Femme Fatale's Excitement

Background:

"I've been playing sexually aware women most of my life. At this point I expected to be playing moms and wives. It's exciting to play a femme fatale." Kim Cattrall.

British born actress Kim Cattrall, a blonde bombshell standing 5'10 inches tall, is highly praised for portraying the femme fatale Samantha Jones in the runaway success, HBO's Sex and the City. She is also recognized for playing sexy roles in such earlier films as Porky's, Police Academy and Mannequin.

Listed as one of People Magazine's Most Intriguing People (2001), Kim has been sweetly involved with actor Daniel Benzali (born on January 20, 1950, engaged in August 1996; separated), Jonathan Silverman (born on August 5, 1966) and former Canadian Prime Minister, Pierre Trudeau.

"I'm finding now in my 40s that the less makeup I wear, the better. I think softer is better as you get older with everything except men." Kim Cattrall.

After splitting from husband Mark Levinson, Kim was recently reported to have a new romance with Canadian chef Alan Wyse, who is 21 years her junior. Additionally, she just admitted that she loves younger men as she said, "I found a lot of guys were absolutely terrified of me. Younger men weren't. They've got plenty of adventure. The perception is that I'm going to be something in the bedroom they can't compete with, but that's their loss. Only the brave need apply."

A Literature Buff

Childhood and Family:

The second child of the Cattralls, Clare Woodgate, later known as Kim Cattrall, was born on August 21, 1956 to parents Shane (part-time secretary) and Dennis Cattrall (construction engineer). Born in Liverpool, England, Kim, together with her two siblings, grew up in Vancouver Island, British Columbia and Canada. At age 11, Kim relocated to her home country to attend the Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in London but flew back to Vancouver, Canada to enroll in the Banff School of Fine Arts in Alberta, Canada. Graduating at age 16, Kim won a scholarship to continue her college study at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York.

As for her own family, Kim has been married three times; to executive Mark Levinson (married on September 4, 1998 in East Hampton, New York; separated), German architect Andreas Lyson (married in 1982; separated in 1987; divorced in 1989) and Canadian writer Larry Davis (married in 1975; divorced).

Kim loves spending her free time writing short stories and poetry.

Kim, Sex and the City

Career:

"I'm always nervous about taking on personalities as opposed to characters." Kim Cattrall.

Debuting her foremost acting work on Broadway with Michael Frayn's adaptation of Chekhov's Wild Honey (opposite Ian McKellen), Kim Cattrall was then contracted by Universal Studios upon her graduation. Under the film studio's name, she guest appeared in many 70s TV series including Quincy, The Incredible Hulk, How the West Was Won, and Charlie's Angels. In 1975, she finally landed her first movie picture work in Otto Preminger's Rosebud (1975).

Kim first caught the public eye playing in Ticket to Heaven (1981) and managed to make her breakthrough being cast as Honeywell in the 1982 movie Porky's. She then played roles in such perky and hit films as Police Academy (1984), John Carpenters' Big Trouble in Little China (1986), Mannequin (1987) and Masquerade (1988). Following in 1990s, Kim appeared in Brian De Palmas' Bonfire Of The Vanities (1990, starring Tom Hanks), Honeymoon Academy (1990), Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Live Nude Girls (1995) and The Revenant (1998).

It was the HBO's huge hit series, Sex and the City that sparkled Kim's name with publicity. Cast as a sizzling Samantha Jones, Kim was handed both Golden Globe and Lucy awards. Her high-stream publicity landed her a string of film roles, including Baby Geniuses (1999), The Devil and Daniel Webster (2001), 15 Minutes (2001), and as Britney Spears' mother in Crossroads (2002). After three years break from the big screen, Kim will star as Tina Harwood in the upcoming film Ice Princess (2005).

"I don't know many women who can relate to Sharon Stone and the kind of movies she does. I don't know a lot of guys who can relate to Tom Cruise's movies because they're on a kind of fantastic level. I like movies I can relate to." Kim Cattrall.

Always a TV star, Kim acted in several TV films such as Oliver Stone's mini series Wild Palms, Wendy Wasserstein's Pulitzer Prize winning play adaptation The Heidi Chronicles (1995), 36 Hours to Die (1999), and Sex and the Matrix (2000). While not working for the big screen or TV, Kim performed on stage playing lead roles in Arthur Miller's A View From The Bridge, Anton Chekhov's Three Sister's, Strindberg's Miss Julie, and Molieres' The Misanthrope. Recently, in early 2005, Kim starred as Claire Harrison in Brian Clark's play Whose Life Is It Anyway at the Duke of York's Theatre.

Kim recently tried her hand at writing and co-worked with estranged husband Mark Levinson on their book, Satisfaction: The Art of the Female Orgasm. About the book she said, "Up until then I thought I wasn't a very sexual woman, although everyone assumed I was getting it in spades. I wanted to write the book because something had changed for me. I thought, 'My goodness, if that's my story, there must be lots of other women.'"

Awards:

• Golden Globe: Best Supporting Actress in a TV series, Sex and The City, 2003
• Lucy Awards: Women in Film, 1999