Jessica Martin
{{good article}}
{{short description|English entertainer (born 1962)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2023}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2014}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Jessica Martin
| image = Jessica Martin at LFCC 2022 (cropped).jpg
| imagesize =
| caption = Martin in 2022
| alt = Jessica Martin, holding a copy of her book Life Drawing: A Life Under Lights
| birth_place = Fulham, London, England
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1962|8|25|df=y}}
| alma_mater = {{Plainlist|
| occupation = {{Plainlist|Actress|impressionist|singer|author/illustrator}}
| yearsactive = 1983–present
| spouse =
| website =
}}
Jessica Cecelia Anna Maria Martin (born 25 August 1962) is an English actress, singer, and illustrator. Specializing as an impressionist, her television roles have included Spitting Image, Copy Cats and two series with Bobby Davro. She featured as the werewolf Mags in the 1988 Doctor Who serial The Greatest Show in the Galaxy, and provided the voice of the Queen in the 2007 Doctor Who Christmas special, "Voyage of the Damned".
On stage, Martin starred with Gary Wilmot in the West End show Me and My Girl for two years at the Adelphi Theatre and then on a national tour. She went on to play leading musical roles including Mabel in the 1996 production of Mack and Mabel at the Piccadilly Theatre, Nellie Forbush in South Pacific, Mrs Lovett in Sweeney Todd, Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard and the Lady of the Lake in the national tour of Spamalot. Her autobiography, as a graphic novel, Life Drawing: A Life Under Lights, was published in 2019.
Life and career
=Early life=
Jessica Cecelia Anna Maria Martin was born on 25 August 1962.{{cite book |last=Hayward |first=Anthony |date=1996 |title=Who's Who on Television |location=London |publisher=Boxtree Ltd |page=172 |isbn=075221067X }} She graduated with a degree in English and Drama from Westfield College, London University and also studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama.{{cite magazine |title=Jessica Martin |magazine=The Stage |location=London |date=14 November 2019 |page=25}} Her first job, in 1983 when she was 21, was as a resident singer at St James's Hotel and Club. Her father, Placido Martin, was a cocktail pianist there. Speaking about her father in a 2019 interview, Martin said that he "was a complex character and much as I loved him, I wanted to give an honest portrayal [in my book] of how self-centred and destructive a 'creative' person can be."
=Performance roles=
Martin became an impressionist on the fringe circuit in 1983. In a 1984 review of her lunchtime show at the Palace Theatre, London bar, Roy Robert Smith of The Stage wrote that Martin was "armed with guts, determination, and talent [and] must surely soon gain the public recognition she deserves." He noted that she refined her material and renewed her material between shows, and particularly praised her impressions of Gloria Hunniford and Judy Garland. After seeing Martin perform at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Rory Bremner persuaded her to focus on impressions, and the pair appeared on radio together.{{cite news |last=Burke |first=Michael |title=Jessica's face makes a great impression |newspaper=Birmingham Mail |date=8 April 1986 |page=14}} In 1985, Martin was quoted as saying that she had only started doing impressions in public at the fringe for relaxation after appearing in performances Women of Troy there.
She auditioned for several roles, and became a regular voice cast member for the satirical puppet show Spitting Image.{{cite news |last=Robins |first=Derek |title=Her royal request |newspaper=Staffordshire Sentinel |date=28 February 1987 |page=10}} where her roles included Barbra Streisand, and members of the British royal family.{{cite news |last=Riley |first=Joe |title=Jessica on song in the South Pacific |newspaper=Liverpool Echo |date=5 September 1997 |page=33}} She was then invited to audition for London Weekend Television's Copy Cats. Fellow team members included Bobby Davro, with whom she partnered for three series of his weekly show Bobby Davro's TV Weekly. In 1985 she joined Jimmy Cricket on the Central TV production And There's More. In the Nottingham Evening Post, a staff writer commented that Martin "is proving herself to be an accomplished actress, singer, dancer and mickey-taker – definitely a name to watch out for in the future."{{cite news |title=There's more to Jessica |newspaper=Nottingham Evening Post |date=22 June 1985 |page=WP1, WP9}} Martin and Bremner both quit Central TV in September 1985; Bremner had been offered his own BBC2 series, while Martin was due to join Davro in shows for TVS.{{cite news |title=Rory and Jessica quit Central |newspaper=Sunday Mercury |date=29 September 1985 |page=3}} Bremner and Martin toured UK theatres together in 1987, with a show of impressions.{{cite news |title=Madonna – well almost |newspaper=Staines & Ashford News |date=25 June 1987 |page=23}}
In 1988, Milton Shulman of The Evening Standard described Martin performing "The Lady Is a Tramp" in Babes in Arms at the Maynardville Open-Air Theatre as "pert and saucy".{{cite news |last=Shulman |first=Milton |title=Fairy tale treat |newspaper=Evening Standard |date=4 August 1988 |page=35}} Martin played the lead role of Dorothy in a touring production of The Wizard of Oz. Charles Barron of the Aberdeen Evening Express praised Martin's "exuberance" in the role, and wrote that she sang "with great charm".
