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Karen Jane Wallace (born 25 September 1971), known professionally as Jessie Wallace, is an English actress. She is known for portraying the role of

Kat Slater Kathleen "Kat" Slater (also Moon) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Jessie Wallace. She is also played by Kate Peck in a flashback in 2001 and Sumar-Elise Sandford in a flashback in 2018. Kat is the sec ...

on the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

soap opera ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...

'' since 2000. Her role as Kat won her the

National Television Awards The National Television Awards (often shortened to NTAs) is a British television awards ceremony, broadcast by the ITV network and initiated in 1995. The National Television Awards are the most prominent ceremony for which the results are voted ...

for Most Popular Newcomer (2001), as well as the

British Soap Award for Best Newcomer The British Soap Award for Best Newcomer is an award presented annually by the British Soap Awards. Unlike awards that are voted for by the general public such as Best Actress, Best Actor, Best British Soap and Best Leading Performer, the awar ...

(2001), Most Popular Actress (2003) and the

British Soap Award for Best Actress The British Soap Award for Best Actress was an award presented annually by The British Soap Awards from its inception in 1999 until 2019. Alongside Best Actor, the award was voted for by the public. ''EastEnders'' was the most awarded soap in ...

(2011). She was also nominated for the 2011 BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as

Pat Phoenix Patricia Phoenix Booth (born Patricia Frederica Manfield; 26 November 1923 – 17 September 1986) was an English actress who became one of the first sex symbols of British television through her role as Elsie Tanner, an original cast member ...

in the

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

television film ''

The Road to Coronation Street ''The Road to Coronation Street'' is a 2010 British drama first broadcast on BBC Four. It is a dramatisation of the creation of '' Coronation Street'', the UK's longest-running television soap opera, from conception to its first transmission in ...

''.

Early life

Wallace was born in Enfield, North London, to James, a telecommunications engineer, and Annette, a secretary. Wallace is of Irish ancestry, by way of Cork and Dublin. Her parents divorced when she was aged three and she and her sister were raised by their father (however, she did see her mother at weekends). She adopted her stage name after her late grandmother.

Career

After schooling, Wallace trained as a

make-up artist A make-up artist, also called a makeup artist, and often shortened to MUA, is an artist whose medium is the human body, applying makeup and prosthetics on others for theatre, television, film, fashion, magazines and other similar productions inc ...

at the College of North East London in Tottenham and worked at the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

for two years. She met and became friends with actor

Iain Glen Iain Alan Sutherland Glen (born 24 June 1961) is a Scottish actor. Glen is best known for his roles as Dr. Alexander Isaacs/Tyrant in three films of the ''Resident Evil'' film series (2004–2016) and as Ser Jorah Mormont in the HBO fantasy t ...

, who helped her apply for London drama college The Poor School, from which she graduated in 1999. While undertaking auditions – including for

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, ...

's ''

Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades east to Figueroa Street in Downtown Los Angeles. It is a major thoroughfare in t ...

'', she worked as a

barmaid A bartender (also known as a barkeep, barman, barmaid, or a mixologist) is a person who formulates and serves alcoholic or soft drink beverages behind the bar, usually in a licensed establishment as well as in restaurants and nightclubs, but ...

at her local pub, The Royal Oak in

Loughton Loughton () is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex. Part of the metropolitan and urban area of London, the town borders Chingford, Waltham Abbey, Theydon Bois, Chigwell and Buckhurst Hill, and is northeast of Chari ...

, Essex. Her first television appearance was in an episode of the

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

police drama series ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983. The programme focused on ...

'' in 1999. Wallace is known for playing the role of

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

soap opera ''

'' between 2000 and 2005. In Summer 2008, Wallace said she hadn't ruled out a return to ''EastEnders''. In February 2010, it was announced that

Shane Richie Shane Patrick Paul Roche (born 11 March 1964), known as Shane Richie, is a British actor, comedian, television presenter and singer. Following initial success as a stage and screen performer, he became best known for his portrayal of the charac ...

was returning to play

Alfie Moon Alfie Moon is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Shane Richie. He made his first appearance on 21 November 2002, and left on 25 December 2005. He returned to ''EastEnders'' on 21 September 2010, following th ...

