Sophie Ward
Sophie Ward | |
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Spouse | Paul Hobson (div.) |
Partner | Rena Brannan |
Website | http://www.sophieward.com/ |
Sophie Ward (born 30 December 1964 in London), is an English actress and the daughter of actor, Simon Ward.
Career
One of Sophie's early film roles was in the film Young Sherlock Holmes. Other early films included Return to Oz, Little Dorrit and A Summer Story, and she also portrayed the unattainable love object in the video of Roxy Music's song "Avalon". Often cast as an icy, distant Victorian or an unattainable object of desire, Ward's choice of roles in the 1980s and early 1990s did not offer much variation. During the 1990s she turned her acting energies to stagework, with considerable acclaim and success. She has appeared in several Glasgow Citizens' Theatre productions including Private Lives (as Amanda), Don Carlos (as Queen Elizabeth) and most strikingly in Hamlet as Ophelia. Her most recent films are Out of Bounds (2003), in which she co-stars with Sophia Myles and Celia Imrie, and Book of Blood (2008), co-starring Jonas Armstrong and Reg Fuller.
Her television work includes the acclaimed mini-series A Dark Adapted Eye with Helena Bonham Carter as the perfectly poised yet ultimately doomed Eden and the sweeping fantasy, Dinotopia. More recently, Sophie had the recurring role of Dr Helen Trent in long-running ITV drama Heartbeat. In 2008, Sophie joined the cast of Holby City in a recurring role as Sophia Byrne, sister of surgeon Joseph Byrne.
Personal life
Ward has two sons by her former husband, Paul Hobson, a veterinary surgeon, and a degree in Literature and Philosophy from The Open University. In 1996, Sophie and her husband split and she became involved with female Korean-American writer, Rena Brannan. Their relationship caused much stir in London at the time - Ward had long been considered a 'Face of the 1980s' as a Vogue model.
The previous year, Ward had appeared in the TV film A Village Affair - in which she played a bored housewife who leaves her husband for another woman. Ward was quoted as saying that her experience making "A Village Affair" helped clarify her own feelings regarding her sexuality, but also delayed her decision to come out, as she did not want it to appear as if she were jumping on the bandwagon of the film's theme.[1]
In August 2000, Ward and Brannan were wed in a well-publicized ceremony held in London, before same-sex civil partnerships were legalized in Britain.[2] The couple and Ward's children live in France Lynch near Stroud, Gloucestershire.
Filmography
Film
- Little Dorit - 1985
- Aria - 1985
- Return To Oz - 1985
- Young Sherlock Holmes - 1985
- A Summer Story - 1986
- Young Toscanini - 1988
- A Demon In My View - 1989
- Benevenuto Cellini - 1989
- Seduction of a Priest - 1990
- Wuthering Heights - 1991
- Crime & Punishment - 1993
- The Big Fall - 1996
- Bela Donna - 1998
- Dead In The Water - 2000
- Out of Bounds - 2003
- Book of Blood - 2008
Television
- Too Old To Fight - 1981
- A Time Of Indifference - 1987
- Casanova - 1987
- Miss Marple: A Caribbean Mystery - 1989
- The Shell Seekers - 1989
- The Strauss Dynasty - 1990
- Class of '61 - 1991
- Events At Drimaghleen - 1991
- A Dark Adapted Eye - 1992
- Taking Liberty - 1993
- A Village Affair - 1994
- Chillers: Prophecy - 1994
- MacGyver: Lost Treasure of Atlantis - 1994
- Legacy - 1999
- Inspector Lindley - 2001
- Dinotopia - 2002
- Heartbeat - 2004
- Holby City - 2008
- Land Girls - 2009
Guest appearances
- Waxwork II - 1990
- The Nanny ("The Wedding Episode", "The Fran in the Mirror", "The Hanukkah Episode") - 1999
- Crusade ("The Path Of Sorrows") - 1999
- Rhona ("The Firdge") - 2000
- Peak Practice ("Blind spot")- 2001
Short films
- Roxy Music - Avalon (music video) - 1982
- A Shocking Accident* - 1982
- Rock-a-bye Baby - 1983
- A Prayer for the Dying - 1984
- The Malady - 1985
- Chinese Whispers - 1998
- Bubblegum - 2001
- Extras - 2002
- The Missing Link 2003 - 2003
* Oscar Best Short Film
Child performances
- The Other Window - 1973
- The Chester Mysteries - 1974
- Full Circle (The Haunting of Julia US) - 1975
- The Copter Kids - 1976
- Ibsen: The Wild Duck - 1977
- The Brensham People - 1977
- Too Old to Fight - 1980
- The Lords of Discipline - 1981
- The Hunger - 1983