25 Great Performances By English Actresses (1985 - 1998)

"I was always pretty much ahead of the game in fashion. In fact, when I was sixteen I saw a stunning little shop girl walking down Oxford Street in an extremely short skirt, white socks and flat patent leather shoes. I thought her look was simply stunning. I immediately went to my friend and neighbour, Mary Quant, and asked her to take nine inches off my new skirt. Mary replied shrugging, "Sarah, you'll feel the breeze," She did it anyway. It looked really good on me what with my long skinny legs, so the mini skirt was born. I have asked Mary on many occasions why she never mentions the truth, to give me credit, but she keeps it all for herself … bad karma she's building up there!
Regarding my films. I never saw them as anything else other than they had to be challenging, and films I wanted to make. I made a vow after 'Term of Trial,' that I would never make special effects films, nor violent films, nor ever do a commercial, by that I mean never be linked to a product. (No wonder I very rarely work!) But I have kept that vow all the same."

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Theatre actress Miranda Richardson made her feature film debut with her portrayal of Ruth Ellis in 'Dance With A Stranger'. Ellis became the last woman to be hanged in the U K in 1955, when she was convicted of murder. The last execution in the U K was in 1964.

Theatre actress Amanda Donohoe dated punk singer Adam Ant when she was a teenager and this led to her appearing in two music videos for Adam And The Ants, 'Antmusic' and 'Stand And Deliver'. I've not seen her first movie, Ronald Neame's comedy 'Foreign Body' (1986). 'Castaway' was her second movie and saw her cast opposite an actor tagged by the English press as being "the undisputed bad boy of English cinema", rowdy alcoholic Oliver Reed.

Theatre actress Natasha Richardson was the daughter of actress Vanessa Redgrave and filmmaker Tony Richardson. Her grandparents were theatre perfomers Rachel Kempson and Michael Redgrave. Other family members involved in theatre included her sister Joely Richardson, her aunt Lynn Redgrave, her uncle Corin Redgrave and her cousin Jemma Redgrave. Having played a supporting role in 'Every Picture Tells A Story' (1983), Richardson secured her first leading role with 'Gothic'.

Sadly, Natasha Richardson passed away in 2009 at the age of 45.

Helena Bonham Carter is descended from prominent British politicians and activists. She became an essential part of American filmmaker James Ivory's stock company when he cast her in the leading role in 'A Room With A View' (1985). 'Lady Jane' was just her second feature and it saw her playing Lady Jane Grey who was executed in 1554, for theatre director Trevor Nunn.

# Helena Bonham Carter is a 2-time Academy Award nominee for 'The Wings Of The Dove' (1997) and 'The King's Speech' (2010).

Theatre actress Sarah Miles became one of England's most influential screen performers in the 1960s and this lasted across several decades. Her performance in the wartime drama 'Hope And Glory' provides the film with an anchor.

Emily Lloyd's mother was theatrical agent Sheila Hughes who once worked as a secretary for playwright Harold Pinter. Her father was actor Roger Lloyd-Pack, designated a "national treasure" for his participation in the outspoken English patriot's typical choice for favourite sitcom, UK Gold-viewer / Britbox-subscriber favourite 'Only Fools and Horses....'. Her grandfather was character actor Charles Lloyd-Pack. She made her film acting debut in 'Wish You Were Here', portraying brothel keeper Cynthia Payne during her early, formative years.

Theatre actress Kristin Scott Thomas was discovered by American musician Prince who cast her in his musical 'Under The Cherry Moon' (1986). Her next movie was Jean-Pierre Mocky's 'Agent Trouble' (1987) which is significant as she's worked a great deal in France. 'A Handful Of Dust' is an adaptation of a novel by satirist Evelyn Waugh.

Amanda Donohoe became a member of filmmaker Ken Russell's stock company in the late 1980s when she acted in 'The Lair Of The White Worm' and 'The Rainbow' (1989).

09) Sammi Davis (21 June 1964, Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England) : 'The Rainbow' (1989 - Ken Russell)

Sammi Davis made her feature film debut in Irish filmmaker Neil Jordan's drama 'Mona Lisa' (1986). She became a member of filmmaker Ken Russell's stock company in the late 1980s when she acted in 'The Lair Of The White Worm' (1988) and 'The Rainbow' which is an adaptation of a novel by D.H. Lawrence; Russell called her his "unruly punk muse".

