Sara Martins
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Sara Martins (born 19 August 1977) is a Portuguese-born French actress of
Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...
an descent. She is known in
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
for her roles on television and in film and theatre. She also appeared as Detective Sergeant
Camille Bordey Detective Sergeant Camille Bordey is a character in the crime drama television series '' Death in Paradise'', portrayed by Sara Martins. Description A former undercover investigator, Bordey was assigned to Honoré Police because her cover was ...
in the joint British-French crime comedy-drama '' Death in Paradise'', filmed in
Guadeloupe Guadeloupe (; ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Gwadloup, ) is an archipelago and overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and the ...
, a French
overseas department The overseas departments and regions of France (french: départements et régions d'outre-mer, ; ''DROM'') are departments of France that are outside metropolitan France, the European part of France. They have exactly the same status as mainlan ...
. She left the show halfway through series 4 (January 2015). She later returned to Season 10 E6 to reprise her role temporarily.


Early life

Martins was born in Faro, in the Portuguese region of
Algarve The Algarve (, , ; from ) is the southernmost NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities ( ''concelhos'' or ''municípios'' in Portuguese). The region has it ...
, and is of
Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...
an descent. She moved to France at the age of three. She studied ballet in her youth and was the first person of African descent to join the
Lyon Opera Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of th ...
. She learned that she would be unable to advance to the
Paris Opera The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be ...
, where the corps was expected to look alike and there were no other black dancers. Instead, she received her
Baccalauréat The ''baccalauréat'' (; ), often known in France colloquially as the ''bac'', is a French national academic qualification that students can obtain at the completion of their secondary education (at the end of the ''lycée'') by meeting certain ...
with a theater option. After receiving a DEUG in
law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
, at age 20 she studied at the École de théâtre Les Enfants Terribles in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
. Then, she completed an acting degree at the extremely selective
French National Academy of Dramatic Arts French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...
. She learned English through U2 lyrics as a teenager.


Career


Early work

Shortly after graduating from high school, Martins was hired by
Roger Planchon Roger Planchon (born 12 September 1931 in Saint-Chamond, Loire, died on 12 May 2009 in Paris), was a French playwright, Film director, director, and filmmaker. Biography Roger Planchon spent his childhood in the Ardèche, notably in Dornas. He fo ...
for a local production of
Le Radeau de la Méduse ''The Raft of the Medusa'' (french: Le Radeau de la Méduse ) – originally titled ''Scène de Naufrage'' (''Shipwreck Scene'') – is an oil painting of 1818–19 by the French Romantic painter and lithographer Théodore Géricault (1791†...
at the
Théâtre National Populaire The Théâtre national populaire (French for ''People's National Theater'') is a theatre now at Villeurbanne, France. It was founded in 1920 by Firmin Gémier in Paris. Today, the TNP has a company of ten resident actors and the building is cur ...
in
Villeurbanne Villeurbanne (; frp, Velorbana) is a commune in the Metropolis of Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France. It is situated northeast of Lyon, with which it forms the heart of the second-largest metropolitan area in France after tha ...
. She appeared in a play at the
Young Vic The Young Vic Theatre is a performing arts venue located on The Cut, near the South Bank, in the London Borough of Lambeth. The Young Vic was established by Frank Dunlop in 1970. Kwame Kwei-Armah has been Artistic Director since February 201 ...
in London called ''Le Costume'' (''The Suit'') and in a French-language production of David Mamet’s ''
Race Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to: * Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species * Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...
''. Martins' television debut was in 2001, in the French police series ''Police District''. She appeared in the series ''Pigalle, la nuit'' as Fleur. While filming ''Death in Paradise'', Martins worked on the French TV crime series ''Détectives'' in lead role of Nora Abadie. She appeared in the film
Paris, je t'aime ''Paris, je t'aime'' (; ''Paris, I love you'') is a 2006 anthology film starring an ensemble cast of actors of various nationalities. The two-hour film consists of eighteen short films set in different arrondissements (districts). The 22 director ...
(2006) in the segment Parc Monceau, the 17th arrondissement.


''Death in Paradise''

In April 2011,
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 ...
announced that Martins would appear in the crime comedy-drama '' Death in Paradise'', co-produced with
France Télévisions France Télévisions (; stylized since 2018 as ) is the French national public television broadcaster. It is a state-owned company formed from the integration of the public television channels France 2 (formerly Antenne 2) and France 3 (former ...
. The series was Martins' debut in both comedy and on British television. Martins did have experience playing a police officer. ''Death in Paradise'' premiered on 25 October 2011. Martins played
Camille Bordey Detective Sergeant Camille Bordey is a character in the crime drama television series '' Death in Paradise'', portrayed by Sara Martins. Description A former undercover investigator, Bordey was assigned to Honoré Police because her cover was ...
, a detective sergeant on the fictional
Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
island of Saint-Marie. Camille and other local officers help British Detective Inspector Richard Poole (played by
Ben Miller Bennet Evan Miller (born 24 February 1966) is an English actor, comedian, and author. He rose to fame as one half of the comedy duo Armstrong and Miller. Miller is also known for playing the lead role of DI Richard Poole in the first two serie ...
in the first two series) solve murders. During a stunt for a first series episode, Martins tore her
achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcaneus (h ...
. She has said that during the production of ''Death in Paradise'' she discovered that some of her mannerisms are distinctly French. The third series killed off Inspector Poole in the first episode and he was replaced by another British Detective Inspector,
Humphrey Goodman Detective Inspector Humphrey Goodman is a character in the crime drama television series '' Death in Paradise'', portrayed by Kris Marshall. Goodman is assigned to Saint Marie after the murder of D.I. Richard Poole at the start of Series 3. C ...
(played by
Kris Marshall Kristopher Marshall (born 11 April 1973) is an English actor, starring in films, television and on stage for more than 20 years. He has played Nick Harper in ''My Family'', Colin Frissell in the 2003 film ''Love Actually'', Gratiano in ''The Me ...
). The fourth episode of the fourth series " Until Death Do You Part", was Martins' last; her character was written out as moving to Paris. Of her departure from the show, she is quoted as saying: "I’ve loved everything about the show. But the only way to grow in life is to take risks, even if it means losing something you love, or leaving a place that’s comfortable". In 2021, she and Miller returned for a two-part episode.


Later appearances

Sara Martins appeared in two French detective shows, La Loi de … Alexandre, first episode (Comme des frères), and Capitaine Marleau, episode 2 (La mémoire enfouie) in Series 2. She appeared in the British series
Father Brown Father Brown is a fictional Roman Catholic priest and amateur detective who is featured in 53 short stories published between 1910 and 1936 written by English author G. K. Chesterton. Father Brown solves mysteries and crimes using his intuiti ...
in 2018 as the wife of criminal Flambeau. In 2018, she had the role of police inspector in the television movie Un Mensonge Oublié, English title Children of the Lie. She also appeared in Kiss & Tell (Voyez Comme On Danse) and the British tv movie, I Love My Mum. In 2020, she played the police detective in the French television series of 8 episodes, Grand Hôtel. She appeared as Victoire in Reunions, a French television series set on
La Réunion LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...
, for 6 episodes. She played Diane Dombre in the French television series Alexandra Ehle, about a persistent coroner in Bordeaux. She appears in Citadel, expected to air in the US in January 2022.


Selected filmography


Film


Television


References


External links

*
Sara Martins filmographyAllocine.fr
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martins, Sara 1977 births Living people People from Faro, Portugal French television actresses French film actresses French people of Cape Verdean descent French stage actresses 21st-century French actresses French National Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni Portuguese emigrants to France