Rita Tushingham
Encyclopedia

Career

Born in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

, Tushingham began her career as a stage actress at the Liverpool Playhouse
Liverpool Playhouse
The Liverpool Playhouse is a theatre in Williamson Square in the city of Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It originated in 1866 as a music hall, and in 1911 developed into a repertory theatre. As such it nurtured the early careers of many actors and actresses, some of which went on to achieve...

. Her screen debut was in A Taste of Honey
A Taste of Honey (film)
A Taste of Honey is a 1961 British film adaptation of the play of the same name by Shelagh Delaney. Delaney adapted the screenplay herself, aided by director Tony Richardson, who had previously directed the first production of the play...

(1961). Other performances included The Leather Boys
The Leather Boys
The Leather Boys is a 1964 British drama film about the rocker subculture in London featuring a gay motorcyclist. This film is notable as an early example of a film that violated the Hollywood production code, yet was still shown in the United States, as well as an important film in the genre of...

(1962), Girl with Green Eyes
Girl with Green Eyes
Girl with Green Eyes is a 1964 British drama film, which Edna O'Brien adapted from her novel The Lonely Girl. It was directed by Desmond Davis, and stars Peter Finch, Rita Tushingham, Lynn Redgrave and Julian Glover.- Plot :...

(1963), The Knack …and How to Get It (1965), Doctor Zhivago
Doctor Zhivago (1965 film)
Doctor Zhivago is a 1965 epic drama-romance-war film directed by David Lean and loosely based on the famous novel of the same name by Boris Pasternak...

(1965), The Trap
The Trap (1966 film)
The Trap is an adventure/romance film released in 1966 starring Rita Tushingham and Oliver Reed, written by David D. Osborn and directed by Sidney Hayers....

(1966), Smashing Time
Smashing Time
Smashing Time is a 1967 British comedy film starring Rita Tushingham and Lynn Redgrave. It is a satire on the 1960s media-influenced phenomenon of Swinging London.It was written by George Melly and directed by Desmond Davis...

(1967), The Bed Sitting Room
The Bed-Sitting Room (film)
The Bed-Sitting Room is a 1969 British comedy film directed by Richard Lester and based on the play of the same name. It was entered into the 19th Berlin International Film Festival.-Plot:...

(1969) and The 'Human' Factor
The 'Human' Factor
The 'Human' Factor is a 1975 film directed by Edward Dmytryk and starring George Kennedy and John Mills.-Synopsis:John Kinsdale works in Naples, Italy as a NATO computer specialist. He returns home from work one day to find his beloved family brutally murdered...

(1975).

She has won a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Award. She was a member of the jury at the 22nd Berlin International Film Festival
22nd Berlin International Film Festival
The 22nd annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 23 June to 4 July 1972.-Jury:* Eleanor Perry * Fritz Drobilitsch-Walden* Francis Cosne* Rita Tushingham* Tinto Brass* Yukichi Shinada* Julio Coll* Hans Hellmut Kirst...

 in 1972 and at the 40th Berlin International Film Festival
40th Berlin International Film Festival
The 40th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from February 9 to 20, 1990.-Jury:* Michael Ballhaus * Margaret Ménégoz * Vadim Abdrashitov* Suzana Amaral* Steven Bach* Roberto Benigni* Lívia Gyarmathy...

 in 1990.

Her last roles to date were in the film Being Julia
Being Julia
Being Julia is a 2004 drama film with comic undertones directed by István Szabó and starring Annette Bening and Jeremy Irons. The screenplay by Ronald Harwood is based on the 1937 novel Theatre by W. Somerset Maugham...

(2004), starring Annette Bening
Annette Bening
Annette Carol Bening is an American actress. Bening is a four-time Oscar nominee for her roles in The Grifters, American Beauty, Being Julia and The Kids Are All Right, winning Golden Globe Awards for the latter two films...

, and on television in "The Sittaford Mystery
The Sittaford Mystery
The Sittaford Mystery is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in 1931 under the title of The Murder at Hazelmoor and in UK by the Collins Crime Club on 7 September of the same year under Christie's original title...

" (2006), an episode of Marple
Marple (TV series)
Marple is a British television series based on the Miss Marple and other murder mystery novels by Agatha Christie. It is also known as Agatha Christie's Marple. The title character was played by Geraldine McEwan from the first to third series, until her retirement from the role. She was replaced...

.

Homages

Clips from her performance in The Leather Boys appeared in The Smiths
The Smiths
The Smiths were an English alternative rock band, formed in Manchester in 1982. Based on the song writing partnership of Morrissey and Johnny Marr , the band also included Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce...

' music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...

 for the single, "Girlfriend in a Coma
Girlfriend in a Coma (song)
-Covers:* Mojo Nixon's cover of "Girlfriend in a Coma" on his 1995 album Whereabouts Unknown is in his usual psychobilly style. After the bridge, Mojo asks that the listener not blame him for the lyrics, launching into one of his trademark "rants" in which he finally declares that "I, Mojo Nixon,...

", in 1987. She is also mentioned in the Franz Ferdinand
Franz Ferdinand (band)
Franz Ferdinand are a Scottish post-punk revival band formed in Glasgow in 2002. The band is composed of Alex Kapranos , Bob Hardy , Nick McCarthy , and Paul Thomson .The band first experienced chart success when their second single, "Take Me Out", reached #3 in...

 song "L. Wells
The Fallen / L. Wells
"The Fallen" and "L. Wells" are songs by Scottish Post-punk revival band Franz Ferdinand. "The Fallen" is taken from their second album You Could Have It So Much Better, while "L. Wells" was, at the time, a newly recorded track by the band...

", The Cleaners From Venus song "Illya Kuryakin Looked at Me", and the Television Personalities song, "Favourite Films". In 1999 she was featured on This Is Your Life.

