Natascha McElhone
Natascha Abigail Taylor (born 14 December 1969[1]), known professionally as Natascha McElhone (/ˈmækəlhoʊn/), is a British actress. She is a graduate of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. In film, she is best known for her roles in Ronin (1998), The Truman Show (1998), and Solaris (2002).
Natascha McElhone | |
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![]() McElhone in May 2018 | |
Born | Natascha Abigail Taylor 14 December 1969 Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England |
Alma mater | London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1990–present |
Spouse |
Martin Hirigoyen Kelly
(m. 1998; died 2008) |
Children | 3 |
Family | Roy Greenslade (stepfather) |
On television, she has portrayed Karen van der Beek, the long-time partner of Hank Moody, in the Showtime comedy-drama series Californication (2007–2014), First Lady of the United States Alex Kirkman in the ABC political drama Designated Survivor[2] (2016–2017), and Laz Ingram in Beau Willimon's Hulu science-fiction series The First (2018). McElhone also portrayed Penelope Knatchbull in season 5 of The Crown.[3]
Early life
She was born Natascha Abigail Taylor in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey on 14 December 1969[4] to Noreen McElhone and Michael Taylor, both journalists.[5] She took her mother's maiden name as her stage name. McElhone has a brother, Damon, who lives in Los Angeles and is a scriptwriter; and two half-brothers: Alexander, who lives in Zürich, and Nicholas, who lives in Stockholm. Her parents separated when she was two. Her Irish mother moved the family to Brighton and later married journalist and columnist Roy Greenslade.[6]
McElhone was educated at St Mark's CofE Primary School, Brighton; St Mary's Hall, Brighton; Fortismere School, London; Camden School for Girls, London; and William Ellis, London. She took lessons in Irish dancing from ages six to 12. She graduated from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in 1993.
Career
McElhone began her career in the theatre, including starring roles in Richard III and A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park, London, and in The Count of Monte Cristo and The Cherry Orchard at the Haymarket Theatre, Leicester. She made her television debut in 1990, credited as "Natascha Taylor", in Television South's adaptation of the Inspector Wexford story An Unkindness of Ravens.[7]
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McElhone appeared in two episodes of the Dennis Potter TV miniseries Karaoke. Her first major box-office role came with Surviving Picasso (1996), with co-star Anthony Hopkins. One of her most successful films to date has been The Truman Show (1998) with Jim Carrey. She had leading roles opposite Brad Pitt in The Devil's Own (1997), Robert De Niro in Ronin (1998), and George Clooney in Solaris (2002).[8]
Co-starring with Bill Pullman, McElhone appeared in the NBC miniseries Revelations (2005). She starred in a 2006 West End production of Honour at the Wyndham's Theatre alongside Diana Rigg and Martin Jarvis. She accepted a leading role in the Showtime cable television series Californication as Karen, alongside David Duchovny.[9] In 2009 McElhone became a spokeswoman for Neutrogena.[10] In 2010, she was the voice of Marie in the video game Castlevania: Lords of Shadow from Konami.[11]
McElhone featured as Juliet's mother, Lady Capulet, in Romeo and Juliet (2013), a film adaptation of Shakespeare's play. Douglas Booth and Hailee Steinfeld were the leads, and Damian Lewis played her husband.[12] In 2014, she played the role of Alex Forrest in Fatal Attraction, at the Theatre Royal Haymarket. In 2015, McElhone starred as Sarah Churchill in the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Helen Edmundson's Queen Anne.[13]
In February 2016, she was cast alongside Kiefer Sutherland in ABC's political drama Designated Survivor, which premiered in September 2016.[14] She left the show in Season 2 to take a role in the Hulu series The First. In 2022, McElhone portrayed Penelope Knatchbull in season 5 of The Crown.[3]
Personal life
McElhone married plastic surgeon Martin Hirigoyen Kelly on 19 May 1998.[15] The couple lived in Fulham, south-west London, with their sons Theodore (born 2000) and Otis (born May 2003); their third son, Rex, was born in October 2008, five months after Kelly's death.[16]
On 20 May 2008, 43-year-old Kelly was found slumped in the doorway of his family's home by a fellow doctor, who had him rushed to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital (where he worked). He could not be revived and died one day after his 10th wedding anniversary. A postmortem exam revealed the cause of death to have been dilated cardiomyopathy.[17][18]
After her husband's death, McElhone continued to write letters to him, sometimes documenting the daily trivia of life but also dealing with how she and their young children were coping with their loss. These letters and diary entries formed the basis of her book After You: Letters of Love, and Loss, to a Husband and Father. The book was published in July 2010.[19][20]
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1996 | Surviving Picasso | Françoise Gilot | |
1997 | The Devil's Own | Megan Doherty | |
1997 | Mrs Dalloway | Young Clarissa Dalloway | |
1998 | The Truman Show | Lauren Garland / Sylvia | |
1998 | What Rats Won't Do | Kate Beckenham | |
1998 | Ronin | Deirdre | |
2000 | Love's Labour's Lost | Lady Rosaline | |
