Kim Cattrall

Kim Cattrall enjoyed international acclaim as the carnally omnivorous Samantha Jones on "Sex and the City" (HBO, 1998-2004), who served as the apex of her poised yet earthy screen persona, as exemplified by such projects as "Porky's (1982), "Bonfire of the Vanities" (1990) and numerous episodic television series. Born Kim Victoria Cattrall on August 21, 1956 in Liverpool, England, she emigrated with her family to Vancouver Island, in the Canadian province of British Columbia, when she was three years of ago. She would return to England in her early adolescence and begin her training as an actor at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. After returning to Canada, she completed her primary education at the Georges P. Vanier Secondary School before heading to New York in 1972; there, she studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, where she was discovered by director Otto Preminger. Cattrall would sign a five-year contract with the filmmaker and made her screen debut in his thriller "Rosebud" (1974), but Universal Studios bought her contract from Preminger and installed her in its contract player system, where she quickly amassed a sizable list of credits on episodic television series. A featured role as Andrew Stevens' romantic interest in the high-profile miniseries "The Bastard" (syndicated, 1978) led to more long-form television projects and Canadian feature films, including Bob Clark's "Tribute" (1980), with Jack Lemmon, and the harrowing "Ticket to Heaven" (1981). She made an auspicious debut as a lascivious gym teacher in Clark's sex comedy "Porky's" (1982), and quickly followed with a comic turn in "Police Academy" (1984), and while both films were box office smashes, they did little for Cattrall's profile. She was a capable presence in Hollywood efforts like Clark's "Turk-182!" (1985) and John Carpenter's "Big Trouble in Little China" (1986), but neither found favor with audiences, and Cattrall soon settled into character roles in Brian De Palma's "Bonfire of the Vanities" (1990) and "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country" (1991). She would maintain a consistent presence in supporting roles on television, most notably in Bruce Wagner's dystopian miniseries "Wild Palms" (ABC, 1993), until she was cast as publicist and sexual libertine Samantha Jones on "Sex and the City." Cattrall's unfettered performance as a forty-something woman with complete control over her unlimited wants and desires helped to make the series a must-see for its six-year run on HBO; between seasons, she parlayed its success into roles in features like "15 Minutes" (2001) and "Crossroads" (2002). When "City" ran its course in 2004, Cattrall returned to guest roles on television and in features, most notably Roman Polanski's "The Ghost Writer" (2010), and as producer and host of "Kim Cattrall: Sexual Intelligence" (HBO, 2005), a documentary on human desire. Cattrall also returned to her native country to establish herself as a stage actress with critically praised turns in Shakespeare's "Antony and Cleopatra" and "Private Lives." In 2008, she reunited with her "City" castmates for a "Sex and the City" feature, which proved to be a box office success. But its 2010 follow-up was pilloried by critics and fans alike, and Cattrall returned to television in her native England and Canada. She drew critical praise for her turn as a woman struggling with middle age in the comedy "Sensitive Skin" (HBO Canada, 2014-16), played a widow allegedly murdered by her lover in a BBC TV adaptation of "Witness for the Prosecution" (2016) and essayed the President of the United States for the Swedish thriller series "Modus" (TV4, 2015- ). In 2018, she joined the cast of CBS All Access's "Tell Me a Story," which adapted classic fairy tales as modern psychological thrillers.