Keira Knightley (born 1985)
Keira Christina Knightley was born in 1985 in Teddington and is now one of the great Hollywood actresses who receive the most fees. Her mother is a writer and her father is also an actor. Knightley’s breakthrough helped her roles in “Pirates of the Caribbean” (2003), “Pride and Prejudice” (2005) and “London Boulevard” (2010). She is also the advertising face for the Coco Mademoiselle perfume.
Hugh Laurie (born 1959)
actor, musician and writer. Hugh Laurie was born in Oxford in 1959 and studied at both Eton College and Cambridge University. Laurie also started out as a stage actor before starring in the hit BBC sketch series “Fry and Laurie” between 1986 and 1995. He is best known in Germany as Dr. House in the television series of the same name. Laurie also made her debut in 2011 with the music album “Let them talk” in collaboration with Tom Jones.
Phyllida Law (born 1932)
Phyllida Ann Law was born in Glasgow in 1932 and mostly starred in TV films and series. But she also has a lucky hand for the cinema and showed her acting talent in “Much Ado About Nothing” (1993), “Anna Karenina” (1997), “Grasgeflüster” (2000) as well as in “Days of Darkness – Day of Wrath” (2006). Oscar winner and Golden Globe winner Emma Thompson is their daughter.
Vivien Leigh (1913-1967)
Vivian Mary Hartley was born in Darjiling in 1913 and studied at the London Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Her most important role was that of Scarlett O’Hara in the classic “Gone with the Wind” (1939), for which she also got the Oscar. Leigh also worked in films such as “Anna Karenina” (1948), “Endstation Sehnsucht” (1951) and “Das Narrenschiff” (1965). The actress also made a name for herself on Broadway in plays such as “Romeo and Juliet” (1940). Leigh died in London in 1967.
Frank Lloyd (1886-1960)
actor, producer, director. Frank Lloyd was born in Glasgow in 1886 and started out in the theater. He was one of the greats in Hollywood, where he co-founded the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In 1935 he released “Mutiny on the Bounty” – Lloyd’s most successful film. But also “Herrscher der Meere” (1939) and “The Invisible Agent” (1942) go to his account as a director and the latter as a producer. Lloyd died in Santa Monica in 1960.
Kelly Macdonald (born 1976)
Kelly Macdonald was born in Glasgow in 1936. Her success began with Trainspotting, as with so many Scottish actors. Since then there has been no stopping. This was followed by globally successful cinema hits such as “When Dreams Learn To Fly” (2004), “No Country for Old Men” (2007) and also “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2” (2011). MacDonald has already been nominated several times for prizes such as the Emmy and the Golden Globe Award.
Kevin Macdonald (born 1967)
director, producer, screenwriter. Kevin Macdonald was born in Glasgow in 1967. He received an Oscar in 2000 for his Munich 1972 documentary “One Day In September”. He celebrated other successes with films such as “The Last King of Scotland – In the Fangs of Power” (2006), which is about the dictator Idi Amin, or the historical film “The Eagle of the Ninth Legion” (2011).
David Mackenzie (born 1966)
David Mackenzie was born in Corbridge in 1966. He had his breakthrough in 2003 with “Young Adam”, in which Tilda Swinton also took part. He was hailed as the British Newcomer of the Year and won his first prize. Mackenzie initially experimented in the short film genre. It is remarkable that he lets his little brother Alastair play in almost all of his productions. His film “Toy Boy” (2009) with the womanizer Ashton Kutcher was received by international audiences, but was criticized in depth.
John Madden (born 1949)
theater and film director. Madden was born in Portsmouth in 1949. He studied at Cambridge, then worked for the BBC and lived mostly in the United States between the 1970s and 1980s. His international breakthrough came in 1998 with the film “Shakespeare in Love”, which was awarded seven Oscars.
Rebecca Mader (born 1977)
actress. Mader was born in Cambridge in 1977 and then worked as a model for Colgate and Wella in the United States. She earned worldwide fame as an actress through the popular US series “Lost”, in which she plays Charlotte. At the side of George Clooney she is z. B. seen in the 2009 film “Men who stare at goats”.
Richard Marquand (1938-1987)
film director and producer, screenwriter. Richard Marquand was born in Cardiff in 1938. He studied in both Cambridge and France and often appeared under the stage name Jannis Laux. His greatest success was taking over the direction of the “Star Wars” movie episode “Return of the Jedi” in 1983. He also felt at home in genres such as horror and thriller. Richard Marquand died very young of a heart attack in 1987 in Los Angeles.
Sam Mendes (born 1965)
director. Samuel Alexander Mendes was born in Reading in 1965, attended school in Oxford and college in Cambridge. No less a person than Steven Spielberg lured Mendes to America. For his first feature film “American Beauty” (1999) he received an Oscar as a director. Mendes’ “Road to Perdition” (2002) and “Zeiten des Aufruhrs” (2008) have also received high levels of praise, also have a star cast and have achieved international fame.
Roger Moore (born 1927)
Sir Roger George Moore was born in London in 1927. He fought in World War II and after studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art went to the United States to become an actor. He eventually gained fame through the role of the detective Simon Templar in the series of the same name and from 1973 took over the role of the secret agent James Bond. He made a total of 7 Bond films, including: “Live and Let Die” (1973), “Moonraker” (1979) and “Octopussy” (1983).
