Sir Francis Owen Garbett WilliamsCBE(born 16 April 1942) is a British businessman, former racing car driver and mechanic.[1]He is a founder and team principal of theWilliamsFormula Oneracing team.
In 1970 Williams undertook a brief partnership withAlejandro de Tomaso. After the death of Courage at theDutch Grand Prixthat year, Williams's relationship with de Tomaso ended. In 1971 he racedHenri Pescarolowith a chassis he had purchased fromMarch Engineering. 1972 saw the first F1 car built by the Williams works, thePolitoys FX3designed byLen Bailey, but Pescarolo crashed and destroyed it at its first race.[4]
Williams, short on cash (he conducted team business from a telephone box at one point after being disconnected for unpaid bills), looked toMarlboroandIso Rivolta, an Italian car company, for sponsorship. Though they pledged their support, they did not come through in time and in 1976 Williams took on a partner in Canadian oil magnateWalter Wolf. Though the team continued functioning, it no longer belonged to Williams and he left in 1977 along with one of his employees, engineerPatrick Head. The two acquired an empty carpet warehouse inDidcot,Oxfordshire,United Kingdomand announced the formation ofWilliams Grand Prix Engineering. This same team and partnership still compete inFormula One, currently racing as ROKiT Williams Racing. They are currently based just outside the South Oxfordshire village ofGrovenearWantage.[4]
The team's first win came in1979whenClay Regazzonidrove theCosworth-poweredWilliams FW07to victory at theBritish Grand PrixatSilverstone. Their firstDrivers'andConstructors'Championships both came in1980, withAustralianAlan Joneswinning the Drivers' title. Between 1981 and 1997, the team won six more Drivers' Championships and eight more Constructors' Championships. On 2 March 2012, Williams announced he would be stepping down from the board of Williams F1 and would be replaced by his daughterClaire, although he would still remain with the team in the role of team principal.
Herbert Lom (11 September 1917 – 27 September 2012) was a Czech-born
British film and television actor who moved to the United Kingdom in
1939. In a career lasting more than 60 years, he appeared in character
roles, often portraying criminals or villains early in his career and
professional men in later years.
Lom was noted for his precise, elegant enunciation of English.[3] He is best known for his roles in The Ladykillers, The Pink Panther film series and the television series The Human Jungle.
Lom was born Herbert Charles Angelo Kuchačevič ze Schluderpacheru in Prague to Karl Kuchačevič ze Schluderpacheru, and his spouse, the former Olga Gottlieb, who was Jewish.[4][5] Lom himself claimed that his family had been ennobled and the family title dated from 1601.[2]
His film debut was in the Czech filmŽena pod křížem ("A Woman Under Cross", 1937) followed by the Boží mlýny
("Mills of God", 1938). His early film appearances were mainly
supporting roles, with the occasional top billing. At this time he also
changed his impractically long surname – to Lom ("breakage" or "a quarry" in Czech), because it was the shortest he found in a local telephone directory.[citation needed] Due to German hostilities and the possibility of an invasion of
Czechoslovakia, Lom moved to Britain in January 1939. He made numerous
appearances in British films throughout the 1940s, usually in villainous
roles, although he later appeared in comedies as well. He managed to
escape being typecast as a European heavy by securing a diverse range of
castings, including as Napoleon Bonaparte in The Young Mr Pitt (1942), and again in the King Vidor version of War and Peace (1956). He secured a seven-picture Hollywood contract after World War II but was unable to obtain an American visa for "political reasons".[6] In a rare starring role, Lom played twin trapeze artists in Dual Alibi (1946).
Lom starred as the King of Siam in the original London production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical, The King and I. Opening at the Drury Lane Theatre on 8October 1953, it ran for 926 performances.[7] Lom can be heard on the cast recording.
