Kim Cattrall

Actor

  • Born: August 21, 1956

Contribution: Kim Cattrall is a Canadian actor best known for portraying Samantha Jones in the HBO series Sex and the City (1998–2004). Cattrall has also starred in numerous film and theater productions.

Early Life

Kim Victoria Cattrall was born in Liverpool, England, on August 21, 1956, to Shane and Dennis Cattrall. Her family moved to British Columbia, Canada, when she was three months old. At age eleven, they returned to England, where Cattrall excelled in drama courses at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. Returning to Canada with her family, she attended the Banff School of Fine Arts and graduated in 1972 at the age of sixteen. Upon receiving a scholarship to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Cattrall headed to New York City.

Career

Cattrall’s career as an actor began before she graduated from the academy, when producer Otto Preminger cast her in her first film, Rosebud, in 1975. She subsequently appeared on stage in several theatrical productions, including Agnes of God (1979), and later signed a contract with Universal Studios.

During the 1970s, Cattrall continued working in theater and appeared in numerous television shows, including Charlie’s Angels (1976–1981), Quincy M.E. (1976–1983), and The Incredible Hulk (1978–1982), and television movies such as ABC’s Good Against Evil (1977).

Cattrall appeared in numerous films throughout the 1980s, including Porky’s (1982), Police Academy (1984), Mannequin (1987), and Midnight Crossing (1988). She also continued working in theater, starring in productions of Three Sisters (1901) and Wild Honey (1984) in 1985 and The Misanthrope (1666) in 1989. During the 1990s, Cattrall appeared in The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990), Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991), and Unforgettable (1996).

Cattrall undertook the most popular role of her career after being cast in the HBO television series Sex and the City (1998–2004) in 1998. She played the character of Samantha Jones until the end of the series in 2004, then reprised the role in Sex and the City: The Movie in 2008 and its sequel, Sex and the City 2 (2010). During its six-year run, the Sex and the City television show received fifty Emmy nominations. For her work on the show, Cattrall won a Golden Globe in 2003 and two Screen Actors Guild Awards—in 2001 and 2003 (for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series). Cattrall also returned for the 2023 Sex and the City miniseries And Just Like That...

She also appeared in several films during this period in her career, including Baby Geniuses (1999), Ice Princess (2005), and The Ghost (2010). In the years that followed, Cattrall continued playing film and television roles, most notably taking on the recurring role of future Sophie on How I Met Your Father (2022-2023), starring on the Peacock revival series Queer as Folk (2022), and portraying Madolyn Addison on Glamorous (2023), which lasted for only one season. In 2023, she also appeared in the films Excessive and About My Father .

Cattrall has been a spokesperson for Pepsi and Bacardi and is the author of several books, including Being a Girl: Navigating the Ups and Downs of Teen Life (2006) and Sexual Intelligence (2006). She appeared in a production of Private Lives (1930) at the Music Box Theater in New York in 2011.

Personal Life

Cattrall has been married three times: to Larry Davis, from 1977 to 1979; to Andreas Lyson, from 1982 to 1989; and to Mark Levinson, from 1998 to 2004. She is a citizen of Canada and Great Britain.

Bibliography

Brantley, Ben. “An Enduring Marriage of Wit and Lust.” New York Times. New York Times Co., 17 Nov. 2011. Web 1 Aug. 2013.

"Kim Cattrall." IMDb, 2024, www.imdb.com/name/nm0000326. Accessed 17 Sept. 2024.

“Kim Cattrall Beams In Blue As She Is Awarded Honorary University Fellowship.” Daily Mail. Associated Newspapers Ltd., 12 Jul. 2010. Web. 1 Aug. 2013.

“KIM CATTRALL BIO.” Tribute.ca. Tribute Entertainment Media Group, N.d. Web. 1 Aug. 2013.

Lyall, Sarah. “The Mountie Puts on His Tuxedo.” New York Times. New York Times Co., 3 Nov. 2011. Web. 1 Aug. 2013.

Miles, Tina. “Sex And The City Kim Cattrall: Why I’m So Proud To Be A Scouser.” Liverpool Echo. Trinity Media, 9 Jun. 2008. Web. 1 Aug. 2013.

Rhys, Steffan. “Sex and The City Star Kim Cattrall’s Tragic Roots.” WalesOnline. Trinity Mirror, 12 Aug. 2009. Web. 1 Aug. 2013.