KATRIN CARTLIDGEKatrin Cartlidge, whose sudden death on 7September, 2002, at the age of 41 shocked the entertainment industry, was aunique and outspoken actress probably best known for her work with directorMike Leigh.
Star of award-winning films such as LarsVon Trier’s ‘Breaking the Waves’ and Leigh’s ‘Career Girls’, her choice of workwas extraordinary and Ms Cartlidge remained passionately committed to the art of actinguntil the last.
Her most recent screen role came oppositeJohnny Depp in the Jack the Ripper murder mystery ‘From Hell’ but her careeralso saw her win over audiences on the stage too, often to be seen at the RoyalCourt and National Theatre.
“I think the older you get the more youfind life interesting apart from your own problems,” she once said. “So rollon. I can’t wait.”
Katrin Cartlidge was born on 15 May, 1961,in London, England. Educated at Hampstead’s Parliament Hill School for Girls,she began her acting career during the 1980s as a dresser for Jill Bennett atthe Royal Court before being picked by theatre director Peter Gill to appear atthe National in ‘Apart From George’.
Part-goth, part-punk, she soon made hername onstage and, in 1982, became a regular on television too in Channel 4’sLiverpool-based soap opera ‘Brookside’ as Lucy Collins.
She spent six years there in total, beforemoving seamlessly into the world of film with minor hits such as ‘Eat the Rich’and ‘Sacred Hearts’. However, it was not until 1993 that her career really tookoff with a lead role in Mike Leigh’s seminal and critically acclaimed ‘Naked’.
Further work in Milcho Manchevski’s ‘Beforethe Rain’ and the TV drama ‘Three Steps to Heaven’ cemented her reputation as atalented actress and, by 1995, she found herself in high demand by theinternational film community.
1996’s powerful ‘Breaking the Waves’ sawher extend her range and, crucially, marked the English-speaking directorialdebut of the now infamous Lars Von Trier. The film was an instant hit, earningthe Grand Jury Prize in Cannes and Cartlidge Best Actress awards from the Bodiland Robert Film Festivals.
She returned to work with Leigh thefollowing year as Hannah in ‘Career Girls’ and again in 1999 with themuch-applauded ‘Topsy-Turvy’.
Later screen roles included the lead inLodge Kerrigan’s smash ‘Clare Dolan’ and a feisty news reporter in theOscar-winning anti-war comedy ‘No Man’s Land’.
Her return to the Royal Court in 2001proved to be her last stage work and, in spite of future plans to appear onscreen alongside such stars as Benicio del Toro, Robert Lepage and Sean Penn,she died of complications arising from pneumonia and septicaemia on 7September, 2002. She was 41.
The impact of her death saw the creation ofthe Katrin Cartlidge Foundation by trustees such as Mike Leigh, to encouragenew creative voice in cinema. Its patrons include Lars Von Trier, Emily Watsonand Charlotte Rampling.
Von Trier’s subsequent ‘Dogville’ and EmilyYoung’s ‘Kiss of Life’ were each dedicated to her memory.
She was reportedly scheduled to appear in adocumentary with Von Trier during the final months of her life but cancelled sothat she could take care of her father who had suffered a stroke.
Her mother was Jewish and sought asylum inLondon during the late 1930s.
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