Amanda Donohoe (born 29 June 1962) is an English actress. She first came to attention as a 16-year-old living with pop singer

Adam Ant Stuart Leslie Goddard, better known as Adam Ant (born 3 November 1954), is an English singer, musician, and actor. He gained popularity as the lead singer of new wave group Adam and the Ants and later as a solo artist, scoring 10 UK top ten ...

, appearing in the music videos for the

Adam and the Ants Adam and the Ants were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. The group existed in two incarnations, both fronted by Adam Ant, over the period 1977 to 1982. The first, founded in May 1977 and known simply as The Ants until November of t ...

singles "

Antmusic "Antmusic" is a song by English rock band Adam and the Ants, released as the third single in the UK from the album ''Kings of the Wild Frontier''. "Antmusic" (often stylised as 'Antmusic') peaked at No. 2 in the UK in January 1981, being held ...

" (1980) and "

Stand and Deliver ''Stand and Deliver'' is a 1988 American drama film directed by Ramón Menéndez, written by Menéndez and Tom Musca, based on the true story of a high school mathematics teacher, Jaime Escalante. For portraying Escalante, Edward James Olmos wa ...

" (1981) during their four-year relationship. She later moved to the United States, where she appeared in films and on television series, including a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress-winning performance during her two years (1990–92) as C.J. Lamb on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

drama series ''

L.A. Law ''L.A. Law'' is an American legal drama television series that ran for eight seasons on NBC, from September 15, 1986, to May 19, 1994. Created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher, it centers on the partners, associates and staff of a Los ...

''. Other television roles include

Natasha Wylde Natasha Wylde is a fictional character from the British soap opera ''Emmerdale'' played by Amanda Donohoe. She made her first appearance, along with her husband Mark Wylde (Maxwell Caulfield), on 15 January 2009. It was announced in July 2010 th ...

on the British soap opera ''

Emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British soap opera that is broadcast on ITV1. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, '' ...

'' (2009–10). She has had numerous stage roles, including Yelena in ''

Uncle Vanya ''Uncle Vanya'' ( rus, Дя́дя Ва́ня, r=Dyádya Ványa, p=ˈdʲædʲə ˈvanʲə) is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1898, and was first produced in 1899 by the Moscow Art Theatre under the direct ...

'' (New York City 1996).

Early life

Donohoe was born in London, to Ted and Joanna Donohoe. She has an older sister, Cordelia. She is of Irish, Russian and Swiss ancestry. Her father worked for the

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ministries of fore ...

, which led to her family moving a great deal, with a base in London but also living for periods overseas. After her father's retirement, he joined her mother in her antiques-dealing business. Educated at the

Francis Holland School Francis Holland School is the name of two separate private day schools for girls in central London, England, governed by the Francis Holland (Church of England) Schools Trust. The schools are located at Clarence Gate (near Regent's Park NW1) ...

, at age 15 she met

. At 16 she left her parents' home, and moved in with Ant in

Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a cosmopolitan and multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting Hill Carnival and Portobello Road M ...

. In October 1980 she accompanied Ant to the recording of the ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

'' performance of " Dog Eat Dog" and in an incident in BBC corridors afterwards, she personally stepped in to physically defend Ant from assault by rival band 4be2 who were also on the premises. In 1981, Donohoe appeared in the promotional videos for the songs "

" and "

" by

, which were screened on TV when the band were at the height of their fame. Shortly before the band began their 1981 world tour, Donohoe was offered a place at the

Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama was founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as The Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students. It became a ...

and she left Ant.

Career

After graduation, Donohoe came to the attention of worldwide audiences with her film debut in 1986 when she was cast as Lucy Irvine in ''

Castaway A castaway is a person who is cast adrift or ashore. While the situation usually happens after a shipwreck, some people voluntarily stay behind on a deserted island, either to evade captors or the world in general. A person may also be left a ...