A few years later he appeared opposite Alec Guinness and Peter Sellers in The Ladykillers (1955), and with Robert Mitchum, Jack Lemmon and Rita Hayworth in Fire Down Below (1957). He went on to more film success during the 1960s with a wide range of parts, starting with Spartacus (1960). Subsequent films in this period included El Cid (1961), Mysterious Island (also 1961), playing Captain Nemo, and Hammer Films' remake of The Phantom of the Opera
(1962). Again in the leading role, the phantom's mask in this version
was full-face, which made casting an actor with a reputation for his
vocal talents a sensible decision. "It was wonderful to play such a
part, but I was disappointed with the picture", Lom says. "This version
of the famous Gaston Leroux story dragged. The Phantom wasn't given enough to do, but at least I wasn't the villain, for a change. Michael Gough was the villain."[citation needed]
During this period Lom starred in his only regular TV series, the British drama The Human Jungle (1963–64) as a Harley Streetpsychiatrist, over two seasons. Another low-budget horror film starring Lom was the witchhunting film Mark of the Devil (Hexen bis aufs Blut gequält,
1970), which depicted unusually graphic torture scenes. Cinemas
reportedly handed out sick bags to patrons at screenings of the film.[8] He appeared in other horror films made in both the US and UK, including Asylum, And Now the Screaming Starts!, Murders in the Rue Morgue, and The Dead Zone.
Lom was perhaps best known for his portrayal of Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus, Inspector Clouseau's long-suffering superior in several of Blake Edwards' Pink Panther films, beginning with the second movie in the series, A Shot in the Dark (1964). He also appeared in two different screen versions of the Agatha Christie novel And Then There Were None. In the 1975 version he played Dr. Armstrong, and later appeared in the 1989 version as General Romensky.
Lom wrote two historical novels, one on the playwright Christopher Marlowe (Enter a Spy: The Double Life of Christopher Marlowe, 1978) and another on the French Revolution (Dr Guillotine: The Eccentric Exploits of an Early Scientist, 1992). The film rights to the latter have been purchased, but to date no film has been produced.
Lom died in his sleep on 27 September 2012 at the age of 95.[
Derek William Dick (born 25 April 1958), better known by his stage name Fish, is a Scottish singer-songwriter and occasional actor.
Fish became widely known as the lead singer and lyricist of the neo-progressive rock band Marillion from 1981 until 1988. He released 11 UK Top 40 singles with the band, including the Top Ten singles "Kayleigh", "Lavender" and "Incommunicado", and five Top Ten albums, including a number-one with Misplaced Childhood.[3] In his solo career, Fish has explored contemporary pop and traditional folk,[2] and released a further five Top 40 singles and a Top Ten album.[4]
Fish's voice has been described as both "distinct" and a "conflation of Roger Daltrey and Peter Gabriel",[5][6] while his lyrics have been praised as "poetic prose".[5] In 2004, Classic Rock
ranked Fish at number 49 on its list of "The 100 Greatest Frontmen",
describing his "theatrical delivery" as "a major factor in Marillion's
spectacular rise, and he masterminded some uniquely ornate lyrical
concepts."[7] In 2009, Fish was voted at number 37 in a poll of the greatest voices in rock music by Planet Rock listeners
Lisa Anne Loeb (/loʊb/; born March 11, 1968) is an Am[1] author,[2] and philanthropist[3] who started her career with the platinum-selling number 1 hit song, "Stay (I Missed You)" from the film Reality Bites, the first number 1 single for an artist without a recording contract.[1] Her studio albums include two back-to-back albums that were certified Gold; these were Tails and the Grammy-nominated Firecracker.[4]
erican singer-songwriter, producer, touring artist, actress,
Loeb's film, television and voice-over work includes a guest starring role in the season finale of Gossip Girl, and she starred in two other television series, Dweezil & Lisa, a weekly culinary adventure for the Food Network[5] that featured her alongside Dweezil Zappa, and Number 1 Single on E! Entertainment Television.[6] She has also acted in such films as House on Haunted Hill,Fright Night,[7]Hot Tub Time Machine 2,[8] and Helicopter Mom.[9]
Loeb has released award-winning children's CDs and books such as Catch the Moon,[1]Lisa Loeb's Silly Sing-Along: The Disappointing Pancake and Other Zany Songs,[2] and Songs for Movin' and Shakin',[10]Nursery Rhyme Parade! is her album and long-form video of over 30 children's favorites.[11] She co-wrote the lyrics and co-composed the music to Camp Kappawanna, a family musical that was premiered in New York on March 21, 2015, by the Atlantic Theater Company.[12] Loeb's latest album, Feel What U Feel was released in October 2016.[13]
In 2010, she founded the Lisa Loeb Eyewear Collection, which is based on her own designs.[7]
In addition, she created The Camp Lisa Foundation, a non-profit that
sends kids to camp. It is funded by Loeb's own organic and fair trade
coffee, Wake Up! Brew.[14] She was honored as the 2015 Camp Champion by the American Camp Association (ACA).[15] She constructed a crossword puzzle with Doug Peterson for The New York Times, which was published on June 6, 2017.
