Anouska Hempel, Lady Weinberg (born 1941) is a New Zealand-born film and television actress turned hotelier and interior designer. She is sometimes credited as Anoushka Hempel.

Early life

Hempel is of Russian and

Swiss German Swiss German (Standard German: , gsw, Schwiizerdütsch, Schwyzerdütsch, Schwiizertüütsch, Schwizertitsch Mundart,Because of the many different dialects, and because there is no defined orthography for any of them, many different spelling ...

ancestry and has speculated that she was born on a boat ''en route'' from

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

to New Zealand. Her family emigrated to New Zealand where she was born. They later moved to

Cronulla Cronulla is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Boasting numerous surf beaches and swimming spots, the suburb attracts both tourists and Greater Sydney residents. Cronulla is located 26 kilometres south of the Sydney ...

, south of

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

in Australia, where her father owned a

garage A garage is a covered structure built for the purpose of parking, storing, protecting, maintaining, and/or repairing vehicles. Specific applications include: *Garage (residential), a building or part of a building for storing one or more vehicle ...

. As a teenager in the mid-1950s, Hempel attended Sutherland High School. In 1962, she moved to England carrying only £10.

Acting

Hempel's first film appearance was in the

Hammer Horror Hammer Film Productions Ltd. is a British film production company based in London. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic horror and fantasy films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Many of these involve classi ...

film ''

The Kiss of the Vampire ''The Kiss of the Vampire'' (also known as ''Kiss of Evil'' on American television) is a 1963 British vampire film made by the film studio Hammer Film Productions. The film was directed by Don Sharp and was written by producer Anthony H ...

'' (1963). In 1969, she appeared in the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

film '' On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' as one of the "angels of death". Thereafter, she appeared in several films including ''

Scars of Dracula ''Scars of Dracula'' is a 1970 British horror film directed by Roy Ward Baker for Hammer Films. It stars Christopher Lee as Count Dracula, along with Dennis Waterman, Jenny Hanley, Patrick Troughton, and Michael Gwynn. Although disparaged by ...

'' (1970), ''

The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins ''The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins'' is a 1971 British sketch comedy film directed and produced by Graham Stark. Its title is a conflation of ''The Magnificent Seven'' and the seven deadly sins. It comprises a sequence of seven sketches, each r ...

'' (1971), ''

Go for a Take ''Go for a Take'' is a 1972 British comedy film, directed by Harry Booth and featuring Dennis Price, Bob Todd, Reg Varney, Norman Rossington, Sue Lloyd and Anouska Hempel. Debbie Russ reprises her role as the character "Tiger" from the televis ...

'' (1972), '' Tiffany Jones'' (1973),

Russ Meyer Russell Albion Meyer (March 21, 1922 – September 18, 2004) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, and editor. He is known primarily for writing and directing a series of successful sexploitation films that fea ...

's controversial, soft pornographic film ''

Black Snake Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have ...

'' (1973), ''

Double Exposure In photography and cinematography, a multiple exposure is the superimposition of two or more exposures to create a single image, and double exposure has a corresponding meaning in respect of two images. The exposure values may or may not be ide ...

'' (1977), and ''

Lady Oscar , also known as ''Lady Oscar'' and ''La Rose de Versailles'', is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Riyoko Ikeda. It was originally serialized in the manga magazine '' Margaret'' from 1972 to 1973, while a revival of the s ...

'' (1979). In the 1970s, Hempel appeared in one episode of the BBC series ''The Lotus Eaters''. She appeared in the science-fiction TV series' ''

UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...

'' (" Mindbender", 1970) and '' Space: 1999'' ("

The Metamorph "The Metamorph" is the first episode of the second series of '' Space: 1999'' (and the twenty-fifth overall episode of the programme). The screenplay was written by Johnny Byrne; the director was Charles Crichton. Previous titles were "The Bio ...

", 1976). During her career as an actress, she appeared as a regular panellist alongside

Patrick Mower Patrick Mower (born Patrick Archibald Shaw; 12 September 1938) is an English actor who has portrayed the role of Rodney Blackstock in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'' since 2000. As well as portraying Rodney, Mower has appeared in various films ...

for two series of the murder mystery game show '' Whodunnit?'', between 1975 and 1976.

Partial filmography

*'' On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' (1969) – The Australian Girl *''

The Breaking of Bumbo ''The Breaking of Bumbo'' is a 1970 British comedy film written and directed by Andrew Sinclair, a former Coldstream Guards National service officer that was updated from his 1959 novel of the same name that featured the Suez Crisis. It star ...

