Natascha McElhone

English actress (born 1971)

Natascha McElhone

McElhone in 2018

Born|

Natascha Abigail Taylor

(1971-12-14) 14 December 1971 (age 52)

Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England

Alma mater| London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
Occupation| Actress
Years active| 1990–present
Spouse|

Martin Hirigoyen Kelly

(m. 1998; died 2008)​

Children| 3
Relatives| Roy Greenslade (stepfather)

Natascha Abigail Taylor (born 14 December 1971), known professionally as Natascha McElhone (/ˈmækəlhoʊn/), is an English actress. In film, she has starred in the action thriller Ronin (1998), the psychological comedy-drama The Truman Show (1998) and the science fiction drama Solaris (2002). On television, she has starred in the Showtime comedy-drama series Californication (2007–2014), the ABC political drama series Designated Survivor (2016–2017), the Hulu science fiction drama series The First (2018), the Netflix historical series The Crown (2022) and the Paramount+ military science fiction series Halo.

## Early life

[edit]

McElhone was born Natascha Abigail Taylor in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England on 14 December 1971[1] to Noreen McElhone and Michael Taylor, who are both journalists.[2] She took her mother's maiden name as her stage name. McElhone has a brother and two half-brothers. Her parents separated when she was two. Her Irish mother moved the family to Brighton and later married journalist and columnist Roy Greenslade.[3]

McElhone was educated at St Mark's Church of England Primary School, Brighton; St Mary's Hall, Brighton; Fortismere School, London; Camden School for Girls, London; and William Ellis, London. She took lessons in Irish dancing from ages six to 12. She studied acting at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.[4]

## Career

[edit]

McElhone began her career in the theatre, including starring roles in Richard III and A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park, London, and in The Count of Monte Cristo and The Cherry Orchard at the Haymarket Theatre, Leicester. She made her television debut in 1990, credited as "Natascha Taylor", in Television South's adaptation of the Inspector Wexford story An Unkindness of Ravens.[5] She appeared the following year, again credited as "Natascha Taylor," in the series Bergerac as Louise Calder, a rebellious daughter of very wealthy parents.[6]

McElhone at the Southbank Centre, London in March 2014

She appeared in two episodes of the Dennis Potter television miniseries Karaoke. McElhone's first major box-office role came with Surviving Picasso (1996), with co-star Anthony Hopkins. One of her most successful films to date has been The Truman Show (1998) with Jim Carrey.[7] She had leading roles opposite Brad Pitt in The Devil's Own (1997), Robert De Niro in Ronin (1998)[8] and George Clooney in Solaris (2002).[9][10]

Co-starring with Bill Pullman, she appeared in the NBC miniseries Revelations (2005). McElhone starred in a 2006 West End production of Honour at the Wyndham's Theatre alongside Diana Rigg and Martin Jarvis. She accepted the role as Karen in the Showtime cable television series Californication, alongside David Duchovny.[1][11] In 2009, she became a spokeswoman for Neutrogena.[12] In 2010, McElhone voiced Marie in the video game Castlevania: Lords of Shadow from Konami.[13]

She featured as Lady Capulet in Romeo and Juliet (2013), a film adaptation of Shakespeare's play. Douglas Booth and Hailee Steinfeld were the leads, and Damian Lewis played her husband.[14] In 2014, McElhone played Alex Forrest in Fatal Attraction at the Theatre Royal Haymarket. In 2015, she starred as Sarah Churchill in the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Helen Edmundson's Queen Anne.[15]

In February 2016, McElhone was cast alongside Kiefer Sutherland in ABC's political drama series Designated Survivor, which premiered in September 2016.[16] She left the show in Season 2 to star as Laz Ingram in the Hulu science fiction drama series The First (2018).[17] In 2022, McElhone starred as Penelope Knatchbull in the Netflix historical series season 5 of The Crown.[18] From 2022 to 2024, she starred as Catherine Halsey in the Paramount+ military science fiction series Halo.[19]

## Personal life

[edit]

McElhone married plastic surgeon Martin Hirigoyen Kelly on 19 May 1998.[20] The couple lived in Fulham, south-west London, with their sons Theodore (b. 2000) and Otis (b. May 2003); their third son, Rex, was born in October 2008, five months after Kelly's death.[21]

