Victoria Tennant
{{short description|British actress (born 1950)}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Victoria Tennant
| image = Victoria_Tennant_2010.jpg
| caption = Tennant in 2010
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1950|9|30|df=y}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/190178%7C0/Victoria-Tennant/|title=Victoria Tennant|website=Turner Classic Movies}}
| birth_place = London, England
| education = Elmhurst Ballet School
| alma_mater = Central School of Speech and Drama
| occupation = Actress
| years_active = 1972–present
| mother = Irina Baronova
| spouse = {{ubl
| {{marriage|Peppo Vanini|1969|1976|end=divorced}}
| {{marriage|Steve Martin|1986|1994|end=divorced}}
| {{marriage|Kirk Stambler|1996}}
}}
| children = 2
}}
Victoria Tennant (born 30 September 1950) is a British actress. She is known for her roles in the TV miniseries The Winds of War and War and Remembrance, in which she appeared as actor Robert Mitchum's on-screen love interest, Pamela Tudsbury, as well as her supporting roles in All of Me (1984), {{sortname|The|Holcroft Covenant|The Holcroft Covenant (film)}} (1985), Flowers in the Attic (1987), {{sortname|The|Handmaid's Tale|The Handmaid's Tale (film)}} (1990), and L.A. Story (1991).
Early life
Tennant was born in London, England, daughter of Cecil Gordon Tennant (1910-1967){{Cite news |last=Sawer |first=Patrick |last2=Limbrick |first2=Sarah |date=2023-07-23 |title=Hollywood actress in battle with Church of England to ‘find peace’ and move father’s remains |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/07/23/victoria-tennant-church-of-england-battle-father-remains/ |access-date=2024-08-14 |work=The Telegraph |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235}} and Irina Baronova. Her father, from a junior branch of a family of minor Yorkshire gentry resident at Kilnsey,A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland, thirteenth edition, Sir Bernard Burke, ed. A. Winton Thorpe, The Burke's Publishing Co. Ltd, 1921, p. 1728 was a producer and talent agent for MCA; her mother was a Russian prima ballerina who appeared with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Tennant's maternal grandfather, Mikhail Baronov, was a senior officer in the Imperial Russian Navy; his wife, the former Lydia Vishniakova, was a general's daughter. Tennant has a sister, Irina, and a brother, Robert, both of whom were seriously injured in a car crash in 1967 that killed their father. Tennant's godfather was the actor Laurence Olivier.
Like her mother, Tennant trained in ballet, first at the Elmhurst Ballet School and then (for two years) at the Central School of Speech and Drama.
Career
After a number of roles in British and other European films, including The Ragman's Daughter (1972) and Inseminoid (1981), Tennant emigrated to the United States. She went to appear in films Strangers Kiss (1983), All of Me (1984) with Steve Martin, her future husband,{{cite magazine|last1=Staskiewicz|first1=Keith|title=All of Me|url=http://www.ew.com/article/2013/04/03/all-me|access-date=1 March 2016|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|date=3 April 2013}} and The Holcroft Covenant (1985). She starred as Pamela Tudsbury in the ABC miniseries The Winds of War in 1983, receiving Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film.{{Cite web|url=https://www.goldenglobes.com/person/victoria-tennant|title=Victoria Tennant|website=Golden Globes}} She reprised her role in the sequel miniseries War and Remembrance (1988).
In 1987, Tennant starred in the neo-noir crime thriller Best Seller and the psychological drama film Flowers in the Attic playing the leading role. In 1990 she appeared in the dystopian drama film The Handmaid's Tale and was lead actress in the horror film Whispers. In 1991, Tennant starred alongside Steve Martin in the romantic comedy film, L.A. Story.{{cite news|last1=Benenson|first1=Laurie Halpern|title=Steve Martin Targets L.A.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/02/03/movies/film-steve-martin-targets-la.html|access-date=1 March 2016|work=The New York Times|date=3 February 1991}} She wrote the script for the 1996 romantic comedy film, Edie & Pen.Rooney, David (27 May 1996) [https://variety.com/1996/film/reviews/edie-pen-1200445732/ "Edie & Pen"], Variety, p. 70 The following years, Tennant appeared mostly in the smaller-scale films and guest-starred in television series including Diagnosis: Murder, JAG, Scrubs and Monk.
