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Helena Michell

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Helena Michell
Born
Helena Elizabeth Anne Michell

(1961-12-14) December 14, 1961 (age 63)
Hampstead, London, U.K.
Alma materBristol Old Vic Theatre School
Occupation(s)Actress, producer
Years active1987–2006
Spouse
  • Simon David Eden
    ​
    (m. 1990)​
Children1
Parents

Helena Elizabeth Anne Michell[1] (born 14 December 1961)[2][3] is an English actress.

Early life and career

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Born and raised in Hampstead, London,[4][3][5] Michell is the younger of two children born to actors Jeanette Sterke and Keith Michell.[6]

She began her career as a child in the film drama Moments with her parents and her brother, Paul.[7] But it was not until nearly a decade later that she first decided to pursue acting seriously, receiving her training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.[8] In 1986, she was then able to secure a part in 1986 in the BBC television sitcom Brush Strokes.[citation needed]

Early film work included parts in Merchant and Ivory's Maurice,[9] and, alongside her father, in The Deceivers (1988).[10]

Television parts came with the Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple episode "At Bertram's Hotel" (1987), starring Joan Hickson,[11] and in the LWT television series Piece of Cake the following year.[9]

Michell had numerous television roles in the 1990s, including Jeeves and Wooster and Agatha Christie's Poirot “The Theft of the Royal Ruby” (1990),[12] a pivotal role in the television version of P. D. James' Inspector Dalgleish story Devices and Desires (1991),[13] Sharpe's Enemy (1994) where she played the part of Sarah Dubreton,[14] and in the television adaptation of Ruth Rendell's Heartstones in 1996.[15] This was interspersed with stage parts in mainly children's theatre, and in 1997 she appeared with her parents in the revue, Family Album, billed as "a view of famous families in words and music by every style of writer possible from Stephen Sondheim to J. S. Bach and William Walton, and from D. H. Lawrence to Sophocles".[16] Her last notable screen appearance was as Sheila in the 2007 Allahabad-set romantic comedy, Little Box of Sweets.[17]

Personal life

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In April 1990, Michell married English playwright Simon David Eden.[18] They have one child, a daughter, Emilia.[8][19] She continues her theatre work largely through their production company, Shiny Pin Productions,[20] and as an acting coach.[21] She makes occasional appearances on television.[citation needed]