On 20 May 2008, 43-year-old Kelly was found slumped in the doorway of his family's home by a fellow doctor, who had him rushed to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital (where he worked). He could not be revived and died one day after his 10th wedding anniversary. A postmortem exam revealed the cause of death to have been dilated cardiomyopathy.[22][23]

After her husband's death, McElhone continued to write letters to him, sometimes documenting the daily trivia of life but also dealing with how she and their young children were coping with their loss. These letters and diary entries formed the basis of her book After You: Letters of Love, and Loss, to a Husband and Father. The book was published in July 2010.[24][25]

## Filmography

[edit]

List of film works  Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes  | Ref.

|
|
|
|

1996  | Surviving Picasso | Françoise Gilot |  |
1997  | The Devil's Own | Megan Doherty  |  |
1997  | Mrs Dalloway | Young Clarissa Dalloway  |  |
1998  | The Truman Show | Lauren Garland / Sylvia  |  |
1998  | What Rats Won't Do | Kate Beckenham  |  |
1998  | Ronin | Deirdre  |  |
2000  | Love's Labour's Lost | Lady Rosaline  |  |
2000  | Contaminated Man | Holly Anderson  |  |
2002  | Laurel Canyon | Sara  |  |
2002  | FeardotCom | Terry Huston  |  |
2002  | Killing Me Softly | Deborah Tallis  |  |
2002  | City of Ghosts | Sophie  |  |
2002  | Solaris | Rheya Kelvin  |  |
2004  | Ladies in Lavender | Olga Daniloff  |  |
2005  | Guy X | Sgt. Irene Teal  |  |
2006  | Big Nothing | Penelope Wood  |  |
2008  | The Secret of Moonacre | Loveday de Noir  |  |
2008  | Blessed | Lou  |  |
2010  | The Kid | Gloria  |  |
2013  | The Sea | Connie Grace  |  |
2013  | Romeo and Juliet | Lady Capulet |  |
2014  | Believe | Erica Gallagher  |  |
2016  | Mr. Church | Marie Brooks  |  |
2016  | London Town | Sandrine Baker  |  |
2021  | Carmen | Carmen  |  |
List of television works  Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes  | Ref.

|
|
|
|

1990  | The Ruth Rendell Mysteries | Helen Blake  | 2 episodes  |
1991  | Bergerac | Louise Calder  | Episode: "Snow in Provence"  |
1994  | Absolutely Fabulous | Art Gallery Assistant  | Episode: "Death"  |
1994  | Minder | Vanessa  | Episode: "All Quiet on the West End Front"  |
1994  | Cadfael | Cecily Corde  | Episode: "The Sanctuary Sparrow"  |
1994  | Screen One | Janet  | Episode: "A Breed of Heroes"  |
1996  | Karaoke | Angie  | 2 episodes  |
1996  | Cold Lazarus | Angie  | 2 episodes  |
2003  | The Other Boleyn Girl | Mary Boleyn | Television film  |
2005  | Revelations | Sister Josepha Montafiore  | Miniseries  |
2007  | The Company | Elizabet Nemeth  | Miniseries  |
2007–2014  | Californication | Karen  | 84 episodes  |
2009  | 10 Minute Tales | Woman  | Television short; segment: "Deep & Crisp & Even"  |
2010  | Thorne: Sleepyhead | Anne Coburn  | Episodes 1-3  |
2015  | Saints & Strangers | Elizabeth Hopkins  | Miniseries  |
2016–2017  | Designated Survivor | First Lady Alex Kirkman  | Series regular (Season 1 and 2)  |
2018  | The First | Laz Ingram  | Series regular  | [26]
2022–present  | Hotel Portofino | Bella Ainsworth  | Series regular  |
2022–2024  | Halo | Dr. Catherine Elizabeth Halsey  | Series regular; also producer  | [citation needed]
2022  | The Crown | Penelope Knatchbull, Lady Romsey | Main role (Season 5)  |
2022  | Better Things | Mark's girlfriend (uncredited)  | Season 5 Episode 9  |
TBA | Young Sherlock | Cordelia Holmes  | Filming  |
List of video game appearances  Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes  | Ref.

