Dawn Roma French[1] (born 11 October 1957) is a British actress, comedian, and writer. She is known for writing and starring on the BBC sketch comedy series French and Saunders (1987–2007) with her best friend and comedy partner Jennifer Saunders, and playing the lead role of Geraldine Granger in the BBC sitcom The Vicar of Dibley (1994–2020). French has been nominated for seven BAFTA TV Awards and won a BAFTA Fellowship with Saunders in 2009.[2]
Early life
French was born on 11 October 1957 in Holyhead, Wales, to English parents Felicity Roma (née O'Brien; 1934 – 2012)[3] and Denys Vernon French (5 August 1932 – 11 September 1977),[4] who married in their home town of Plymouth in 1953. French has an older brother, Gary. Her father served in the Royal Air Force, stationed at RAF Valley and later RAF Leconfield, where Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother went to tea at French's home when French was three years old. RAF archive footage of this event was included in French's comedy tour/video Thirty Million Minutes.
The RAF partly funded French's private education.[5] When her father was stationed at RAF Faldingworth, French attended Caistor Grammar School for one year. She later attended boarding school at St Dunstan's Abbey School for Girls in Plymouth (since absorbed by Plymouth College), where she was a member of Downton house. After finishing her schooling, she spent a year studying at the Spence School in New York on a debating scholarship that she won while at school.[5]
French has said that her self-confidence and self-belief stem from her father, who told her how beautiful she was each day.[6] She stated, "He taught me to value myself. He told me that I was beautiful and the most precious thing in his life."[7] Denys had a history of severe depression and made two suicide attempts, but managed to conceal his illness from Dawn and Gary.[6] When French was 19, her father died by suicide.[8]
In 1977, French began studying drama at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, where she met her future comedy partner, Jennifer Saunders.[6][9] Both came from RAF backgrounds. They had grown up on the same camps, even having had the same best friend, although never meeting.[10] Saunders recalled her first perception of French was that she was a "cocky little upstart"; French considered Saunders to be snooty and aloof.[10] The comic duo originally did not like each other as French wanted to become a drama teacher[9] whereas Saunders loathed the idea and thus disliked French for being enthusiastic and confident about the course.[6]
French and Saunders shared a flat while at college and were influenced to do comedy by their flatmates as part of their projects for college. After talking in depth for the first time, they came to be friends.[6] While at college, French broke up with her fiancé, a former Royal Navy officer. After French and Saunders graduated from the Royal Central School, they decided to form a double-act called the Menopause Sisters. Saunders has described the act, which involved wearing tampons in their ears, as "cringeworthy".[11] The manager of the club recalled, "They didn't seem to give a damn. There was no star quality about them at all."[10] French and Saunders came to public attention as members of the Comic Strip, part of the alternative comedy scene in the early 1980s.
Career
Television
1980s
French has had an extensive career on television, debuting on Channel 4's The Comic Strip Presents series in an episode called "Five Go Mad in Dorset" in 1982.[9] Each episode presented a self-contained story and, in addition to French and Saunders, showcased Comic Strip performers Peter Richardson, Rik Mayall, Nigel Planer, Robbie Coltrane and Adrian Edmondson. She acted in 27 of the 37 episodes and wrote two of them.[9] One episode featured a parody of spaghetti westerns and another a black and white film about a hopelessly goofy boy. Some of French's first exposure to a wider audience occurred when comedy producer Martin Lewis recorded a Comic Strip record album in 1981 which featured sketches by French & Saunders. The album was released on Springtime!/Island Records in September 1981 and presented French and Jennifer Saunders to an audience outside London. In 1985, French starred with Saunders, Tracey Ullman, Ruby Wax and Joan Greenwood in Girls on Top, which portrayed four eccentric women sharing a flat in London.[9]
French has co-written and starred in her and Saunders' comedy series, French & Saunders, which debuted in 1987.[9] On their show, the duo have spoofed many celebrities such as Madonna, Cher, Catherine Zeta-Jones and the Spice Girls. They have also parodied films such as The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. After 20 years being on television together, their sketch series A Bucket o' French & Saunders, began airing on 8 September 2007.[6]
1990s
French and Saunders have also followed separate careers. During French's time starring in Murder Most Horrid, from 1991 to 1999, she played a different character each week, whether it was the murderer, victim, or both.[9]
French's biggest solo television role to date has been as the title figure in the long-running BBC comedy The Vicar of Dibley, which Richard Curtis created for her. The show began in 1994. She stars as Geraldine Granger, a vicar of a small fictional village called Dibley. An audience of 12.3 million watched the final full-length episode to see her character's marriage ceremony.[12] She appeared on The Vicar of Dibley with Damian Lewis in a mini-episode made for Comic Relief in 2013. She was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Comedy Performance in the last episode of The Vicar of Dibley. Repeats of the show on BBC One still attract millions of viewers and it also retains a following amongst PBS viewers in the United States.[13] Although the main series ended in 2007, the show has returned for numerous short special episodes since, the latest four of which aired in December 2020.