'' (1970) – Debutante *''

'' (1970) – Tania *''

'' (1970) - Tamara Paulson *''

'' (1971) – Blonde (segment "Lust") *''

Carry on at Your Convenience ''Carry On at Your Convenience'' is a 1971 British comedy film, the 22nd release in the Carry On (film series), series of 31 ''Carry On'' films (1958–1992), and was the first box office failure of the series. This failure has been attributed ...

'' (1971) – New Canteen Girl (uncredited) *''

'' (1972) – Suzi Eckmann *''

'' (1973) – Lady Susan Walker *'' Tiffany Jones'' (1973) – Tiffany Jones *''

The Doll (BBC short serial) A doll is a model of a human being, often a children's toy. Doll or The Doll may also refer to: Film and television * The Doll (1911 film), ''The Doll'' (1911 film) ("''Păpușa''"), a Romanian silent film; see Cinema of Romania * The Doll (1919 ...

(1975)- Phyllis Du Salle *''

'' (1977) – Simone *''

'' (1979) – Jeanne Vallois / Jeanne de la Motte

Hotel and design

After finishing acting, Hempel has embarked in a career as a hotelier and interior designer. In 2002, she was ranked by ''

Architectural Digest ''Architectural Digest'' is an American monthly magazine founded in 1920. Its principal subjects are interior design and landscaping, rather than pure external architecture. The magazine is published by Condé Nast, which also publishes internati ...

'' as one of the top 100

interior designer Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordina ...

s and architects in the world.

Hotels

Hempel has established four hotels.

Blakes Hotel Blakes Hotel is a 5-star hotel in London, and considered one of the world's first boutique hotels. It is at 33 Roland Gardens in South Kensington. It was established by London hotelier and designer Anouska Hempel, and contains eclectic artifacts ...

was created in 1978 as one of the world's first luxury

boutique hotel Boutique hotels are small inventory, design driven, unique hotels with their own character, personality and storytelling at the heart of their concept. Positioning is secondary for these hotels as they focus on authenticity and personalization ...

s. Based in

South Kensington South Kensington, nicknamed Little Paris, is a district just west of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with ...

, it is well known for its design, quality of service and privacy. The hotel's restaurant has become a destination in its own right, featuring a fusion of Hempel's favourite cuisines of Japanese and Italian. Her second hotel, the

Hempel Hotel The Hempel Hotel was a luxury 5-star hotel in London, England. It was located at 31-35 Craven Hill Gardens to the north of Hyde Park off Bayswater Road. It was a small boutique hotel with Zen inspiration, designed by Anouska Hempel. The design ...

, was noted as a

minimalist In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in post–World War II in Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Don ...

hotel. Blakes Amsterdam was opened in 1999, drawing inspiration from

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

's historic

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...

Personal life

In 1964, she married Constantine Hempel, with whom she had a son and daughter. He was a journalist and property developer who was killed in 1973, crashing his car into a basement in Pimlico. Hempel and her second husband, theatrical producer

Bill Kenwright William Kenwright, CBE (born 4 September 1945) is an English West End theatre producer and film producer. He has also been the chairman of Everton Football Club since 2004. Kenwright was born in Liverpool and attended Booker Avenue County Prima ...

, divorced after two years of marriage in 1980. Later that year, Hempel married financier

Mark Weinberg Sir Mark Aubrey Weinberg (born 9 August 1931) is a South African-born British financier. He is the Life President of St. James’s Place Wealth Management. Early life and education Weinberg was born in South Africa and educated at King Edw ...

, with whom she has a son, Jonathan. She appears in a photographic portrait by Bryan Wharton on display in the National Portrait Gallery.

References

External links

* *
Blakes HotelsThe Hempel HotelWarapuru HotelAnouska Hempel - National Portrait Gallery
— National Portrait Gallery {{DEFAULTSORT:Hempel, Anouska 1941 births 20th-century New Zealand actresses 20th-century New Zealand people 21st-century New Zealand architects New Zealand landscape architects Living people Modernist designers New Zealand emigrants to the United Kingdom New Zealand fashion designers New Zealand women fashion designers New Zealand film actresses New Zealand hoteliers New Zealand interior designers New Zealand people of Russian descent New Zealand people of Swiss-German descent New Zealand socialites New Zealand television actresses People from Lower Hutt Women hoteliers