Patsy Kensit

b. 1968 · British actress, singer and model

Biography

Patsy Kensit (born 4 March 1968 in Lambeth, London) is a British actress, singer and model who began working as a child. Her career spans film, television and pop music, and her name is closely tied to the 1990s, when the British press followed her private life closely.

She first appeared on screen at the age of four, in 1972, in a television advertisement for frozen peas. She soon moved into film with For the Love of Ada. Her next picture was The Great Gatsby (1974), in which she played the daughter of Mia Farrow's character. In 1976 she had a leading role in The Blue Bird, directed by George Cukor, a film with a large cast that included Elizabeth Taylor, with whom she formed a friendship. In 1979 she appeared in Lady Oscar and Hanover Street, the latter opposite Harrison Ford.

In the mid-1980s she combined acting with music. In 1983 she became the lead singer of the pop group Eighth Wonder, whose songs "I'm Not Scared" and "Cross My Heart" reached the top 20 in Britain. Her role in Absolute Beginners (1986), alongside David Bowie, raised her profile, but her biggest break came with Lethal Weapon 2 (1989), where she played Rika van den Haas, the woman who falls for Mel Gibson's character.

In 1991 she co-starred with Terence Stamp in Prince of Shadows, a Spanish film directed by Pilar Miró that remains one of her best-known titles in Spain. Angels & Insects (1995) later showed her range as an adult performer. Her career has been uneven, with periods of wide popularity and others less successful, and she has moved between film and television, including the soap Emmerdale and the medical drama Holby City, where she played nurse Faye Morton until 2010. Her personal life, including marriages to musicians Jim Kerr and Liam Gallagher, drew considerable media attention, and she is remembered as a style icon of the 1990s. In recent years she has continued to work in television, with a role in EastEnders in 2023.

Key films

The Great Gatsby (1974): her first major role in a Hollywood production, playing the daughter of Mia Farrow's character.
The Blue Bird (1976): leading role in this family fantasy directed by George Cukor.
Lethal Weapon 2 (1989): her role as Rika van den Haas brought her wider international recognition.
Prince of Shadows (1991): co-starring with Terence Stamp in Pilar Miró's film, widely seen in Spain.
Angels & Insects (1995): a period drama with a strong cast, in which she worked alongside leading British performers.