Patsy Kensit | |
|---|---|
| File:Patsy kensit LWII.jpg Kensit as Rika van den Haas in Lethal Weapon 2, 1989 | |
| Born | Patricia Jude Frances Kensit |
| Years active | 1972-present |
| Spouse(s) | Dan Donovan (div) Jim Kerr (div), one child James Liam Gallagher (div), one child Lennon |
Patricia Jude Frances Kensit (born 4 March, 1968 in Hounslow, Middlesex) is an English actress and singer, and is also well-known for her three celebrity marriages.
Aged four, Kensit appeared in a television advert for Birds Eye frozen peas. In 1974 she had her first role in a movie "The Great Gatsby " starring with Mia Farrow - who she would later appear as in the 1995 biopic Love and Betrayal: The Mia Farrow Story.
A pupil at the Italia Conti Academy stage school, Kensit's first starring roles were in British children's television programmes such as The Adventures of Pollyanna (1982) and Luna. She also appeared as Estella in a BBC adaptation of Great Expectations in 1981.
She started to come to fame in 1985, leading a dual career as the lead singer of band Eighth Wonder and an actress. Eighth Wonder had two Top 40 singles ("Stay With Me" and "Cross My Heart") and appearing on Top of the Pops, while Kensit was also starred as Eppie in an adaptation of Silas Marner, with Ben Kingsley. At the time, Kensit at the height of her fame infamously stated: "All I want is to be more famous than anything or anyone."
In 1986, she won the lead female role in the film version of Absolute Beginners, based on the book by Colin MacInnes. Also in 1986, Eight Wonder had their fourth top-10 hit with "I'm Not Scared," which was produced by the Pet Shop Boys. Although the band's success quickly waned, the song appeared in the 1989 film "Lethal Weapon 2", in which Kensit now focusing solely on being an actress played Rika van den Haas, a South African consulate secretary whom cop Martin Riggs played by Mel Gibson fell in love with.
In 1995 Kensit starred in "Angels & Insects," with Kristin Scott Thomas and Mark Rylance, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Costume Design and in which she complied with director Philip Haas' request to bleach her pubic hair. Kensits last major lead film role was in the Newcastle-based "The One and Only," which failed to get wide distribution. Kensit auditioned for the part of Captain Kathryn Janeway in Star Trek: Voyager, but lost out to Kate Mulgrew.
By now Kensits private life had brought her to as much attention as her acting or singing, as the tabloid newspapers detailed the break down of her marriage to Simple Minds singer Jim Kerr, and her romance with Oasis singer Liam Gallagher developed. Her career went quiet as she focused on her marriage, which as it headed towards divorce led to the resumption of her acting career.
In 2004 Kensit joined the cast of British soap opera Emmerdale, playing the character Sadie King, and also regularly featured in the third series of Channel 4's Bo Selecta and its 2005 spin-off series A Bear's Tail. Kensits success as the soap super-bitch and in a popular comedy brought her back to the attention of the British public.
In September and October 2005 she appeared as a celebrity contestant in Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon, progressing through to Play Your Cards Right before getting knocked out by Carol Vorderman, the eventual winner of the series. Kensit was a special guest host on The Friday Night Project on 23 June 2006 with band Placebo. She appeared as The Grand High Witch of all the World at the Children's Party at the Palace in celebration of the Queen's 80th birthday in 2006. She also became the voice of online gambling website 32red.com[1].
Kensit left Emmerdale in September 2006, stating the commute to Yorkshire and the resultant time away from her sons was too stressful. As part of a dramatic week of episodes which coincided with Jeff Hordley's exit from the show. Hordley's character Cain Dingle and Sadie hatched an elaborate kidnap plan involving Tom King - they set up the transfer of £2 million from the Kings to Cain in order for Tom to be released, however Cain double crossed Sadie. Her last appearance was at an airstrip watching Cain fly away, leaving her penniless and alone.
Kensit is presently a member of the Holby City cast, playing nurse Faye Morton. She was due to begin filming on Holby City in August 2006, however a delay with this meant she began filming in October and will be on-screen from 30 January, 2007[2].
Kensit's first tabloid published relationship was with Spandau Ballet's Gary Kemp, aged 15.
Kensit has been married three times, with all her husbands have been musicians. In 1988 she married Dan Donovan of band Big Audio Dynamite. In 1992 she married Jim Kerr, lead singer of Simple Minds. During her second marriage she gave birth to her first child, James. In 1997 she married Liam Gallagher from Oasis. Kensit and Gallagher had a son, Lennon, named after John Lennon. They divorced in 2000, and Kensit later claimed that she had cried every day of the marriage[3]
After her marriage to Gallagher ended in divorce, Kensit spoke openly about her breast augmentation, which took her bust measurement from a 32B to a 35C. She has three tattoos: on her back; above the blade of her left foot (Gaelic words); and on her ankle [4]- she changed the tattoo of her ex-husband's name from Liam to the name of their son, Lennon. She loves football and supports Rangers and Tottenham Hotspur.
After tabloid reported relationships with Calum Best, Matt Holbrook, and in 2005 with Jean-Christophe Novelli; Kensit is now rumoured to be dating rap artist and beatboxer Killa Kela[5].
Limited partial filmography