Simona Halep (n. ,[1]Constanța, România[1]) este o jucătoare profesionistă de tenis din România, aflată în prezent pe locul 1 mondial.[3] A câștigat turneul de Grand Slam de la Roland Garros (2018), după alte trei finale de Grand Slam: două la Roland Garros (2014, 2017) și una la Australian Open
(2018). Halep a câștigat de-a lungul carierei alte 18 turnee WTA la
simplu (șase în 2013, două în 2014, trei în 2015, trei în 2016, unul în
2017, trei în 2018), dintre care cele mai importante sunt turneele Premier Mandatory de la Indian Wells și Madrid. Următoarele premii ca importanță sunt cele de categorie Premier de la Montréal, New Haven, Connecticut, Moscova, Doha, Dubai, precum și cel de la turneul de la Sofia.
A început anul jucând finala la Notting Hill, dar a fost învinsă de Arantxa Rus, apoi a trecut de Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova în sferturile de finală ale turneului de junioare de la Australian Open, însă a cedat în semifinale în disputa cu Jessica Moore.
La turneul ITF de la București, Halep a eliminat-o în primul tur
pe fosta semifinalistă de la Roland Garros, Sesil Karatantcheva, înainte
de a pierde în sferturi întâlnirea cu Sorana Cîrstea în trei seturi: 6–3, 3–6, 1–6.
În luna mai a câștigat două turnee de junioare: ITF de 10.000$ de
la București, în fața lui Stéphanie Vongsouthi cu scorul 7-6(4), 6-3.[6] Victoria a fost urmată de succesul în turneul Trofeo Bonfiglio unde a învins-o pe Bojana Jovanovski cu 6–4, 6–1. [7]
La turneul junioarelor de la Roland Garros,
Halep a fost desemnată cap de serie numărul nouă. În primul tur a
învins-o pe Charlotte Rodier, 6–4, 6–1, apoi pe daneza Karen Barbat,
6–3, 6–1. În turul trei, Halep a trecut de a cincea favorită, Jessica
Moore, 6–0, 6–1 pentru ca în sferturi să o învingă pe Ksenia Lykina, cap
de serie numărul 13, cu 6–1, 6–2. În semifinale, Halep a trecut de a
doua favorită, Arantxa Rus 6–3, 7–5, pentru a câștiga apoi o finală 100%
românească, scor 6–4, 6–7(3), 6–2 în fața celei de-a 10-a favorite, Elena Bogdan.[8][9]
2009: titluri ITF și intervenția chirurgicală
În
startul anului 2009, Simona Halep a ajuns în finala turneului ITF de la
Makarska, fiind însă învinsă de principala favorită, Tatjana Malek cu
6–1, 4–6, 6-4. [10]
În mai, a ajuns în sferturile de finală la turneul ITF de la București, unde a cedat în fața nemțoaicei Andrea Petkovic 6-2, 7-6(2). [11]
În aceeași lună a evoluat în calificările turneului de senioare de la
Roland Garros, unde a eliminat-o în primul tur pe Michaella Krajicek,
cap de serie numărul 17, scor 6–4, 7–5, dar a cedat în runda următoare
disputa cu Vitalia Diatchenko, 2-6, 6-1, 6-3. [12]
În august, Halep a câștigat turneul ITF de 25.000$ de la Maribor, în finală trecând de principala favorită, Katalin Marosi din Ungaria, cu 6-4, 6-2. [13]
La 18 ani, Simona a recurs la o intervenție chirurgicală de
reducere a sânilor, care o incomodau în joc și îi creau și probleme cu
coloana vertebrală.
