Sarah Solemani
Sarah Solemani (born 4 September 1982) is an English actress, writer and activist, best known for starring in the BAFTA winning sitcom Him & Her,[1] playing Renee Zellweger's best friend 'Miranda' in Working Title's Bridget Jones's Baby, for which she was nominated for an Evening Standard Best Actress Award, and for her role as Rosie Gulliver in Bad Education.
Sarah Solemani | |
---|---|
Born | |
Occupation | Actress, writer, playwright |
Spouse(s) | |
Children | 2 |
Early life
Solemani was born in the London Borough of Camden and grew up in Crouch End. Her father is a Persian Jewish mathematics lecturer (now retired). Her mother, who died of cancer when Sarah was 16, was a sociology teacher of Northern Irish descent.[2][3]
After passing her A levels at the Henrietta Barnett School, she took a gap year before reading Social and Political Sciences (now the Human, Social and Political Sciences Tripos) at New Hall, Cambridge and graduating with an MA (Hons).[2][4]
At Cambridge, she joined the Cambridge University Footlights Dramatic Club and became social secretary during her first year and then vice president.[5] She went down in Footlights history for writing the biggest all-female comedy sketch ever performed on a Footlights stage, writing twenty five female students into her sketch 'Brawl'.
Career
Theatre
Solemani was a member of the National Youth Theatre during her gap year, starring as Elaine in the West End theatre production of The Graduate[5] and as 'Ayesha' in the critically acclaimed National Theatre production of Sanctuary.
Solemani was a member of the Young Writer's Group attached to the Royal Court Theatre, and a writer at the Young Vic Theatre. Two plays she wrote were produced at Soho Theatre.[2] Another of her works, The Cost of Things (2010), was presented at the Public Theater New York under the aegis of the Old Vic Theatre as part of the TS Eliot Project.
In 2011, she wrote The Baron which received the Old Vic New Voices 'Ignite' award.[6]
In 2009, she appeared in Simon Stephens Pornography at the Tricycle Theatre in London and in 2012, she appeared as Maryam in the play The House of Bernarda Alba at the Almeida Theatre.[2] She wrote Up the Royal Borough, part of an evening of plays in response to Owen Jones' Chavs at the Lyric Hammersmith. It gained good reviews.[7]
Television and film
Solemani's first film role was as a tableaux girl in Mrs Henderson Presents, which she performed during her third year of college.[2] Her first major TV role was as "Becky" in BBC Three sitcom Him & Her, which was first broadcast in November 2010, and ran for four series ending in 2013.[8]
In 2012, Solemani starred in the BBC Three comedy, Bad Education,[9] including its spin off movie The Bad Education Movie. In 2013, she featured in the BBC and Hulu's The Wrong Mans alongside James Corden. She went on to reprise the role in the second series. Solemani wrote and starred in an episode titled Aphrodite Fry in the Sky TV series Love Matters that aired in 2013.[10] In 2014, she wrote the television film The Secrets on BBC One at 9pm to critical praise.
In Hollywood, Solemani was chosen by Bill Hader and Alec Berg to be part of their writing team on Hader's new HBO show Barry. While working in the United States, she has found the American television industry has a more positive attitude towards commissioning work by women and featuring female characters in their series.[11]
Print
Solemani has contributed to the New Statesman,[12] The Guardian, The Independent and Harper's Bazaar.
She writes regularly for the publications Red and Glamour.
Awards and acclaim
Solemani was awarded third place in the Barry Amiel and Norman Melburn Trust/New Statesman Prize for New Political Writing on the subject: "Do women's rights remain the privilege of the developed world?" in 2005.[13]
In 2011, Solemani won the Royal Television Society award for best Comedy Performance for her role in Him & Her along with her co-star Russell Tovey.[14]
In 2012, Solemani was named one of the year's Broadcast Hot Shots.[15]
Activist
Solemani is against the criminalisation of sex work, and has been a champion for sex worker rights since 2002. She was nominated by the English Collective of Prostitutes (ECP) to represent them in Parliament in order to halt further efforts to criminalise clients. She was an active supporter of former shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper in the 2015 Labour Leadership contest. She has introduced Cooper at various Labour Party events and has contributed to her speeches.
Personal life
Solemani married Daniel E. Ingram , a sustainable investment expert specialising in climate change[16] in Petah Tikva, Israel on 3 June 2012.[17][18] Their daughter was born in December 2013 and their son was born in May 2018.[19]
The couple revealed their daughter's godparents at a ceremony in the New London Synagogue.
