Tracey Ullman

1959-12-30 · Slough, Berkshire, England, UK

Tracey Ullman (born 30 December 1959) is a British-American actress, singer, dancer, screenwriter, director, and producer. Critics have lauded her ability to shift seamlessly in and out of character and accents, with many dubbing her the "female Peter Sellers". Ullman began her career in the British soap opera Mackenzie (1980), playing Lisa Mackenzie. After an award-winning performance in the improvised play Four in a Million at the Royal Court Theatre, she branched out into comedy. She starred in the British television sketch comedies A Kick Up the Eighties (1981) and Three of a Kind (1981–1983), the latter winning her a BAFTA in 1984. After a brief singing career (which garnered three top-ten singles), she appeared as Candice Valentine in Girls on Top (1985) with Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders. Ullman emigrated from the United Kingdom to the United States. She would go on to star in her own network television comedy series, The Tracey Ullman Show (1987–1990), which also featured the first appearances of the long-running animated media franchise The Simpsons (1989–present). She later produced programmes for HBO, including Tracey Takes On... (1996–1999) garnering numerous awards. She has appeared in several feature films, including Plenty (1985) which earned her a BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actress nomination. In 2016, she returned to British television with the BBC sketch comedy show Tracey Ullman's Show (2016–2018) , her first project for the broadcaster in over 30 years. This led to the creation of the topical comedy series Tracey Breaks the News (2017–2018). She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including twelve American Comedy Awards, seven Primetime Emmy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, four Satellite Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.