Rita Tushingham | |
|---|---|
 Tushingham in 2008 | |
| Born | (1942-03-14)14 March 1942 (age 83) |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1961–present |
| Spouse(s) | Terry Bicknell (m. 1962;div. 1976) |
| Partner(s) | Hans-Heinrich Ziemann (1994–present) |
| Children | 2 |
Rita Tushingham (born 14 March 1942) is an English actress. She is known for her starring roles in films includingA Taste of Honey (1961),The Leather Boys (1964),The Knack ...and How to Get It (1965),Doctor Zhivago (1965), andSmashing Time (1967). ForA Taste of Honey, she won theCannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress, and Most Promising Newcomer at both theBAFTA Awards andGolden Globe Awards. Her other film appearances includeAn Awfully Big Adventure (1995),Under the Skin (1997),Being Julia (2004), andLast Night in Soho (2021).
Tushingham was born on 14 March 1942 in theGarston area ofLiverpool, where her father was a grocer who ran three shops.[1] She grew up in theHunt's Cross district of the city. She attended the Heatherlea School inAllerton and the La Sagesse School inGrassendale (which later became part ofSt Julie's Catholic High School) and studied shorthand and typing at a secretarial school. She wanted to be an actress from an early age and trained at the Shelagh Elliott-Clarke School before working as an assistant stage manager at theLiverpool Playhouse.[2]
Tushingham's screen debut was inA Taste of Honey (1961). In 2020, she said of the film: "We shocked audiences without intending to. I only learned later thatPaul and I did the first interracial kiss on screen. ... A lot of the reaction was, 'People like that don’t exist' – by which they meanthomosexuals, single mothers and people in mixed-race relationships. But they did."A Taste of Honey was banned in several countries.[3]
Other performances by Tushingham have includedGirl with Green Eyes (1964),The Leather Boys (1964),The Knack ...and How to Get It (1965),Doctor Zhivago (1965),The Trap (1966),[4]Smashing Time (1967),The Bed Sitting Room (1969), andThe 'Human' Factor starringGeorge Kennedy andJohn Mills (1975). She also co-starred as Margaret Sheen in the TV filmGreen Eyes (1977).
In the 1960s, Tushingham performed several plays for theEnglish Stage Company at theRoyal Court Theatre:The Changeling (1961),The Kitchen (1961),A Midsummer Night's Dream (1962),Twelfth Night (production without décor, 1962) andThe Knack (1962).
Tushingham has won aGolden Globe and aBAFTA Award, and was a member of the jury at the22nd Berlin International Film Festival in 1972[5] and at the40th Berlin International Film Festival in 1990.[6]
Her later roles include the filmBeing Julia (2004), starringAnnette Bening, and on television in "The Sittaford Mystery" (2006), an episode ofMarple. She appeared in Series 2 of theBBC Three zombie dramaIn The Flesh as Mrs Lamb, broadcast in May 2014. In 2020 she appeared in theBBC One adaptation ofThe Pale Horse byAgatha Christie.
In 1984, The Smiths/Sandie Shaw used an image of Tushingham on the sleeve of their UK single release "Hand In Glove", thereby adding her to what would become a significant set of musical releases, made iconic by their design (other Smiths 'cover stars' included Yootha Joyce, Truman Capote, Alain Delon, Terence Stamp, Elvis Presley, Pat Phoenix, Viv Nicholson, Billie Whitelaw and Shelagh Delaney)Clips from Tushingham's performance inThe Leather Boys appeared inThe Smiths' music video for the single "Girlfriend in a Coma", in 1987.[7] She is also mentioned in theFranz Ferdinand song "L. Wells", theCleaners From Venus song "Ilya Kuryakin Looked at Me" and theTelevision Personalities song "Favourite Films". In 1999, she was featured onThis Is Your Life.[8]
Tushingham marriedphotographer Terry Bicknell in 1962. They had two daughters, Dodonna and Aisha, before divorcing in 1976.[3] In 1981, she marriedIraqicinematographer Ousama Rawi, spending eight years inCanada with him before they separated. They were not legallydivorced until 1996. She later divided her time between Germany and London with German writer Hans-Heinrich Ziemann, her partner since 1994. As of 2020[update] she lives alone in London, near her daughter Aisha and her grandchildren.[3]
In April 2005, at the age of 33, Tushingham's daughter Aisha was diagnosed withbreast cancer. She recovered and later gave birth to a son. Tushingham subsequently became an activist for breast cancer health and support.[9] She is a prominent supporter ofCancer Research UK'sRelay For Life and has given a number of interviews to raise breast cancer awareness.[10]
