Elizabeth Spender

Last updated
Elizabeth Spender
Born1950 (age 7374)
OccupationActress
Spouse
(m. 1990;died 2023)
Parent(s) Stephen Spender
Natasha Spender
Relatives Matthew Spender (brother)

Elizabeth Spender (born 1950) is a film and television actress known for her role in Brazil.

Contents

Early life and education

Spender is the daughter of concert pianist Natasha Spender (née Litvin) and the poet, novelist and essayist Stephen Spender. [1] [2] She studied drama at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and Drama Centre London. [3] She also attended an Arvon Foundation television play-writing course which was taught by Jack Rosenthal. [3]

Career

Among numerous television and film credits, she appeared in Terry Gilliam's 1985 cult film Brazil . [4]

She has written two BBC TV dramas: Hedgehog Wedding (1987) produced by Innes Lloyd, [5] [3] and These Foolish Things (1989) [6] [7] which starred Lindsay Duncan. [8] In the 1990s she wrote a series of Pastability cookbooks. [9] [3] In 2005 she published a memoir of her childhood, The Wild Horse Diaries ( ISBN   9780733619755). [10] [7] [11] [12]

Personal life

From 1990 until his death in 2023, she was married to the Australian actor and satirist Barry Humphries. [13] They had met at a Groucho Club party in 1988. [7]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1981 Priest of Love Elsa Weekley
1985 Brazil Alison / 'Barbara' Lint
1987 The Felons Florence
1996 The Leading Man Anne

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1973 Frankenstein: The True Story Ballroom GuestTelevision film
1979Feet FirstFay FaithEpisode #1.3
1979PremiereTrudiEpisode: "Over There"
1979 Testament of Youth ChristinaEpisode: "1918"
1980 The Professionals Helen TippettEpisode: "Blood Sports"
1980 BBC2 Playhouse ConstanceEpisode: "The Happy Autumn Fields"
1981Something in DisguiseAnnabelEpisode: "A New Life"
1982 Nancy Astor HenriettaEpisode: "Scandals"
1984 Oxbridge Blues Girl at partyEpisode: "The Muse"
1984The Secret ServantMelinda Fay2 episodes
1984 Talk to Me KateTelevision film
1986 ScreenPlay Magdalena HofdemelEpisode: "The Mozart Inquest"
1988 Sherlock Holmes Laura LyonsEpisode: "The Hound of the Baskervilles"
1991 Selling Hitler Valkyrie / Marlene4 episodes
1998–1999Fast TracksJudy Brumfield3 episodes
2023Barry Humphries: A TributeTelevision special

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pamela Stephenson</span> New Zealand psychologist and actress (born 1949)

Pamela Stephenson, Lady Connolly is a New Zealand-born psychologist, writer, actress and comedian. She moved with her family to Australia in 1953 and studied at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA). After playing several stage and television roles, she emigrated to the United Kingdom in 1976.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barry Humphries</span> Australian comedian (1934–2023)

John Barry Humphries was an Australian comedian, actor, author and satirist. He was best known for writing and playing his stage and television characters Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson. Humphries' characters brought him international renown. He appeared in numerous stage productions, films and television shows. Originally conceived as a dowdy Moonee Ponds housewife who caricatured Australian suburban complacency and insularity, the Dame Edna Everage character developed into a satire of stardom – a gaudily dressed, acid-tongued, egomaniacal, internationally fêted "housewife gigastar".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dame Edna Everage</span> Fictional Australian character

Dame Edna Everage, often known simply as Dame Edna, was a character created and performed by Australian comedian Barry Humphries, known for her lilac-coloured hair and cat eye glasses ; her favourite flower, the gladiolus ("gladdies"); and her boisterous greeting "Hello, Possums!" As Dame Edna, Humphries wrote several books, including an autobiography, My Gorgeous Life; appeared in several films; and hosted several television shows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ray Liotta</span> American actor (1954–2022)

Raymond Allen Liotta was an American actor. He first gained attention for his role in the film Something Wild (1986), which earned him a Golden Globe Award nomination. He was best known for his portrayals of Shoeless Joe Jackson in the film Field of Dreams (1989) and Henry Hill in the film Goodfellas (1990). Liotta appeared in numerous other films, including Unlawful Entry (1992), Cop Land (1997), Hannibal (2001), Blow (2001), John Q. (2002), Identity (2003), Killing Them Softly (2012), The Place Beyond the Pines (2012), and Marriage Story (2019).

Kay Mellor was an English actress, scriptwriter, producer and director. She was known for creating television series such as Band of Gold, Fat Friends, and The Syndicate, as well as co-creating CITV's children's drama Children's Ward (1989–2000).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hanif Kureishi</span> English writer (born 1954)

Hanif Kureishi is a British Pakistani playwright, screenwriter, filmmaker and novelist. In 2008, The Times included Kureishi in its list of the 50 greatest British writers since 1945.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sophie Ward</span> British actress