In 2002, French appeared in the comedy/drama mini-series Ted and Alice. In the series, set in the Lake District, French played a tourist information officer who falls in love with an alien.[16] She appeared once in the Saunders led sitcom Absolutely Fabulous as TV interviewer Kathy in 1992, a parody of Lorraine Kelly, she reprised that role for Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie in 2016 as a more established veteran journalist as Kelly is now. She also appeared in the BBC sitcom Wild West, with Catherine Tate,[17] in which she played a woman living in Cornwall who is a lesbian, more through lack of choice than any specific natural urge. This series did not meet with as much success as her earlier roles and it ended in 2004 after two years.[18]
In 2006, French appeared in Agatha Christie's Marple in the 2006 episode "Sleeping Murder".[21] She appeared as Caroline Arless in the BBC television drama Lark Rise to Candleford in 2008. Talking about her role, she has stated, "I'm quite a vibrant character. She's quite extreme, in that she drinks too much, laughs too much and sings too much. But she loves her family very much; it's just that she goes over the top sometimes."[22]
From 2016 until 2019, French starred in three series of Delicious on Sky 1, co-starring as a talented cook who is having an affair with her celebrity chef ex-husband (Iain Glen) who has remarried and started a successful hotel business with his new wife (Emilia Fox) in Cornwall.[28]
In 2014, French toured an autobiographical one woman show 30 Million Minutes in the UK and Oceania.[38] The title is based on the amount of minutes she had been alive at the time of producing the show.[39]
In 2022, she toured the UK with a further show titled Dawn French is a Huge Twat. In late 2022 it was announced that she would continue touring the UK with the same show in Autumn 2023, with further shows taking place in Australia in 2024.[40][41]
In 2019, French provided her voice for numerous Station idents for Greatest Hits Radio. This was produced in partnership with Bespoke Music.
In 2021, French was chosen to play the voice of a fairy lady for the Christmas food advertisements for leading retailer Marks and Spencers alongside Tom Holland voicing the company's mascot Percy Pig (who came to life for the first time in 29 years). In the main advert French as the fairy drops her magic wand onto a box covered in Percy pig wrappings, the lid opens and Percy pops out of the box. Throughout the rest of the advertisement she shows Percy all of the items which the retailer was selling for Christmas food.[44]
She later reprised the role for the 2022 M&S Christmas advert, playing alongside Jennifer Saunders voicing a sidekick called ‘Duckie’. The pair, in the main advert, go on a journey to fill Duckie with ‘some festive cheer’ while showing off the M&S Food Christmas range for 2022.[45]
Writing
French has also written a best-selling epistolary[46] autobiography, which she has titled Dear Fatty. French was paid a £1.5 million advance for the book, which was released in 2008.[47] On an appearance on The Paul O'Grady Show on 6 October 2008, French said that "Fatty" is her nickname for Jennifer Saunders, as a joke about her own size. French said that she became great friends with Saunders well before they started working together, which was "over 30 years ago". The book consists of letters to the different people who have been in her life. In 2017, Me. You. A Diary, French's second non-fiction book, was released.[48] She has also written four novels – A Tiny Bit Marvellous (2010),[49]Oh Dear Silvia (2012),[50]According to Yes (2015)[51] and Because of You (2020). Because of You was longlisted for the 2021 Women's Prize for Fiction. Her third non-fiction book, The Twat Files, tied in to her second stand-up show Dawn French is a Huge Twat, was published in October 2023.
