Amber Sainsbury (born 28 August 1978) is a New Zealand actress, philanthropist, and producer. She starred in the

Sky One Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non- terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...

series '' Hex'' (2005). She is a founder of the charity

Dramatic Need Dramatic Need was a UK-Charitable organization#Registration, registered charity established in 2007 that sent international arts professionals to host workshops in underprivileged and rural communities in Rwanda and South Africa. The charity promo ...

Biography

Sainsbury attended

St Cuthbert's College, Auckland St Cuthbert's College is a private (independent) Presbyterian-based day and boarding school for girls aged 4 to 18 (Years 0 to 13), located in Epsom, Auckland, New Zealand. The school was established in 1915 in Mt Eden, and has a roll of appro ...

. She trained at the

Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art The Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, formerly the Webber Douglas School of Singing and Dramatic Art, was a drama school, and originally a singing school, in London. It was one of the leading drama schools in Britain, and offered comprehen ...

in London. In 2005, Sainsbury starred in the first series of

UK series '' Hex'' as Roxanne Davenport. She also appeared in ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

'', ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, "Woodentop (The Bill), Woodentop" (part of the ''Storyb ...

'', ''

Trevor's World of Sport ''Trevor's World of Sport'' began as a 2003 BBC television sitcom written and directed by Andy Hamilton and starring Neil Pearson as Trevor. One series of the television series was made, followed by three series which were aired on BBC Radio 4, ...

'', ''

A Touch of Frost ''A Touch of Frost'' is a British television detective mystery drama series starring David Jason produced by Yorkshire Television (later ITV Studios) for ITV from 6 December 1992 until 5 April 2010, initially based on the Frost novels by R. ...

'', the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's 'Fairytales' series, and the films '' Channelling Baby'' and '' The Ferryman''. After filming ''

30 Days of Night ''30 Days of Night'' is a three-issue vampire comic book miniseries written by Steve Niles, illustrated by Ben Templesmith, and published by American company IDW Publishing in 2002. All three parties co-own the property. The series takes place ...

'' with

Josh Hartnett Joshua Daniel Hartnett (born July 21, 1978) is an American actor. He began his career on American Broadcasting Company, ABC's drama series ''Cracker (American TV series), Cracker'' (1997–1998), after which he became known as a teen idol thro ...

in South Africa, Sainsbury left acting in 2007 to found the African-based arts charity

, of which she is a trustee. Sainsbury invited Academy Award-winning film director

Danny Boyle Daniel Francis Boyle (born 20 October 1956) is an English director and producer. He is known for his work on the films ''Shallow Grave (1994 film), Shallow Grave'' (1994), ''Trainspotting (film), Trainspotting'' (1996) and its sequel ''T2 Tra ...

as well as the Shakespearian actor Sir Antony Sher to join the board of trustees. Notable supporters of the charity include the bands

Coldplay Coldplay are a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer and percussionist Will Champion, and manager Phil Harvey (band m ...

and

Supergrass Supergrass are an English rock band formed in 1993. For the majority of the band's tenure, the line-up consisted of brothers Gaz (lead vocals, guitar) and Rob Coombes (keyboards), Mick Quinn (bass, backing vocals) and Danny Goffey (drums, ...

, actors Hartnett and

David Walliams David Edward Williams (born 20 August 1971), known professionally as David Walliams (), is an English actor, comedian, writer, and television personality. He is best known for his work with Matt Lucas on the BBC sketch comedy series '' Little ...

, and supermodel and photographer

Helena Christensen Helena Christensen (born 25 December 1968) is a Danish fashion model. She is a former Victoria's Secret Angel, co-founder and original creative director for ''Nylon'' magazine, and she is a supporter of funding for breast cancer organizations an ...

. Sainsbury was a contributor to the 2009 Commonwealth Ministers Reference Book alongside then British Prime Minister's wife Sarah Jane Brown on the arts in educatio

She was a keynote speaker on the role of arts in development at the British Arts Council's

Creative Partnerships Creative Partnerships was the UK government's flagship creative learning programme, established in 2002 as part of the council's SR2000 settlement to develop young people's creativity through artists' engagement with schools in nominated areas acr ...

Conference in 2009 and has spoken at Oxfam and the South African High Commission in London on the subject. In March 2009 Sainsbury was voted one of the year's Inspirational Women by British ''Vogue''. In 2010 and 2015, she produced ''

The Children's Monologues ''The Children's Monologues'' is a theatrical performance featuring the adapted stories of children's first-hand experiences in South Africa. It was directed by Danny Boyle and first produced as a one-off charity performance in November 2010 at ...

'' at the

Old Vic Theatre The Old Vic is a 1,000-seat, nonprofit producing theatre in Waterloo, London, England. It was established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, and renamed in 1833 the Royal Victoria Theatre. In 1871 it was rebuilt and reopened as the Royal ...

and the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial theatre in Sloane Square, London, England, opene ...

. In 2010, Sainsbury took British citizenship. She continued to teach drama workshops in Africa on conflict resolution and gender issues. On 10 September 2011, Sainsbury married filmmaker Jamie Campbell on the island of Paxos in Greece. Sainsbury graduated from the

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

in 2012 with a dual degree in History and Italian language. She then pursued a Master in Psychology and Neuroscience at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

. She joined the production company

Left Bank Pictures Left Bank Pictures Ltd. (stylised as LEFT BANK Pictures) is a British film and television production company owned by Sony Pictures Television through its International Production division. It was formed in 2007 and was the first British media c ...

as an executive producer.

Filmography

Film

* 1999 - '' Channelling Baby'' * 2004 - ''

The Purifiers ''The Purifiers'' is a 2004 action film directed by Richard Jobson (television presenter), Richard Jobson, and starring Dominic Monaghan. It was produced by Chris Atkins (journalist), Chris Atkins. Cast * Kevin McKidd as Moses * Gordon Alexand ...

'' * 2005 - '' The Poseidon Adventure'' * 2006 - '' The Ferryman'' * 2007 - ''

Television

* 1995 - '' Plainclothes'' * 2002 - ''

'' * 2002 - ''

'' * 2003 - ''

'' * 2004 - ''

'' * 2005 - '' Hex'' * 2008 - ''

Fairy Tales A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, household tale, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the Folklore, folklore genre. Such stories typically feature Magic (supernatural), magic, Incantation, e ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sainsbury, Amber Living people 1978 births Alumni of King's College London Alumni of the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art British film actresses British television actresses New Zealand expatriates in England New Zealand expatriates in South Africa New Zealand people of British descent New Zealand philanthropists New Zealand theatre people People educated at St Cuthbert's College, Auckland University of Auckland alumni