Born:
May 10, 1946
in
Hull
Best Known For:
Over 30 years of film and TV roles.
Early-life:
Born Maureen Diane Lipman on May 10, 1946 into a Jewish family in Hull. Her father was a tailor who had his own business in the town. Maureen claims her first performances involved doing Alma Cogan impersonations at home. She was eventually pressed into acting by her mother Zelma, who used to take her to pantomimes and then push her onto the stage. She later studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.
Career:
Lipman's first professional stage work came at the Palace Theatre in Watford. She made her film debut in Up the Junction in 1967 before appearing in Regan, a TV movie that acted as the pilot for The Sweeney. She became a household name with the cult sitcom Agony in 1979. However, attempts to revive the show in 1995 failed. Lipman starred in a series of successful adverts for British Telecom and received rave reviews for her stage performances in Re-Joyce, and Oklahoma! (with the then unknown Hugh Jackman). Since then, she has appeared in Roman Polanski's The Pianist, Coronation Street, Jonathan Creek, Doctor Who, Skins, Casualty, Holby City and Ladies of Letters. She has written several autobiographical books, including How Was It for You? and Something to Fall Back On.
Quote:
"I behave really very childishly and like a teenager. I am always on a high and largely neurotic."
Trivia:
Lipman was married to writer Jack Rosenthal from 1973 until his death in 2004. They had two children, Adam and Amy. Not one to suffer fools, she once claimed she'd like to pour a glass of wine over critic Charles Spencer's head after he wrote a bad review of her performance in a production of A Little Night Music.