French, Saunders and Burke returned for Comic Relief in 1997 as "The Sugar Lumps," along with Llewella Gideon and Lulu, to parody The Spice Girls, with whom they performed a version of "Who Do You Think You Are?".[53]
Personal life
French met comedian Lenny Henry on the alternative comedy circuit. The couple married on 20 October 1984 in Covent Garden, London.[54] They adopted a daughter, Billie.[55] French has stated that Billie has always known that she was adopted,[55] but once took out an injunction when a biographer came close to revealing the identity of Billie's biological mother. When faced with a question about how she and Henry would feel if Billie wanted to find out about her birth mother, French commented, "Whatever she wants to do when she's 18, we'll support her. What I do worry about is anyone else making the decision for her."[55]
On 6 April 2010, French and Henry announced they were separating after 25 years of marriage. It was reported that the separation was amicable. They had decided to separate in October the previous year but left announcing it until some months later, as they were still in discussion over the separation.[58] Their divorce was finalised later that year.[59]
French began dating charity executive Mark Bignell in 2011. On 22 April 2013, it was reported that they had just married.[59] The couple resided in Fowey, Cornwall, in a mansion overlooking Readymoney Cove. The Grade II-listed building dates back to the 19th century.[46]
In May 2021 it was announced that French had sold her Fowey property, having moved to an 1868 Gothic revival property in Calstock.[60]
French and Saunders won the honorary Golden Rose of Montreux award in 2002 and in 2003, she was listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy. In a 2006 poll consisting of 4,000 people, French was named as the most admired female celebrity amongst women in Britain.[63]
In February 2013, she was assessed as one of the 100 most powerful women in the United Kingdom by Woman's Hour on BBC Radio 4.[64]
BAFTA Awards
1989 – Nominated – BAFTA TV Award for Best Light Entertainment Performance in French and Saunders
1991 – Nominated – BAFTA TV Award for Best Light Entertainment Performance in French and Saunders
1998 – Nominated – BAFTA TV Award for Best Comedy Performance in The Vicar of Dibley
2000 – Nominated – BAFTA TV Award for Best Comedy Performance in The Vicar of Dibley
2001 – Nominated – BAFTA TV Award for Best Comedy Performance in The Vicar of Dibley
2007 – Nominated – BAFTA TV Award for Best Comedy Performance in The Vicar of Dibley
Nation's Restaurant NewsCover of the May 13, 2013, issueFrequencyBi-weeklyCirculation60,544Founded1967; 57 years ago (1967)CompanyInforma plcCountryUnited StatesBased inNew York CityLanguageEnglishWebsitewww.nrn.comISSN0028-0518 Nation's Restaurant News (NRN) is an American trade publication, founded in 1967.[1][2] NRN covers the foodservice industry, including restaurants, restaurant chains, operations, marketing, and events. It is owned by Penton Media (acquir…
José Francisco Calí TzayJosé Francisco Calí Tzay (2023)Lahir(1961-09-27)27 September 1961Técpan, GuatemalaPekerjaanPengacara, pakar hak asasi manusia dan diplomatSitus webhttps://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/sr-indigenous-peoples José Francisco Calí Tzay (lahir 27 September 1961) [1] adalah seorang pengacara dan diplomat Guatemala . Ia menduduki jabatan Pelapor Khusus Dewan HAM PBB untuk Hak Masyarakat Adat pada 2020, setelah masa jabatan pendahulunya, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz…
Artikel ini perlu diwikifikasi agar memenuhi standar kualitas Wikipedia. Anda dapat memberikan bantuan berupa penambahan pranala dalam, atau dengan merapikan tata letak dari artikel ini. Untuk keterangan lebih lanjut, klik [tampil] di bagian kanan. Mengganti markah HTML dengan markah wiki bila dimungkinkan. Tambahkan pranala wiki. Bila dirasa perlu, buatlah pautan ke artikel wiki lainnya dengan cara menambahkan [[ dan ]] pada kata yang bersangkutan (lihat WP:LINK untuk keterangan lebih lanjut). …