|
|
|
|

2010  | Castlevania: Lords of Shadow | Marie Belmont  |  | [13]
2014  | Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 |  |

## Awards

[edit]

This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living people that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately.
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|

Awards and nominations  Year  | Nominated work  | Award  | Category  | Result

|
|
|
|

1999  | Ronin | MTV Movie Award | Best Action Sequence (shared with Robert De Niro)  | Nominated
2003  | Solaris | Saturn Award | Best Actress  | Nominated
2003  | IFTA Award | Best Actress in Film  | Nominated
2005  | Revelations | Satellite Award | Outstanding Actress in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television  | Nominated
2010  | The Kid | Irina Palm | Worst British Supporting Actress  | Won
2022  | Halo | WIN Award | Actress Drama Series  | Nominated

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Cadwalladr, Carole (26 April 2009). "The interview: Natascha McElhone". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
2. ^ Biographyyahoo.com Archived 27 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine
3. ^ Greenslade, Roy (28 February 2014). "Mike Taylor - the Daily Mirror night editor who loved to laugh". The Guardian.
4. ^ "Meet our LAMDA Acting Alumni". lamda.ac.uk. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
5. ^ "An Unkindness of Ravens".
6. ^ Dow, Tony (director) (19 January 1991). Bergerac (television production). Series 9, Episode 3. United Kingdom: BBC. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
7. ^ O'Sullivan, Michael (5 June 1998). "'Truman': A Surreally Big Show". The Washington Post. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
8. ^ O'Sullivan, Michael (25 September 1998). "Run-of-the-Mill 'Ronin'". The Washington Post. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
9. ^ Gleiberman, Owen (27 November 2002). "Solaris". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
10. ^ "Natascha McElhone- Biography". Yahoo! Movies. Archived from the original on 27 July 2014. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
11. ^ "Interview: Natascha McElhone on becoming a writer". The Scotsman.
12. ^ Clott, Sharon (30 January 2009). "Neutrogena Casts Natascha McElhone; Valentino Does 'Fearless' Eyes". New York. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
13. ^ a b "Konami Announces Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is Now Available". IGN. 5 October 2010. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
14. ^ Fernandez, Jay A. (1 February 2012). "'Homeland' Star Damian Lewis Cast in 'Romeo and Juliet' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 27 March 2015.
15. ^ "Cast and creative | Royal Shakespeare Company". Archived from the original on 2 December 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
16. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (5 February 2016). "'Designated Survivor' Casts Kal Penn, Maggie Q, Natascha McElhone, Italia Ricci". Deadline. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
17. ^ "The First: Interview with Natascha McElhone who plays Laz" (Interview). Channel 4. 29 October 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
18. ^ "The Crown: Seven takeaways from the latest series of Netflix's royal drama". BBC News. 5 November 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
19. ^ Hibberd, James (11 January 2024). "Halo Season 2 Trailer Shows Dark Space Action, Has New Showrunner". The Hollywood Reporter.
20. ^ Gráinne Faller (10 October 2009). "Shot in the Arm". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 22 August 2018. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
21. ^ Natascha McElhone Opens Up About Delivering Rex Alone. People, 7 May 2009
22. ^ Booth, Jenny (21 May 2008). "Natascha McElhone's plastic surgeon husband dies at couple's home". The Times. UK. Archived from the original on 1 June 2010. Retrieved 21 May 2008.
23. ^ Watts, Geoff (July 2008). "Obituary: Martin Hirigoyen Kelly". The Lancet. 372 (9632): 24. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(08)60979-4. S2CID 54309762.
24. ^ Day, Elizabeth (3 July 2010). "After You: Letters of Love, and Loss, to a Husband and Father by Natascha McElhone". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
25. ^ McElhone, Natascha (2010). After you: letters of love, and loss, to a husband and father. London: Viking. ISBN 978-0-670-91909-3.
26. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (27 September 2017). "Natascha McElhone To Star in Beau Willimon's 'The First' Hulu Series, Will Depart 'Designated Survivor'".

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Natascha McElhone.

* Natascha McElhone at IMDb

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*[m.]: married
*[Ref.]: References
*[TBA]: To be announced