 16 May 2009.

Norton's jokes during his debut received some positive reviews from the British media. The Guardian noted his comments on Iceland's entry, which finished in second place, had "rooted around in a cupboard and found an old bridesmaid dress from 1987" and the Armenian singers, who finished in tenth place, were sporting traditional dress, "which would be true if you come from the village where Liberace is the mayor."^[9] The Times noted his highlighting of the arrest of thirty gay rights protesters in Moscow – "heavy-handed policing has really marred what has been a fantastic Eurovision."^[9]

His comment “The bad news is you’re about to watch Albania. She’s only 17 so please bear that in mind. Where was her mother? Why didn’t she step in and say no?” which was made just before Albanian singer Kejsi Tola was set to take the stage dubbed an insult by many, sent ripples of outrage through not only Albania, but also the Albanian population in Britain. He then announced that Albania should get no points and that he didn't care what anybody else thought. There was a petition circling the net calling for a formal apology from Norton. The petition, which called his comment “very rude and insulting,” had drawn over 1,000 signatures. He never responded.^[10]

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

In 2012, Norton joked about the Spanish singer Pastora Soler and the economic situation of Spain. This statements unleashed many bad reviews on the internet. Norton joked about Rona Nishliu (the singer of Albania) too. He said that Rona was a singer that "she shout a lot".

Other[link]

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

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

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

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

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

Since 2009, Norton has been the host of the comedy game-show Most Popular on US cable television channel WE tv.^[11]

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

Personal life[link]

Norton with a dog in 2006, supporting Crusaid.

Norton has stated that he felt "out of place" growing up in Ireland; his family are Protestant yet the Republic of Ireland is overwhelmingly Catholic. Norton took part in the TV programme, Who Do You Think You Are?, to trace his ancestry. It was discovered that his family were originally planters sent over from England to take over Irish land. Some members of his family had fought for the British Monarchy during the Irish Rebellion of 1798 and taken part in a massacre of Catholics in Carnew Castle. Another member of his family was later killed in battle by the United Irishmen. Norton said he was comforted to find out that his family had resided in Ireland for generations.^[12]

In 1989 while living in London, Norton was mugged, beaten and stabbed by a group of attackers on the street. He says he lost half his blood and nearly died, and he was hospitalised for two and a half weeks.^[13][14]

Norton is openly gay.^[6][15][16]

Norton owns a holiday home in Ahakista, County Cork, which is near to where he grew up, in Bandon. The house has a private beach and overlooks Dunmanus Bay.

TV appearances[link]

Main presenting credits[link]

• Carnal Knowledge (TV series, co-presenter) (1996, 27 one hour shows)
• Bring Me the Head of Light Entertainment
• So Graham Norton (1998–2002)
• V Graham Norton (2002–2003)
• NY Graham Norton (2004)
• The Graham Norton Effect (2004–2005)
• Graham Norton's Bigger Picture (2005–2006)
• Strictly Dance Fever (2005–2006)
• BBC/Andrew Lloyd Webber musical theater talent searches (2006–present)
  • How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? (2006)
  • Any Dream Will Do (2007)
  • I'd Do Anything (2008)
  • Over the Rainbow (2010)
• The Big Finish (2006–)
• When Will I Be Famous? (2007)
• The Graham Norton Show (2007–present)
• The British Academy Television Awards (2007)
• Live Earth (2007)
• Eurovision Dance Contest (2007)
• The One and Only (2008)
• Eurovision Dance Contest (2008)
• Eurovision: Your Country Needs You (2009–present)
• Eurovision Song Contest (UK commentator, 2009–present)
• Totally Saturday (2009)
• Most Popular (2009–present)
• Would You Rather...? with Graham Norton (BBC America, 2011–present)

Other television credits[link]

Radio[link]

• Just a Minute

Sitting in for Steve Wright August 2009 BBC Radio 2

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

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

2011/12 Radio 2 Saturday mornings

Filmography[link]

Stand-Up videos[link]

• Live At The Roundhouse (19 November 2001)

Awards[link]