Bagian dari seriIlmu Pengetahuan Formal Logika Matematika Logika matematika Statistika matematika Ilmu komputer teoretis Teori permainan Teori keputusan Ilmu aktuaria Teori informasi Teori sistem FisikalFisika Fisika klasik Fisika modern Fisika terapan Fisika komputasi Fisika atom Fisika nuklir Fisika partikel Fisika eksperimental Fisika teori Fisika benda terkondensasi Mekanika Mekanika klasik Mekanika kuantum Mekanika kontinuum Rheologi Mekanika benda padat Mekanika fluida Fisika plasma Termod…
Sebuah Seni untuk Bersikap Bodo Amat Sampul buku dalam versi edisi bahasa IndonesiaPenyuntingAdinto F. SusantoPengarangMark MansonJudul asliThe Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ckPenerjemahF. WicaksoPerancang sampulJoan Oslon (versi edisi bahasa Indonesia, dimodifikasi oleh Wesfixity)Negara Amerika SerikatBahasaIndonesiaGenrePengembangan diriPenerbitGrasindoTgl. terbit (bhs. Inggris)13 September 2016Jenis mediaCetakHalaman246ISBNISBN 978-602-452-698-6 (sampul lunak…
Татары в Турции Современное самоназвание татарлар Численность 10 - 25 тыс.[1] Расселение Турция Язык татарский, турецкий Религия ислам суннитского толка Входит в татары Происхождение татары Татары в Турции (тат. Төркия татарлары, тур. Türkiye'de Tatarlar) — часть жителей …
For related races, see 1800 United States gubernatorial elections. 1800 New Hampshire gubernatorial election ← 1799 March 11, 1800 1801 → Nominee John Taylor Gilman Timothy Walker Party Federalist Democratic-Republican Popular vote 10,362 6,039 Percentage 61.82% 36.03% Governor before election John Taylor Gilman Federalist Elected Governor John Taylor Gilman Federalist Elections in New Hampshire Federal government Presidential elections 1788–89 1792 1796 1800 …
American 1915 single engine flying boat Model K Role Flying boatType of aircraft National origin United States of America Manufacturer Curtiss First flight January 1915 Primary user Imperial Russian Navy Number built at least 51 Developed from Curtiss Model F The Curtiss Model K, also known as the Model 4, was an American single-engined flying boat of World War I. It was an enlarged derivative of Curtiss's Model F and about 50 were built for export to the Imperial Russian Navy. Design and d…
Public school in Texas, United States A major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject. It may require cleanup to comply with Wikipedia's content policies, particularly neutral point of view. Please discuss further on the talk page. (December 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Victory Early College High SchoolLocationCoordinates29°52′05″N 95°27′58″W / 29.868082°N 95.466133°W / 29.868082; -95.466133…
Election in Indiana Main article: 1872 United States presidential election 1872 United States presidential election in Indiana ← 1868 November 5, 1872 1876 → Nominee Ulysses S. Grant Horace Greeley Party Republican Liberal Republican Home state Illinois New York Running mate Henry Wilson Benjamin G. Brown Electoral vote 15 0 Popular vote 186,147 163,632 Percentage 53.00% 46.59% County Results Grant 50-60% 60-70% …
Lex Immers Informasi pribadiNama lengkap Alexander ImmersTanggal lahir 8 Juni 1986 (umur 37)Tempat lahir Den Haag, BelandaTinggi 1,87 m (6 ft 2 in)Posisi bermain GelandangInformasi klubKlub saat ini FeyenoordNomor 10Karier junior LENS DSO Vredenburch ADO Den HaagKarier senior*Tahun Tim Tampil (Gol)2007–2012 ADO Den Haag 145 (25)2012- Feyenoord 13 (8) * Penampilan dan gol di klub senior hanya dihitung dari liga domestik dan akurat per 19:54, 18 november 2012 (UTC) Lex I…
Звукорежиссёр за микшерным пультом во время перезаписи фонограммы Озву́чивание[1], озву́чение[2][3] (не «озвуча́ние»[4] и не «озвуче́ние»[4])[* 1] фильма — процесс записи звукового сопровождения фильма, осуществляемый отдельно от съёмки изображе…