''. She followed this with roles in two

Ken Russell Henry Kenneth Alfred Russell (3 July 1927 – 27 November 2011) was a British film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. His films in the main were liberal adaptation ...

films, ''

The Lair of the White Worm ''The Lair of the White Worm'' is a horror novel by the Irish writer Bram Stoker. It was first published by Rider and Son of London in 1911 – the year before Stoker's death – with colour illustrations by Pamela Colman Smith. The story is bas ...

'' and ''

The Rainbow ''The Rainbow'' is a novel by British author D. H. Lawrence, first published by Methuen & Co. in 1915. It follows three generations of the Brangwen family living in Nottinghamshire, focusing particularly on the individual's struggle to growth ...

''. Another major film role was ''

Liar Liar ''Liar Liar'' is a 1997 American comedy film directed by Tom Shadyac, and written by Paul Guay and Stephen Mazur. It stars Jim Carrey as a lawyer who built his entire career on lying, but finds himself cursed to speak only the truth for a singl ...

'' (1997). After moving to Los Angeles in 1990, Donohoe made her debut on television in the role of lawyer Cara Jean "C.J." Lamb on the American television series ''

'' in which she appeared during the fifth and sixth seasons of the series. In February 1991, she took part in the first of the so-called "

lesbian kiss episode The "lesbian kiss episode" is a subgenre of the media portrayal of lesbianism in American television media, created in the 1990s. Beginning in February 1991 with a kiss on the American '' L.A. Law'' series' episode "He's a Crowd" between C.J. Lamb ...

s" on American television when her character privately kissed fellow lawyer Abby Perkins, played by

Michele Greene Michele Dominguez Greene (born February 3, 1962) is an American actress, singer, and author. She is known for her role as attorney Abby Perkins on the TV series ''L.A. Law'' from 1986 to 1991, for which she was nominated for a 1989 Primetime ...

. Some of her other television roles include ''

Murder City ''Murder City'' is a British crime drama series produced by Granada Television, first broadcast on 18 March 2004 on ITV, that focuses on two mismatched detectives, DI Susan Alembic (Amanda Donohoe) and DS Luke Stone (Kris Marshall), who scour ...

'', '' Bad Girls'' and a guest appearance in '' Ally McBeal''. Donohoe made her

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

debut in a 1995 production of ''

'', at the

Circle in the Square Theatre The Circle in the Square Theatre is a Broadway theater at 235 West 50th Street, in the basement of Paramount Plaza, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It is one of two Broadway theaters that use a thrust stage that extends ...

. She returned to the UK to play Mrs. Robinson in a 2001 stage production of ''

The Graduate ''The Graduate'' is a 1967 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Mike Nichols and written by Buck Henry and Calder Willingham, based on the 1963 novel of the same name by Charles Webb, who wrote it shortly after graduating from Wil ...

''. After moving back to the UK in the early 2000s, Donohoe took the role of DI Susan Alembic in the crime drama ''

'' (2004–2006). In 2009 she joined the cast of ITV soap opera ''

'' as businesswoman

. Donohoe played the character until leaving the series in November 2010. On 18 and 19 February 2010, she was a guest panellist on ''

Loose Women ''Loose Women'' (previously known as ''Live Talk'' from 2000 to 2001) is a British talk show that broadcasts on ITV1 weekdays from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm. The show focuses on a panel of four female presenters who interview celebrities, talk about ...

''. She has also lent her voice to the

Activision Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one o ...

PC video game ''Santa Fe Mysteries: The Elk Moon Murder'' as Karen Gordon.

Filmography

Film

Television

Stage

Awards and nominations

Donohoe won a

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

for her role in ''L.A. Law'' and was nominated for an

Outer Critics Circle Award The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on Broadway and Off-Broadway. They are presented by the Outer Critics Circle (OCC), the official organization of New York theater writers for out-of-town newspa ...

for her

debut in ''

''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Donohoe, Amanda 1962 births Living people Alumni of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama English film actresses English stage actresses English television actresses English people of Irish descent English people of Russian descent British people of Swiss descent English soap opera actresses English expatriates in the United States Actresses from London Former Roman Catholics Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe (television) winners People educated at Francis Holland School 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses