Kim Cattrall biography
Kim Victoria Cattrall (, rhyming with
shall; born August 21, 1956) is a United Kingdom born actress who grew up in Canada and now lives in the United States of America. She is known for her role as Samantha Jones (character) in the HBO comedy/romance series
Sex and the City, and for her leading roles in the 1980s films
Police Academy (film) and
Mannequin (film).
Early life
Cattrall, one of four children, was born in Liverpool, England. Her mother, Shane, was a secretary, and her father, Dennis, a construction engineer. When she was less than a year old, her family emigrated to Courtenay, British Columbia, British Columbia, Canada. At 11 she returned to England when her grandmother became ill, and she studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA), before returning to Canada at 16 where she finished her final year of secondary school.
Career
Cattrall began her career after graduating from high school in 1972 when she left Canada for New York City. There, she attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and upon her graduation signed a five-year movie deal with Film director Otto Preminger, making her film debut in Preminger's
Rosebud (film) in 1975. A year later, Universal Studios bought out that contract and Cattrall became one of the last participants of the Universal Contract Player System. During her time with Universal, she guest starred in numerous television programmes of varying style and genre. In 1979 she played the role of Dr. Gabrielle White in
The Incredible Hulk (TV series) and would go down in TV Hulk lore as one of the few characters who knew David Banner was alive and was the creature. Her work in television paid off, and she quickly made the transition to film. She starred opposite Jack Lemmon in his Academy Awards-nominated movie
Tribute (play) in 1980. The following year, she starred in the critically acclaimed
Ticket to Heaven.
In 1982, Cattrall played Miss Honeywell in
Porky's, followed two years later by a role in the original
Police Academy (film). In 1985, she starred in three movies:
Turk 182,
City Limits (film) and
Hold-Up, the latter with French star Jean-Paul Belmondo. In 1986, she played Kurt Russell's brainy flame in the cult classic
Big Trouble in Little China. In 1987, her lead role in
Mannequin (film) proved a huge success with audiences. One of her most well-known film roles is that of the traitor Valeris in
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.
Aside from her film work, Cattrall is also a stage and theater actress, with performances in Arthur Miller's
A View from the Bridge and Anton Chekhov's
Three Sisters (play) to her credit. In 1997, she was cast in
Sex and the City, Darren Star's series that was broadcast on HBO. As Samantha Jones (character), Cattrall gained international recognition. She capitalized on her success by appearing in steamy television commercials promoting the Pepsi product Pepsi One. She also signed a publishing deal to write a book about sex with her third husband, Mark Levinson. In addition, she can be heard reading the poetry of Rupert Brooke on the CD
Red Rose Music SACD Sampler Volume One.
Her film work continued during
Sex and the City when she starred as Caroline in Britney Spears' first film venture,
Crossroads (2002 film).
Sex and the City ended as a weekly series in spring 2004 with an audience of 10.6m viewers. Cattrall reprised the role of Samantha Jones in the
Sex and the City: The Movie film, released on May 30, 2008.
In 2005, she appeared in the Walt Disney Pictures picture
Ice Princess, in which she played the character of Tina Harwood, the ice skating coach of the film's lead character. Unfortunately,
Ice Princess was not a financial success. She also portrayed Claire, a paralyzed woman who wants to die, in the West End theatre drama revival of
Whose Life Is It Anyway. In October 2006 she appeared in a West End production of David Mamet's
The Cryptogram at the Donmar Warehouse in London. Since late 2005, she has appeared in a number of British television commercials for Tetley. In July 2006, a commercial for Nissan cars, which featured Kim in her Samantha character from
Sex and the City, was withdrawn from New Zealand television, apparently because of complaints about the innuendo. In 2006 she starred alongside Brendan Gleeson in John Boorman's 2006 film
The Tiger's Tail, a black comedy that focuses on the impact of the Celtic Tiger economy on Irish people. On November 11 on ITV, she starred alongside David Haig, Daniel Radcliffe, and Carey Mulligan in
My Boy Jack, the story of author Rudyard Kipling's search for his son lost in World War I.