In 2014, Tennant published a memoir about her mother titled Irina Baronova and The Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo, published by the University of Chicago Press.{{Cite book|url=https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/I/bo18610338.html|title=Irina Baronova and the Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo|first=Victoria|last=Tennant|publisher=University of Chicago Press}}Victoria Tennant [http://victoriatennant.net/ Irina Baronova and the Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo], University of Chicago Press, 15 October 2014 г. The book was presented at the Bel Air Country Club in Bel Air, Los Angeles.[http://issuu.com/bhcourier/docs/bhc112114 "Blue Ribbon Book"] (21 Nov 2014) The Beverly Hills Courier, Vol. 49, No. 46, p. 8
Personal life
Tennant's first marriage was to Peppo Vanini, a nightclub owner who owned the Xenon nightclub. They married in 1969 and divorced in 1976.Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television (2008)
She dated Matthew Chapman from 1978 until 1982, but ended their relationship upon meeting Steve Martin. She married Martin in 1986, but they divorced in 1994.
Since 1996, Tennant has been married to Kirk Justin Stambler.
Filmography
=Film=
=Television=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 1979
|Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson |Helen Stoner |Episode: "The Case of the Speckled Band" |
| 1981
|La Guerre des insectes |Helen Curtiss |TV film |
| 1982
|Bernice |Episode: "Who's Got the Lady?" |
| 1983
|{{sortname|The|Winds of War|The Winds of War (miniseries)}} |Pamela Tudsbury |TV miniseries |
| 1983
|Estelle Taylor |TV film |
| 1983
|Trish Lee |TV miniseries |
| 1985
| Maggie |Episode: "The Funniest Guy in the World" |
| 1986
|Under Siege |Gloria Garry |TV film |
| 1986
|{{sortname|The|Twilight Zone|The Twilight Zone (1985 TV series)}} |Valentina |Episode: "Red Snow" |
| 1986
|Bride |Episode: "Deadly Honeymoon" |
| 1988
|Victoria Portman |TV film |
| 1988–89
|Pamela Tudsbury |12 episodes |
| 1989
|Voice of the Heart |Francesca Cunningham |TV film |
| 1989
|Audra |TV series |
| 1994
|{{sortname|The|Man from Snowy River|The Man from Snowy River (TV series)}}[https://variety.com/1993/tv/reviews/snowy-river-the-mcgregor-saga-the-race-1200432847/ "Review: 'Snowy River: The Mcgregor Saga the Race{{'"}}] (31 Aug 1993) Variety |Anita Hargraves |Recurring role (5 episodes) |
| 1997
|Diagnosis: Murder[https://variety.com/1997/scene/vpage/h-w-d-talks-on-tragedy-1116675165/ "H’w’d talks on tragedy"] (3 Sep 1997) Variety |Victoria Larkin |Episode: "Deadly Games" |
| 1999
|Dr. Toynton |Episode: "Blind Faith" |
| 2001
|{{sortname|The|Chris Isaak Show}} |Irene |Episode: "Dancin'" |
| 2001
|Sister Mary Explains It All[https://variety.com/2001/tv/reviews/sister-mary-explains-it-all-1200468177/ "Review: 'Sister Mary Explains It All{{'"}}] (24 May 2001) Variety |Bitter Divorcee |TV film, also producer |
| 2004
|JAG |Marta Sperling |Episode: "The Man on the Bridge" |
| 2007
|Maggie Kent |Episode: "My Scrubs" |
| 2008
|Monk |Ms. Benson |Episode: "Mr. Monk Paints His Masterpiece" |
| 2009
|{{sortname|The|Beast|The Beast (2009 TV series)}} |Susan Redman |Episode: "Infected" |
| 2011
|Celia |TV film |
=Music=
- Hussy – theme song lyrics
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|0005481}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tennant, Victoria}}
Category:20th-century English actresses
Category:21st-century English actresses
Category:Actors educated at the Elmhurst School for Dance
Category:Actresses from London
Category:Alumni of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
Category:British expatriate actresses in the United States
Category:English emigrants to the United States
Category:English film actresses
Category:English people of Russian descent