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Saffron Domini Burrows (born 22 October 1972) is an English actress and model who has appeared in films such as ''
Circle of Friends,'' ''
Wing Commander
Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical ...
,'' ''
Deep Blue Sea,'' ''
Gangster No. 1
''Gangster No. 1'' is a 2000 British crime drama film directed by Paul McGuigan. It is based on the stage play ''Gangster No.1'' written by Louis Mellis and David Scinto. The film stars Paul Bettany in the title role and features Malcolm McDo ...
,'' ''
Enigma
Enigma may refer to:
*Riddle, someone or something that is mysterious or puzzling
Biology
*ENIGMA, a class of gene in the LIM domain
Computing and technology
* Enigma (company), a New York-based data-technology startup
* Enigma machine, a family ...
,'' ''
Troy
Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in present-day Turkey, south-west of Ç ...
,'' ''
Reign Over Me
''Reign Over Me'' is a 2007 American buddy drama film written and directed by Mike Binder, and produced by his brother Jack Binder. The film stars Adam Sandler and Don Cheadle with Jada Pinkett Smith, Liv Tyler, Donald Sutherland, Saffron ...
'' and ''
The Bank Job''. On the small screen, she has starred as
Lorraine Weller on ''
Boston Legal,'' Dr. Norah Skinner on ''
My Own Worst Enemy,''
Detective Serena Stevens on ''
Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' and
Victoria Hand on ''
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.''. She appeared as Cynthia Taylor on the
Amazon Video
Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered as a standalone service or as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. The service pr ...
series ''
Mozart in the Jungle
''Mozart in the Jungle'' is an American comedy-drama streaming television series developed by Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman, Alex Timbers, and Paul Weitz for the video-on-demand service Amazon Prime Video. It received a production order in ...
'' and as
Dottie Quinn in the
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...
series ''
You''.
Early life
A Londoner, Burrows was born in
St Pancras and grew up in
Stoke Newington, her mother a trade unionist and primary school teacher in
Hackney and her father an architect and teacher. Her parents and stepfather were
Socialist Workers Party members, and Burrows was politically active from a young age.
Burrows attended William Tyndale Primary School in
Islington and then
Stoke Newington School. When asked for her preference of a school in Hackney or
Hampstead, she said she wanted to be in a multicultural, inclusive environment. She enrolled in acting classes at the
Anna Scher Theatre
The Anna Scher Theatre is an independent and co-educational performing arts school based in Islington, Greater London. It was founded in 1968 by Anna Scher. It is considered among the first schools of its kind geared towards working class studen ...
when she was 11.
Burrows had a successful modelling career after she was discovered at age 15 in
Covent Garden by fashion photographer Beth Boldt.
For five years she divided her time between London and
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...
, where she learned French. She found it troubling the pressure the modelling world put on young girls with its "obsession with the ideal of the body".
Career
Acting
Burrows made her film debut in 1993 with a small role in
Jim Sheridan
Jim Sheridan (born 6 February 1949) is an Irish playwright and filmmaker.
Between 1989 and 1993, Sheridan directed two critically acclaimed films set in Ireland, '' My Left Foot'' and '' In the Name of the Father'', and later directed the fi ...
's ''
In the Name of the Father
IN, In or in may refer to:
Places
* India (country code IN)
* Indiana, United States (postal code IN)
* Ingolstadt, Germany (license plate code IN)
* In, Russia, a town in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast
Businesses and organizations
* Indepen ...
''. Her first significant acting roles came in 1995, as an ambitious young Irishwoman in ''
Circle of Friends,'' and in
Ngozi Onwurah
Ngozi Onwurah (born 1966) is a British-Nigerian film director, producer, model, and lecturer. She is best known as a filmmaker for her autobiographical film ''The Body Beautiful'' (1991) and her first feature film, ''Welcome II the Terrordome'' ( ...
's ''Welcome II The Terrordome''.
She starred in 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. ...
...
production of
Dennis Potter
Dennis Christopher George Potter (17 May 1935 – 7 June 1994) was an English television dramatist, screenwriter and journalist. He is best known for his BBC television serials '' Pennies from Heaven'' (1978), ''The Singing Detective'' (198 ...
's ''
Karaoke
Karaoke (; ; , clipped compound of Japanese ''kara'' "empty" and ''ōkesutora'' "orchestra") is a type of interactive entertainment usually offered in clubs and bars, where people sing along to recorded music using a microphone. The music i ...
'' (1996),
and in ''
Hotel de Love'', ''
Lovelife'', ''
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...
'', ''
One Night Stand'' and ''
The Matchmaker
''The Matchmaker'' is a 1954 play by Thornton Wilder, a rewritten version of his 1938 play ''The Merchant of Yonkers''.
History
The play has a long and colorful history. John Oxenford's 1835 one-act farce ''A Day Well Spent'' had been exte ...
''.
In 1999 she appeared in
Mike Figgis
Michael Figgis (born 28 February 1948) is an English film director, screenwriter, and composer. He was nominated for two Academy Awards for his work in ''Leaving Las Vegas'' (1995). Figgis was the founding patron of the independent filmmakers o ...
' experimental film ''
The Loss of Sexual Innocence'', where she played twins: one raised in England, the other in Italy.
She appeared in the thriller film ''
Deep Blue Sea,'' and had the title role in a film of ''
Miss Julie
''Miss Julie'' ( sv, Fröken Julie) is a naturalistic play written in 1888 by August Strindberg. It is set on Midsummer's Eve and the following morning, which is Midsummer and the Feast Day of St. John the Baptist. The setting is an estate of ...
'', which premiered at the
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a perman ...
.
In 1999 she appeared with
Stellan Skarsgård
Stellan Skarsgård (, ; born 13 June 1951) is a Swedish actor. He is known for his collaborations with director Lars von Trier appearing in ''Breaking the Waves'' (1996), ''Dancer in the Dark'' (2000), '' Dogville'' (2007), ''Melancholia'' (201 ...
in ''
Timecode
A timecode (alternatively, time code) is a sequence of numeric codes generated at regular intervals by a timing synchronization system. Timecode is used in video production, show control and other applications which require temporal coordinatio ...
'' (2000), a split-screen digital experimental film shot in a single take with no edits. She followed it with ''
Gangster No. 1
''Gangster No. 1'' is a 2000 British crime drama film directed by Paul McGuigan. It is based on the stage play ''Gangster No.1'' written by Louis Mellis and David Scinto. The film stars Paul Bettany in the title role and features Malcolm McDo ...
'' with
Malcolm McDowell
Malcolm McDowell (born Malcolm John Taylor; 13 June 1943) is a British actor, producer, and television presenter. He is best known for portraying Alex DeLarge in ''A Clockwork Orange.'' He was born in the Horsforth suburb of Leeds and raised i ...
,
Paul Bettany
Paul Bettany (born 27 May 1971) is an English actor. He is mostly known for his roles as J.A.R.V.I.S. and Vision in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, recently starring in the Disney+ miniseries '' WandaVision'' (2021), for which he was nominate ...
and
David Thewlis
David Wheeler (born 20 March 1963), better known as David Thewlis (), is a British actor, author, director and screenwriter.
Thewlis rose to prominence when he starred in the film ''Naked'' (1993), for which he won the Cannes Film Festival Awa ...
.
She co-starred with
Kate Winslet and
Dougray Scott
Stephen Dougray Scott (born 25 November 1965) is a Scottish actor. He has appeared in the films ''Ever After'' (1998), '' Mission: Impossible 2'' (2000), ''Enigma'' (2001), ''Hitman'' (2007), and ''My Week with Marilyn'' (2011).
Early life
Sc ...
in
Michael Apted
Michael David Apted, (10 February 1941 – 7 January 2021) was a British television and film director and producer.
Apted began working in television and directed the '' Up'' documentary series (1964–2019). He later directed '' Coal Miner's ...
's 1940s drama ''
Enigma
Enigma may refer to:
*Riddle, someone or something that is mysterious or puzzling
Biology
*ENIGMA, a class of gene in the LIM domain
Computing and technology
* Enigma (company), a New York-based data-technology startup
* Enigma machine, a family ...
''.
She starred in ''
Tempted'', an improvised thriller set in New Orleans, with
Burt Reynolds and
Peter Facinelli.
Mike Figgis
Michael Figgis (born 28 February 1948) is an English film director, screenwriter, and composer. He was nominated for two Academy Awards for his work in ''Leaving Las Vegas'' (1995). Figgis was the founding patron of the independent filmmakers o ...
' ensemble feature ''
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...
'' followed, re-uniting Burrows with some colleagues from ''
Timecode
A timecode (alternatively, time code) is a sequence of numeric codes generated at regular intervals by a timing synchronization system. Timecode is used in video production, show control and other applications which require temporal coordinatio ...
'', including
Salma Hayek and
Danny Huston in Venice, where she played the Duchess of Malfi. In 2002, she had a cameo role in Hayek's produced biopic ''
Frida
''Frida'' is a 2002 American biographical drama film directed by Julie Taymor which depicts the professional and private life of the surrealist Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.
Starring Salma Hayek in an Academy Award–nominated portrayal as K ...
''.