• 1999 : Gaytime Award for Gay Entertainer of the Year
• 2000 : BAFTA Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance – So Graham Norton
• 2001 : BAFTA Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance - So Graham Norton
• 2001 : RTS Television Award for Best Presenter – So Graham Norton
• 2001 : TRIC Award TV Personality of the Year
• 2002 : BAFTA Television Award for Best Entertainment Perfromance - So Graham Norton
• 2011 : BAFTA Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance – The Graham Norton Show ^[17]
• 2012 : BAFTA Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance - The Graham Norton Show

References[link]

External links[link]

• Graham Norton Radio 2 at BBC Programmes
• The Graham Norton Show at BBC Programmes
• Graham Norton at the Internet Movie Database
• Graham Norton at the British Film Institute's Screenonline

Toni Collette
Collette at the Orange British Academy Film Awards, February 2007
Born	Antonia Collette (1972-11-01) 1 November 1972 (age 39) Blacktown, Sydney, Australia
Occupation	Actress, musician
Years active	1992–present
Spouse	Dave Galafassi (2003–present)

Antonia "Toni" Collette (born 1 November 1972) is an Australian actress and musician, known for her acting work on stage, television and film as well as a secondary career as the lead singer of the band Toni Collette & the Finish.

Collette's acting career began in the early 1990s with comedic roles in films such as Spotswood (1992) and Muriel's Wedding (1994), for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress.^[1] Following her performances in Emma (1996) and The Boys (1998), Collette achieved international recognition as a result of her Academy Award-nominated portrayal of Lynn Sear in The Sixth Sense (1999).^[1] She has appeared in thrillers such as Shaft (2000) and Changing Lanes (2002) and independent comedy films like About a Boy (2002), Connie and Carla (2004), In Her Shoes (2005) and Little Miss Sunshine (2006).^[2]

In 2009, she began playing the lead role in the television series United States of Tara, for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy in 2010.^[1]

Early life[link]

Collette was born in Blacktown, a suburb in Western Sydney, the daughter of Judy, a customer-service representative, and Bob Collette, a truck driver. She has two younger brothers, Ben and Christopher.^[3] From an early age, Collette showed a talent for acting. She faked appendicitis when she was eleven years old and was so convincing that doctors removed her appendix, although tests showed nothing wrong with it.^[4] She attended Blacktown Girls High School until the age of 16, and then later attended both the Australian Theatre for Young People and NIDA. Her first acting role was onstage in the musical Godspell in Sydney in her early teens.^[5]

Acting career[link]

1990s[link]

Collette made her television debut in 1990, in a guest appearance on the Seven Network drama series A Country Practice. Collette has won five Australian Film Institute awards, including the Australian Best Actress in a Lead Role for Muriel's Wedding in 1994, a role for which she gained 18 kg (40 lb) in seven weeks. In 1996, she was part of the ensemble cast of the comedy, Così.

She has also received broad acclaim on Broadway, starring as Queenie in Michael John LaChiusa's musical work, The Wild Party. For this role, Collette was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical.

Collette had to turn down the title role in Bridget Jones's Diary because she was committed to perform on Broadway at the time.^[6] In 1999, She received an Academy Award nomination for her role as the mother of a troubled boy in the U.S. film The Sixth Sense, which also starred Bruce Willis and Haley Joel Osment.

2000s[link]

In 2004 Collette starred with Nia Vardalos and David Duchovny in the musical comedy Connie and Carla, released by Universal Studios.

Collette at the 2005 Toronto Film Festival

Collette's only film in 2005 was In Her Shoes, a comedy-drama about the relationship between two uncommon sisters and their estranged grandmother, co-starring Cameron Diaz and Shirley MacLaine. Based on the 2002 novel of the same name by Jennifer Weiner, the production received generally positive reviews from critics, and became a moderate independent success, earning a total of US$82.2 million worldwide.^[7] Collette was subsequently nominated for a Satellite Award for Best Actress for her performance of a successful-but-lonely lawyer with low self-esteem, which Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle noted the focus of the film: "As usual, Collette's face is a fine-tuned transmitter of her emotions, moment by moment, and she becomes the locus of audience feeling."^[8]

