Josephine Hart

Josephine Hart, Baroness Saatchi (1 March 1942 – 2 June 2011), was an Irish writer, theatrical producer and television presenter who lived in London. Lady Saatchi wrote the novel Damage, which was the basis for the 1992 film of the same name, directed by Louis Malle and starring Jeremy Irons, Juliette Binoche and Rupert Graves.

Early years

Born at Mullingar, County Westmeath, she attended a convent school at Carrickmacross, County Monaghan, where she was encouraged by the nuns to recite verse at Irish festivals. She moved to London in 1964.

Career

Formerly a director of Haymarket Publishing, Hart was a founder of Gallery Poets and West End Poetry Hour. She produced several West End plays, including the Evening Standard" Award winner The House of Bernarda Alba by Federico García Lorca.

She appeared on television as the presenter for the Thames TV series Books by My Bedside. Her papers are currently housed at the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center at Boston University.

Books

Jeremy Irons

Jeremy John Irons (born September 19, 1948) is an English actor. After receiving classical training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Irons began his acting career on stage in 1969, and has since appeared in many West End theatre productions including The Winter's Tale, Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing, The Taming of the Shrew, Godspell, Richard II and Embers. In 1984, he made his Broadway debut in Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing and received a Tony Award for Best Actor.

Irons' first major film role came in the 1981 romantic drama The French Lieutenant's Woman, for which he received a BAFTA nomination for Best Actor. After starring in such film dramas as Moonlighting (1982), Betrayal (1983) and The Mission (1986), he gained critical acclaim for portraying twin gynaecologists in David Cronenberg's psychological thriller Dead Ringers (1988). In 1990, Irons played accused murderer Claus von Bülow in Reversal of Fortune, and took home multiple awards, including an Academy Award for Best Actor.