, leading to large amounts of speculation as to whether Wallace would also be returning. On 9 February 2010, the BBC confirmed that Jessie would be returning to ''

'', reprising her role as

. She and Alfie returned to screens in the Autumn of 2010. On 4 April 2015, the BBC announced that Wallace and Richie will depart from the show temporarily to appear in a six-part BBC One drama series, '' Redwater''. In the series, Kat and Alfie will visit Ireland in the "search for answers to some very big questions". Speaking about the show, Wallace commented: "I have always loved working on ''EastEnders'' so when I heard of this new drama to take Kat and Alfie outside of Walford, I couldn’t believe our luck. To be exploring the next chapter for Kat as well as working alongside my best mate, Shane, is a dream come true and a huge compliment." However, Wallace and Richie revealed on '' This Morning'' on 20 January 2016 that Kat and Alfie will not be returning to ''EastEnders'' after the six-part drama. In December 2017 it was announced that Wallace would reprise the role of Kat from Spring 2018. During her break from ''EastEnders'', Wallace made television guest appearances, including once as

, in the 2005 ''

French & Saunders ''French and Saunders'' is a British sketch comedy television series written by and starring comedy duo and namesake Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders that originally broadcast on BBC2 from 1987 to 1993, and later on BBC One until 2017. It is a ...

'' Christmas special. On 17 February 2006, Wallace was the guest host of an edition of the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

programme ''

The Friday Night Project ''The Sunday Night Project'' is a British comedy-variety show by Princess Productions that first aired on Channel 4 in February 2005 under the title ''The Friday Night Project''. Originally broadcast on Friday nights, the show moved to Sunday n ...

''. In 2007, she appeared in the one-off

television dramas ''A Class Apart'' opposite

Nathaniel Parker Nathaniel Parker (born 18 May 1962) is an English stage and screen actor best known for playing the lead in the BBC crime drama series ''The Inspector Lynley Mysteries'', and Agravaine de Bois in the fourth series of '' Merlin''. Early life N ...

, and ''The Dinner Party'' with Lee Evans and

Alison Steadman Alison Steadman (born 26 August 1946) is an English actress. She received the 1991 National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress for the Mike Leigh film '' Life Is Sweet'' and the 1993 Olivier Award for Best Actress for her role as Ma ...

. After visiting

Hat Trick Productions Hat Trick Productions is an independent British production company that produces television and radio programmes, mainly specialising in comedy, based in London. History Hat Trick Productions was founded in 1986 by Rory McGrath, Jimmy Mulville ...

with her agent, and singing an impromptu version of

Marie Lloyd Matilda Alice Victoria Wood (12 February 1870 – 7 October 1922), professionally known as Marie Lloyd (), was an English music hall singer, comedian and musical theatre actress. She was best known for her performances of songs such as " T ...

's song " The Boy I Love is Up in the Gallery", she was offered the lead role in '' Miss Marie Lloyd – Queen of The Music Hall'' for

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

. Wallace made her West End theatre debut, replacing Denise van Outen in the role of "Maureen" in '' Rent remixed'' at the

Duke of York's Theatre The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster, London. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre until her death in 1935. Designed by th ...

from 27 December 2007 until 2 February 2008. Wallace played ''Amy Kriel'' in the third series of

ITV's ITV is a British free-to-air public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television network. It was launched in 1955 as Independent Television to provide competition to BBC Television (established in 1936). ITV is the ol ...

'' Wild at Heart'', and starred in a run of the play ''Haunted'' at the

Arts Theatre The Arts Theatre is a theatre in Great Newport Street, in Westminster, Central London. History It opened on 20 April 1927 as a members-only club for the performance of unlicensed plays, thus avoiding theatre censorship by the Lord Chamberl ...

from 24 May. Wallace competed with partner Darren Bennett in the sixth series of ''

Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (informally known as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly ballroom and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of usually 4 ...

'' which began on 20 September 2008. She was eliminated in week 4. Wallace toured the UK in the 25th Anniversary production of '' Stepping Out'' by

Richard Harris Richard St John Francis Harris (1 October 1930 – 25 October 2002) was an Irish actor and singer. He appeared on stage and in many films, notably as Corrado Zeller in Michelangelo Antonioni's '' Red Desert'', Frank Machin in ''This Sporting ...