For 2021 extended play, see Summer Queen. The Summer Queen First edition coverAuthorJoan D. VingeCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishSeriesThe Snow Queen CycleGenreScience fiction/fantasy novelPublisherWarner BooksPublication date1991Media typePrint (hardback & paperback)Pages670 (first edition, hardback)ISBN978-0446513975Dewey Decimal813/.54Preceded byWorlds End (1984) Followed byTangled up in blue (2000) The Summer Queen is a 1991 science fiction/fantasy novel by J…
Sejarah Kekaisaran Jepang Nama HaguroAsal nama Gunung HaguroDipesan 1924Pembangun Mitsubishi shipyard, NagasakiPasang lunas 16 Maret 1925Diluncurkan 24 Maret 1928Mulai berlayar 25 April 1929Dicoret 20 Juni 1945Nasib Tenggelam di Selat Malaka pada 16 Mei 1945 Ciri-ciri umum Kelas dan jenis Kapal penjelajah kelas-MyōkōBerat benaman 13.300 ton panjang (13.500 t)Panjang 2.017 m (6.617 ft 5 in)Lebar 2.073 m (6.801 ft 2 in)Sarat air 632 m (2.073 ft 6 …
Asiatic rhinoceros beetle Klasifikasi ilmiah Kerajaan: Animalia Filum: Arthropoda Kelas: Insecta Ordo: Coleoptera Famili: Scarabaeidae Subfamili: Dynastinae Genus: Oryctes Spesies: O. rhinoceros Nama binomial Oryctes rhinoceros(Linnaeus, 1758) Sinonim [1] Scarabaeus rhinoceros Linnaeus, 1758 Kumbang tanduk atau bangbung (Oryctes rhinocerus) adalah jenis kumbang badak (Dynastinae) yang tersebar luas di Asia Tenggara, ke timur sampai pulau Irian, ke utara sampai pulau Formosa. …
Japanese actress (1926–2018) Kin SugaiBorn(1926-02-28)28 February 1926Tokyo, JapanDied10 August 2018(2018-08-10) (aged 92)Tokyo, JapanOccupationActressYears active1951–2010 Kin Sugai (菅井きん, Sugai Kin) (28 February 1926 – 10 August 2018) was a Japanese actress. She won the award for best supporting actress at the 9th Hochi Film Award for The Funeral.[1] Sugai is famous for her role as Sen Nakamura in the jidaigeki drama Hissatsu series.[2][3] She wo…
American R&B, soul and funk band This article is about the band. For their debut album, see Kool and the Gang (album). Kool & the GangKool & the Gang performing in 2017Background informationAlso known as The Jazziacs The Soul Town Band The New Dimensions Kool & the Flames OriginJersey City, New Jersey, U.S.Genres R&B soul funk disco Years active1964–presentLabels De-Lite Mercury ATO Curb Omnivore Members Robert Kool Bell Past members Ronald Bell Dennis Dee Tee Thomas Clayde…
Railway station in Lancashire, England PleasingtonGeneral informationLocationPleasington, Blackburn with DarwenEnglandGrid referenceSD642262Managed byNorthernPlatforms2Other informationStation codePLSClassificationDfT category F2HistoryOpened1846Passengers2018/19 6,9742019/20 10,8442020/21 2,7722021/22 9,6322022/23 8,064 NotesPassenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road Pleasington railway station serves the village of Pleasington in Lancashire, England. The station is on the East Lanca…
Post–World War II war crimes trials For the documentary, see International Military Tribunal for the Far East (film). The Tokyo Trial redirects here. For other uses, see The Tokyo Trial (disambiguation). International Military Tribunal for the Far EastInternational Military Tribunal for the Far East court chamberStartedApril 29, 1946Case historyRelated action(s)Nuremberg trials The International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE), also known as the Tokyo Trial and the Tokyo War Crimes …
Game Boy Advance SPPembuatNintendoKeluarga produkGame BoyJenisKonsol game genggamGenerasike-6Ketersediaan eceranTerkirimkan43.54 juta (pada 30 Juni 2009)MediacartridgesCPU32-bit RISC-CPU (16.78 MHz)Permainan terlarisPokémon Ruby and Sapphire, 13 juta digabungkan (pada 25 November 2004)[1]Pokémon Emerald, 6,32 juta (pada 31 Maret 2007)[2]KompatibilitasbalikGame Boy, Game Boy ColorPendahuluGame Boy Advance (berbarengan)PenerusGame Boy Micro (desain ulang) / Nintendo DS Game Boy A…