From 1989, Martin and Gary Wilmot starred in the West End show Me and My Girl for two years at the Adelphi Theatre and then on a national tour.{{cite web| last=Gent |first=Jay |url=http://wearecult.rocks/cult-q-a-jessica-martin |title=Cult Q & A: Jessica Martin |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201204020019/http://wearecult.rocks/cult-q-a-jessica-martin |archive-date=4 December 2020 |website=We Are Cult |date=23 January 2017 }} Martin went on to play leading musical roles including Mabel in the 1996 production of Mack and Mabel at the Piccadilly Theatre, Nellie Forbush in South Pacific, Mrs Lovett in Sweeney Todd, and Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard. She also guest-starred in the 1988 Doctor Who serial The Greatest Show in the Galaxy, starring Sylvester McCoy as the Doctor, in which she played a punk werewolf called Mags. Many years later, she provided the voice of the Queen in "Voyage of the Damned", the 2007 Christmas special, which starred David Tennant as the Doctor.[https://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/s4/episodes/?episode=s0_04&action=factfile Voyage of the Damned – Fact File] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201204020025/http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/s4/episodes/?episode=s0_04&action=factfile |date=4 December 2020 }} BBC. Retrieved 2 July 2019
She played the Lady of the Lake in the national tour of Spamalot in 2011,{{cite web |url=https://www.britishtheatreguide.info/reviews/spamalot2011DC-rev.htm |title=Monty Python's Spamalot |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201204020025/https://www.britishtheatreguide.info/reviews/spamalot2011DC-rev.htm |archive-date=4 December 2020 |first=David |last=Chadderton |work=British Theatre Guide|date=7 February 2011 }} Lottie Ames in Mack and Mabel, and Lottie Lacey in the revival of William Inge's The Dark at the Top of the Stairs (both 2012).{{cite news |last=Marlowe |first=Sam |title=The Dark at the Top of the Stairs |newspaper=The Times |date=25 October 2012 |page=10S }} In October 2015, Martin joined the cast of Elf: The Musical, playing the role of Emily Hobbs at the Dominion Theatre.{{cite web | url=http://www.whatsonstage.com/west-end-theatre/news/elf-musical-full-casting-announced_38553.html | title=Full casting announced for Elf at Dominion| website=Whats on Stage | date=18 August 2015 | accessdate=28 October 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190204122302/https://www.whatsonstage.com/west-end-theatre/news/elf-musical-full-casting-announced_38553.html | archive-date=4 February 2019 | url-status=live }} In September 2016, she was featured in Robert J. Sherman's Bumblescratch playing the dual roles of Bethesda Bumblescratch and the Widow MacGregor at the Adelphi Theatre. She was named a Variety Club Celebrity Ambassador for her work in Bumblescratch and her other works.{{cite web|url=http://bumblescratch.com/news/variety-awards-darren-day-michael-xavier-jessica-martin-ambassador-status/|title=Variety Awards Darren Day, Michael Xavier and Jessica Martin Ambassador Status |date=5 September 2016|access-date=26 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180720235548/http://bumblescratch.com/news/variety-awards-darren-day-michael-xavier-jessica-martin-ambassador-status/|archive-date=20 July 2018|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.westendwilma.com/review-bumblescratch-adelphi-theatre/|title=Review: Bumblescratch (Adelphi Theatre) ★★★★|date=12 September 2016|website=West End Wilma|access-date=5 July 2019|archive-date=12 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612143717/http://www.westendwilma.com/review-bumblescratch-adelphi-theatre/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.variety.org.uk/news/2016/09/variety-honours-five-west-end-actors-and-musical-directors|title=Variety Honours Five West End Actors and Musical Directors|publisher=variety.org.uk|date=26 September 2016|access-date=26 October 2016|archive-date=4 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201204020021/https://www.variety.org.uk/news/2016/09/variety-honours-five-west-end-actors-and-musical-directors|url-status=live}}