2017: Al treilea titlu Premier Mandatory, a doua finală de Mare Șlem - Roland Garros și realizarea punctajului pentru locul 1 WTA
Simona Halep, locul 4 WTA, și-a început sezonul la Shenzhen, în
China, turneu de categorie WTA Internațional. Halep a început cu o
victorie, câștigând cu 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 împotriva lui Jankovic, însă a
pierdut în turul 2 cu Kateřina Siniaková, scor 3-6, 6-4, 5-7
În următorul turneu, Australian Open, a jucat în turul I cu Shelby Rogers, fiind învinsă cu scorul 3-6, 1-6.
La începutul lui februarie, Simona a jucat la turneul Premier,
St. Petersburg Ladies' Trophy, unde a început cu o victorie împotriva
croatei Ana Konjuh (39 WTA), scor 6-4, 7-6 (2). Halep urma să joace, în
sferturile de finală, împotriva rusoaicei Natalia Vikhlyantseva (19
ani, locul 115 WTA), sportivă venită din calificări, însă a fost nevoită
să se retragă din cauza unei accidentări la genunchi.
La Indian Wells ajunge până în turul 2, unde este învinsă de Kristina Mladenovic cu scorul de 6-1, 6-3.
La Miami are un parcurs mai bun, dar a pierdut în trei seturi cu Johanna Konta în sferturi.
În Germania, la Stuttgart, merge până în semifinale, învinsă de Laura Siegemund cu 4-6, 5-7.
La Madrid, s-a impus pentru a doua oară, învingând-o în finală pe
Kristina Mladenovic (17 WTA) cu scorul 7-5, 6-7 (7), 6-2. Astfel,
devine prima jucătoare care ajunge de trei ori în finala turneului.
La Roma, ajunge în finală, fiind învinsă de Elina Svitolina, în 3
seturi 6-4, 5-7, 1-6. Meciul a fost marcat de accidentarea Simonei la
glezna dreaptă.
La 10 iunie 2017, Simona a disputat a doua ei finală la Roland Garros, fiind învinsă în trei seturi (6-4, 4-6, 3-6) de Jeļena Ostapenko.
La 7 octombrie 2017, în urma victoriei din semifinala cu Jeļena Ostapenko de la Openul Chinei din Beijing, Simona a devenit noul lider mondial al Clasamentului WTA,
fiind prima jucătoare de tenis din România clasată pe locul 1 WTA și
devenind a 25-a jucătoare din toate timpurile care a deținut această
poziție.[40]
La Turneul Campioanelor câștigă în primul meci cu Caroline Garcia, apoi pierde la Caroline Wozniacki și la Elina Svitolina, părăsind astfel competiția pentru al 3-lea an la rând încă din faza grupelor.
2018: Primul titlu de Grand Slam și accidentarea
Simona începe perfect anul 2018, câștigând turneul de la Shenzen. În finală, ea a învins-o pe campioana din 2017 Katerina Siniakova în trei seturi: 6-1, 2-6, 6-0. De asemenea, s-a impus și la proba de dublu de la turneul chinez alături de Irina-Camelia Begu, învingând în ultimul act perechea Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova, favorite principale. Pentru Simona e primul titlu WTA la dublu, iar pentru Irina al șaptelea.
Halep pierde finala Australian Open, în fața danezei Caroline Wozniacki, într-un meci strâns, de trei seturi: 6–7(2–7), 6–3, 4–6.