Personal life

Tushingham married photographer Terry Bicknell in 1962. They had two daughters, Dodonna and Aisha Bicknell. In 1981 she married Iraqi cinematographer
Cinematographer
A cinematographer is one photographing with a motion picture camera . The title is generally equivalent to director of photography , used to designate a chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image...

 Ousama Rawi, spending eight years in Canada with him. She now divides her time between Germany and London, with her partner since the mid-1990s, writer Hans-Heinrich Ziemann.

In April 2005, at the age of 33, her daughter Aisha Bicknell was diagnosed as suffering from breast cancer
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...

. Aisha recovered, and later gave birth, providing Tushingham with a grandson. Tushingham became an activist for breast cancer health and support.

Tushingham and Bicknell are prominent supporters of Cancer Research UK
Cancer Research UK
Cancer Research UK is a cancer research and awareness charity in the United Kingdom, formed on 4 February 2002 by the merger of The Cancer Research Campaign and the Imperial Cancer Research Fund. Its aim is to reduce the number of deaths from cancer. As the world's largest independent cancer...

's Relay for Life
Relay For Life
Relay For Life is the main volunteer-driven cancer fundraising event of the American Cancer Society. Originating in the United States, the Relay For Life event has spread to 21 countries. Relay events are held in local communities, campus universities, military bases, and in cyberspace...

 and have given a number of interviews to raise breast cancer awareness.

In July 2009, Tushingham received an Honorary Fellowship from Liverpool John Moores University
Liverpool John Moores University
Liverpool John Moores University is a British 'modern' university located in the city of Liverpool, England. The university is named after John Moores and was previously called Liverpool Mechanics' School of Arts and later Liverpool Polytechnic before gaining university status in 1992, thus...

 for "outstanding and sustained contributions to the Performing Arts".

Selected filmography

  • A Taste of Honey
    A Taste of Honey (film)
    A Taste of Honey is a 1961 British film adaptation of the play of the same name by Shelagh Delaney. Delaney adapted the screenplay herself, aided by director Tony Richardson, who had previously directed the first production of the play...

    (1961)
  • A Place to Go
    A Place to Go
    A Place to Go is a 1963 British crime drama film directed by Basil Dearden and starring Bernard Lee, Rita Tushingham and Michael Sarne. Set in contemporary Bethnal Green in east London it charted the dramatic changes that were happening in the lives of the British working-class at the time, fitting...

    (1963)
  • The Leather Boys
    The Leather Boys
    The Leather Boys is a 1964 British drama film about the rocker subculture in London featuring a gay motorcyclist. This film is notable as an early example of a film that violated the Hollywood production code, yet was still shown in the United States, as well as an important film in the genre of...

    (1964)
  • Girl with Green Eyes
    Girl with Green Eyes
    Girl with Green Eyes is a 1964 British drama film, which Edna O'Brien adapted from her novel The Lonely Girl. It was directed by Desmond Davis, and stars Peter Finch, Rita Tushingham, Lynn Redgrave and Julian Glover.- Plot :...

    (1964)
  • The Knack ...and How to Get It (1965)
  • Doctor Zhivago (1965)
  • The Trap
    The Trap (1966 film)
    The Trap is an adventure/romance film released in 1966 starring Rita Tushingham and Oliver Reed, written by David D. Osborn and directed by Sidney Hayers....

    (1966)
  • Smashing Time
    Smashing Time
    Smashing Time is a 1967 British comedy film starring Rita Tushingham and Lynn Redgrave. It is a satire on the 1960s media-influenced phenomenon of Swinging London.It was written by George Melly and directed by Desmond Davis...

    (1967)
  • Diamonds for Breakfast
    Diamonds for Breakfast (film)
    Diamonds for Breakfast is a 1968 British comedy film directed by Christopher Morahan.-Cast:* Marcello Mastroianni - Grand Duke Nicholas Wladimirovitch Goduno* Rita Tushingham - Bridget Rafferty* Elaine Taylor - Victoria* Margaret Blye - Honey...

    (1968)
  • Straight on Till Morning
    Straight on Till Morning
    Straight on Till Morning is a 1972 British thriller film directed by Peter Collinson and starring Rita Tushingham, Shane Briant, James Bolam, Katya Wyeth and John Clive. A reserved young woman finds herself attracted to a handsome stranger, unaware of his psychotic tendencies...

    (1972)
  • Being Julia
    Being Julia
    Being Julia is a 2004 drama film with comic undertones directed by István Szabó and starring Annette Bening and Jeremy Irons. The screenplay by Ronald Harwood is based on the 1937 novel Theatre by W. Somerset Maugham...

    (2004)
  • Outside Bet
    Outside Bet
    Outside Bet is an upcoming 2011 British drama film directed by Sacha Bennett and starring Bob Hoskins, Jenny Agutter and Philip Davis. It is due for release on 25 November 2011.-Partial cast:* Bob Hoskins - Percy 'Smudge' Smith...

    (2011)

Awards

  • 1966 nominated Best Actress (BAFTA) The Knack .... and How to Get It
  • 1966 nominated Best Actress (Golden Globe) The Knack .... and How to Get It
  • 1965 nominated Best Actress (BAFTA) Girl With Green Eyes
  • 1963 Most promising newcomer (Golden Globe) A Taste of Honey
  • 1962 Most promising newcomer (BAFTA) A Taste of Honey
  • 1962 Best Actress (Cannes Film Festival
    1962 Cannes Film Festival
    -Jury:*Tetsuro Furukaki *Henry Deutschmeister *Sophie Desmarets *Jean Dutourd *Mel Ferrer *Romain Gary *Jerzy Kawalerowicz *Ernst Krüger...

    ) A Taste of Honey

External links

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