On June 2, 2008 Cattrall was reported to be set to star in and executive produce
Sensitive Skin for HBO, an adaptation of the same-named British series revolving around a wife and mother of a certain age who rediscovers her sexuality.
Personal life
Cattrall has been married three times.
Her 1977-1979 marriage to Larry Davis was annulled, the only souvenir from this time is her fluent German. Her second marriage was from 1982-89 to Andre J. Lyson. During her
Sex and the City fame she was married (1998-2004) to audio designer Mark Levinson. The two co-wrote the 2002 book
Satisfaction: The Art of the Female Orgasm.
Cattrall has also been linked with former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, Houston Rockets stars Cuttino Mobley and Steve Francis, actor Daniel Benzali, French public intellectual Bernard-Henri Lévy, and her
Whose Life is it Anyway co-star Alexander Siddig. She currently resides in NYC and in East Hampton, NY.
Kim Cattrall in the news
Catching up with Cattrall - The Province
Catching up with CattrallThe Province, Canada - 24 minutes agoKim Cattrall, 52, is back at home, visiting with family and friends. She's also been roped into giving a talk to students at the UBC School of Performing ...
read moreCattrall career in brief - The Province
The ProvinceCattrall career in briefThe Province, Canada - 24 minutes agoBesides playing Samantha Jones in the Sex and the City franchise from 1998-2004, Kim Cattrall is famed in sci-fi geek circles for playing Dr. Gabrielle ...
read more“Sex and the City” Sequel Is A Definite - The Frisky
Showbiz Spy“Sex and the City” Sequel Is A DefiniteThe Frisky, Georgia - 12 hours agoThis time around there won’t be any will-it-ever-happen talk like there was with “Sex and the City: The Movie” because Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall ...Sex and the City Movie Sequel: Still Not Official? PerezHilton.comSATC sequel 'on its way' MetroFields: 'SATC sequel will happen' Digital Spyall 16 news articles
read morePamella Roland Shifts From Night to Day - Wall Street Journal Blogs
Wall Street Journal BlogsPamella Roland Shifts From Night to DayWall Street Journal Blogs, NY - 9 hours ago... which features both daywear and cocktail pieces that have been worn on the red carpet by celebrities like Kim Cattrall and Jennifer Garner. ...
read moreSex the best for women in their 40s? - The Sun
The SunSex the best for women in their 40s?The Sun, UK - 9 hours agoSex And The City's sexy Samantha But it is the middle-aged – like Sex And The City’s maneater Samantha, played by Kim Cattrall – who get the most pleasure ...
read morePolitical violence captured on stage - The West Australian
Political violence captured on stageThe West Australian, Australia - Jan 5, 2009... including rockstar Mick Jagger, playwrights Tom Stoppard and Harold Pinter, actors Alan Rickman and Kim Cattrall, and Czech President Vaclav Havel. ...
read moreChewing the fat - Malaysia Star
Chewing the fatMalaysia Star, Malaysia - Jan 4, 2009Kim Cattrall of Sex and the City fame once said: “I diet every day of my life. After 40 you’ve got to.” Although I turned 40 some years back, ...
read moreSex and the City's Kim Cattrall at UBC - Georgia Straight
Sex and the City's Kim Cattrall at UBCGeorgia Straight, Canada - Dec 29, 2008Another was Kim Cattrall. The 52-year-old BC–bred Cattrall bounced back into the limelight—and even on to the cover of the Straight—with the release of the ...
read moreKim Cattrall set to seduce British PM in The Ghost - Oneindia
Fresh NewsKim Cattrall set to seduce British PM in The GhostOneindia, India - Dec 16, 2008New Delhi (ANI): Sex and the City star Kim Cattrall is all set to enter 10 Downing Street and seduce British Prime Minister just for a new film titled The ...'Sex' star to seduce British PM Stuff.co.nzall 16 news articles
read moreWhere the Girls are on TV: Toni Collette, Eliza Dushku, Brooke Shie...
SheWiredWhere the Girls are on TV: Toni Collette, Eliza Dushku, Brooke ShieldsSheWired, CA - Jan 6, 2009The gals of Sex and the City, Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Charlotte, (Kristin Davis), Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) and Samantha (Kim Cattrall), the primordial ...
read more