În iunie 2018, Simona Halep reușește să câștige prima sa finală de Grand Slam la Roland Garros, învingând-o pe Sloane Stephens, numărul 10 mondial, cu 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, după ce pierduse primele doua finale la acest turneu cu Maria Șarapova (în 2014) și Jelena Ostapenko (în 2017).
În august 2018, Simona Halep a câștigat din nou turneul WTA de la
Montreal, impunându-se pentru a doua oară consecutiv în fața
americancei Sloane Stephens. Tot în august a ajuns în finala turneului
de la Cincinnati, unde a pierdut în fața lui Kiki Bertens, deși a avut
minge de meci în setul doi.
În septembrie 2018, Simona Halep a ajuns la 47 de săptămâni în
fruntea ierarhiei mondiale și ocupă locul 11 într-un clasament all-time,
apropiindu-se și mai mult de belarusa Victoria Azarenka, aflată pe 10,
cu 51 de săptămâni pe prima poziție a clasamentului WTA[41].
În acea lună, a fost eliminată însă din primul tur la turneul de la Wuhan în ciuda unor dureri puternice,[42] și a abandonat în primul tur la Beijing.[43] O investigație cu RMN a relevat faptul că Halep suferă de hernie de disc.[44]
Presa a speculat că nu ar fi trebuit să meargă la aceste turnee, dar a
făcut-o pentru a obține bonusul de 1 milion de dolari din partea WTA pentru participarea la toate turneele Premier Mandatory și la patru din cele cinci turnee Premier Five.
Ann Lennox, OBE (born 25 December 1954) is a Scottish singer, songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving moderate success in the late 1970s as part of the new wave band The Tourists, she and fellow musician David A. Stewart went on to achieve major international success in the 1980s as Eurythmics. With a total of eight Brit Awards,
which includes being named Best British Female Artist a record six
times, Lennox has been named the "Brits Champion of Champions".[1] Lennox embarked on a solo career in 1992 with her debut album, Diva, which produced several hit singles including "Why" and "Walking on Broken Glass". To date, she has released six solo studio albums and a compilation album, The Annie Lennox Collection (2009). Aside from her eight Brit Awards, she has also collected four Grammy Awards and an MTV Video Music Award. In 2002, Lennox received a Billboard Century Award; the highest accolade from Billboard Magazine.[2] In 2004, she won both the Golden Globe and the Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Into the West", written for the soundtrack to the feature film The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
In addition to her career as a musician, Lennox is also a
political and social activist, notable for raising money and awareness
for HIV/ AIDS as it affects women and children in Africa. In 2011,
Lennox was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II for her "tireless charity campaigns and championing of humanitarian causes". On 4 June 2012 she performed at the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Concert in front of Buckingham Palace. Lennox performed the song "Little Bird" during the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony in London on 12 August 2012.
Lennox has been named "The Greatest White Soul Singer Alive" by VH1 and one of The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time by Rolling Stone.[3] In 2012, she was rated No. 22 on VH1's 100 Greatest Women in Music.[4]
She has earned the distinction of "most successful female British
artist in UK music history" due to her commercial success since the
early 1980s. As of June 2008, including her work within Eurythmics, Lennox had sold over 80 million records worldwide.[5]
At the 2015 Ivor Novello Awards, Lennox was made a fellow of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors, the first female to receive the honour.[6][7] In 2017, Lennox was appointed Glasgow Caledonian University's first female chancellor, taking over the role from Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus.[8] Lennox's vocal range is contralto.
Rosset turned professional in 1988 and won his first tour singles title in 1989 in Geneva as a wildcard, defeating Guillermo Pérez Roldán. His first doubles title was won in Geneva as well in 1991 with partner Sergi Bruguera.