, playing the role of Sylvia. Wallace appeared as

in ''

'', a one-off drama exploring the origins and conception of ''Coronation Street'', to mark the show's 50th anniversary in December 2010. In 2014, Wallace reprised her role as

in the music video for Tim Arnold's single "The Piccadilly Trot". She later appeared on Arnold's album ''The Soho Hobo'' on a duet that he wrote called "Soho Sunset". In May 2015, Wallace performed a duet at

Soho Theatre The Soho Theatre is a theatre and registered charity in the Soho district of the City of Westminster, in London, England. It produces and presents new works of theatre, together with comedy and cabaret, across three performance spaces. The the ...

with singer-songwriter Tim Arnold to mark the release of his album ''The Soho Hobo''. The song marks her first recording on a pop album and was written especially for her by Arnold. In 2015, Wallace was cast as

Fairy Godmother In fairy tales, a fairy godmother () is a fairy with magical powers who acts as a mentor or parent to someone, in the role that an actual godparent was expected to play in many societies. In Perrault's ''Cinderella'', he concludes the tale with ...

in the

White Rock Theatre White Rock Theatre is a medium-scale receiving house venue owned by Hastings Borough Council situated on the seafront of Hastings, East Sussex, on the south coast of England. It currently presents a varied programme of touring shows including o ...

production of ''

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

''. Wallace is a patron of the theatre charity

The Music Hall Guild of Great Britain and America The Music Hall Guild of Great Britain and America and the Theatre and Film Guild of Great Britain and America is a registered theatre charity and non-profit making theatre organisation based in London. The Guild's patrons include Brian Croucher ...

. In July 2015 it was announced that Wallace would appear alongside Richie in a stage adaptation of '' The Perfect Murder'' by Peter James at the Theatre Royal in February 2016.

Personal life

After coming to fame in ''EastEnders'', her personal life became the focus of many tabloid newspapers. She entered the soap cast in the later stages of a three-year relationship with

Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...

based ex-criminal, Paul Whitworth. After being warned by BBC executives, she split with Whitworth, and had a holiday romance with 25-year-old American, Andy Burton, who immediately sold his story. In 2003, Wallace was suspended from ''EastEnders'' by the BBC for excess drinking, partying and adverse publicity; she returned to the soap, but was then stopped by police and arrested for

drink driving Drunk driving (or drink-driving in British English) is the act of driving under the influence of alcohol. A small increase in the blood alcohol content increases the relative risk of a motor vehicle crash. In the United States, alcohol is i ...

, being one and half times over the limit. The BBC offered her counselling and while attending

county court A county court is a court based in or with a jurisdiction covering one or more counties, which are administrative divisions (subnational entities) within a country, not to be confused with the medieval system of ''county courts'' held by the high ...

for sentencing, she was accompanied by a policeman, Dave Morgan, in case she was accosted by fans. The couple started dating, and then moved in together after Wallace confirmed she was pregnant. Wallace gave birth to daughter Tallulah Lilac on 2 November 2004, but the couple split up shortly afterwards, with Wallace's lawyers placing a

gag order A gag order (also known as a gagging order or suppression order) is an order, typically a legal order by a court or government, restricting information or comment from being made public or passed onto any unauthorized third party. The phrase may ...

on Morgan. In a later tabloid story in late 2007, whilst Wallace was filming '' Wild at Heart'' in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

with her cousin Jonathan and daughter Tallulah, her best friend, Stefan, suggested she still regularly took

ketamine Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic used medically for induction and maintenance of anesthesia. It is also used as a recreational drug. It is one of the safest anesthetics, as, in contrast with opiates, ether, and propofol, it suppresses ne ...

. Wallace admitted, at one point, taking drugs, but denied taking them since the birth of her daughter. In early 2020, Wallace was suspended from ''EastEnders'' again by the BBC, with a two-month suspension incurred due to an "incident while filming". In June 2022, Wallace was arrested after she assaulted a police officer outside a nightclub in

Bury St Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as Bury, is a historic market town, market, cathedral town and civil parish in Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – ...

. She was released without charge but received a conditional caution. In response, Wallace was issued a warning for "unacceptable behaviour" by ''EastEnders'' bosses.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wallace, Jessie 1971 births Living people Actresses from London English musical theatre actresses English soap opera actresses English stage actresses English television actresses English people of Irish descent People from Enfield, London Royal Shakespeare Company members Alumni of The College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London