2000 | Contaminated Man | Holly Anderson | |
2002 | Laurel Canyon | Sara | |
2002 | FeardotCom | Terry Huston | |
2002 | Killing Me Softly | Deborah Tallis | |
2002 | City of Ghosts | Sophie | |
2002 | Solaris | Rheya Kelvin | |
2004 | Ladies in Lavender | Olga Daniloff | |
2005 | Guy X | Sgt. Irene Teal | |
2006 | Big Nothing | Penelope Wood | |
2008 | The Secret of Moonacre | Loveday de Noir | |
2008 | Blessed | Lou | |
2010 | The Kid | Gloria | |
2013 | The Sea | Connie Grace | |
2013 | Romeo and Juliet | Lady Capulet | |
2014 | Believe | Erica Gallagher | |
2016 | Mr. Church | Marie Brooks | |
2016 | London Town | Sandrine Baker | |
2021 | Carmen | Carmen |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1990 | The Ruth Rendell Mysteries | Helen Blake | 2 episodes |
1991 | Bergerac | Louise Calder | Episode: "Snow in Provence" |
1994 | Absolutely Fabulous | Art Gallery Assistant | Episode: "Death" |
1994 | Minder | Vanessa | Episode: "All Quiet on the West End Front" |
1994 | Cadfael | Cecily Corde | Episode: "The Sanctuary Sparrow" |
1994 | Screen One | Janet | Episode: "A Breed of Heroes" |
1996 | Karaoke | Angie | 2 episodes |
1996 | Cold Lazarus | Angie | 2 episodes |
2003 | The Other Boleyn Girl | Mary Boleyn | Television film |
2005 | Revelations | Sister Josepha Montafiore | Miniseries |
2007 | The Company | Elizabet Nemeth | Miniseries |
2007–2014 | Californication | Karen | 84 episodes |
2009 | 10 Minute Tales | Woman | Television short; segment: "Deep & Crisp & Even" |
2010 | Thorne: Sleepyhead | Anne Coburn | Episodes 1-3 |
2015 | Saints & Strangers | Elizabeth Hopkins | Miniseries |
2016–2017 | Designated Survivor | First Lady Alex Kirkman | Series regular (Season 1 and 2) |
2018 | The First[21] | Laz Ingram | Series regular |
2022 | Hotel Portofino | Bella Ainsworth | Series regular |
2022–present | Halo | Dr. Catherine Elizabeth Halsey | Series regular |
2022 | The Crown | Penelope Knatchbull, Lady Romsey | Main role (Season 5) |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2010 | Castlevania: Lords of Shadow[11] | Marie Belmont | |
2014 | Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 |
Awards
Year | Nominated work | Award | Category | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1999 | Ronin | MTV Movie Award | Best Action Sequence (shared with Robert De Niro) | Nominated |
2003 | Solaris | Saturn Award | Best Actress | Nominated |
2003 | IFTA Award | Best Actress in Film | Nominated | |
2005 | Revelations | Satellite Award | Outstanding Actress in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television | Nominated |
2010 | The Kid | Irina Palm | Worst British Supporting Actress | Won |
2022 | Halo | WIN Award | Actress Drama Series | Nominated |
References
- Cadwalladr, Carole (26 April 2009). "The interview: Natascha McElhone". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
- Andreeva, Nellie (5 February 2016). "'Designated Survivor' Casts Kal Penn, Maggie Q, Natascha McElhone, Italia Ricci". Deadline Hollywood.
- "The Crown: Seven takeaways from the latest series of Netflix's royal drama". BBC News. 5 November 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
- "The interview: Natascha McElhone". The Observer. 25 April 2009. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
- https://movies.yahoo.com/person/natascha-mcelhone/biography.html
- Greenslade, Roy (28 February 2014). "Mike Taylor - the Daily Mirror night editor who loved to laugh". The Guardian.
- "An Unkindness of Ravens".
- "Natascha McElhone- Biography". Yahoo! Movies. Archived from the original on 27 July 2014. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
- "Interview: Natascha McElhone on becoming a writer". www.scotsman.com.
- Clott, Sharon (30 January 2009). "Neutrogena Casts Natascha McElhone; Valentino Does 'Fearless' Eyes". NY Mag. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
- "Konami Announces Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is Now Available". IGN. 5 October 2010. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
- Fernandez, Jay A. (1 February 2012). "'Homeland' Star Damian Lewis Cast in 'Romeo and Juliet' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 27 March 2015.
- "Cast and creative | Royal Shakespeare Company". Archived from the original on 2 December 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
- Andreeva, Nellie (5 February 2016). "'Designated Survivor' Casts Kal Penn, Maggie Q, Natascha McElhone, Italia Ricci". Deadline. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
- Gráinne Faller (10 October 2009). "Shot in the Arm". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 22 August 2018. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
- Natascha McElhone Opens Up About Delivering Rex Alone. People.com, 7 May 2009
- Booth, Jenny (21 May 2008). "Natascha McElhone's plastic surgeon husband dies at couple's home". The Times. UK. Retrieved 21 May 2008.
- Watts, Geoff (July 2008). "Obituary: Martin Hirigoyen Kelly". The Lancet. 372 (9632): 24. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(08)60979-4. S2CID 54309762.
- Day, Elizabeth (3 July 2010). "After You: Letters of Love, and Loss, to a Husband and Father by Natascha McElhone". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
- McElhone, Natascha (2010). After you: letters of love, and loss, to a husband and father. London: Viking. ISBN 9780670919093.
- Andreeva, Nellie (27 September 2017). "Natascha McElhone To Star in Beau Willimon's 'The First' Hulu Series, Will Depart 'Designated Survivor'".