PATSY KENSIT

Patsy Kensit has been in show business since the tender age of four. She's appeared in Hollywood blockbusters, been the face of the '90s Britpop scene and appeared widely across British television.

 

Patsy's career began when she starred in a TV advert for Birds Eye frozen peas. Her first film role was For The Love of Ada, followed by The Great Gatsby playing Mia Farrow's daughter Pammy Buchanan. The film featured a screenplay by Francis Ford Copolla, costumes by Ralph Lauren and production by Robert Evans. At the age of 8 she appeared with Elizabeth Taylor in the film The Blue Bird directed by Hollywood legend George Cukor, one of the directors from Gone With The Wind and The Women starring Katherine Hepburn.

 

Following this, Patsy returned to the UK where she played central roles in several classics beginning with Morgan Le Fay in King Arthur, Nanda in Frost in May by Antonio White (the BAFTA award winning drama which Patsy starred in alongside Daniel Day Lewis) and Estella in Great Expectations. She also served as the lead in R.F. Delderfield's Diana for the BBC alongside Kevin McNally, Epi in George Elliot's Silas Marner alongside Ben Kingsley which went on to win many BAFTAs. Later on, Patsy worked with the RSC on a special filmed production of Richard III for the BBC where she played Margaret Plantagenet . At this point, Patsy took part in a one-off production for the BBC of the George Bernard Shaw play Arms And The Man alongside Helena Bonham Carter.

 

Alongside her classical work, Patsy played the female lead Crepe Suzette in the 1988 British movie Absolute Beginner. The same year, she embarked on a music career, contributing a track to the Absolute Beginner soundtrack alongside Ray Davies, Sade Adu, Paul Weller and David Bowie entitled 'Having It All'. She went on to score a top 10 hit across almost all of Europe in 1988 as part of the band Eighth Wonder with 'I'm Not Scared' (produced by the Pet Shop Boys), followed later the same year by 'Cross My Heart'.

 

By 1989, Patsy decided to concentrate solely on her acting career and took on a role in A Chorus of Disapproval alongside Jeremy Irons, Anthony Hopkins, Prunella Scales and Richard Bryers. She then won the role of South African consulate secretary Rika Van Den Haas opposite Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon 2. This was followed by roles in Twenty One (which garnered her a Best Actress Award at the Independent Spirit awards), Blame It On The Bellboy, Angels and Insects (where she was nominated for Best Actress in the Evening Standard Awards) and the lead role in the TV movie The Mia Farrow Story.

 

Throughout the 90s, Patsy became a staple of British television, featuring regularly on Bo' Selecta! and The Bear's Tale on Channel 4. She also featured in Ant & Dec's game show Marathon at part of ITV's 50th anniversary celebrations in 2005, and was a guest host on The Friday Night Project. Alongside her various TV projects, Patsy appeared in a West End production of See You Next Tuesday alongside Ardal O'Hanlon and Nigel Havers at the Albery Theatre in London's West End in a three-month run which was extended due to popular demand.

 

As a result of her performance, Patsy was offered the long-standing role of Sadie King in Emmerdale followed by a stint as ward sister Faye Morton on BBC One's Holby City. Patsy has also had successful stints on both Celebrity Big Brother and Strictly Come Dancing as well as an appearance on Who Do You Think You Are, which ended up being the highest rated episode in the series.

 

Patsy has also served as an ambassador for WeightWatchers, where she offered motivational speeches to women across the country on the topics of health, beauty, fitness and lifestyle. She has had her own skincare range inspired by her position as a beauty writer at a popular women's magazine.

 

Patsy currently lives in London and is a devoted mother to her two sons James and Lennon.