Martin played role of Dame Shirley Porter in Shirleymander by Greg Evans at the Playground Theatre, London in 2018,{{cite news |last=Billington |first=Michael |title=Shirleymander review – timely retelling of chilling Tory scandal |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/may/27/shirleymander-review-gregory-evans |newspaper=The Guardian |location=London |date=27 May 2018 |access-date=3 December 2020 |archive-date=9 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109034258/https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/may/27/shirleymander-review-gregory-evans |url-status=live }} for which she was nominated for the Best Female Performance in the Off West End Awards 2018.[http://www.offwestend.com/index.php/pages/the_offies The Offies] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715130741/http://www.offwestend.com/index.php/pages/the_offies |date=15 July 2014 }} offwestend.com Retrieved 21 June 2019 In the Daily Telegraph, Ben Lawrence wrote
that Martin "best known for her impersonations .. does a terrific impression, but it is hard to reach inside the soul of this Rottweiler in a pussycat bow".{{cite news |last=Lawrence |first=Ben |title=Shirleymander review, Playground Theatre, London W10: memorable encounter with a dubious force of nature |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/theatre/what-to-see/shirleymander-review-playground-theatre-london-w10-memorable/ |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |date=25 May 2018 |access-date=11 July 2022 |url-access=subscription |archive-date=23 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123214446/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/theatre/what-to-see/shirleymander-review-playground-theatre-london-w10-memorable/ |url-status=live }} She also received an Off West End Awards nomination for Lead Performance in a Musical for portraying Mrs. Blitzstein in Blitz! at the Union Theatre, London in 2020.
Martin is a patron of the Music Hall Guild of Great Britain and America, and performed at the 50th anniversary Memorial Service for Lupino Lane at St Paul's, Covent Garden in 2009.[http://www.themusichallguild.com/news.php The Music Hall Guild – News] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190518152923/http://www.themusichallguild.com/news.php |date=18 May 2019 }} Retrieved 21 June 2019
=Audio work=
Martin appeared on The Impressionists on BBC Radio 2 in 1985. She starred in a 1987 special for the same channel, Jessica Martin's Variety: The Gossip Column Murders.[https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/74824f8b04a849e3bb72dd8d9b404486 Jessica Martin's Variety] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201204020020/https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/74824f8b04a849e3bb72dd8d9b404486 |date=4 December 2020 }} BBC Radio 2, 9 May 1992. genome.ch.bbc.co.uk Retrieved 29 July 2019. She was a voice actor for the PlayStation 2 game Dragon Quest VIII, and has also performed as a voice over artist for a range of animations and commercials. She has also recorded audio books including Vindication of the Rights of Men written by Mary Wollstonecraft.{{cite web |url=https://wearethecity.com/jessica-martin-spitting-,image-,impressionist-west-end-theatre-actor-and-graphic-novelist/ |title=Jessica Martin – Spitting Image Impressionist, West End Theatre Actor and Graphic Novelist |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201204020024/https://wearethecity.com/jessica-martin-spitting-,image-,impressionist-west-end-theatre-actor-and-graphic-novelist/ |archive-date=4 December 2020 |first= Jennifer |last=Reischel |website=WeAreTheCity |date=15 September 2015}} Martin has appeared in several Doctor Who audio dramas from Big Finish Productions.