Filmography
Film and television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2003 | Red Cap | Gillian Jennings | TV series |
2005 | Mrs Henderson Presents | Vera | Film |
2006 | Undone | Edna | Radio series |
2006 | Hyperdrive | Alie | TV series |
2007 | Living with Two People You Like Individually... But Not as a Couple | Antonia | TV series – Pilot |
2007 | Roman's Empire | Jenny | TV series |
2007 | Suburban Shootout | Donna | TV series |
2010–2013 | Him & Her | Becky | TV series |
2011 | Silent Witness | Mary Olivant | TV series – episode 109 ("The Prodigal") |
2011 | Psychoville | Emily | TV series |
2011 | Coma Girl | Siobhan | TV series – Pilot |
2011 | Uptown Downstairs Abbey | Lady Mary | TV series – special for Comic Relief |
2012 | The Borgias | Magdelena | TV series |
2012 | Skins | Celia Champion | TV Series |
2012–2014 | Bad Education | Miss Gulliver[9] | TV series |
2013 | Love Matters | Aphrodite Fry[20] | TV series – episode 109 ("Aphrodite Fry") |
2013–14 | The Wrong Mans | Lizzie Green | TV series |
2013 | Crackanory | Narrator | TV series |
2014 | The Secrets | Charlotte | TV series |
2015 | The Bad Education Movie | Miss Gulliver[9] | Film |
2015 | Hector | Sara | Film |
2016 | The Five | Pru Carew | TV series |
2016 | Bridget Jones's Baby | Miranda | Film |
2017 | No Offence | DCI Christine Lickberg | TV series |
2017 | The Pact | Amy | TV pilot |
2019 | How to Build a Girl | Angie | Film |
2019 | Greed | Melanie | |
2020 | Inside No 9 | Emily | TV series - Death Be Not Proud |
TBA | Chivalry | Bobby | Writer |
Stage
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2000 | The Graduate | Elaine | Gielgud Theatre[21] |
2007 | Burning Cars | Hampstead Theatre[22] | |
2009 | Pornography | Tricycle Theatre[23] | |
2012 | The House of Bernarda Alba | Maryam | Almeida Theatre[24] |
References
- "Him & Her – Sarah Solemani plays Becky" (Press release). BBC Press Office. 10 September 2010.
- Gilbert, Gerard (21 January 2012). "Where are all the female comics?". The Independent. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
- Jones, Alice (2 April 2013). "Sarah Solemani: Funny, frank and doing it for the girls". The Independent.
- "Alumnae Achievements" (PDF). The Dolphin. Cambridge: New Hall (33): 12. Summer 2007.
- Simon Round (16 September 2010). "Interview: Sarah Solemani". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
- "The Directors". Young Vic. 9 December 2011. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
- Carmel Doohan (17 October 2012). "Chavs at Lyric Hammersmith". Exeunt Magazine.
- "Him & Her Series 4". BBC Three. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
- "Bad Education". BBC Three. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
- "Sky Living to show 6 one-off comedies". Custard TV. 15 November 2012. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
- Solemani, Sarah (20 October 2017). "'The TV and film industries are toxic – and it starts in the audition room'". The Guaradian. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
- "Sarah Solemani". New Statesman. Archived from the original on 1 October 2010.
- "New Political Writing Prize 2005". Barry Amiel & Norman Melburn Trust. Archived from the original on 20 June 2012. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
- "RTS Announces Winners for the Programme Awards 2011" (Press release). Royal Television Society. Archived from the original on 19 July 2012. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
- "Broadcast Hot Shots 2012". Broadcast. August 2012. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
- Meet ... Daniel Ingram, Manager, BT Pension Scheme
- "Social & Personal" (PDF). New London Bulletin. New London Synagogue. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 May 2012.
- Liat Elkayam (29 June 2012). "Departures/Arrivals: Who took off from and landed at Ben Gurion Airport this week?". Haaretz. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
- Lamont, Tom (7 September 2014). "Sarah Solemani: 'Russell Tovey? He came to my hen do'". The Guardian.
- "Love Matters" Aphrodite Fry (TV Episode 2013) - IMDb
- Darren Dalglish (23 October 2001). "The Graduate at Gielgud Theatre". LondonTheatre.co.uk. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
- "Darings Pairings at Hampstead". The British Theatre Guide. 5 September 2007. Archived from the original on 12 November 2012. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
- Billington, Michael (7 August 2009). "Pornography, Tricycle, London". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
- Daisy Jestico (30 January 2012). "Theatre Review: The House of Bernarda Alba at Almeida Theatre". Islington Gazette. Retrieved 19 November 2012.