References

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  1. ^ O'Donnell, Maureen, ed. (1986). Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television. Volume 2. Detroit, MI. : Gale Research. p. 201. ISBN 0-8103-2065-7. "MICHELL, Keith 1928- PERSONAL: Born December 1, 1928, in Adelaide, South Australia; son of Joseph (a furniture manufacturer) and Maud Alice (Aslat) Michell; married Jeannette Laura Sterke (an actress and art instructor), October 18, 1957; children: Paul Joseph, Helena Elizabeth Anne"
  2. ^ Births. Variety. 20 December 1961. p. 62. Retrieved 25 June 2025. "Mr. and Mrs. Keith Michell, daughter, London, Dec. 14. Mother is actress Jeanette Sterke; father is an actor."
  3. ^ a b "Introducing Helena". Evening Standard. 15 December 1961. p. 32. Retrieved 25 June 2025. "Jeanette Sterke, actress wife of actor Keith Michell, is pictured with her baby daughter in a Hampstead nursing home today. The baby weighing 6 1b., 13½ oz. will be called Helena. Keith and Jeanette have a son, Paul, aged 20 months."
  4. ^ "Mr. Manchester's Diary". Manchester Evening News. 3 March 1960. p. 12. Retrieved 25 June 2025. "After the exhibition—of oil paintings done on a Jamaican holiday—Keith and his actress wife, Jeanette Sterke, move into a new home in Hampstead. They are hoping to get settled before their first baby, to be named Paul or Ann, arrives in mid-April."
  5. ^ "You Asked Us — About the Actor Who Played Henry VIII". Calgary Herald. 10 July 1971. p. 70. Retrieved 25 June 2025. "There's quite a bit to tell about the Australian-born actor whose name, incidentally, rhymes with seashell. He's 42, and at 21 left Australia for London, where he attended the Old Vic Theatre School. [...] Michell, who lives in Hampstead, London, with his wife, actress Jeanette Sterke, his son Paul, 10, and his daughter Helena, 9, follows a strict macrobiotic diet based on brown rice,"
  6. ^ Lowe, Shirley (8 February 1970). "The VII Wife of Henry VIII; Shirley Lowe meets the girl who keeps her head". Sunday Mirror. p. 15. Retrieved 25 June 2025. "Before he married, Keith Michell vowed that he would never allow his wife to work. Jeannette is now 36, the mother of Paul (10) and Helena (8) and she has been working 'very gently' throughout her marriage."
  7. ^ Young, R. G. (2000). The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Film: Ali Baba to Zombies. New York: Applause Books. p. 414. LCCN 99--6837.
  8. ^ a b "Helena Michell". The Daily Telegraph Magazine. 30 September 1995. p. 50. Retrieved 25 June 2025. " When Helena Michell auditioned for Bristol Old Vic theatre school they said they preferred not to take actors' children. But she passed, and later won the job the company reserves each year for its own graduates. [...] Married to screenwriter Simon Eden, she has : a four-year-old daughter, Emilia."
  9. ^ a b Gillingham, Syd (22 October 1988). "The day Helena walked through a wall". Evening Post. p. 17. Retrieved 25 June 2025. "The television work most recently to come the way of Helena – playing nursery school teacher Mary Blandin in PIECE OF CAKE (HTV, Sunday, 9.5) – is her biggest break to date. [...] Helena, a 26-year-old Londoner and the daughter of Keith Michell, appears with Tim Woodward [...] Helena, whose mother Janette Sterke is also an actress, took a secretarial course when she left school and then worked in an advertising agency for a year. 'My mother had suggested I work at something else because it would help me make up my mind about becoming an actress,' she says. [...] Helena, who appeared in the films Maurice and The Deceivers and in the Miss Marple TV series, played one of her first roles at school in Chichester. It was in Blythe Spirit and : she played Edith, the maid. [...] Her home is in southwest London and she has a boyfriend who is an actor."
  10. ^ Boyar, Jay (31 October 1988). "Realism adds to the chill in mystical 'Deceivers'; Deceiver (From C-1)". The Orlando Sentinel. p. C-2. Retrieved 25 June 2025. "The supporting cast includes Helena Michell (Maurice) as Savage's steadfast wife and Keith Michell (Helena's real-life father) as her father."
  11. ^ "Mystery centres on hotel". The Northwich Chronicle. 17 September 1987. p. 20. Retrieved 25 June 2025. "two-part dramatisatión of the Agatha Christie mystery [...] Also involved in the intrigue of family inheritances and midnight assailants are the daughters of famous fathers, Helen Michell, daughter of actor and singer Keith Michell, and Charlotte Barker, daughter of comedian Ronnie Barker. They play Elvira Blake and Briget Sotheby, respectively"
  12. ^ Perry, Chis; Coward, Simon; Down, Richard (20013). The Kaleidoscope British Christmas Television Guide 1937-2013. Hardsworth Wood: Kaleidoscope Publishing. p. 24. ISBN 978-1-900203-60-9. "24.02. 1991 The Theft of the Royal Ruby (Duration: 46 minutes) [...] With Frederick Treves (Colonel Lacey), Stephanie Cole (Mrs. Lacey), David Howey (Jesmond), Tariq Alibai (Prince Farouk), Helena Michell (Sarah Lacey),"
  13. ^ "Tonight's Movie and Program Highlights: 9 PM; 10 PM: 11 PM". The Miami Herald. 31 October 1991. p. 8F. Retrieved 25 June 2025. "Mystery! "Devices & Desires". Dalgliesh (Roy Marsden) questions Meg (Susan York); Jonathan (Jamie Newall) suspects Caroline (Helena Michell). (Part 4 of 6) [...] Mystery! "Devices & Desires". A computer virus hits the power station; Jonathan (Jamie Newall) seeks information from Caroline's mother. (Part 5 of 6) [...] Mystery! "Devices & Desires". Dalgliesh (Roy Marsden) finds another body; Jonathan (Jamie Newall) gives Caroline (Helena Michell) an alibi. (Part 3 of 6)"
  14. ^ Salkey, Jason (2021). From Crimea with Love: Misadventures in the Making of Sharpe’s Rifles. London: Unbound. ISBN 9781783529582. "Helena, playing Sarah Dubreton, was pleasantly surprised at this unexpected welcome; on the ride back to our hotel I briefed them on what they could expect from a stretch on Sharpe."
  15. ^ "TV Choice". The Bolton News. 1 January 1996. p. 12. Retrieved 25 June 2025. "THE RUTH RENDELL MYSTERY MOVIE: HEARTSTONES: Murder mystery and intrigue in this two-hour drama starring Anthony Andrews, Emily Mortimer, Daisy Haggard and Helena Michell."
  16. ^ Javin, Val (12 March 1997). "Meet Keith—And the Family". Huddersfield Daily Examiner. p. 9. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  17. ^ Elley, Derek (28 January 2008). "Little Box of Sweets". Variety. Retrieved 25 June 2005. "Slim plot centers on high schooler Asha (Das), who lives with her grandparents (Raja Zutshi, Mohini Mathur) in Allahabad and always helped out with grandma’s chores at the Bungalow, a colonial-style manse housing Indian Commissioner Dev (Rahul Vohra) and his English wife, Sheila (Helena Michell), a local schoolteacher. [...] Michell is gently sympathetic as blowhard Dev’s very English wife."
  18. ^ Wallin, Pauline (24 February 1991). "Helena's device to hide her desires; AFTER just six weeks of moonlight and roses, Helena Michell was sure she'd found the right man when dishy screenwriter Simon Eden proposed marriage". The Sunday People. p. 23. Retrieved June 25, 2025. "They will have been married a year in April and still the magic hasn't worn off."
  19. ^ Javin, Val (12 March 1997). "Meet Keith—And the Family". Huddersfield Daily Examiner.
  20. ^ "Shiny Pin Productions Ltd". Shinypinproductions.com. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  21. ^ "Team". The Practice Room. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
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