In July 2009, Tushingham received anHonorary Fellowship fromLiverpool John Moores University for "outstanding and sustained contributions to the performing arts".[11] In a 2020 interview, she described herself as a "lifelongfootball fan" and aLiverpool F.C. supporter.[3]
In June 2022, Tushingham was the guest forBBC Radio 4'sDesert Island Discs. Her choices included "You'll Never Walk Alone" byGerry and the Pacemakers, "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye" byElla Fitzgerald and "Bridge over Troubled Water" bySimon & Garfunkel. Her book choice wasBrewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable and her requested luxury item was a photograph of her family inside a book ofMatt cartoons wrapped in amosquito net.[12]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | A Taste of Honey | Josephine "Jo" | |
| 1963 | A Place to Go | Catherine Donovan | |
| 1964 | The Leather Boys | Dot | |
| 1964 | Girl with Green Eyes | Kate Brady | |
| 1965 | The Knack ...and How to Get It | Nancy Jones | |
| 1965 | Doctor Zhivago | Tanya Komarova | |
| 1966 | The Trap | Eve | |
| 1967 | Smashing Time | Brenda | |
| 1968 | Diamonds for Breakfast | Bridget Rafferty | |
| 1969 | The Guru | Jenny | |
| 1969 | The Bed Sitting Room | Penelope | |
| 1972 | Straight on Till Morning | Brenda Thompson | |
| 1974 | Fischia il sesso | Carol Houston | |
| 1974 | Situation | Rita | |
| 1975 | Rachel's Man | Leah | |
| 1975 | The "Human" Factor | Janice | |
| 1977 | Bread, Butter and Marmalade | Vera De Virdis | |
| 1977 | Black Journal | Maria | |
| 1978 | Mysteries | Martha Gude | |
| 1982 | Spaghetti House | Kathy Ceccacci | |
| 1986 | A Judgment in Stone | Eunice Parchman | |
| 1986 | Flying | Jean Stoller | |
| 1989 | Resurrected | Mrs. Deakin | |
| 1989 | Hard Days, Hard Nights | Rita | |
| 1992 | Paper Marriage | Lou | |
| 1992 | Rapture of Deceit | Dora | |
| 1994 | Gospel According to Harry | Myrna | |
| 1995 | An Awfully Big Adventure | Aunt Lily | |
| 1996 | The Boy from Mercury | May Cronin | |
| 1997 | Under the Skin | Mum | |
| 1999 | Swing | Mags Luxford | |
| 2000 | Out of Depth | Margaret Nixon | |
| 2004 | Being Julia | Aunt Carrie | |
| 2007 | Puffball | Molly | |
| 2007 | The Hideout | Paula Hardyn | |
| 2008 | Broken Lines | Rae | |
| 2008 | Telstar: The Joe Meek Story | Essex Medium | |
| 2009 | The Calling | Sister Gertrude | |
| 2011 | Seamonsters | Rose | |
| 2012 | Outside Bet | Martha | |
| 2013 | The Wee Man | Rita Thompson | |
| 2017 | My Name Is Lenny | Reenie Joyce | |
| 2020 | The Owners | Ellen Huggins | |
| 2021 | Last Night in Soho | Peggy Turner | |
| 2022 | Boudica | Green Druid | |
| 2024 | The American Backyard | Flora |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | The Human Jungle | Joy South | Episode: "The Man Who Fell Apart" |
| 1973 | Armchair Theatre | Grace | Episode: "Red Riding Hood" |
| 1974 | No Strings | Leonora | 6 episodes |
| 1977 | Green Eyes | Margaret Sheen | TV film |
| 1980 | Ladykillers | Charlotte Bryant | Episode: "Don't Let Them Kill Me on Wednesday" |
| 1982 | The Confessions of Felix Krull | Mrs. Twentyman | All 5 episodes |
| 1984 | Seeing Things | Dr. Jessica Edwards | Episode: "Seeing R.E.D." |
| 1985 | ABC Weekend Special | Mrs. Prysselius | Episode: "Pippi Longstocking" |
| 1989 | The Legendary Life of Ernest Hemingway | Alice B. Toklas | TV film |
| 1988 | Bread | Celia Higgins | 11 episodes |
| 1996 | Theatre of the Air | Rochelle | Episode: "I've Been Eddie Mostyn" |
| 1998 | Spending Nights with Joan | Bette Davis | TV film |
| 2002 | Helen West | Margaret Mellors | Episode: "Shadow Play" |
| 2002 | The Stretford Wives | Marilyn Massey | TV film |
| 2003 | Life Beyond the Box: Margo | Celia Fishwick | TV film |
| 2005 | New Tricks | Elise | Episode: "Creative Problem Solving" |
| 2006 | Agatha Christie's Marple | Miss Elizabeth Percehouse | Episode: "The Sittaford Mystery" |
| 2006 | Angel Cake | Millie | TV film |
| 2011 | Bedlam | Grace | Episode: "Inmates" |
| 2014 | In the Flesh | Mrs. Lamb | 3 episodes |
| 2016 | Neil Gaiman's Likely Stories | Effie Corvier | Episode: "Feeders and Eaters"[13] |
| 2018 | Vera | Audrey Latham | Episode: "Home"[14] |
| 2018 | Still Open All Hours | Annie | Episode: "Christmas Special" |
| 2019 | The Pale Horse | Bella Webb | All 3 episodes |
| 2021 | Ridley Road | Nettie Jones | All 4 episodes |
| 2022 | The Responder | June Carson | 2 episodes |
| 2024 | The Marlow Murder Club | Mrs. Eddingham | All 10 episodes |
| The Famous Five | Miss Clutterbuck | Episode: "Mystery at the Prospect Hotel"[15] |
Tushingham was made Honorary Associate ofLondon Film School.
And we are delighted to honour her today for her outstanding and sustained contributions to the performing arts.
