Results for Julia Sawalha
On this page:
 
Actor:

Julia Sawalha

  • Born: Sep 09, 1968
  • Occupation: Actor
  • Active: '90s-2000s
  • Major Genres: Comedy
  • Career Highlights: Chicken Run, Absolutely Fabulous, Jonathan Creek: Series 04
  • First Major Screen Credit: Absolutely Fabulous (1992)

Biography

Best-known to American TV audiences as Saffy, the frighteningly sensible daughter of Edina Monsoon on Absolutely Fabulous, Julia Sawalha has earned a reputation as one of Britain's more beloved comedic actresses.

The daughter of respected Jordanian actor Nadim Sawalha (who immigrated to England in the 1960s) and an English mother, Sawalha was born in London on September 9, 1968. Raised in the company of two sisters, she became interested in acting at a young age, and landed her first break when she was chosen to star on the long-running TV series Press Gang. A show about a group of teens who run a youth newspaper, it was produced by Bob Spiers, who would later direct Sawalha in Absolutely Fabulous.

Premiering in 1992, Absolutely Fabulous would become one of the most popular TV shows in British history, winning scores of fans on both sides of the Atlantic. For her part, Sawalha earned both respect and recognition for her portrayal of the hilariously uptight Saffy, and her work led to roles in a number of TV miniseries, including the BBC's acclaimed 1995 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.

Although Sawalha made her film debut in 1990, she had her first major big-screen role in Kenneth Branagh's In the Bleak Midwinter (1995), a comedy about a group of actors putting on a production of Hamlet. Cast as the actress who plays Ophelia, the film allowed her to perform alongside Branagh, Richard Briers, Joan Collins, and Jennifer Saunders. The actress finally got a crack at the lead in a major film in 2000, lending her voice to the character of Ginger, the feathered heroine of Peter Lord and Nick Park's Chicken Run. A hugely successful all-poultry retelling of The Great Escape, the film also featured the vocal talents of Mel Gibson, Jane Horrocks, Miranda Richardson, and Imelda Staunton. In addition to her work in Chicken Run, Sawalha kept busy that year with a number of other film and TV projects, including The Final Curtain, a comedy about a rivalry between two British game show personalities. ~ Rebecca Flint, All Movie Guide

 
 
Wikipedia: Julia Sawalha
Julia Sawalha
Replace_this_image_female.svg
Born September 9 1968 (1968--) (age 39)
London, United Kingdom
Parents Roberta Sawalha
Nadim Sawalha

Julia Sawalha (born 9th September 1968) is a British actress best known for her roles of Lynda Day (editor of The Junior Gazette in Press Gang), Saffron Monsoon in Absolutely Fabulous and Lydia Bennet in the 1995 miniseries of Pride and Prejudice.

Biography

Early life

Sawalha was born in London to Roberta and Nadim Sawalha. She was named after her grandmother, a Jordanian businesswoman who had received an award from Queen Noor for enterprise. Julia is of Jordanian, British, and French Huguenot ancestry.[1]

She was born into an acting family: her father Nadim is also an actor who appeared in the James Bond movie The Spy Who Loved Me, while her sister Nadia starred in the soap EastEnders, and is now a chat show host.

Career

Julia first gained public attention for her starring role in the ITV teenage comedy/drama Press Gang, which ran from 1989 to 1993. The on-screen chemistry between the two leads was reflected off-screen, as she and co-star Dexter Fletcher became an item for several years.

From 1991-94, Julia starred in the ITV family comedy Second Thoughts and continued with her character, Hannah, (Lynda Bellingham's daughter) in the British Comedy Award winning Faith in the Future (1995-98)

Between 1992 and 2004, she played Saffron Monsoon in the television comedy series Absolutely Fabulous alongside Jennifer Saunders.

She starred in the 1995 BBC adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice as Lydia Bennett, co-staring with Colin Firth. She also voiced "Ginger" in DreamWorks/Aardman's Chicken Run.

In 2000 Julia Sawalha appeared as Janet, the Australian Barmaid ("Built for bar work; it's instinct... instinct!!") in the first series of the British sitcom Time Gentlemen Please. She also played the much put-upon PA to "Zak" in Argos TV adverts during 2002-2004, along with Richard E. Grant. She has also joined acclaimed actor Ioan Gruffudd in the internationally successful TV/DVD adaptations of CS Forester's Horatio Hornblower novels, as the captain's first wife Maria.

In 2006, Julia Sawalha participated in the third series of the genealogy documentary series Who Do You Think You Are?[2] tracing her family's roots, which are Jordanian Bedouin on her father's side, and French Huguenot on her mother's. She also appeared in the pilot of BBC 1's "A Taste of my Life" presented by Nigel Slater.[3]

After a two year break, she was back on screen during May 2007, competing in the BBC dog training celebrity reality show The Underdog Show.[4] In April 2007 she was announced as part of the cast for the BBC One show The Cranford Chronicles.[5]

Personal life

She went out with and lived with "Press Gang" co-star Dexter Fletcher, and later went out with comedian Richard Herring: "So taken was he that the Oxford-educated stand-up comedian even set up a shrine to her on Fist of Fun, the television programme he wrote and acted in with Stewart Lee. "My ideal woman has the head of Julia Sawalha attached to the body of Julia Sawalha," went the running gag."[6] Sawalha then dated Patrick Marber. She has also been intimate with Keith Allen, the actor and father of Lily Allen.

On 1st January 2004 it was alleged in the tabloid newspapers that she had married boyfriend Alan Davies, her co-star in the television series Jonathan Creek. Both she and Davies, who avoided discussing their private lives in public, denied this, and took legal action against the reports.[7] The couple broke up after Davies reportedly refused to commit - and was branded "a miserable git" by her sister Nadia[8]

Sawalha currently lives in rural Somerset, grows her own vegetables, attends yoga lessons and is studying for an Open University English degree.[9][10]

Filmography

TV

Films

References

  1. ^ Julia's profile at BBC History
  2. ^ "BBC ONE Autumn 2006", BBC, 2006-07-18. 
  3. ^ BBC Food - A Taste of my Life Pilot episode description
  4. ^ http://www.express.co.uk/features/view/2478
  5. ^ http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/programming/a45496/cranford-chronicles-cast-announced.html
  6. ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/main.jhtml?xml=/health/2000/07/05/tljuli05.xml
  7. ^ "TV stars act over marriage report", BBC News, 2004-01-06. 
  8. ^ http://www.sundaymirror.co.uk/news/tm_headline=to-laff-%2D-to-hold%26method=full%26objectid=18508809%26siteid=62484-name_page.html
  9. ^ "Relative Values: Nadia and Julia Sawalha", The Sunday Times, 2007-04-01. 
  10. ^ http://www.express.co.uk/features/view/2478

External links


Persondata
NAME Sawalha, Julia
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION Actor
DATE OF BIRTH September 9, 1968
PLACE OF BIRTH London, United Kingdom
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

Join the WikiAnswers Q&A community. Post a question or answer questions about "Julia Sawalha" at WikiAnswers.

 

Copyrights:

Actor. Copyright © 2006 All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Julia Sawalha".  Read more

Search for answers directly from your browser with the FREE Answers.com Toolbar!  
Click here to download now. 

Get Answers your way! Check out all our free tools and products.

On this page:   E-mail   print Print  Link  

 

Keep Reading

Mentioned In:

 |  More >More >
 

Do you have the answers?