=Graphic novels=
In 2010, Martin took up sketching for the first time since studying A-level art. The following year, whilst touring in Spamalot with Phill Jupitus, she showed him one of her sketches. Jupitus praised the sketch and suggested that Martin should do a graphic novel. Martin has referred to this as a "lightbulb moment."[https://www.hertfordshirelife.co.uk/people/actress-jessica-martin-a-life-in-three-acts-1-5108642 Actress Jessica Martin: a life in three acts] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201204020031/https://www.hertfordshirelife.co.uk/people/actress-jessica-martin-a-life-in-three-acts-1-5108642 |date=4 December 2020 }} Matt Adams, hertfordshirelife.co.uk, 18 July 2017. Retrieved 23 June 2019 In 2012, Martin showed her work to established comics artist Mark Buckingham, who supported and encouraged her. Her first comic written and drawn by herself was It Girl about silent film actress Clara Bow. It was self-published in November 2013 and was selected in the "Ten Must Own Small-Press Comics 2013" by Broken Frontier.{{cite news |last1=Oliver |first1=Andy |title=Celebrating 2013: Ten UK Small Press Comics You Need to Own |url=http://www.brokenfrontier.com/celebrating-2013-ten-uk-small-press-comics-you-need-to-own/ |accessdate=3 February 2019 |publisher=Broken Frontier |date=2 January 2014 |archive-date=4 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201204020031/https://www.brokenfrontier.com/celebrating-2013-ten-uk-small-press-comics-you-need-to-own/ |url-status=live }}
Elsie Harris Picture Palace, which is set in the 1930s British film industry, was her first full-length graphic novel. It was shortlisted for the Myriad First Graphic Novel Prize 2014.[http://www.brokenfrontier.com/who-made-the-final-six-on-the-myriad-first-graphic-novel-competition-shortlist-find-out-here/ Who Made the Final Six on the Myriad First Graphic Novel Competition Shortlist? Find Out Here!] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201204020031/https://www.brokenfrontier.com/who-made-the-final-six-on-the-myriad-first-graphic-novel-competition-shortlist-find-out-here/ |date=4 December 2020 }} Andy Oliver, www.brokenfrontier.com, 6 May 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2019 In 2018, Martin illustrated a Doctor Who story, "Hill of Beans", that featured her character Mags from the television series.{{cite magazine |last=Adams |first=Matt |title=Return of the Werewolf |magazine=Doctor Who Magazine |issue=526 |date=May 2018 |pages=45–49}}{{cite web |first=Paul |last=Simpson |title=Interview: Jessica Martin |url=https://scifibulletin.com/doctor-who/interviews/interview-jessica-martin/ |website=Sci-Fi Bulletin |date=18 October 2018 |access-date=25 August 2022}} Life Drawing: A Life Under Lights, a graphic novel memoir about her life as an actress, singer and artist was published by Unbound in Spring 2019.{{cite news |last=Jamieson |first=Teddy |title=Graphic Content: Bobby Davro, the Bay City Rollers and Me – Jessica Martin on her life in light entertainment |url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/life_style/arts_ents/17791513.graphic-content-bobby-davro-bay-city-rollers---jessica-martin-life-light-entertainment/ |newspaper=The Herald |date=24 July 2019 |access-date=11 July 2022 |archive-date=25 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525141206/https://www.heraldscotland.com/life_style/arts_ents/17791513.graphic-content-bobby-davro-bay-city-rollers---jessica-martin-life-light-entertainment/ |url-status=live }}{{cite book |url=https://unbound.com/books/life-drawing/ |title=Life Drawing: A Life Under Lights |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201204020028/https://unbound.com/books/life-drawing/ |archive-date=4 December 2020 |isbn=9781783527588 |last1=Martin |first1=Jessica |date=July 2019 |publisher=Unbound }}
Filmography
=Theatre=
=Television=
=Radio=
=Film=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
! scope="col"| Year ! scope="col"|Title ! scope="col"|Role ! scope="col" class="unsortable" |{{Reference heading}} | ||
| 1990
!scope="row" |The Garden | Singer | |
| 1999
!scope="row" |Faeries | Helen, Skrawk (voices) | {{cite web |title=Jessica Martin |website=Behind the Voice Actors |url=https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/Jessica-Martin-II/ |access-date=20 November 2024}} |
=Video games=
Publications
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
! scope="col"|Year ! scope="col"|Title ! scope="col"|Publisher ! scope="col"|ISBN |
| 2015
! scope="row"|Elsie Harris Picture Palace | Miwk Publishing |{{ISBN|978-1908630384}} |
| 2019
! scope="row"|Life Drawing: A Life Under Lights |{{ISBN|978-1783527588}} |
Awards and nominations
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
! scope="col" | Year ! scope="col" | Award ! scope="col" | Category ! scope="col" | Work ! scope="col" | Result ! scope="col" | {{Reference heading}} |
| 2014
! scope="row" | Myriad First Graphic Novel Competition | | Elsie Harris Picture Palace |{{nom}} |
| 2018
! scope="row" | Off West End Awards | Best Female Performance | Shirleymander |{{nom}} |
| 2020
! scope="row" | Off West End Awards | Full Run: Musicals: Lead Performance | Blitz! |{{nom}} |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|0552510}}
- {{Discogs artist|artist=433001|name=Jessica Martin}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Jessica}}
Category:English television actresses
Category:English voice actresses
Category:English stage actresses
Category:English impressionists (entertainers)
Category:Actors from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham
Category:English female dancers
Category:English musical theatre actresses
Category:English women singers
Category:Actresses from London
Category:20th-century English actresses
Category:21st-century English actresses