Kate Eurwen O'Toole ( , ; born 26 February 1960) is an English

actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

Early life

O'Toole was born on 26 February 1960 in

Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon ( ), commonly known as Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon (district), Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands region of Engl ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

, England. She is the daughter of actors

Peter O'Toole Peter Seamus O'Toole (; 2 August 1932 – 14 December 2013) was an English actor known for his leading roles on stage and screen. His numerous accolades include the Academy Honorary Award, a BAFTA Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and four Golde ...

and

Siân Phillips Dame Jane Elizabeth Ailwên Phillips (born 14 May 1933), known professionally as Siân Phillips ( ), is a Welsh actress from Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen, Wales. Her early career consisted primarily of stage roles, including the title roles in Ibsen's '' ...

. Due to her parents, she has four portraits in the

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London that houses a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. When it opened in 1856, it was arguably the first national public gallery in the world th ...

from when she was a child.

Career

Kate O'Toole is a versatile actress with an extensive career spanning theater, television, and film. In 2006, she captivated audiences in the West End production of

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the three ...

' ''

Summer and Smoke ''Summer and Smoke'' is a two-part, thirteen-scene play by Tennessee Williams, completed in 1948. He began working on the play in 1945 as ''Chart of Anatomy'', derived from his short stories "Oriflamme" and "Yellow Bird", the latter still a wor ...

'' at the

Apollo Theatre The Apollo Theatre is a listed building, Grade II listed West End theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London.

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, showcasing her profound ability to embody complex characters. That same year, she appeared in

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

's ''Forgiven'', earning critical acclaim for her performance. O'Toole also gained international recognition for her role as Lady Salisbury in the

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

series ''

The Tudors ''The Tudors'' is a historical fiction television series set primarily in 16th-century England, created and written by Michael Hirst and produced for the American premium cable television channel Showtime. The series was a collaboration among ...

''. She appeared in the first and third seasons of the historical drama, delivering a compelling portrayal of the noblewoman caught in the tumultuous court of King Henry VIII. In theater, O'Toole's talents have been widely celebrated. She was nominated for

Best Actress Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress award ...

at the

Irish Times Theatre Awards The ''Irish Times'' Irish Theatre Awards recognise outstanding achievements in Irish theatre. History The awards were founded in 1997 by ''The Irish Times''. Awards were established in numerous categories, ranging from design, to acting, to ov ...

for her portrayal of Rough Magic Theatre Company's production of Terry Johnson's ''

Dead Funny ''Dead Funny'' is a 1994 independent drama film directed by John Feldman. It stars Elizabeth Peña as Vivian Saunders, a woman who comes home from work and finds her boyfriend Reggie Barker (Andrew McCarthy) pinned to her kitchen table with a long ...

''. The nomination highlighted her ability to navigate the play's dark humor and poignant moments with equal finesse. She also won the prestigious Best Actress UK award in the Barclays/Arts Council Theatre Awards for her outstanding performance as 'B' in

Edward Albee Edward Franklin Albee III ( ; March 12, 1928 – September 16, 2016) was an American playwright known for works such as ''The Zoo Story'' (1958), ''The Sandbox (play), The Sandbox'' (1959), ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' (1962), ''A Delicat ...

's ''

Three Tall Women ''Three Tall Women'' is a two-act play by Edward Albee that premiered at Vienna's English Theatre in 1991. The three unnamed women, one in her 90s, one in her 50s, and one in her 20s, are referred to in the script as A, B, and C. The character ...

'' at the Lyric Theatre in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

. This performance cemented her reputation as a leading figure in contemporary theater, demonstrating her exceptional range and emotional depth. Beyond these notable roles, O'Toole has contributed to numerous stage and screen productions, consistently delivering performances that resonate with audiences. Her career is marked by a dedication to exploring complex characters and narratives, whether in classical works, modern dramas, or television series. Her artistic contributions extend to her involvement in the Irish arts community, where she has supported and championed creative initiatives. In 2013, she was appointed to the Irish Film Board, further solidifying her influence on the cultural landscape.

