Dawn O'Porter on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Dawn O'Porter (born Dawn Porter; 23 January 1979) is a British writer, director, and television presenter. She was born in
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
, Scotland, but raised in
Guernsey.
Early life
She studied acting at the
Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts
The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA) is a performing arts higher education institution in Liverpool, founded by Paul McCartney and Mark Featherstone-Witty and opened in 1996. LIPA offers 11 full-time BA (Hons) degrees in a range ...
but in her third year decided that acting was not for her and did
work experience
Work may refer to:
* Work (human activity), intentional activity people perform to support themselves, others, or the community
** Manual labour, physical work done by humans
** House work, housework, or homemaking
** Working animal, an animal tr ...
on the television series ''
Baddiel and Skinner Unplanned'' rather than participate in a school production. Porter's father is Scottish and still lives in Scotland.
Television career
Porter first came to widespread public attention when she attempted to slim down to a
size zero by using drastic dieting regimes for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
documentary ''
Super Slim Me''. Porter also presented the product-testing section of ''
How to Look Good Naked'' on Channel 4.
In 2008, Porter presented a
BBC Three
BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, cur ...
series of four documentary films, ''Dawn...'' (14 February–6 March), exploring attitudes to
nudity,
lesbianism,
dating
Dating is a stage of romantic relationships in which two individuals engage in an activity together, most often with the intention of evaluating each other's suitability as a partner in a future intimate relationship. It falls into the categor ...
and
pregnancy
Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops (gestation, gestates) inside a woman, woman's uterus (womb). A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins.
Pregnancy usually occur ...
(including
childbirth
Childbirth, also known as labour and delivery, is the ending of pregnancy where one or more babies exits the internal environment of the mother via vaginal delivery or caesarean section. In 2019, there were about 140.11 million births glob ...
). Porter also appeared in ''Seriously Dirty Dancing'', a tribute to her favourite film, ''
Dirty Dancing
''Dirty Dancing'' is a 1987 American romantic drama dance film written by Eleanor Bergstein, produced by Linda Gottlieb, and directed by Emile Ardolino. Starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, it tells the story of Frances "Baby" Houseman ...
'', for
Channel 5.
Later that year, she made a four-part series called ''Extreme Wife'' for
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
. In the first programme, ''Dawn Porter: Free Lover'' (30 September 2008), Porter travelled to
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...
, California, to investigate
polyamory
Polyamory () is the practice of, or desire for, romantic relationships with more than one partner at the same time, with the informed consent of all partners involved. People who identify as polyamorous may believe in open relationships wi ...
, then she travelled to former
East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
to visit
ZEGG in
Belzig
Bad Belzig (), until 2010 Belzig, is a historic town in Brandenburg, Germany located about southwest of Berlin. It is the capital of the Potsdam-Mittelmark district.
Geography
Bad Belzig is located within the Fläming hill range and in the cen ...
, a German
free love
Free love is a social movement that accepts all forms of love. The movement's initial goal was to separate the state from sexual and romantic matters such as marriage, birth control, and adultery. It stated that such issues were the concern ...
commune. The programme highlighted the world of free love, such as ritual sensuous oil sessions with naked people covered in warm
olive oil, and included discussions with the people who lived in the
commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
. It premiered with 1.75m viewers (10.7% share).
In the second programme, ''Dawn Porter: Mail Order Bride'' (7 October 2008), Porter travelled to
Odessa, Ukraine, with a group of American men in their search for a partner. The third programme, ''Dawn Porter: Geisha Girl'' (14 October 2008), saw Porter travel to
Kyoto
Kyoto (; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin, Keihanshin metropolitan area along wi ...
, Japan, and spend a week in a
geisha
{{Culture of Japan, Traditions, Geisha
{{nihongo, Geisha, 芸者 ({{IPAc-en, ˈ, ɡ, eɪ, ʃ, ə; {{IPA-ja, ɡeːɕa, lang), also known as {{nihongo, , 芸子, geiko (in Kyoto and Kanazawa) or {{nihongo, , 芸妓, geigi, are a class of female J ...
house. In the fourth and final programme, ''Dawn Porter: Polygamist's Wife'' (21 October 2008), Porter investigated women who are prepared to share their husbands with other women. This included a stay in
Centennial Park,
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
.
In February 2009, Porter narrated the
BBC Three
BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, cur ...
series ''
Undercover Princes.''
In May 2009, it was announced that Porter would present a documentary, ''The Booby Trap'', exploring breast cancer, for
Sky1. The show aired on 6–7 July 2009, under the title ''My Breasts Could Kill Me''. It premiered with 181,000 viewers (0.9% share). Porter appeared
topless
Toplessness refers to the state in which a woman's breasts, including her areolas and nipples, are exposed, especially in a public place or in a visual medium. The male equivalent is barechestedness, also commonly called shirtlessness.
Expose ...
in the documentary to undergo a
breast examination and
breast screening
Mammography (also called mastography) is the process of using low-energy X-rays (usually around 30 kVp) to examine the human breast for diagnosis and screening. The goal of mammography is the early detection of breast cancer, typically through d ...
.
Porter has her own television production company ''Hot Patootie TV''.
On 11 November 2011, Porter made an appearance in ''
Derren Brown – The Experiments'' entitled "The Secret of Luck" and later filmed six episodic advertisements for
Andrex Washlets.
She appeared in
E4 drama ''
Skins'' and has appeared on the television show ''
Balls of Steel''.
In 2012, Porter organised an
Oxfam "get together" alongside friend
Gemma Cairney
Gemma Cairney (born 19 March 1985) is an English television and radio presenter best known for her work on BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 6 Music. She most recently presented '' The Leisure Society'' on BBC Radio 6 Music where she interviewed cultura ...
, and raised money for Oxfam by selling clothing previously owned by celebrities.
In 2014 Porter hosted and co-produced a series for Channel 4 called ''This Old Thing'' exploring
vintage clothing
Vintage clothing is a generic term for garments originating from a previous era, as recent as the 1990s. The term can also be applied in reference to second hand retail outlets, e.g. i''n vintage clothing store''. While the concept originated ...
. Porter hosts ''Soul Food'' on
Munchies for Vice. Her production company Trilogy Films struck an overall deal with Industrial Media in April 2021.
Writing career
O'Porter writes for many publications, on feminism and aspects of women's lifestyle.
In 2006, she published ''
Diaries of an Internet Lover''. In May 2013, she released her first novel, ''Paper Aeroplanes'', the fictional tale of an intense female friendship loosely inspired by her own childhood in Guernsey.
Her publication, ''The Cows'', was released in 2016 and has since been featured on the Sunday Times Best Sellers list.
In October 2019, HarperCollins published her novel, ''So Lucky''.
Charity work
O'Porter was one of the founding members of the charity Help Refugees (now called
Choose Love).
Personal life
In August 2012, Porter married
Chris O'Dowd
Christopher O'Dowd (born 9 October 1979) is an Irish actor and comedian. He received wide attention as Roy Trenneman, one of the lead characters in the Channel 4 comedy ''The IT Crowd'', which ran for four series between 2006 and 2010. He has ...
and changed her name to Dawn O'Porter.
In January 2015, O'Porter gave birth to a son, Art, in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
, where they live. In 2017, O'Porter gave birth to a second son, Valentine.
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oporter, Dawn
1979 births
Living people
British television presenters
British television producers
British women television producers
Guernsey women
Alumni of the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts
British expatriates in the United States
People from Alexandria, West Dunbartonshire
Guernsey writers