She then dedicated herself to stage work. She was directed by
Deborah Warner at the
Royal National Theatre in
Jeanette Winterson's ''The Powerbook''. The play toured, visiting the Theatre National Du Chaillot, Paris, and the Teatro Argentina, Rome. Burrows performed in Spanish in ''The Galindez File'', a film written by Spanish novelist
Vazquez Montalban about a woman seeking the truth about the disappearance of a critic of the
Dominican dictator Trujillo.
In 2004, she played the part of
Andromache
In Greek mythology, Andromache (; grc, Ἀνδρομάχη, ) was the wife of Hector, daughter of Eetion, and sister to Podes. She was born and raised in the city of Cilician Thebe, over which her father ruled. The name means 'man battler ...
in ''
Troy
Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in present-day Turkey, south-west of Ç ...
''. In January 2005, she created the role of Janey in the world premiere of ''Earthly Paradise'' at the
Almeida Theatre
The Almeida Theatre, opened in 1980, is a 325-seat producing house with an international reputation, which takes its name from the street on which it is located, off Upper Street, in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre produces a diver ...
. The play of a love triangle between Janey Morris; her husband William Morris, the writer and proponent of the
Arts and Crafts movement; and
Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti (12 May 1828 – 9 April 1882), generally known as Dante Gabriel Rossetti (), was an English poet, illustrator, painter, translator and member of the Rossetti family. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhoo ...
, the
Pre-Raphaelite painter.
Theatre critic Nicholas De Jongh said of her performance in ''The Earthly Paradise'' that "Burrows takes to the stage like a swan to water ... She deserves no end of watching."
On 30 October 2005, she appeared on stage at the
Old Vic
Old or OLD may refer to:
Places
*Old, Baranya, Hungary
*Old, Northamptonshire, England
* Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD)
*OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Ma ...
theatre in London in a rehearsed reading of the 24-hour play ''Night Sky'', alongside
Christopher Eccleston. In 2006, Burrows was the female lead in the New Zealand thriller ''
Perfect Creature''. That same year, she worked with Chilean director
Raoul Ruiz on ''
Klimt'', his cinematic version of the life of
Gustav Klimt. In this film, she played opposite
John Malkovich
John Malkovich (born December 9, 1953) is an American actor. He is the recipient of several accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Screen Actors Guild Aw ...
as the artist's lover, a woman of many personalities and nationalities.
She performed in
Hal Hartley
Hal Hartley (born November 3, 1959) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and composer who became a key figure in the American independent film movement of the 1980s and '90s. He is best known for his films '' The Unbelievable Tr ...
's ''
Fay Grim''. Onstage in 2006, Burrows starred opposite
David Schwimmer
David Lawrence Schwimmer (born November 2, 1966) is an American actor, director and producer. He gained worldwide recognition for portraying Ross Geller in the sitcom ''Friends'', for which he received a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Primeti ...
in
Neil Labute's world premiere of ''
Some Girl(s)
''Some Girl(s)'' is a play written by Neil LaBute about a man only identified as "Guy" who is about to get married. Before his wedding, he decides to visit his ex-girlfriends, all of whom he mistreated. His exes include: Sam, his former high scho ...
'' at the Gielgud theatre, London.
She then starred opposite
Don Cheadle
Donald Frank Cheadle Jr. (; born November 29, 1964) is an American actor. He is the recipient of multiple accolades, including two Grammy Awards, a Tony Award, two Golden Globe Awards and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. He has also earned nom ...
and
Adam Sandler in
Mike Binder's ''
Reign Over Me
''Reign Over Me'' is a 2007 American buddy drama film written and directed by Mike Binder, and produced by his brother Jack Binder. The film stars Adam Sandler and Don Cheadle with Jada Pinkett Smith, Liv Tyler, Donald Sutherland, Saffron ...
''. Burrows played the female lead roles in the Indian film thriller ''Broken Thread'', and in ''Dangerous Parking'', a drama directed by
Peter Howitt.
On television, Burrows played attorney
Lorraine Weller on
ABC's ''
Boston Legal'' (Season 4) from 2007–08. She starred on
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
's 2008 series, ''
My Own Worst Enemy''.
In 2008, Burrows starred in the independent film ''
The Guitar'',
Amy Redford's directorial debut, which premiered at the
Sundance Film Festival. In 2008, she had a starring role as Martine Love in Roger Donaldson's heist film ''
The Bank Job''.
She played opposite
Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey Fowler (born July 26, 1959) is an American actor. He began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, obtaining supporting roles before gaining a leading man status in film and television. Spacey has received various accolade ...
in Jonas Pate's ''
Shrink''. She has contributed to the ''Actors Come Clean for Congo'' video for the Raise Hope for Congo campaign, a campaign of the
Enough Project
The Enough Project is a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit organization that was founded in 2007. Its stated mission is to end genocide and crimes against humanity. The Enough Project conducts research in several conflict areas in Africa inclu ...