Filmography

In 2010 she filmed a remake of

Patrice Leconte Patrice Leconte (; born 12 November 1947) is a French film director, screenwriter and comic strip writer. Life and career Leconte grew up in Tours, and began making little amateur films at 15. He went to Paris in 1967 and studied at Institut des ...

's classic '' L'homme du Train'' with

Donald Sutherland Donald McNichol Sutherland (17 July 1935 – 20 June 2024) was a Canadian actor. With a career spanning six decades, he received List of awards and nominations received by Donald Sutherland, numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award ...

and U2's

Larry Mullen Laurence Joseph Mullen Jr. (; born 31 October 1961) is an Irish musician, best known as the drummer and co-founder of the rock band U2. A member of the band since its inception, he has recorded 15 studio albums with U2. Mullen's distinctive, ...

. Her other film credits include ''

The Confusion of Tongues ''The Confusion of Tongues'' is a 2014 multi-narrative comedy film written and directed by James Fair. The film stars an ensemble cast, which includes Sadie Frost, Gemma Atkinson, Ewen MacIntosh, Kate O'Toole, Paul Henshall and Katie Sherida ...

'' (2014), '' Hideaways'' (2011), ''

Possession Possession may refer to: Law *Dependent territory, an area of land over which another country exercises sovereignty, but which does not have the full right of participation in that country's governance *Drug possession, a crime *Ownership *Pe ...

'' (2002), ''

Dancing at Lughnasa ''Dancing at Lughnasa'' is a 1990 play by dramatist Brian Friel set in County Donegal, Ireland in August 1936 in the fictional town of Ballybeg. It is a memory play told from the point of view of the adult Michael Evans, the narrator. He re ...

'' (1998), ''Get Well Soon'' (BBC TV series), ''Eden'', ''Laughter in the Dark'', '' 32A'' and ''

The Dead The Dead may refer to: * The dead, those who have experienced death Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * The Dead (Higson novel), ''The Dead'' (Higson novel), 2010 novel by Charlie Higson * The Dead (Kracht novel), ''The Dead'' (Kracht nov ...

''. She appeared in

RTÉ One RTÉ One is an Irish free-to-air flagship television channel owned and operated by RTÉ. It is the most-popular and most-watched television channel in the country and was launched as ''Telefís Éireann'' on 31 December 1961, it was renamed ''R ...

's reality cookery programme '' The Restaurant'' where she succeeded in winning four out of a possible five stars. She was the

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...

of the short film ''Good Luck, Mr. Gorski.'' Minister for Arts, Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht,

Jimmy Deenihan Jimmy Deenihan (born 11 September 1952) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Minister of State for the Diaspora from 2014 to 2016, Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht from 2011 to 2014 and Minister of State at the D ...

, appointed her to the

Irish Film Board Not to be confused with Northern Ireland Screen. Fís Éireann / Screen Ireland, formerly known as Bord Scannán na hÉireann or the Irish Film Board, is Republic of Ireland, Ireland's state development agency for the Irish film, television an ...

in 2013. She is the

chairwoman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theater, cinemas or screening venues, usually annually and in a single city or region. Some film festivals show films outdoors or online. Films may be of recent ...

, the

Galway Film Fleadh The Galway Film Fleadh (; Irish for "festival") is an international film festival founded in 1989 as part of the Galway Arts Festival. Describing itself as Ireland’s leading film festival, the event is held every July in Galway city in Ire ...

Personal life

She was named after American actress

Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress whose Katharine Hepburn on screen and stage, career as a Golden Age of Hollywood, Hollywood leading lady spanned six decades. She was known for her headstrong ...

, whom her father admired and would later work with in the historical drama ''

The Lion in Winter ''The Lion in Winter'' is a 1966 play by James Goldman, depicting the personal and political conflicts of Henry II of England, his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, their children and their guests during Christmas 1183. It premiered on Broadway at the ...

'', released in 1968. In November 2008, O'Toole was convicted of driving while drunk and disqualified from driving for three years. Her blood sample showed that she was three times over the legal drink-drive limit.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Otoole, Kate 1960 births Living people 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses Circle in the Square Theatre School alumni English people of Irish descent English people of Scottish descent English people of Welsh descent People educated at North London Collegiate School Actresses from Stratford-upon-Avon David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University alumni