Katrin Juliet Cartlidge (15 May 1961 – 7 September 2002) was an English actress. She first appeared on screen as Lucy Collins in the

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 ...

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio drama ...

'' Brookside'' (1982–1983), before going on to win the 1997 Evening Standard Film Award for Best Actress for the

Mike Leigh Mike Leigh (born 20 February 1943) is an English film and theatre director, screenwriter and playwright. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and further at the Camberwell School of Art, the Central School of Art and Des ...

film ''

Career Girls ''Career Girls'' is a 1997 British comedy-drama film written and directed by Mike Leigh which tells the story of two women, who reunite after six years apart. The film stars Katrin Cartlidge and Lynda Steadman. The women were originally thrown ...

''. Her other film appearances included Leigh's ''

Naked Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. The loss of body hair was one of the physical characteristics that marked the biological evolution of modern humans from their hominin ancestors. Adaptations related to h ...

'' (1993), '' Before the Rain'' (1994), ''

Breaking the Waves ''Breaking the Waves'' is a 1996 psychological drama film directed and co-written by Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier and starring English stage actress Emily Watson as her feature film acting debut. Set in the Scottish Highlands in the early ...

'' (1996) and '' From Hell'' (2001).

Early life

Cartlidge was born in London, to Derek, an English father and Bobbi, a German-Jewish refugee mother. She was educated at the Parliament Hill School for Girls in Camden.

Work

Her work on Manchevski's '' Before the Rain'' and on ''

No Man's Land No man's land is waste or unowned land or an uninhabited or desolate area that may be under dispute between parties who leave it unoccupied out of fear or uncertainty. The term was originally used to define a contested territory or a dump ...

'' made her well known in

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and ...

and the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

. Sophie, in Mike Leigh's ''

'', was her first leading role. Cartlidge worked in two more Leigh films: in ''

'' she played one of the lead roles, Hannah, at the ages of both 20 and 30, and in '' Topsy Turvy'' she was a madam in a

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

brothel A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub p ...

. She was due to play the lead role in Polish director Lech Majewski's 2004 film '' The Garden of Earthly Delights''—that of an art historian dying of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

—but she left shortly before production began. Cartlidge won a role in ''

21 Grams ''21 Grams'' is a 2003 American psychological drama film directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu from a screenplay by Guillermo Arriaga. The film stars Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Danny Huston and Benicio Del Toro. The sec ...

'' but was replaced by

Charlotte Gainsbourg Charlotte Lucy Gainsbourg (; born 21 July 1971) is a British-French actress and singer. She is the daughter of English actress Jane Birkin and French musician Serge Gainsbourg. After making her musical debut with her father on the song " Lemo ...

due to her death. Cartlidge died at the age of 41, owing to complications from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severit ...

and

septicaemia Sepsis, formerly known as septicemia (septicaemia in British English) or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage is follo ...

, stemming from a

pheochromocytoma Pheochromocytoma (PHEO or PCC) is a rare tumor of the adrenal medulla composed of chromaffin cells, also known as pheochromocytes. When a tumor composed of the same cells as a pheochromocytoma develops outside the adrenal gland, it is referred t ...

Legacy

The impact of Cartlidge's sudden death saw the creation of the

Katrin Cartlidge Foundation The Katrin Cartlidge Foundation was charitable foundation established in memory of actress Katrin Cartlidge, who died suddenly and unexpectedly in 2002, at the age of 41. Through the foundation, and as referenced to the Sarajevo Film Festival, supp ...

by the trustees

, Peter Gevisser,

Simon McBurney Simon Montagu McBurney (born 25 August 1957) is an English actor, playwright, and theatrical director. He is the founder and artistic director of the Théâtre de Complicité, London. He has had roles in the films ''The Manchurian Candidate'', ...

, Chris Simon, and Cat Villiers. The patrons include

Lars von Trier Lars von Trier (''né'' Trier; 30 April 1956) is a Danish filmmaker, actor, and lyricist. Having garnered a reputation as a highly ambitious, polarizing filmmaker, he has been the subject of several controversies: Cannes, in addition to nominat ...

and Cartlidge's sister Michelle. Established at the

Sarajevo Film Festival The Sarajevo Film Festival is the premier and largest film festival in Southeast Europe, and is one of the largest film festivals in Europe. It was founded in Sarajevo in 1995 during the siege of Sarajevo in the Bosnian War, and brings internati ...

, an annual bursary is awarded by "an elected curator, chosen by the (Foundation) Trustees from a wide and eclectic number of Katrin Cartlidge’s friends and colleagues...(to) a new creative voice... While the new talent nominated each year will be a filmmaker, it is anticipated that the choices will be as varied and extraordinary as Katrin’s own choice of filmmakers and friends from across the arts." Mike Leigh: "She took to the improvisation and character work instantly, easily and with extraordinary commitment and imagination. Other than in the Royal Court Young Peoples Theatre, she had had no formal training, but you would never have guessed it. (

Drama Centre London Drama Centre London (often abbreviated as Drama Centre) was a British drama school in King's Cross, London, where it moved in 2011 after a major reshaping of the University of the Arts London. It was part of Central Saint Martins, a constitue ...

turned her down, and that put her off). She often talked to me about move into directing. I am in no doubt that we have lost not only one of our greatest actors but also one of the most interesting new directors of the future." Following her death, British singer

Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey (; born 22 May 1959), known professionally as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. Since th ...

dedicated a performance of his song " Late Night, Maudlin Street" at the Royal Albert Hall to Cartlidge, describing her as a "brilliant person and fantastic actor".

Tracy Letts Tracy S. Letts (born July 4, 1965) is an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter. He started his career at the Steppenwolf Theatre before making his Broadway debut as a playwright for '' August: Osage County'' (2007), for which he received ...

dedicated his 2003 play ''

Man from Nebraska ''Man From Nebraska'' is a play by American playwright Tracy Letts, which premiered in 2003 in Chicago. ''Man From Nebraska'' is about a man's loss of faith and his journey to regain it. Productions The play had its world premiere at Steppenwolf ...

'' to Cartlidge, stating "Man from Nebraska is dedicated to the memory of my dear friend Katrin Cartlidge".

Filmography

Film Television Television film and short works

References

External links

* *
Career Girl: Tribute to Katrin Cartlidge

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cartlidge, Katrin 1961 births 2002 deaths Actresses from London Deaths from sepsis English film actresses English people of German-Jewish descent English radio actresses English soap opera actresses English stage actresses Infectious disease deaths in England Jewish English actresses English Shakespearean actresses 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses