LOUISE ENGLISH BIOGRAPHY

Louise English is an internationally acclaimed actress, singer, and dancer. Her proven skills , charm, and professionalism ensure that her every show is a box office success. For casting or personal appearance enquiries, please view her professional details on Spotlight or contact her agent, Phil Dale of International Artistes, on 020 7025 0600.

Louise English brings a distinctive method of performing to her varied stage, television and film roles, gracefully combining a delightful sense of wit and élan with beauty and intelligence.

Early Life and Education

Louise began dancing when she was two-and-a-half years old. As a young girl, Louise won a scholarship and attended the Stella Mann School of Dancing in London for ten years where besides passing examinations in classical ballet and modern dance, she also completed her academic schooling achieving an extremely high standard in French and German.

She also attended the famous Anna Scher Theatre School and turned down the opportunity to attend the Royal Ballet School, preferring to concentrate on the acting side of her career.

Early Career

Louise began her career at an early age when, while at ballet school, she was chosen to appear in the classic children's film Bugsy Malone in the role of the ballerina. Soon after, she was selected as Butlin's Holiday Princess and then won a beauty contest sponsored by British Leyland and Weekend Magazine.

While still in school she auditioned for a place with Pan's People, a nationally touring dance troupe, and was offered a contract. She accepted and, only a couple days after completing her schooling, began a year with the group that was filled with appearing on television, cabaret, theatre, trade shows, modeling at fashion shows and appearing in television commercials.

And after wowing the audience at an Isle of Wight showcase (see Interviews), it was obvious that singing was to become an important part of Louise's career as well. She formed her own group, Patches, which enjoyed great success at London clubs.

Television Fame

Louise soon had a chance to present her acting, singing and dancing talent to a world-wide audience as she was chosen by Benny Hill to be one of the original members of the famous Hill's Angels on The Benny Hill Show and quickly earned a role as the featured performer.

Louise's outstanding comic timing allowed her to more than hold her own with one of the true masters of comedy in sketches he wrote especially to feature her as his leading lady.

She was also the featured guest performer in many song and dance numbers, and her renditions of classics including La Vie En Rose, Pour Un Flirt Avec Toi, Paradise and Milord quickly became favourites of fans throughout the United States and more than 140 other countries.

Her extraordinary talent and great beauty garnered her guest star appearances on many television shows including playing the role of Lucia Morella in two series of the popular BBC series Brush Strokes and filming the pilot for the BBC game show Full Swing.

Louise was also a featured guest star on the Central TV entertainment specials Elkie and Our Gang with Elkie Brooks and Gemma Craven, Saturday Royal, and Entertainment Express (all choreographed by Nigel Lythgoe); Dream Alley and Starburst.

Additional TV credits include Fresh Fields, Lytton’s Diary, Full House, Chance in a Million, Give Us a Clue, and Don’t Rock the Boat; all for Thames TV, and guest appearances on the Mike Yarwood Show. She has also appeared in EastEnders.

Theatre, Feature Films, Musicals and Pantomimes

Louise honed her acting skills in repertory theatre; starring in cabaret in England, the Channel Islands and Bangkok; and performing Shakespeare and was soon asked to appear in feature films including The Wicked Lady with Faye Dunaway and Denholm Elliott, and The House of the Long Shadows with Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, John Carradine, and Peter Cushing.

On stage she has appeared in many leading roles including: Absent Friends, Suddenly at Home, Tommy Boy, Don't Dress For Dinner, Bedside Manners, Shadow of Doubt and many others.

Louise is a veteran of many highly successful national tours including nine-months as the lead in Mike Harding's hilarious comedy Fur Coat and No Knickers, Ted Willis' play Tommy Boy, Tom Lehrer's Tom Foolery, Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband and Russ Abbot's Madhouse. She also traveled to Stockholm to perform as the lead in Neil Simon's I Ought To Be In Pictures.

She has showcased her acting, dancing, and singing skills in many musicals including playing the highly acclaimed title role in Gypsy at the Crucible Theatre, selling out every performance. She stole the show as Bella Spellgrove on the cast-recorded CD of Sherlock Holmes - The Musical, and amazed audiences with her lovely soprano voice in Maxwell - The Musical, Italian Idol - The Musical and many others.

The Adelphi Theatre in London's West End is a place that holds very fond memories for Louise, for when she was a girl she used to sit in the orchestra pit and watch her father conduct Charlie Girl. And the Adelphi Theatre was the site of her breakthrough West End performance as she earned great acclaim playing Sally Smith in the much-loved musical Me and My Girl, with Karl Howman, breaking all box office records.

She was asked back for a special eight-week run of Me and My Girl and then was asked to perform the role of Sally Smith for an additional year at the Adelphi Theatre with Les Dennis.

Louise also starred in the national tour of My Dearest Ivor, an original musical that honoured the legendary Ivor Novello. In this wonderful show she played eight roles and sang ten songs!

Not content with singing, dancing and performing comedy, Louise sank her acting teeth into meaty dramatic roles as Bella Manningham in the Victorian thriller, Gaslight; as Sybil Chase in Private Lives; and as Liz in Shadow of Doubt.

Louise is a panto favourite and has starred as the principal girl or boy in over ten pantomimes throughout the UK including: Babes in the Wood, Aladdin, Jack and the Beanstalk, Dick Whittington, The Bells of Notre Dame and a record-breaking run as Snow White.

Since 2000

During 2000, Louise starred as Lady Chiltern in the UK tour of An Ideal Husband and as the lead in the Christmas pantomime Jack and the Beanstalk at the Hall for Cornwall.

During 2001, Louise earned rave reviews for her portrayal of Grace Farrell in Annie The Musical with Vicki Michelle. And Louise was delighted to reprise her wonderful role as Sally Smith in the smash hit Christmas production of Me and My Girl at the Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham.

Louise once again earned raves for her performance as Grace Farrell in the 2002 Annie The Musical UK tour with Su Pollard. She also enjoyed starring as the fairy tale princess Snow White during the 2002-2003 Christmas pantomime season, once again setting a box office record.

Not one to bask in her successes, Louise tread the boards during the summer of 2003 as Anne Norbury in William Fairchild's The Sound of Murder; as Molly Forsyth in William Douglas Home's comedy The Secretary Bird; and as Vivien Norwood in Francis Durbridge's thriller, House Guest, all at the Theatre Royal Windsor.

Later that same year she starred as Sally in Bedside Manners with television favourite John Inman at the Bournemouth Pier Theatre. As an additional treat for her fans, Louise reprised her tremendous success as Grace Farrell, earning rave reviews during a sold-out September through November 2003 UK and Ireland tour of Annie - The Musical.

Louise traveled to Singapore during the Spring of 2004, to play Teresa Phillips in Alan Ayckbourn's acclaimed farce, How The Other Half Loves. She then reprised her hugely successful role as Grace Farrell in Annie The Musical in Kuala Lumpur and in an August 2004 through January 2005 sold-out UK national tour.

Louise returned to Kuala Lumpur in 2005 to star as Nancy in the smash hit Oliver! The Musical at the Genting International Showroom. She reprised her signature role as Grace Farrell in Annie The Musical 2005, touring the UK and Ireland from June through November and then played the roles of Mrs Darling and the Marilyn Monroe-esque Magical Mermaid in the Christmas pantomime Peter Pan at the Manchester Opera House.

Louise sizzled in her signature role as Grace Farrell in a three-month UK tour of Annie The Musical 2006 that played through November and starred as Mrs Darling and The Mermaid in Peter Pan at the Wycombe Swan Theatre from December 2006 through January 2007.

Louise played the role of the Forest Fairy in Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs at the Hawth Theatre, Crawley, during the 2007-2008 Christmas season.

Louise is currently starring as sophisticated hat shop owner Irene Molloy in an eight-month UK and Ireland tour of the smash-hit musical Hello, Dolly! that runs through August 2008.

She will take on the role of Rosa, a clairvoyant gypsy, in Jon Conway's new musical All the Fun of the Fair, with David Essex, in a UK national tour that runs from September 2008 to May 2009.