The English Rose Gets A Second Bloom

19 June 2008

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Throughout the fifties and sixties, often referred to as the classic era of cinema, British actresses Audrey Hepburn, Julie Andrews, Deborah Kerr and Elizabeth Taylor graced the big screen and were successful both at home and in America.

Yet this diamond age of British female acting success seems to be something that was unable to be sustained and the number of actresses breaking into America were becoming few and far between, except for the likes of Judi Dench and Helen Mirren.

Throughout the mid to late nineties the success of British actress abroad, in particular America, seem to land squarely on the shoulders of Kate Winslet who, in her fourteen year movie career, has been nominated for an Oscar five times.

And while Kate Winslet seemed to be the only Brit making any headway in the American film industry English cinemas were full of American stars with the likes of Anne Hathaway and Rene Zellweger taking on classic English roles such as Beatrix Potter and Jane Austen.

However it seems that times maybe changing as a string of British stars have finally begun to make their mark and have made American audiences sit up and take notice.

And leading the way, and vying for Kate's crown, is Keira Knightley, who broke through with her role in Bend it like Beckham but is best known for swashbuckling alongside Johnny Depp in The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.

Her role as Jane Austen's most famous heroine Elizabeth Bennett landed her a Best Actress Academy Award nomination, losing out to Reese Witherspoon, and her second collaboration with Joe Wright in Atonement brought her further acclaim and cemented her as a leading lady.

Rachel Weisz has already enjoyed success at the Oscars winning Best Supporting Actress in 2005 for her role in The Constant Gardener as she has moved between blockbuster roles in The Mummy to the more off beat projects such as The Fountain.

With her new role in The Edge of Love Sienna Miller lays down her claim as a serious actress with her part as Caitlin MacNamara in the Dylan Thomas movie.

She changes pace next year for her first blockbuster roles as The Baroness in GI Joe alongside Dennis Quaid and Christopher Eccleston.

Emma Watson has already established herself as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter franchise and Emily Blunt broke into America alongside Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada.

And it's not only the big screen where the Brits are enjoying major success as a string of stars have landed major roles on television.

Ex Eastenders actress Michelle Ryan became the Bionic Woman while 300's Lena Headey is Sarah Conners in the spin off television series The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

Anna Friel has also been a hit in new show Pushing Daises while Sophia Myles stars in vampire based show Moonlight.

So it's safe to say, for the first time in many a decade, the British are coming!

FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw

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