In 2006, Collette starred in Little Miss Sunshine, a comedy-drama-road movie about a family's trip to a children's beauty pageant. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2006, and its distribution rights were bought by Fox Searchlight Pictures for one of the biggest deals made in the history of the festival.^[9] Released in July 2006, the film received major critical acclaim, resulting into several accolades such as four Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, whilst Collette herself earned her second BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations for her portrayal of the family's worn-out matriarch.^[1] A box office success, Little Miss Sunshine went on to gross US$100.5 million worldwide and became one of the most successful independent films of the mid-2000s.^[10]

Also in 2006, Collette starred in supporting roles in the thriller films Like Minds, The Night Listener and The Dead Girl. Although the latter was released to positive response during its limited North American run,^[11] none of these films fared generally well at the box office, with Robin Williams-featuring The Night Listener emerging as the biggest-selling production at a global gross of US$10.5 million.^[12] In her first television engagement in five years, the HBO-BBC joint mini series Tsunami: The Aftermath (2006), Collette played an Australian government employee who tries to cope with the events following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and the resulting tsunami in Thailand. Broadcast to controversial critics,^[13] her performance of an aid worker garnered Collette her first Primetime Emmy^[14] nomination and third Golden Globe nomination.^[1]

In 2008, Collette accepted the leading role in the Showtime comedy drama series, United States of Tara. Created by Steven Spielberg and Juno screenwriter Diablo Cody, the show revolves around a wife and mother of two with dissociative identity disorder, coping with her seven alternate personalities. Originally planned for a twelve episode season, the series was picked up for another episode season to be broadcast in 2010. Collette won both the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress - Comedy Series and the Best Actress in a TV Comedy for her performance on the show.^[15] She starred in the 2011 remake of Fright Night.^[16]

Music career[link]

In October 2006, she began touring Australia to promote her first vocal album Beautiful Awkward Pictures, released on Hoola Hoop Records under the name Toni Collette & the Finish, a band for which her husband drums. Collette recently appeared on the Australian television show Cool Aid and performed the song "Look Up" off of her album. Collette and the Finish were a headlining act at the Sydney show of Live Earth. She sang T-Rex's "Children of the Revolution" with The Finish.

Personal life[link]

Collette married Dave Galafassi on 11 January 2003. The couple have a daughter, Sage Florence, born on 9 January 2008,^[17] and a son, Arlo Robert, born on 22 April 2011.^[18]

She is a supporter of animal rights and PETA. She urged former Prime Minister John Howard to end the Australian sheep farming practice of mulesing, which is considered by many animal rights activists to be cruel.^[19] She later revised her position after doing her own research of the Australian wool industry.^[20]

Filmography[link]

Discography[link]

• Beautiful Awkward Pictures (2006) – Toni Collette & The Finish

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Toni Collette

• Toni Collette at the Internet Movie Database
• Collette & Sage Photo
• Toni Collette at Emmys.com

Billie Piper
Billie Piper at a book signing in 2006
Born	Lianne Piper (1982-09-22) 22 September 1982 (age 29) Swindon, Wiltshire, England
Occupation	Actress, singer
Years active	1998–2001 (singing) 2003–present (acting)
Spouse	Chris Evans (2001–2007, divorced) Laurence Fox (2007–present)
Children	2

Billie Paul Piper (born Lianne Piper,^[1] 22 September 1982, in Swindon, Wiltshire) is an English singer and actress.

She began her career in the late 1990s as a pop singer and then switched to acting. She started in acting and dancing and was talent spotted at the Sylvia Young stage school by Smash Hits magazine who wanted a "face" for their magazine. A recording contract was the route given to her. She later decided to retire from singing and refocus on her original ambition, acting. Her most famous role is as Rose Tyler, companion to the Doctor, in the television series Doctor Who from 2005 to 2006, a role she reprised in 2008 and 2010.^[2] In 2007, Broadcast magazine listed Piper at no. 6 in its "Hot 100" list of influential on-screen performers, the top woman on the list.^[3][4] From 2007 until 2011, she starred as the high-flying escort Belle de Jour in the TV series Secret Diary of a Call Girl.