1992 was the pinnacle of Rosset's career. Representing Switzerland at the Olympic Games in Barcelona, he defeated several top players en route to qualifying for the men's singles final, including Jim Courier, Goran Ivanišević, Wayne Ferreira, and Emilio Sánchez. In the final, he faced Spain's Jordi Arrese
and won an exciting five-set match, 7–6, 6–4, 3–6, 4–6, 8–6, to claim
the gold medal. Rosset also won the 1992 French Open men's doubles title
with partner Jakob Hlasek. Rosset also was a member of the Swiss team which reached the final of the 1992 Davis Cup. Switzerland lost in the final to the United States despite Rosset's winning a five-set singles rubber against Jim Courier (who was ranked world No. 1 at the time).
Rosset's most memorable Davis Cup match came in defeat in a singles rubber against Arnaud Clément
of France in 2001, which he lost 15–13 in the fifth set after 5 hours
and 46 minutes. During the later years of his playing career, Rosset
also served as the Swiss Davis Cup team captain.
Rosset also enjoyed success playing in other international team
competitions for Switzerland. In 1996, he was a member of the teams
which won the World Team Cup and finished runners-up in the Hopman Cup. That year he also achieved his best performance at a Grand Slam when he beat Carl-Uwe Steeb, Jiří Novák, Jakob Hlasek, Stefan Edberg and Bernd Karbacher before losing to Michael Stich in the semi-finals.
Rosset had a 2–2 record against his successor as Switzerland's top male tennis player, Roger Federer. Rosset won their first two meetings in 2000 (including the final of the Open 13 at Marseille), but Federer won their meetings in 2001 and 2003.[1]
At 2.01 meters (6 ft. 7 in.), Rosset was one of the game's
tallest players throughout his career. He was one of the game's fastest
servers and most prolific servers of aces for most of his career.
Rosset changed his flight plans after a first-round defeat at the US Open in September 1998. After he changed his plans, the flight he had originally planned to take, Swissair Flight 111, crashed in the Atlantic Ocean, killing all on board.[2]
Rosset's career-high ATP
singles ranking was world no. 9, and his career-high doubles ranking
was world no. 8. He won a total of 15 top-level singles titles and eight
doubles titles. He won at least one singles title on all surfaces: clay, grass, carpet, and hard court. His career prize money totaled $6,812,693.
Maricel Voinea (born 17 March 1959) is a retired Romanianteam handball player and coach. He played 263 matches for the national team, scoring 706 goals and winning bronze medals at the 1980 and 1984 Olympics and 1990 World Championships.[1] At the club level he was part of HC Minaur in Baia Mare (1977–1989), winning the EHF Cup in 1985 and 1988. He later joined the Spanish club Avidesa Valencia (1989–1992), and eventually moved on to Germany, where he competed for SG Leutershausen (1992–1994) and HSG Nordhorn (1994–1998).[2]
In 1999, Voinea was appointed head coach of HC Ibbenbüren, promoting it to the Bundesliga the following year, while continuing to play in the field. Moving on to TSV Landsberg as a coach-player, he repeated the performance in 2002. The last team coached by Maricel Voinea was the local one in Fürstenfeldbruck, near Munich, registered in the Fourth League. He subsequently retired from sport and works in Furstenfeldbruk's local administration.
13 September 2004,
holding it for five weeks on that occasion. She was the fifteenth World
No. 1 in women's tennis since the computer rankings began. She is well
known for her powerful one-handed backhand and strong net play. She
officially announced her retirement from professional tennis on 3
December 2009, ending a career of fifteen years. She returned to
Wimbledon in 2010, acting as a grass court advisor for Frenchman and
2007 Wimbledon doubles champion
Mauresmo was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2015.
The unseeded Mauresmo reached the Australian Open final in 1999 with wins over three seeded players, including world no. 1 Lindsay Davenport, before falling to world no. 2 Martina Hingis. Mauresmo was only the second Frenchwoman ever to reach the Australian Open final; (Mary Pierce was the first, winning the championship in 1995). She was only the third Frenchwoman to reach any Grand Slam final during the Open Era.
Mauresmo defeated Hingis later in the year, en route to the final of the Paris indoor event.
After the defeat of Davenport at the Australian Open, Mauresmo, 19 at the time, came out as gay to the international press.[1] She "attributed her success on the court to coming to terms with her sexuality and finding love."