Comedienne Camille Coduri made her film acting debut in Mike Hodges' political thriller 'A Prayer For The Dying' (1987). Two of her early comic gems were helmed by Americans, Robert Ellis Millers' 'Hawks' (1988) and David S. Ward's 'King Ralph' (1991). Sandwiched in between were 'Strapless' (1989) with playwright David Hare and the outrageous 'Nuns On The Run'.

Dancer Thandie Newton made her feature film acting debut in 'Flirting', John Duigan's autobiographical follow-up to 'The Year My Voice Broke' (1987).

Theatre actress Tara Fitzgerald was descended from a long line of artists. Her father was painter Michael Callaby and her mother was Irish photographer Sarah Geraldine Fitzgerald. She spent part of her childhood in Bahamas which gifted her a different outlook on life that complimented her offbeat sensibility. She made her film acting debut in the comic musical 'Hear My Song' about an episode in the life of Irish tenor Josef Locke.

Helena Bonham Carter made her name with the period drama 'A Room With A View' (1985) which was an adaptation of a novel by E.M. Foster. She reteamed with director James Ivory to make 'Maurice' (1987) and 'Howard's End' (1992), two more Forster adaptations. In between, she acted in another Forster adaptation, 'Where Angels Fear To Tread'.

14) Patsy Kensit (4 March 1968, Lambeth, London, England) : 'Blame It On The Bellboy' (1992 - Mark Herman)

Patsy Kensit was a child actress in the 1970s who built up a tremendous amount of experience to take in to adulthood. She once described herself as an "à la carte" Catholic. One of her most popular comedies was the riotous farce 'Blame It On The Bellboy'.

Respected theatre actress Lia Williams made her film acting debut in the revenge thriller 'Dirty Weekend'.

Model and comedienne Sara Stockbridge was once the muse of punk fashion designer Vivienne Westwood. She secured a choice part in the science-fiction fantasy 'U.F.O. : The Movie' which was directed by Tony Dow, esteemed director of 'Only Fools and Horses....'

17) Rachel Weisz (7 March 1970, Westminster, London, England) : 'Death Machine' (1994 - Stephen Norrington)

Theatre actress Rachel Weisz was a junior at the College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge when a coterie of beloved "national treasures" were being groomed for television superstardom, including comedy duo Alexander Armstrong & Ben Miller, daytime duo Mel Giedroyc & Sue Perkins, celebrity prankster Sacha Baron Cohen and quiz show creator turned bestselling author Richard Osman. She made her film acting debut as a junior executive in special effects expert Stephen Norrington's horror movie 'Death Machine'.

Theatre actress Helen Mirren became one of England's most innovative screen performers in the 1960s and this lasted across several decades. Her critically acclaimed performance in 'The Madness Of King George' was given for English theatre director Nicholas Hytner but she often worked with directors from around the globe.

Tara Fitzgerald nabbed a plum role in 'Sirens', a religious satire involving a community of artists, as it reflected her own family backgroud of art and Catholicism.

Georgina Cates acted in television as a child under her real name, Clare Woodgate. She changed her name to make her feature film acting debut in 'An Awfully Big Adventure' which was based on a novel by Beryl Bainbridge.

Tara Fitzgerald appeared in two domestic box-office hits in the mid-1990s, Welsh filmmaker Christopher Monger's comic fable 'The Englishman Who Went Up A Hill But Came Down A Mountain' (1995), and the musical comedy 'Brassed Off'.

Singer and actress Samantha Janus' father was singer-songwriter Noel Janus. Her mother was figure model Diana O'Hanlon. Her grandmother was actress and choreographer Sheila Holt. Her great-great-grandmother was theatre actress Jessie Ryder. Janus worked with underground fantasy filmmaker Paul Matthews on 'Breeders', a reimagining of American filmmaker Tim Kincaid's hypnosis horror 'Breeders' (1986).

Helena Bonham Carter put herself through the proverbial emotional wringer to etch her harrowing performance in 'The Wings Of The Dove', an adaptation of a novel by Henry James.

Helena Bonham Carter was a talented comedienne. Like Miranda Richardson, Camille Coduri and Sara Stockbridge, she worked with members of British comedy troupe, the Comic Strip. In 'Sweet Revenge', she worked alongside comic Steve Coogan, for me, the greatest English comedian of his generation.

Samantha Janus picked a perfect part in playwright John Godber's sports comedy 'Up 'N' Under'.