Singing career[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. (November 2008)

[edit] 1998–2000: Honey to the B

When she was selected to appear on the Saturday morning children's television show Scratchy & Co. Piper later landed a role in a television commercial promoting the pop magazine Smash Hits. Piper was offered a record deal at the age of 15, and in 1998 became the youngest artist ever to debut at number one in the UK singles chart with "Because We Want To", released under the stage mononym "Billie".^[5] Her follow-up single "Girlfriend" also debuted at number one.

Her debut album Honey to the B was released immediately afterwards, and debuted and peaked at Number 14 in the UK album charts, gaining a Platinum certification in the UK, and a 2x Platinum certification in New Zealand, where it reached No. 3. However, Honey to the B found limited success in other territories, such as Australia where it debuted and peaked at No. 31 despite the success of "Honey to the Bee", and in the US it almost went completely unnoticed, peaking at No. 17 on the Heatseekers.

At the 1998 Smash Hits Poll Winners' party, she was nominated for Best New Act (She came second. It was won by B*Witched) and won Princess of Pop (she was the first to win this award). She then released "She Wants You" as the third single from the album. The song reached No.3. "Honey to the Bee" was released as the fourth single from the album, like the previous single, it reached No.3. At the same time, "She Wants You" was released in the USA. It reached No. 9 on the "Hot Club Dance Play" chart.

In 1999, Piper was nominated for two BRIT Awards and won two awards at the 1999 Smash Hits Poll Winners' party, although at the latter ceremony she was reduced to tears after being booed by fans of Ritchie Neville, member of boy band Five, whom she was dating at the time.

Piper then started to tour and release in Asia. The singles and the album were released during mid to late 1999. Then On 10 August that same year, the follow-up to "Because We Want To" was released in Japan, a single comprising "Girlfriend" and "She Wants You" combined. She recorded a song for Pokémon: The First Movie titled "Makin' My Way (Any Way That I Can)".^[6]

[edit] 2000–2001: Walk of Life

During that time, she recorded her second album. She decided to release further records under her full name, Billie Piper. She returned to the Singles Chart in May 2000 with her third number one single "Day & Night". She waited until the following September to release "Something Deep Inside", which reached No. 4, but her success wasn't to continue. In October 2000, Piper released her second album, Walk of Life, which reached Number 14 in the UK Album Chart, but quickly fell off the charts and was certified Silver in the UK. The album only charted in two other countries, New Zealand where it reached No. 17 only, and in Australia where it was a minor success, peaking at No. 23. In Piper's autobiography, she states the album was a 'commercial bomb'. The song "Walk of Life", the final single off this album, was released in December 2000 and reached Number 25 in the UK Singles Chart.

On 17 February 2001, Piper appeared in court to testify against a woman named Juliet Peters. Peters was charged with, and eventually convicted of, stalking as well as making a number of threats against Piper and members of her family.^[7] Peters received psychiatric treatment as part of her sentence. According to her autobiography, Piper was reluctant about the court case, but was pushed by her parents and her label. She also stated in the book that this was why "The Tide Is High" wasn't released as a single, writing "The court case succeeded in doing what I alone could not: cutting the ties. Without it I might have been tempted back."

On 15 January 2007, BBC Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles started a campaign to get "Honey to the Bee" back into the Top 100 on download sales as a way of testing out new chart rules that favour download sales.^[8] The campaign was successful, with "Honey to the Bee" re-entering the official UK singles chart at No. 17, eight years after it was first released.

Acting career[link]

After an extended break, Piper decided to return to her original ambition: acting. She took acting lessons while living in London.

[edit] Doctor Who

Doctor Who originally ran from 1963 to 1989. In May 2004, it was announced that the series would be resurrected beginning in 2005, and that Piper was to play the character Rose Tyler, a travelling companion to The Doctor (to be played by Christopher Eccleston). Piper won the Most Popular Actress category at the 2005 and 2006 National Television Awards for her work on Doctor Who.^[9] BBC News named Piper as one of its "Faces of the Year" for 2005, primarily due to her success in Doctor Who.