Mauresmo reached the semifinals at Wimbledon, where she lost to Serena Williams in three sets after winning the first set and up a break in the second set. She reached the quarterfinals of the three other Grand Slam tournaments and won three Tier I titles in Rome, Berlin, and Montreal.
Mauresmo won a silver medal in singles at the Olympic Games in Athens, where she was defeated by Belgian Justine Henin in the final.
On 13 September 2004, Mauresmo became the first French tennis
player to become world no. 1 since the computer rankings began in the
1970s. She held that ranking for five weeks and was the second woman,
after Kim Clijsters, to have attained the top spot without having won a Grand Slam title
Mauresmo reached the quarter-finals of the Australian Open, but was defeated there by eventual champion Serena Williams.
At the French Open, seeded third, Mauresmo was upset in the third round by the then little-known 17-year-old Ana Ivanovic of Serbia in three sets.[2]
Mauresmo had, at the Australian Open earlier in the year, become the
first player to defeat the Serb in the main draw of a Grand Slam
tournament, winning in straight sets also in the third round.[3]
At the US Open, Mauresmo lost in the quarter-finals to Mary Pierce in straight sets. That followed a semi-final loss to Lindsay Davenport at Wimbledon.
Mauresmo claimed her first singles title at the WTA Tour Championships. She defeated Pierce in the final after losing to Pierce in a round-robin match at that tournament, in three sets.
Britt Ekland (born Britt-Marie Eklund; 6 October 1942) is a Swedish
actress and singer. She appeared in numerous films in her heyday
throughout the 1960s and 1970s, including critically acclaimed roles in William Friedkin's The Night
They Raided Minsky's (1968), and the British crime film Get Carter (1971), which established her as a movie sex symbol. She also starred in the British cult horror film The Wicker Man (1973) and appeared as a Bond girl in The Man with the Golden Gun (1974).
Her high-profile social life and her 1964 marriage to actor Peter Sellers
attracted considerable press attention, leading to her being one of the
most photographed celebrities in the world during the 1970s.
Early roles: 1960–1970
Ekland began her career with bit parts and uncredited walk-on roles, including her first onscreen role in G.I. Blues (1960). This was followed with a small supporting part in The Happy Thieves (1960). She had small roles in the Swedish films Kort är sommaren (1962) and Det är hos mig han har varit (1963), before landing her first major supporting part in the George Marshall Western Advance to the Rear (1964).
In 1964, she appeared in the Christmas television film A Carol for Another Christmas, meeting her future husband, Peter Sellers, her co-star in the film. She followed this with After the Fox (1966), also starring Sellers; she made one more film with Sellers, The Bobo (1967). This was followed with a lead role as an Amish girl turned New York City burlesque dancer in William Friedkin's musical The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968), which earned Ekland critical acclaim.[4] Next came Stiletto (1969), a crime drama, based on a novel by Harold Robbins, co-starring Alex Cord. She then starred in a string of Italian films, Machine Gun McCain (1969), The Conspirators (1969), and as Antigone in The Cannibals (1970).
Sex symbol and horror roles: 1971–1988
In 1971, she was cast as a leading lady and gun moll in the iconic crime film Get Carter, opposite Michael Caine, which firmly established her as a blonde bombshell. The 1970s also saw Ekland in several horror films, including What the Peeper Saw (1972) as a disturbed bride; the Agatha Christie adaptation Endless Night (1972), playing the friend and companion of an American heiress; and as a hallucinatory figure in the anthology film Asylum (1972) opposite Charlotte Rampling. Her most iconic horror role came in the 1973 cult horror film The Wicker Man, in which she played a Pagan villager and seductress; however, her voice was dubbed in the film to disguise her Swedish-accented English.[5] Other roles included in the thriller The Ultimate Thrill (1974) and the British drama Baxter! (1973). On television, she was cast in the TV film The Six Million Dollar Man: Wine, Women and War (1973) opposite Lee Majors. Ekland's next prominent role came when she was cast as the lead Bond girl, Mary Goodnight, in the James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), which received mixed reviews but furthered Ekland's status as a sex symbol.[1][6] In 1976 she provided the French spoken part at the end of then boyfriend Rod Stewart's hit single "Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright)". Ekland also portrayed biographical characters, such as the one based on real-life actress Anny Ondra (boxer Max Schmeling's wife) in the television movie Ring of Passion (1978). Ekland was also featured in the horror pictures The Monster Club (1980) and Satan's Mistress (1982).