, in support of the
conflict mineral issue.
In 2010, she starred as
Detective Serena Stevens on ''
Law & Order: Criminal Intent'',
departing at the end of the ninth season. In September 2010, she took part in the documentary feature film ''The People Speak'', directed and produced by
Colin Firth and Anthony Arnove, televised on the
History Channel
History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...
, linked with
''The People Speak'' (Film) – International. Burrows modeled for
Marks & Spencer
Marks and Spencer Group plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks's or Marks & Sparks) is a major British multinational retailer with headquarters in Paddington, London that specialises in selling clothing, beauty, home ...
's autumn 2010 campaign for their
Portfolio
Portfolio may refer to:
Objects
* Portfolio (briefcase), a type of briefcase
Collections
* Portfolio (finance), a collection of assets held by an institution or a private individual
* Artist's portfolio, a sample of an artist's work or a c ...
range. In 2012, Burrows performed opposite
Rob Lowe
Robert Hepler Lowe (born March 17, 1964) is an American actor, filmmaker, and podcast host. He made his acting debut at the age of 15 with ABC's short-lived sitcom ''A New Kind of Family'' (1979–1980). Following numerous television roles in ...
in the political comedy ''Knife Fight''.
She has participated in the "24 Hour Plays" in London, New York, and Los Angeles.
In 2013 and 2014, Burrows joined the ranks of the
Marvel Cinematic Universe
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...
on the
ABC television show ''
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
''Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' is an American television series created by Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon, and Maurissa Tancharoen for ABC, based on the Marvel Comics organization S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, an ...
'' where she played the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent
Victoria Hand in a recurring role.
In 2019, Burrows starred in the recurring role of
Dottie Quinn on the
second season of the
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...
thriller ''
You''. She reprised her role in the
third season, which released in October 2021.
She starred in the
Amazon Video
Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered as a standalone service or as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. The service pr ...
show ''
Mozart in the Jungle
''Mozart in the Jungle'' is an American comedy-drama streaming television series developed by Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman, Alex Timbers, and Paul Weitz for the video-on-demand service Amazon Prime Video. It received a production order in ...
'' as Cynthia Taylor, a cellist with the New York Symphony. The series ran for four seasons from 2014 to 2018.
Writing
Burrows has written diaries, book reviews and newspaper and magazine articles for ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
'', and ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...
'' and the ''
New Statesman
The ''New Statesman'' is a British Political magazine, political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney Webb, Sidney and Beatrice ...
''.
Personal life
Burrows is a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Arts.
Burrows is
bisexual, and has said that she "prefers the company of women." She was engaged to actor
Alan Cumming in the 1990s, and dated director
Mike Figgis
Michael Figgis (born 28 February 1948) is an English film director, screenwriter, and composer. He was nominated for two Academy Awards for his work in ''Leaving Las Vegas'' (1995). Figgis was the founding patron of the independent filmmakers o ...
for five years until 2002. She was also previously in a relationship with actress
Fiona Shaw.
Burrows married writer Alison Balian, her girlfriend of six years, in August 2013. Burrows gave birth to their son in 2012, and their daughter in 2017. They separated in 2020.
Burrows has expressed sympathy for European style social democracies and for French
Socialist politician Ségolène Royal
Marie-Ségolène Royal (; born 22 September 1953) is a French politician who was the Socialist Party candidate for the Presidency of France in the 2007 election.
Royal was president of the Poitou-Charentes Regional Council from 2004 to 201 ...
. She joined an anti-
racism
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonis ...
group when she was 11 years old and she went on to become the Vice President of the National Civil Rights Movement. Burrows is a campaigner for disabled rights and equality.
In 2009, Burrows became an American citizen.
Filmography
Film
Television
Awards and nominations
;Blockbuster Entertainment Award
*2000: Nominated, "Favorite Newcomer Actress" – ''Deep Blue Sea''
;
Screen Actors Guild Awards
*2008: Nominated, "Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series" – ''Boston Legal''
*2009: Nominated, "Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series" – ''Boston Legal''
References
External links
*
*
Articles written by Saffron Burrowsfor the ''
New Statesman
The ''New Statesman'' is a British Political magazine, political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney Webb, Sidney and Beatrice ...
'' UK
* Saffron Burrows' Guest DJ Set on KCR
KCRW Guest DJ Set
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burrows, Saffron
Living people
1972 births
20th-century American actresses
20th-century English actresses
21st-century American actresses
21st-century English actresses
Actresses from London
Alumni of the Anna Scher Theatre School
American film actresses
American stage actresses
American television actresses
English emigrants to the United States
English film actresses
English stage actresses
English television actresses
Bisexual actresses
LGBT actors from England
People from Stoke Newington
People from St Pancras, London
People with acquired American citizenship