Alex Kingston
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| Alex Kingston | |
|---|---|
| Born | Alexandra Elizabeth Kingston 11 March 1963 Epsom, Surrey, England, UK |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1980–present |
| Spouse(s) | Ralph Fiennes (1993-1997) (divorced) Florian Haertel (1998-present) 1 child |
Alexandra Elizabeth "Alex" Kingston[1] (born 11 March 1963)[1] is an English actress most widely known for her role as Dr. Elizabeth Corday on the NBC medical drama ER.
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[edit] Early life
Kingston was born and raised in Epsom, Surrey. She is the eldest of three daughters of a butcher, Anthony Kingston,[1] and his German wife. Her mother's younger brother is actor Walter Renneisen.[2] She was inspired to pursue acting by one of her teachers at her all-girls grammar school Rosebery School for Girls. She later completed a two-year programme at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and went on to join the prestigious Royal Shakespeare Company.
[edit] Career
Alex Kingston has appeared in a number of British produced television dramas, including Grange Hill, Crocodile Shoes, Moll Flanders, The Knock and a guest role on The Bill. In 1997, Kingston gained American television fame after being cast on the medical drama ER at the start of the fourth season. Her character Elizabeth Corday was a British surgeon arriving from England. Alex Kingston played this role for just over seven seasons until leaving in 2004, four episodes into Season 11. In 2009, Kingston returned to ER for two episodes (including the series finale) during its 15th and final season.
Her film credits include The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989), A Pin for the Butterfly (1994), Croupier (1998), Boudica (Warrior Queen in the USA) (2003) in which she played Boudica, and Sweet Land (2005). In 2006, she starred opposite Christian Slater in the West End (London, England) production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, playing Nurse Ratched to Slater's Randle Patrick McMurphy.
In November 2005, Alex Kingston appeared in the long-running drama series Without A Trace (season 4 episode 6). She played the distressed wife of a wealthy American man who is snatched by a Mexican street gang on the last night of their honeymoon. Later, she turns out to be the person who masterminded the kidnapping.
In 2006, Kingston claimed she was turned down for a role on ABC's Desperate Housewives, as Lynette Scavo, for being too curvy.[3] In the same article, she admitted to considering and nearly attempting suicide after her split with ex-husband Ralph Fiennes.
On May 31, 2008 and June 7, 2008, she guest-starred in the fourth series of the long-running science fiction television programme Doctor Who in the two-part story "Silence in the Library"/"Forest of the Dead" as Professor River Song.
On June 30, 2008, it was announced that Kingston would play lead character Ellie Lagden in the new BBC One drama series Hope Springs.
In September the same year, she took the part of Mrs. Bennet in ITV's acclaimed four-part production Lost in Austen which is based on Austen's "Pride and Prejudice".
In October 2008, Kingston portrayed a psychiatrist on the show CSI: Crime Scene Investigation in the episode Art Imitates Life. She played a grief counselor who helped the team cope with the recent death of CSI member Warrick Brown.
In February 2009, Alex Kingston appeared as a defense attorney in two episodes of the TV series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. This guest spot reunited Kingston with her former castmate from ER, Mariska Hargitay. Hargitay had a recurring role on ER alongside Kingston during the 1997-1998 season of ER.
In September 2009, Kingston appeared as a recurring member of the cast in FlashForward. She plays Inspector Fiona Banks.
She was spotted on set at the filming of the new series of Doctor Who on 20 July 2009.[4]
[edit] Personal life
Kingston met actor Ralph Fiennes while both were students at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. They were together for ten years before marrying in 1993. They divorced in 1997. Kingston married her second husband, German writer and freelance journalist Florian Haertel, in 1998. They met the previous year on a blind date arranged by friends.[5] They have a daughter together, Salome Violetta, born on 28 March 2001.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c "Person Page 18418". thePeerage.com. http://www.thepeerage.com/p18418.htm. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
- ^ (article in German)
- ^ Dissing the desperately skinny ‘Housewives’ - Gossip Archive - MSNBC.com
- ^ "Slideshow PopUp". Thesun.co.uk. http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/article2544923.ece?slideshowPopup=true&articleId=2544923&nSlide=7. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
- ^ 'At my age, if we want to have another child, this is the time to do it' | Society | The Guardian
