Tracey Ullman

Tracey Ullman was born Trace Ullman in Slough, Buckinghamshire (now Berkshire), the younger of two daughters, to Doreen (née Cleaver; 1929–2015), who was of British and Roma extraction, and Anthony John Ullman (1917–1966), a Roman Catholic Pole. Anthony served in the Polish Army and took part in the Battle of Dunkirk during World War II. After emigrating and marrying in England, he worked as a solicitor, a furniture salesman, and a travel agent. He also brokered marriages and translated among the émigré Polish community. When she was six, Ullman's father, who had been recovering from a heart operation, died of a heart attack in front of her. She was subsequently uprooted to Hackbridge, southwest London. Her mother could barely make ends meet without their father's income. In an effort to cheer her family up, Ullman, along with her sister Patti, created and performed nightly shows on their mother's bedroom windowsill. After their mother remarried, the family began moving around the country, with Ullman attending numerous state schools, where she wrote and performed in school plays. She eventually caught the attention of a headmaster, who recommended that she attend a performing arts school. She won a full scholarship to the Italia Conti Academy at the age of twelve. At sixteen, she attended a dance audition under the impression that she was applying for summer season in Scarborough. The audition resulted in a contract with a German ballet company for a revival of Gigi in Berlin. Upon returning to England, she joined the Second Generation dance troupe, performing in London, Blackpool, and Liverpool. She branched out into musical theatre and was cast in numerous West End musicals including Grease, Elvis The Musical, and The Rocky Horror Show.A chance encounter with the wife of the head of Stiff Records led to Ullman getting a recording contract in 1983. Label owner Dave Robinson was taken with some of the musical parodies she had been doing on television in Three of a Kind and signed her. Ullman recounted, "One day, I was at my hairdresser, and Dave Robinson's wife Rosemary leant over and said, 'Do you want to make a record?'... I went, 'Yeah I want to make a record.' I would have tried anything." Her 1983 debut album You Broke My Heart in 17 Places was a Top 20 hit in the UK, and featured three UK Top 10 hit singles. Her first hit single, "Breakaway", reached #4 in the UK. This was followed by the international hit version of Kirsty MacColl's "They Don't Know", which reached #2 in the UK, and #8 in the United States. The video for "They Don't Know" featured a cameo appearance from Paul McCartney (at the time, Ullman was filming a minor role in McCartney's film Give My Regards to Broad Street). A third single from the album, a recording of Doris Day's "Move Over Darling", reached #8 in the UK. Ullman released her second (and final) album You Caught Me Out in 1984. This included her version of Madness's "My Girl", which she changed to "My Guy", which reached #23. Its accompanying video featured a cameo from the British Labour Party politician Neil Kinnock, at the time the Leader of the Opposition. Her final Top 30 hit, "Sunglasses" (1984), peaked at #18 in the UK and featured comedian Adrian Edmondson in its music video. During this time she also appeared as a guest VJ on MTV in the United States. Within 18 months, Ullman had scored five Top 30 hits on the UK Singles Chart. Her first two singles ("Breakaway" and "They Don't Know") were certified Silver by the BPI, as was her debut album. Ullman's songs were over-the-top evocations of 1960s and 1970s pop music with a 1980s edge, "somewhere between Minnie Mouse and the Supremes" as Melody Maker put it. Along with her television work, Ullman has featured in many films throughout her career. Her first theatrical film was a small role in Paul McCartney's film Give My Regards to Broad Street (1984). This was followed by a supporting role in the drama Plenty (1985) starring Meryl Streep. She made her big screen leading role debut in I Love You to Death (1990) acting alongside Kevin Kline, River Phoenix, and Joan Plowright. She appeared in lead and supporting roles in films such as Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993), Nancy Savoca's Household Saints (1993), Bullets Over Broadway (1994), Small Time Crooks (2000), Panic (2000) and A Dirty Shame (2004). She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award in the category of Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for her work in Small Time Crooks in 2001. She played Jack's mother in the film adaptation of the Broadway musical Into the Woods (2014) and appeared in the musical film The Prom (2020). Her voice work in film includes Tim Burton's Corpse Bride and the animated films The Tale of Despereaux and Onward.