Ekland had supporting roles in independent films, and appeared in the comedy film Fraternity Vacation (1985), followed by a role in the slasher film Moon in Scorpio (1988) and as prostitute Mariella Novotny in the feature film Scandal (1989) about the Profumo Affair.
Stage and television: 1989–present
She has guest-starred on various television series, including an appearance on the popular series Superboy, playing an alien disguised as Lara, Superboy's biological mother, during the show's second season in 1990. Ekland published a beauty and fitness book, Sensual Beauty: How to Achieve It (1984), followed by a fitness video in 1992. In the BBC television series I Love the '70s (1999) she hosted the 1971 episode in homage to her role as "Anna" in the film Get Carter.
Ekland's later career has mainly consisted of stage and television, with her last feature film role being in The Children (1990). She appeared on stage as a cast member in Cinderella at the Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent in December 1999 and January 2000. She also appeared in Grumpy Old Women Live, participated in December 2007 in the Swedish reality show Stjärnorna på slottet (The stars at the castle) along with Peter Stormare, Arja Saijonmaa, Jan Malmsjö and Magnus Härenstam, and in December 2007 and January 2008 she starred again in Cinderella at the Wyvern Theatre, Swindon.[7] She appeared as a guest on the British daytime television show Loose Women, in January 2008. From December 2008 to January 2009, Britt starred in Cinderella at the Shaw Theatre in London. In a rare instance of her singing, she performed the song My Prince, originally recorded by Lara Pulver on the album Act One – Songs from the Musicals of Alexander S. Bermange. In 2009–10, she played the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella
at Princess Theatre, Torquay. In December 2010, she starred as the
'Fairy Pea Pod' in Jack and the Beanstalk at the Kings Theatre,
Southsea. She starred in further Pantomimes at the Theatre Royal,
Windsor, in 2011 and 2012.
Ekland was one of the housewives of Svenska Hollywoodfruar (en:Swedish Hollywoodwives) on TV3 during the 2013 season. In 2010 Ekland took part in the reality TV showI'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! where she was fourth to be voted off. During the program she developed a close relationship with Stacey Solomon and Nigel Havers, while making an enemy of Gillian McKeith.[8] She will participate in Let's Dance 2018 broadcast on TV4. She was the first to be eliminated on 30 March placing 11th.
Relationships and family
Ekland became famous overnight as a result of her 1964 whirlwind romance and marriage to English actor and comedian, Peter Sellers, who proposed after seeing her photograph in the paper and then meeting in London.[9][10]
She stood by him after he suffered a series of heart attacks shortly
after their marriage. Ekland was stepmother to Sellers' children Sarah
and Michael (who died of a heart attack at about the same age as his father). In January 1965 they had a daughter, Victoria. The couple made three films together — A Carol for Another Christmas (1964), After the Fox (1966) and The Bobo (1967) — before divorcing in 1968.[citation needed]
In June 1973, she had a son, Nic Adler, with record producer Lou Adler.[citation needed]
She also had a much publicised romance with rock star Rod Stewart; they were introduced in 1975 by Joan Collins and lived together for more than two years, with Ekland giving up her career to focus on the relationship.[11]
From 1979–1981, she dated and became engaged to Girl frontman and future L.A. Guns singer Phil Lewis[12][13]
In 1984, at age 42, she married Stray Cats drummer Slim Jim Phantom, who was 19 years younger than her, aged 23. They had a son, Thomas Jefferson (born in 1988).[14] They divorced in 1992.