At The South Bank Show Awards on 27 January 2006 Piper was awarded The Times Breakthrough Award for her successful transition from singing to acting. In March 2006, the Television and Radio Industries Club named Piper as best new TV talent at their annual awards ceremony. In September 2006, Piper was named Best Actress at the TV Quick and TV Choice Awards.^[10]

After the completion of the very successful first series of the revamped Doctor Who, the British media regularly released conflicting reports about how long Piper would be staying with the programme. In March 2006, she claimed that she would continue on Doctor Who into its third season in 2007.^[11] On 10 May 2006, however, she was reported to be considering quitting the series, although she did express an interest in playing a female version of the Doctor in the future (possibly related to a proposed Doctor Who spin-off series about Rose which was later dropped).^[12] On 15 June 2006, the BBC announced that she was to depart in the final episode of the second series, "Doomsday".^[13] Piper's decision to leave had been taken a year previously, but remained a secret until news of her departure became public.^[14]

On 27 November 2007, the BBC confirmed that she would reprise her role as Rose Tyler in the fourth Doctor Who series for three episodes. Later, it was confirmed by Russell T. Davies in Doctor Who Magazine that this return had been planned since she left. It was also revealed in the "Turn Left" Doctor Who Confidential that Billie had made arrangements to return as Rose since she decided to leave.

The series began in April 2008,^[2] and after several cameos, Piper made her official return as Rose in the series four final episodes "Turn Left", "The Stolen Earth" and "Journey's End". She did not initially state whether she would be reprising the role again. Interviewed on Doctor Who Confidential, she commented that "it's never really the end for the Doctor and Rose", but "it's certainly the end for the foreseeable future".^[15] She reprised her role as Rose Tyler in The End of Time, the last of the 2009–10 Doctor Who specials.^[16]

[edit] Secret Diary of a Call Girl

Piper also starred as Hannah Baxter in Secret Diary of a Call Girl, an ITV2 adaptation of Brooke Magnanti's The Intimate Adventures of a London Call Girl, a memoir detailing the life of a high-class prostitute who adopted "Belle de Jour" as her pseudonym. The series, which aired from 27 September 2007, saw Piper in several semi-nude scenes, including one scene featuring her saddling a client and riding him like a horse.^[17] As part of her preparation for the role Piper met the memoire's author some two years before her identity as a research scientist was revealed in a Sunday newspaper: "I absolutely had to meet the person behind the words to be able to take the part... People did ask me about her and I just had to smile, to avoid giving anything away...".^[18] A second series, with Piper in the starring role, started filming in May 2008, during which two body doubles were hired in order to hide Piper's pregnancy during the sex scenes.^[19][20] The third series began airing in January 2010, with Piper dispensing with the body doubles, performing all her own sex scenes.^[21]

In January 2010, tying in with the broadcast of the third series and following on from the real Belle de Jour confirming her real identity, ITV2 broadcast an interview special, Billie and the Real Belle Bare All which saw Piper meeting with Dr Brooke Magnanti on-camera for the first time.^[22]

Other acting work[link]

In 2004, Piper appeared in the films The Calcium Kid, as the romantic interest of Orlando Bloom's character, and Things to do Before You're Thirty. Shortly before starting work on Doctor Who, she filmed a starring role in the horror film Spirit Trap alongside Russian pop star Alsou, released in August 2005 to generally poor reviews.

In November 2005, Piper starred as Hero in a BBC adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing, updated for the modern day in a similar manner to the Canterbury Tales series in which she featured, with Hero now being a weather presenter in a television station.

Piper has completed work on two stand-alone television productions. In the first, a BBC adaptation of Philip Pullman's historical novel The Ruby in the Smoke broadcast in December 2006, Piper played protagonist Sally Lockhart, a Victorian orphan along with Matt Smith playing Jim Taylor. The BBC plans to film all four of Pullman's Sally Lockhart novels, with Piper continuing in the role in The Shadow in the North which was shown in December 2007.