Sophie Anna Ward is an English stage and screen actress, and a writer of non-fiction and fiction. As an actress, she played Elizabeth Hardy, the female lead in Barry Levinson's Young Sherlock Holmes (1985), and in other feature film roles including in Cary Joji Fukunaga's period drama Jane Eyre (2011), and Jane Sanger's horror feature, Swiperight (2020). In 1982 she had a role in the Academy Award-winning best short film, A Shocking Accident. On television she played Dr Helen Trent in British police drama series Heartbeat from 2004 to 2006, the character Sophia Byrne in the series Holby City from 2008 to 2010, the role of Lady Ellen Hoxley in the series Land Girls from 2009 to 2011, and that of Lady Verinder in the mini-series The Moonstone (2016). She has had a variety of other roles on stage and in short and feature films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlotte Coleman</span> English actress (1968-2001)

Charlotte Ninon Coleman was an English actress best known for playing Scarlett in the film Four Weddings and a Funeral, Jess in the television drama Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, and her childhood roles of Sue in Worzel Gummidge and the character Marmalade Atkins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carl Davis</span> US–UK conductor and composer (1936–2023)

Carl Davis was an American-born British conductor and composer. He wrote music for more than 100 television programmes (notably the landmark ITV series World At War and BBC's Pride and Prejudice, created new scores for concert and cinema performances of vintage silent movies and composed many film, ballet and concert scores that were performed worldwide, including the Liverpool Oratorio in 1991. Davis's publisher was Faber Music.

Geraldine Margaret Agnew-Somerville is an Irish-British actress. She is known for her roles in the film Gosford Park (2001) and the Harry Potter film series (2001–2011). Her other roles have included Daphne (2007), My Week with Marilyn (2011) and Grace of Monaco (2014). In 1995, Somerville was nominated for a BAFTA Award for playing Jane Penhaligon in the television series Cracker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christina Pickles</span> British-American actress (born 1935)

Christina Pickles is a British-American Emmy Award winning actress. She is known for her role as Nurse Helen Rosenthal in the NBC medical drama St. Elsewhere (1982–1988), for which she received five nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. She is also known for her recurring role as Judy Geller on the NBC sitcom Friends, for which she was nominated for the 1995 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shirley Henderson</span> Scottish actress (born 1965)

Shirley Henderson is a Scottish actress. Her accolades include two Scottish BAFTAs, a VFCC Award and an Olivier Award, as well as BAFTA, BIFA, London Critics' Circle, Chlotrudis, Gotham, and Canadian Screen Award nominations.

Gavin Millar was a Scottish film director, critic and television presenter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harriet Walter</span> British actress (born 1950)

Dame Harriet Mary Walter is a British actress. She has performed on stage with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and received an Olivier Award, and nominations for a Tony Award, five Emmy Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2011, Walter was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for services to drama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lesley Manville</span> British actress (born 1956)

Lesley Ann Manville is an English actress known for her frequent collaborations with Mike Leigh, appearing in the films Grown-Ups (1980), High Hopes (1988), Secrets & Lies (1996), Topsy-Turvy (1999), All or Nothing (2002), Vera Drake (2004), Another Year (2010), and Mr. Turner (2014). She has been nominated for two British Academy Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for her roles in Another Year (2010) and Phantom Thread (2017), with her performance in the latter earning her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean Kent</span> English actress

Jean Kent, born Joan Mildred Field was an English film and television actress.

Caroline Harker is an English stage and television actress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Spender</span> English poet and man of letters

Sir Stephen Harold Spender was an English poet, novelist and essayist whose work concentrated on themes of social injustice and the class struggle. He was appointed U.S. Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 1965.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fiona Finlay (producer)</span>

Fiona Finlay is an English TV /film producer and writer. She received a BAFTA (1995) for her TV production of Jane Austen’s Persuasion and the Documentaries Special Prize at the Prix Italia 1994 and the 1st Mental Health in the Media Award for Black Daisies for the Bride, a television film written by international poet Tony Harrison about Alzheimer's disease.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agnes Mary Field</span> English film producer and director

Agnes Mary Field was an English film producer and director, particularly associated with documentary, educational, and children's films.

References

  1. Hornery, Andrew (April 21, 2023). "Humphries' family gathers from around the globe". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  2. "Unbridled Passion". House & Garden . August 2015. pp. 53–57.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Rolling the credits for a Spender" . Evening Standard . 24 March 1987. p. 31. Retrieved 29 April 2023 via newspapers.com.
  4. "Elizabeth Spender". BFI. Archived from the original on May 17, 2021. Retrieved 2023-05-06.
  5. "Hedgehog Wedding (1987)". BFI. Archived from the original on April 11, 2019. Retrieved 2023-04-29.
  6. "These Foolish Things (1989)". BFI. Archived from the original on November 26, 2020. Retrieved 2023-04-29.
  7. 1 2 3 "The kindness of famous friends" . Sunday Independent (Ireland) – Living Section. 25 September 2005. p. 5. Retrieved 29 April 2023 via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. "Fooling Around With Love" . Daily Mirror . 28 February 1989. p. 19. Retrieved 29 April 2023 via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. Dowe, Michael (15 Oct 1991). "Italian Treats for Non-Italians". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 43.
  10. Spender, Stephen (3 July 2012). New Selected Journals, 1939-1995. Faber and Faber. p. 542. ISBN   978-0-571-29411-4.
  11. "The horse was my baby" . The Sunday Telegraph . 28 August 2005. p. 38. Retrieved 29 April 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  12. "The pony-mad child inside". www.telegraph.co.uk. 11 September 2005. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  13. "Barry Humphries facts: Dame Edna comedian's age, career, wife, children and more revealed". Smooth.