Charlotte Cornwell

Charlotte Cornwell (26 April 1949 – 16 January 2021) was an English actress.

Charlotte Cornwell
Born(1949-04-26)26 April 1949
Marylebone, London, England
Died16 January 2021(2021-01-16) (aged 71)
NationalityBritish
OccupationActress
Years active1972
Partner(s)Kenneth Cranham
ChildrenNancy Cranham[1]
RelativesJohn le Carré
(half brother)
Anthony Cornwell (half-brother)
Rupert Cornwell (brother)

Acting career

Trained at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London, Cornwell's professional career began with three seasons at the Bristol Old Vic Company, playing a broad range of roles from Kate Hotspur in Shakespeare's Henry IV to Becky in Sam Shepard's The Tooth of Crime.[2][3][4]

Cornwell was a leading member of the Royal Shakespeare Company for three years, including Rosalind in As You Like It and Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing[5] and worked as a leading actress with the Royal National Theatre since 1984.[6] She has worked extensively both in the West End and at fringe venues, and appeared in the United States in several productions, including Richard III and An Enemy of the People opposite Sir Ian McKellen, Athol Fugard's The Road to Mecca, Terence McNally's Master Class, Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music (San Francisco Bay Critics' Award), and Alan Bennett's The History Boys at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles.[7] In a return to staged Shakespeare, in Summer 2016 she was the Chorus in the Regent's Park production of Henry V.[8]

Among her film appearances were roles in Stardust (1974), The Brute (1977), The Krays (1990), The Russia House (1990), White Hunter Black Heart (1990), The Saint (1997), Ghosts of Mars (2001) and Dead Space: Aftermath (voiceover, 2010).[9]

Cornwell worked extensively on television including series lead roles in Rock Follies (1976-77) and No Excuses (1983), and appearances in The Men's Room, The Governor, Shalom Salaam, Shoestring, Lovejoy, Love Hurts, Where the Heart Is, A Touch of Frost, Silent Witness, The Mentalist, Dressing for Breakfast, Capital City, The West Wing, Casualty, The Practice, New Tricks, Toast of London, and Midsomer Murders, among other television programmes in Britain and the United States.[10][11] She taught at the University of Southern California School of Dramatic Arts from 2004 to 2012, and returned to resume her acting career in the UK in June 2012.[7][12][13]

Cornwell won a libel action against the journalist Nina Myskow and The Sunday People in December 1985. A jury at the High Court awarded her £10,000 in damages after Myskow, in an article for the newspaper, had referred to Cornwell as someone who was unattractive, middle-aged and whose "bum is too big".[5] The verdict was upheld on appeal, but Cornwell ended up £70,000 out of pocket from legal costs.[14] However, the award for damages was raised to £11,500.[15]

Personal life

Cornwell was born in Marylebone, London, the daughter of Ronald Cornwell.[16] She was the half-sister of spy novelist John le Carré (David Cornwell). She described him as "the best brother a girl could have".[17] Le Carré based the main female character in his novel, The Little Drummer Girl—an English actress called "Charlie"—on her.[18] She had a daughter, Nancy Cranham, from a past relationship with actor Kenneth Cranham.[19]

She died from cancer in January 2021 at the age of 71.[15]

References

  1. "Champion of the stage and young people". birminghampost. 19 July 2013.
  2. Salter, Jessica (23 August 2013). "The first time I saw Joanna Lumley as a comedienne" via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  3. "Charlotte Cornwell Biography (1949-)". www.filmreference.com. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  4. "Charlotte Cornwell | Theatricalia". theatricalia.com.
  5. "TV actress is awarded £10,000 Libel Damages". The Glasgow Herald. 19 December 1985. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  6. "CalmView: Overview". catalogue.nationaltheatre.org.uk.
  7. McDonald, Julia (21 February 2013). "BRITAIN meets Charlotte Cornwell from the Royal Shakespeare Company". Britain Magazine. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
  8. Billington, Michael (24 June 2016). "Henry V review – astonishing gender-switched reinvigoration". The Guardian: 40.
  9. "Charlotte Cornwell". BFI.
  10. "Charlotte Cornwell". www.aveleyman.com.
  11. "Charlotte Cornwell". IMDb. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  12. Post, Birmingham (19 July 2013). "Champion of the stage and young people". birminghampost. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  13. Masuda, Neil (28 July 2013). "Oh brother! John Le Carre set me on my path to stardom, says actress Charlotte Cornwell". mirror. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  14. Shenton, Mark (28 November 2005). "Review to a kill – Theatre critics and personal attacks". The Stage. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  15. Hayward, Anthony (22 January 2021). "Charlotte Cornwell obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  16. "Charlotte Cornwell Biography (1949-)". www.filmreference.com.
  17. "Charlotte Cornwell". www.therockfollies.co.uk. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  18. "A Talk With John le Carré". archive.nytimes.com.
  19. Lawrence, Ben (6 October 2015). "Kenneth Cranham - the seven ages of a south London geezer". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
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