Piper made her stage debut in a touring production of Christopher Hampton's play Treats, which opened in early 2007 in Windsor. Treats was to have ended its tour in the West End, at the Garrick Theatre, starting on 28 February 2007 with previews from 20 February. The play officially finished as of 26 May.^[23]

In 2007 she appeared as the main character, Fanny Price, in an adaptation of Jane Austen's novel Mansfield Park, screened on ITV1.^[24] This was her first acting role on television for a broadcaster other than the BBC.

Piper has provided voiceovers for various television commercials, including one for Comfort Fabric Softener airing in June 2007, and Debenhams currently airing 2011.

Piper has also shared the role of Betty with Sue Johnston in the TV adaptation of A Passionate Woman, screened on BBC 1 on 11 and 18 April 2010.^[25][26]

Billie Piper had been confirmed to join the cast of an upcoming romance-comedy film directed by Robin Sheppard called Truth about Lies. Filming is expected to start in October 2011.^[27]

Piper had been confirmed to play Carly in the UK Premiere of Reasons to be Pretty at the Almeida Theatre, running from November 2011 to January 2012. It opened on 17 November to press, and has since received critical acclaim with reviewers claiming it was 'one of the best theatre productions they'd seen'. ^[28] The Guardian, The Observer, Daily Mail, London Evening Standard, Metro, The Times, The Telegraph, Time Out, The Arts Desk, Daily Express and The Financial Times all gave the production rave reviews with a minimum of four stars. ^[29] BBC Radio 4 reviewed the show live applauding Billie Piper as "Fantastic, completely brilliant. Her performance is so convincing and moving, an absolutely terrific performance" ^[30] The Jewish Chronicle hailed Billie Piper's performance as second to none, being the best of the night, and stating that "No actor can cry more convincingly than Piper", giving the show four stars. ^[31]

Personal life[link]

Piper was born in Swindon, Wiltshire, England, to Paul Piper and Mandy Kent. Piper has one younger brother, Charley, and two younger sisters, Harley and Elle.^[32]

Piper married businessman, DJ, and television presenter Chris Evans in a secret ceremony in May 2001 in Las Vegas after six months of dating. Their marriage attracted much comment due to the sixteen-year age gap between the two.^[33] The couple separated in 2004 and later divorced in May 2007.^[34] They have remained friends.^[35]

A story in The Independent on 27 June 2006 stated that Piper has declared that she does not wish to claim any money from Evans's reported £30m wealth or his £540,000 salary from Radio Two. "I'm not taking a penny from him," she told the Radio Times, "I think that's disgusting." Piper also revealed in her interview with Radio Times that she left her pop star career with very little money.^[36] Evans has admitted that the age gap was a reason in seeking the divorce.^[37]

Piper dated and lived with law student Amadu Sowe from 2004 to 2006.^[35]

Piper married actor Laurence Fox, son of actor James Fox, on 31 December 2007 at St Mary's Church in Easebourne, West Sussex.^[38] They live in Easebourne, Midhurst in West Sussex.^[39] Their first son was born by an emergency Caesarean section on 21 October 2008, following a 26-hour labour.^[40][41] In a later interview Piper revealed that medical staff were concerned that their son would suffer from oxygen starvation if the birth was to continue as planned. Piper said, "they were worried about him losing oxygen to his brain. I was like, 'Cut him out now!'"^[41] On 28 October 2011 the couple announced that she was 15 weeks pregnant with their second child . Piper gave birth to their second son, Eugene Pip, on 5 April 2012. ^[42]

Piper became friends with her former Doctor Who co-star David Tennant during their time on the show.^[43] She is also close to Matt Smith, who took over playing the title character following his departure. After it was announced that Smith would be replacing Tennant in the role, she stated "Yes, I hate that he's left! But then I know Matt Smith really well and I love him and I think he's such a brilliant actor. The role couldn't have gone to a better guy. He's capable of that. He's got big shoes to fill, but I'm certain he can do it."^[44] Smith also reportedly asked her for advice after learning he had won the part.^[45]

Filmography[link]

Television[link]

Stage[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

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