Sara Sugarman (born 13 October 1962) is a Welsh actress and filmmaker whose work includes

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

's ''

Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen ''Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen'' is a 2004 American teen musical comedy film directed by Sara Sugarman from a screenplay by Gail Parent, based on Dyan Sheldon's 1999 novel of the same name. It stars Lindsay Lohan as an aspiring teenag ...

'' (2004) and ''

Very Annie Mary ''Very Annie Mary'' is a 2001 musical-comedy film, written and directed by Sara Sugarman and starring Rachel Griffiths and Jonathan Pryce. It is a coming-of-age tale, set in south Wales, about a woman in her 30s who lives with her verbally abus ...

'' (2001). She has also appeared in films including '' Dealers'' (1989) and '' Those Glory Glory Days'' (1983).

Biography

Sugarman was born in

Rhyl Rhyl (; cy, Y Rhyl, ) is a seaside town and community (Wales), community in Denbighshire, Wales. The town lies within the Historic counties of Wales, historic boundaries of Flintshire (historic), Flintshire, on the north-east coast of Wales at ...

Denbighshire Denbighshire ( ; cy, Sir Ddinbych; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. Its borders differ from the historic county of the same name. This part of Wales contains the country's oldest known evidence of habitation – Pontnewydd (Bontnewy ...

, Wales, into a Jewish family. As a young teenager, she played in a punk outfit called The Fractures, managed by local musician Mike Peters. During this period, she played the rebellious SAG (School Action Group) leader Jessica Samuels in the children's drama TV series ''

Grange Hill ''Grange Hill'' is a British Children's television series, children's television drama series, originally produced by the BBC and portraying life in a typical Comprehensive school (England and Wales), comprehensive school. The show began its ru ...

'' (1978–1979). In

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, Sugarman attended both the

Arts Educational School Arts Educational Schools, or ArtsEd, is an independent performing arts school based in Chiswick in the London Borough of Hounslow. Overview ArtsEd provides specialist vocational training at secondary, further and higher education level in mus ...

and then

Barbara Speake Stage School The Barbara Speake Stage School was opened on 10 February 1945 as an independent school, and was initially set up as a dancing school, by the founding principal Miss Barbara Speake, MBE, and was located in East Acton, London. The school was fee- ...

Acton Acton may refer to: Places Antarctica * Mount Acton Australia * Acton, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Acton, Tasmania, a suburb of Burnie * Acton Park, Tasmania, a suburb of Hobart, Tasmania, formerly known as Acton Canada ...

. She attended the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Sen ...

(RADA) from 1986 to 1989, where she won the Best Actress medal. In 1992, she married the actor

David Thewlis David Wheeler (born 20 March 1963), better known as David Thewlis (), is a British actor, author, director and screenwriter. Thewlis rose to prominence when he starred in the film ''Naked'' (1993), for which he won the Cannes Film Festival Aw ...

. They divorced in 1994. In 1994 she won a place at Bournemouth Film School and scripted and directed three short films, nominated for a BAFTA, BAFTA CYMRU and won twenty three International film festivals. She won International Film maker's prize at the Sundance Film Festival and HBO film maker prize at HBO comedy festival and the Orange Prize for screenwriting. As of 2010, Sugarman was living in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. In 2012, Sugarman wrote and directed ''

Vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl m ...

'', a British

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

based on the true story of Welsh musician Mike Peters of

The Alarm The Alarm are a Welsh rock band that formed in Rhyl, Wales, in 1981. Initially formed as a punk band, the Toilets, in 1977, under lead vocalist Mike Peters, the band soon embraced arena rock and included marked influences from Welsh languag ...

who in 2004 released the single " 45 RPM" under the name of a fictitious band "

The Poppy Fields The Poppy Fields were a fictitious teenage group, invented by the Welsh rock band The Alarm. The Poppy Fields scored a hit with the release of " 45 RPM" that would become The Alarm's first hit in over a decade. Mike Peters revealed the truth on ...

". Much of the film was shot on location in Sugarman's hometown Rhyl.

Selected work

Filmmaker

*''

Midas Man ''Midas Man'' is an upcoming British biographical film about the life of music entrepreneur Brian Epstein. Directed by Joe Stephenson, who replaced previous directors Sara Sugarman and Jonas Åkerlund during filming, it is based on a story a ...

'' (2022; director, replaced

Jonas Åkerlund Hans Uno Jonas Åkerlund (; born 10 November 1965) is a Swedish film director, screenwriter, music video director, and drummer. His video for Madonna's song "Ray of Light" won a Grammy Award for Best Music Video, Short Form, and a record of fiv ...

) *'' Save the Cinema'' (2022; director) * ''

House of Versace ''House of Versace'' is a 2013 Canadian biographical drama television film directed by Sara Sugarman and starring Gina Gershon. Based on the 2010 biography ''House of Versace: The Untold Story of Genius, Murder, and Survival'' by Deborah Ball, i ...

'' (2013, director) *''

'' (2012; writer, director) *''

'' (2004; director) *''

'' (2001; writer, director) *''Mad Cows'' (1999; director)

Film appearances

*'' Mr. Nice'' (2010) *''Anthrakitis'' (1998) (

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

) *'' Dealers'' (1989) *'' Straight to Hell'' (1987) *''

Escape from Sobibor ''Escape from Sobibor'' is a 1987 British television film which aired on ITV and CBS. It is the story of the mass escape from the Nazi extermination camp at Sobibor, the most successful uprising by Jewish prisoners of German extermination cam ...

'' (1987) (TV) *''

Sid and Nancy ''Sid and Nancy'' (also known as ''Sid and Nancy: Love Kills'') is a 1986 British biographical film directed by Alex Cox, co-written with Abbe Wool, and starring Gary Oldman and Chloe Webb. The film portrays the life of Sid Vicious, bassist of t ...

'' (1986) *'' Those Glory Glory Days'' (1983)

Television appearances

*''

A Very Peculiar Practice ''A Very Peculiar Practice'' is a surreal black-comedy drama set in the health centre of a British university, produced by the BBC, which ran for two series in 1986 and 1988. The two series were followed by a 90-minute made-for-television film, ...

'' (1986) *''

Happy Families Happy Families is a traditional British card game usually with a specially made set of picture cards, featuring illustrations of fictional families of four, most often based on occupation types. The object of the game is to collect complete fami ...

'' (1985) *''

Minder A minder is the person assigned to guide or escort a visitor, or to provide protection to somebody, or to otherwise assist or take care of something, i.e. a person who " minds". Government-appointed persons to accompany foreign visitors are of ...

'' (1984) *''

Juliet Bravo ''Juliet Bravo'' is a British television police procedural drama series, first broadcast on 30 August 1980, that ran for six series and a total of 88 episodes on BBC1. The theme of the series concerned a female police inspector who took over con ...

'' (1980) *''

'' (1978–1979) as Jessica Samuels

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sugarman, Sara 1962 births Living people Welsh film actresses Welsh women film directors People from Rhyl Welsh television actresses 20th-century Welsh actresses 21st-century Welsh actresses Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art British expatriate actresses in the United States Welsh Jews Alumni of Arts University Bournemouth