Patsy Kensit

Patsy Kensit
Kensit at the 2009 BAFTAs
Born	Patricia Jude Francis Kensit (1968-03-04) 4 March 1968 Hounslow, London, England
Alma mater	Corona Theatre School
Occupation	Actress, singer, model
Years active	1972–present
Television	Emmerdale Holby City
Religion	Catholicism
Spouse(s)	Dan Donovan (m. 1989–91) Jim Kerr (m. 1992–96) Liam Gallagher (m. 1997–2000) Jeremy Healy (m. 2009–10)
Children	2
Parent(s)	James Henry Kensit (deceased) Margaret Rose Doohan (deceased)
Musical career
Genres	Pop
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1983–1989
Labels	CBS
Associated acts	Eighth Wonder

Patricia Jude Francis "Patsy" Kensit (born 4 March 1968) is an English actress, singer, model and former child star. She was lead singer of the band Eighth Wonder from 1983-1989. Between 2004 and 2006, Kensit played the role of Sadie King in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale. Following this, she played Faye Byrne in the BBC One medical drama Holby City from 2007 until 2010. Kensit has been married to musicians Dan Donovan, Jim Kerr and Liam Gallagher.

Early life

Patsy Kensit was born on 4 March 1968 to James Henry Kensit (1915 – September 1987) and Margaret Rose Doohan (1935 – December 1993), a native of Ireland who died from breast cancer. Kensit has an elder brother, Jamie, born in 1963. Her mother was a publicist; her father was an associate of the notorious London gangsters the Kray twins. Nicknamed "Jimmy the Dip", he also reportedly worked for the rival Richardsons, running long firms for the gang. He served time in prison before Kensit was born; she believed he was an antiques dealer. Kensit's parents did not marry until 1986.^[1] Her paternal grandfather was a robber and counterfeiter.^[2] She attended Newland House School, St Catherine's School, Twickenham and Corona Theatre School.

Kensit is a practising Catholic,^[3] having begun attending church after her mother's death.^[4]

Career

Early work

In 1972, at the age of four, Kensit appeared in a television advert for Birds Eye frozen peas. She had her first big-screen role in the film For the Love of Ada. Her next film role was two years later in The Great Gatsby, in which she acted with Mia Farrow—whom she later portrayed in the 1995 biopic Love and Betrayal: The Mia Farrow Story. Kensit also appeared in a BBC mini series based on the famous historical novel Penmarric (1979).

As 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 (in the title role). She also appeared as Estella in the 1981 BBC adaptation of Great Expectations and as Lady Margaret Plantagenet in the 1982 BBC Television Shakespeare production of Richard III.

Rise to fame

Kensit in France (1991)

In 1985, Kensit led a dual career as a singer and an actress. She starred as Eppie in an adaptation of Silas Marner, with Ben Kingsley. At the time, Kensit stated: "All I want is to be more famous than anything or anyone".^[2]

In 1986, she won the lead female role in the film version of Absolute Beginners, based on the book by Colin MacInnes. In November 1987, she sang a duet with the Italian singer and songwriter, Eros Ramazzotti, entitled 'La luce buona delle stelle', which in English translates to 'The Good Light of the Stars'.

In 1988, Kensit's band Eighth Wonder had two Top 40 singles: "I'm Not Scared", written by Neil Tennant & Chris Lowe and produced by the Pet Shop Boys & Phil Harding (for PWL), which reached Number 7 in the British charts, and "Cross My Heart", which reached Number 13. Eighth Wonder appeared on Top of the Pops. Although the band's success quickly waned, "I'm Not Scared" appeared in the 1989 film Lethal Weapon 2, in which Kensit, then focused solely on acting, played Rika van den Haas, a South African consulate secretary with whom cop Martin Riggs (played by Mel Gibson) falls in love.

Following Lethal Weapon 2, she appeared in the 1991 independent feature Twenty-One, for which she received a nomination for Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead. Of her role, Variety magazine wrote, "Fans of Kensit get plenty of her; her lovely face and form are always the center of attention. The cool control with which she executes the role is admirable".^[5] In 1992, she had a leading role in the British film Blame it on the Bellboy as Miss Carolyn Wright, a desperate estate agent in Venice who would stop at nothing to clinch a deal.

In 1995, Kensit starred with Kristin Scott Thomas and Mark Rylance in Angels & Insects, which was directed by Philip Haas and was nominated for an Academy Award for Costume Design. Kensit's last major lead film role was in the Newcastle-based The One and Only.

2004–present

In 2004, Kensit joined the cast of soap opera Emmerdale as 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. Kensit's success as the soap super-bitch and in a popular comedy brought her back to the public's attention.

In September and October 2005, Kensit appeared as a celebrity contestant in Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon, progressing through to Play Your Cards Right before being eliminated by Carol Vorderman. On 23 June 2006, Kensit guest hosted The Friday Night Project 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.^[6]

In September 2006, Kensit left Emmerdale, stating that commuting to Yorkshire and the time away from her sons was too stressful. As part of a dramatic week of episodes that coincided with Jeff Hordley's exit from the show, Cain Dingle and Sadie hatched an elaborate kidnap plan involving Tom King – they set up the transfer of £2million 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.

In October 2006, Kensit joined the BBC One medical drama Holby City as ward sister Faye Morton. On 14 March 2010, it was revealed that she had decided to leave the show.^[7]

In August 2008, Kensit appeared in an episode of the BBC One series Who Do You Think You Are? With 7.10 million viewers, it became the highest rated of all episodes across all series, until Bruce Forsythe's episode overtook it by a small fraction in 2010, with 7.22 million. It retains the second highest ratings for any episode of the show.

On 15 May 2012, she narrated the Channel 4 documentary Sex, Lies and Rinsing Guys.

On 7 April 2014, Kensit was a guest panellist on ITV chat show Loose Women.^[8]

From 7 January 2015, Kensit took part in the fifteenth series of Celebrity Big Brother on Channel 5.^[9]

Personal life

Kensit has been married four times. 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 1993. In April 1997, she married Liam Gallagher from Oasis. Kensit and Gallagher had a son, Lennon, born 14 September 1999, who was named after John Lennon; they divorced in 2000. Lennon's godmother is actress Elizabeth Hurley.^[10]

After a reported relationship with Ally McCoist,^[11] Kensit took up with rap artist and beatboxer Killa Kela. They split up after a year, with Kensit stating that she did not see a future with Killa.^[12]

Kensit later became involved with the DJ Jeremy Healy and announced that she was marrying for a fourth time on 29 November 2007.^[13] On 31 March 2008 it was reported that the pair had split by mutual consent and had called off their wedding.^[14] They eventually married on 18 April 2009, in an event covered by a magazine,^[15] but it was reported in February 2010 that the couple had separated. Healy did not receive a mention in her 2013 autobiography.

Filmography

Guest appearances

• Celebrity Juice (17 March 2011) – Panellist
• Would I Lie to You? (18 May 2012) – Guest
• The Million Pound Drop Live (2012) – Contestant with Keith Lemon
• The Chase: Celebrity Special (27 September 2014) – Contestant^[19]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Patsy Kensit.

• Patsy Kensit at the Internet Movie Database