Leonie Mellinger (born 24 June 1959) is a British actress, author and communications skills coach.

Early life

Mellinger was born in the British military hospital neighbouring

Spandau Prison Spandau Prison was located in the borough of Spandau in West Berlin. It was originally a military prison, built in 1876, but became a proto-concentration camp under the Nazis. After the war, it held seven top Nazi leaders convicted in the Nurem ...

as her actor father was then working for

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a pl ...

's theatre company (the Berliner Ensemble). Her Jewish parents were childhood refugees from Nazi Germany; her grandfather was

Werner Scholem Werner Scholem (29 December 1895 – 17 July 1940) was a member of the German Reichstag in 1924 to 1928 and a leading member of the Communist Party of Germany. Scholem and his wife, Emmy, were portrayed in the 2014 documentary "Between Utopia and ...

, who was killed in Buchenwald.

Career

Mellinger trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama. Her acting debut was as Miriam in the 1981 BBC television serialisation of

D.H. Lawrence David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was an English writer, novelist, poet and essayist. His works reflect on modernity, industrialization, sexuality, emotional health, vitality, spontaneity and instinct. His best-k ...

's '' Sons and Lovers''. In the television serial '' Small World'' (1988), based on the novel by David Lodge, she played a central double role portraying the twins Angelica and Lily. Her stage appearances with 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 ...

have included Lavinia in '' Titus Andronicus'' and Perdita in ''

The Winter's Tale ''The Winter's Tale'' is a play by William Shakespeare originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, many modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some criti ...

''. As well as acting, she teaches communication and personal impact skills at her own training company.

Personal life

Mellinger married actor

Robin Askwith Robin Mark Askwith (born 12 October 1950) is an English actor and singer who has appeared in a number of film, television and stage productions. Making his film debut as Keating in the film '' if....'' (1968), a role he would reprise in ''Brita ...

in 1988, although they divorced in 1991. She then married Anthony Burton in 1996 and the couple had a daughter, Aurelie, born the same year.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

*
Official website
Living people English television actresses English film actresses Alumni of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama 1959 births {{England-film-actor-stub