Rowena King
Encyclopedia
Rowena Josephine King (born 6 December 1970), sometimes credited as Roweena King, is an English
film
, television
and theatre
actress.
, England
, to an African mother and a Caucasian
British father.
Rowena King spent her childhood with her parents, John and Phyllis in Hertfordshire
. King received formal dramatic instruction in Great Britain at the London Drama School.
and became a frequent presence on U.K. television.
King is perhaps best known for her appearance as Amelie, the provocative and sensual Jamaica
n slave
in the film Wide Sargasso Sea
, costarring Karina Lombard
and Nathaniel Parker
.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
and theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
actress.
Early life and education
She was born in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, to an African mother and a Caucasian
Caucasian race
The term Caucasian race has been used to denote the general physical type of some or all of the populations of Europe, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Western Asia , Central Asia and South Asia...
British father.
Rowena King spent her childhood with her parents, John and Phyllis in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
. King received formal dramatic instruction in Great Britain at the London Drama School.
Career
Following her education, she appeared in ensemble work with the Royal Shakespeare CompanyRoyal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
and became a frequent presence on U.K. television.
King is perhaps best known for her appearance as Amelie, the provocative and sensual Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n slave
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
in the film Wide Sargasso Sea
Wide Sargasso Sea (1993 film)
Wide Sargasso Sea is a 1993 film adaption of Jean Rhys's 1966 novel of the same name, directed by John Duigan.-Plot summary:For a full length summary see: plot summary of Wide Sargasso Sea.-Release:...
, costarring Karina Lombard
Karina Lombard
Karina Lombard is an actress and singer.- Early life :Lombard was born in Tahiti. Her mother, Nupuree Lightfoot, is a medicine woman of the Lakota Nation and was an immigrant living in Tahiti. Her father, Henry Lombard, a banker, is a European aristocrat of Russian, Italian and Swiss descent....
and Nathaniel Parker
Nathaniel Parker
Nathaniel Parker is an English actor best known for playing Detective Inspector Thomas "Tommy" Lynley in the BBC crime drama series The Inspector Lynley Mysteries.-Personal life:...
.
Partial film and television work
She has appeared in ten films and over twenty television productions.- London Kills MeLondon Kills MeLondon Kills Me is a 1991 film written and directed by Hanif Kureshi and starred Justin Chadwick and Steven Mackintosh. Set in West London it tells the tale of a group of homeless drugtakers and general losers with black humour. Even so, the portrayal of life on London's streets was sympathetic if...
(1991; film) as Melanie - Framed (1993; television miniseriesMiniseriesA miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
) - To Play the KingTo Play the KingTo Play The King is a 1993 BBC television serial, the second part of the House of Cards trilogy. Directed by Paul Seed, the serial was based on the Michael Dobbs novel of the same name and adapted for television by Andrew Davies...
(1993; television miniseries) as Chloe Carmichael - Wide Sargasso SeaWide Sargasso Sea (1993 film)Wide Sargasso Sea is a 1993 film adaption of Jean Rhys's 1966 novel of the same name, directed by John Duigan.-Plot summary:For a full length summary see: plot summary of Wide Sargasso Sea.-Release:...
(1993; film) as Amelie - The Turnaround (1995; film) as Fiona
- DarklandsDarklands (film)Darklands is a British horror film written and directed by Julian Richards, starring Craig Fairbrass, Jon Finch, Rowena King and released in 1997....
(1996; film) as Rachel Morris - HamletHamlet (1996 film)Hamlet is a 1996 film version of William Shakespeare's classic play of the same name, adapted and directed by Kenneth Branagh, who also stars in the title role as Prince Hamlet...
(1996; film) as Attendant to GertrudeGertrude (Hamlet)In William Shakespeare's play Hamlet, Gertrude is Hamlet's mother and Queen of Denmark. Her relationship with Hamlet is somewhat turbulent, since he resents her for marrying her husband's brother Claudius after he murdered the King... - My Son the FanaticMy Son the Fanatic (film)My Son the Fanatic is a 1997 British drama film directed by Udayan Prasad. It was written by Hanif Kureishi from his short story My Son the Fanatic.-Plot:...
(1997; film) as Margot
- So This Is Romance?, also known as Romance and Rejection (1998; film) as Moira
- Wonderful YouWonderful YouWonderful You is a British drama television series made by Hartswood Films for the ITV network in 1999. The series was shown at 10 pm, after ITN moved their main evening newscast away from this traditional slot. It plots the lives of a group of people in their early thirties...
(1999; television seriesTelevision programA television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
) - Proof of LifeProof of LifeProof of Life is a 2000 American film, directed by Taylor Hackford. The title refers to a phrase commonly used to indicate proof that a kidnap victim is still alive...
(2000; film) as Pamela - Breaking News (2002; television series)
- Today I Vote for My Joey (2002; film) as Maryse
- A Perfect Day (2006; television filmTelevision movieA television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
) - The Bucket ListThe Bucket ListThe Bucket List is a 2007 comedy-drama film directed by Rob Reiner, written by Justin Zackham, and starring Academy Award-winners Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman...
(2007; film) as Angelica - Grey's AnatomyGrey's AnatomyGrey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...
(2007; television series episode: "Desire") as Celeste - Half & HalfHalf & HalfHalf & Half is an American sitcom that aired on UPN from September 23, 2002, to May 15, 2006. The show focuses on the lives of two paternal half-sisters in their twenties who were estranged throughout their childhood, and are finally developing a close relationship...
(2004; television series: 6 episodes) as Camille
- Criminal Minds (2010)
External links
- Staff writerStaff writerStaff writer is a byline that indicates that the author of the article at hand is employed by the periodical that published the article as a regular staff member, and not as a freelance writer or special contributor....
(undated). "Rowena King". Mahogany Cafe (a tribute websiteFansiteA fansite, fan site, or fanpage is a website created and maintained by a fan or devotee interested in a celebrity, thing, or a particular cultural phenomenon...
to "black actresses in Hollywood"). Accessed 20 January 2010.