Rachael Stirling
Rachael Stirling | |
|---|---|
| Born | Rachael Atlanta Stirling 30 May 1977 London, England, UK |
| Years active | 1997 - present |
| Parent(s) | Archie Stirling, Diana Rigg |
Rachael Atlanta Stirling (born 30 May 1977)[1] is an English stage, film and television actress. She is a two-time Olivier nominee for her stage work, but is best known for her performance as Nancy Astley in the BBC drama Tipping the Velvet.
Personal life
Stirling is the daughter of the actress Diana Rigg and theatre producer Archibald Stirling.[2] Her parents subsequently married in 1982 and divorced in 1990.[3] Through her father, she has a long line of ancestry from the Scottish parish of Lecropt, near her namesake city of Stirling.
Stirling attended Wycombe Abbey School. She earned a BA in art history from Edinburgh University.[1]
Stirling can speak Russian and is a highly skilled equestrian in horse-riding and jumping.[1]
She has been in a relationship with fellow actor Oliver Chris since 2007.[2]
Theatre
Stirling made her first major appearance on stage in 1996 as Desdemona in the National Youth Theatre revival of Othello at the Arts Theatre opposite Chiwetel Ejiofor in the title role.[1] A year later, again at the Arts Theatre with the NYT, she played Olive in the female version of The Odd Couple; while in 1998, portraying Kate in Dancing at Lughnasa for NYT at the Arts, she gave what The Stage reviewer described as "a performance of exceptional promise and authority".
She continues to be active in the theatre, covering a diversity of roles in plays such as Dusty Hughes' Helpless (Donmar Warehouse, 2000); A Woman of No Importance (Theatre Royal Haymarket, 2003); Anna in the Tropics (Hampstead Theatre, 2004); Tamburlaine (Bristol Old Vic and Barbican, 2005); and she followed in her mother's footsteps, bringing an alluring erotic charge to her performance as Miranda Lionheart in the National Theatre stage version of Theatre of Blood (2005).
In 2006, for the Peter Hall Company at the Theatre Royal, Bath she played Helena in Peter Gill's revival of Look Back in Anger; while in 2007 at Wilton's Music Hall in London, she starred as Yelena in David Mamet's version of Uncle Vanya,[4] and as Katharina in The Taming of the Shrew.[5][6]
Stirling starred onstage in The Priory at the Royal Court Theatre in 2009 directed by Jeremy Herrin. Her role, as Rebecca, earned her a nomination for Laurence Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role.[2] In 2010 she appeared as Helena in Peter Hall's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, at the Rose Theatre, Kingston.[2]
She starred as Lady Chiltern in a 2010 production of An Ideal Husband at the Vaudeville Theatre, for which she received her second nomination for a Laurence Olivier Award.[7] From February to April 2012 she appeared as Miranda alongside Mark Gatiss, Tobias Menzies and Nancy Carroll in The Recruiting Officer, the acclaimed production at the Donmar Warehouse, directed by newly appointed artistic director Josie Rourke.
Film
Stirling's first screen appearance was in the 1998 British comedy film Still Crazy (starring Stephen Rea, Billy Connolly, Timothy Spall and Jimmy Nail).[1]
Other film projects include Maybe Baby, Complicity (with her Tipping the Velvet co-star Keeley Hawes), Another Life (with Vanity Fair actress Natasha Little), The Triumph of Love (starring Mira Sorvino), and Redemption Road. She recently played the role of Mary Jones in Salmon Fishing in the Yemen.
Television
Stirling's first break in television was in the 2000 NBC miniseries In the Beginning, which was adapted from Genesis.[1] Stirling played the young Rebeccah, with her mother, Diana Rigg, as the older Rebeccah.
In 2011, she starred in the BBC Four adaptation of D. H. Lawrence's Women in Love, as Ursula Brangwen.[7]
She is set to appear in an episode of Doctor Who alongside her mother Diana Rigg, Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman. The episode had been specially written for herself and her mother by Mark Gatiss and will be aired in 2013 as part of Series 7.[8]
Other work
Stirling is an occasional interviewer on the Radio Four chat-show Loose Ends.[2] She also wrote a restaurant column for Diplomat magazine.[2][9]
She took part in Occupy London's reading of Dickens' A Christmas Carol on the steps of St Paul's Cathedral, London, in December 2011.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Still Crazy | Clare Knowles | |
| 2000 | Maybe Baby | Joanna | |
| Complicity | Claire | ||
| In the Beginning | Young Rebeccah | TV film | |
| 2001 | Redemption Road | Becky | |
| Another Life | Avis Graydon | ||
| The Triumph of Love | Corine | ||
| Othello | Lulu | TV film | |
| 2002 | Tipping the Velvet | Nan Astley | TV series (3 episodes) Dallas OUT TAKES—Best Actress |
| Bait | Stephanie Raeburn | TV film | |
| 2003 | Agatha Christie's Poirot | Caroline Crale | TV series (1 episode: "Five Little Pigs") |
| 2004 | Freeze Frame | Katie Carter | |
| Agatha Christie's Marple: The Murder at the Vicarage | Griselda Clement | TV film | |
| The Final Quest | Young Annabelle | TV film | |
| 2005 | Riot at the Rite | Marie Rambert | TV film |
| 2006 | Beyond | Guilean Hade | TV film |
| The Truth | Martha | ||
| Hotel Babylon | Nina Bailey | TV series (1 episode: "Episode #1.1") | |
| The Haunted Airman | Julia Jugg | TV film | |
| 2007 | Dangerous Parking | Kirstin | |
| 2008 | Lewis | Zöe Kenneth | TV series (1 episode: "Life Born of Fire") |
| 2009 | The Young Victoria | Duchess of Sutherland | |
| Minder | Eve Cornell | TV series (1 episode: "Thank Your Lucky Stars") | |
| Boy Meets Girl | Veronica Burton | TV series (4 episodes) | |
| 2010 | Centurion | Druzilla | |
| 2011 | Women in Love | Ursula Brangwen | |
| 2012 | Salmon Fishing in the Yemen | Mary Jones | Film |
| 2012 | Snow White & the Huntsman | Anna | Film |
| 2013 | Doctor Who | Unconfirmed | Series 7 |
References
- ^ a b c d e f Drama Faces - Rachael Stirling, BBC, January 2006, retrieved 12 June 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f Groskop, Viv (17 February 2010), Rachael Stirling is a rising stage star – and she's in love with her ass, London Evening Standard, retrieved 12 June 2011
{{citation}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help). - ^ Farndale, Nigel. "Diana Rigg: Her Story". Telegraph.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2008-08-03. Retrieved 12 June 2011.
- ^ Uncle Vanya The Stage, 29 January 2007 - Review of Stirling in Uncle Vanya
- ^ The Taming of the Shrew Times Online, 24 March 2007
- ^ Wiltons Music Hall
- ^ a b Radford, Ceri (24 March 2011), Rachael Stirling: 'It's not all about sordid rutting', Telegraph.co.uk, retrieved 12 June 2011.
- ^ Doctor Who, Dame Diana Rigg and Rachael Stirling to Star in New Series!, accessed 3 July 2012
- ^ Diplomat Magazine - All articles by Rachael Stirling, Diplomat, retrieved 11 June 2011
{{citation}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help).