Louisa Rix
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Louisa MacGregor Rix (born 2 February 1955) is a British former actress of theatre, film and television. She is perhaps best known for her role as Kevin the Teenager's mum, Mrs Patterson, in the BBC TV series, ''
Harry Enfield & Chums ''Harry Enfield & Chums'' (originally titled ''Harry Enfield's Television Programme'') is a British sketch show starring Harry Enfield, Paul Whitehouse and Kathy Burke. It first broadcast on BBC2 in 1990 in the 9 p.m. slot on Thursday nig ...
'', and its spin-off film, '' Kevin and Perry Go Large''. In 2012 she founded the Interior Design company Forbes Rix Design with her business partner Natalie Forbes.


Early life

Rix was born in
Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...
,
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
to actors Brian Rix and Elspet Gray. She has two brothers, one of whom is children's author and TV producer
Jamie Rix Jamie Rix (born 27 April 1958) is an English children's author, television comedy writer, and media producer. He is best known for the book series '' Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids'' and '' The War Diaries of Alistair Fury''; both were adapted ...
. Her sister Shelley was born with Down's Syndrome, and died in 2005. Rix studied drama at
LAMDA The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) is a drama school located in Hammersmith, London. Founded in 1861, it is the oldest specialist drama school in the British Isles and a founding member of the Federation of Drama Schools. In ...
and acted for many years on TV and in the theatre.


Career

Rix gained early theatre experience at the
Nottingham Playhouse Nottingham Playhouse is a theatre in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England. It was first established as a repertory theatre in 1948 when it operated from a former cinema in Goldsmith Street. Directors during this period included Val May and F ...
while
Richard Eyre Sir Richard Charles Hastings Eyre (born 28 March 1943) is an English film, theatre, television and opera director. Eyre has received numerous accolades including three Laurence Olivier Awards as well as nominations for six BAFTA Awards and two ...
was the artistic director, and in
Peter Cheeseman Peter Barrie Cheeseman, CBE (27 January 1932, Cowplain, Hampshire – 27 April 2010, Stoke-on-Trent) was a British theatre director who is credited with having pioneered "theatre in the round". Early life His father's work as a Naval Commun ...
's company at Stoke-on-Trent. Her subsequent West End appearances included roles in ''
How the Other Half Loves How may refer to: * How (greeting), a word used in some misrepresentations of Native American/First Nations speech * How, an interrogative word in English grammar Art and entertainment Literature * ''How'' (book), a 2007 book by Dov Seidma ...
'' and '' Man of the Moment'' by
Alan Ayckbourn Sir Alan Ayckbourn (born 12 April 1939) is a prolific British playwright and director. As of 2025, he has written and produced 90 full-length plays in Scarborough and London and was, between 1972 and 2009, the artistic director of the Stephen ...
; '' The Pocket Dream'' by
Sandi Toksvig Sandra Birgitte Toksvig (; ; born 3 May 1958) is a Danish-British broadcaster, comedian, presenter and writer on British radio, stage and television. She is also a political activist, having co-founded the Women's Equality Party in 2015. She ha ...
& Elly Brewer; and '' Whose Life is it Anyway?'' by Brian Clark, as well as several productions at the National Theatre. Rix is known for playing Mrs Patterson, the mother of Kevin the teenager, in the TV series ''
Harry Enfield and Chums ''Harry Enfield & Chums'' (originally titled ''Harry Enfield's Television Programme'') is a British sketch show starring Harry Enfield, Paul Whitehouse and Kathy Burke. It first broadcast on BBC2 in 1990 in the 9 p.m. slot on Thursday ni ...
'' and in the movie '' Kevin & Perry Go Large''. For
Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV (TV network), ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire on weekdays only, as ABC Weekend TV, ...
she co-starred with
Tim Bentinck Timothy Charles Robert Noel Bentinck, 12th Earl of Portland, Count Bentinck of Waldeck Limpurg (born 1 June 1953), commonly known as Tim Bentinck, is an Australian-born British actor and writer, known for his long-running role as David Arche ...
in ''Made In Heaven''. She played
Mel Smith Melvyn Kenneth Smith (3 December 1952 – 19 July 2013) was an English comedian, actor and filmmaker. He worked on the sketch comedy shows ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'' and ''Alas Smith and Jones'' with his comedy partner, Griff Rhys Jones. Smi ...
's girlfriend in two series of ''
Colin's Sandwich ''Colin's Sandwich'' is a British sitcom that was broadcast on BBC Two, BBC2 in 1988 and 1990. It starred Mel Smith as Colin Watkins, a British Rail administrator who aspired to be a horror writer. The show was written by Paul Smith (television w ...
'' and starred in two series of '' Side By Side'', both for the BBC. In ''
Brookside Brookside may refer to: Geography Canada * Brookside, Edmonton * Brookside, Newfoundland and Labrador * Brookside, Nova Scotia United Kingdom * Brookside, Berkshire, England * Brookside, Telford, an area of Telford, England United States * Bro ...
'' she performed with
Anna Friel Anna Louise Friel (born 12 July 1976) is an English actress. She first achieved fame as Beth Jordache in the Channel 4 soap opera '' Brookside'' (1993–1995), later coming to international prominence with her role as Charlotte "Chuck" Charle ...
as the solicitor representing the Jordache family in the 'body under the patio' storyline. She played the vocally-challenged night club singer Melody Lane in a feature-length ''
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 ...
'' special with the QEII as the location. One of her final acting roles was as the Home Secretary in '' The Execution of Gary Glitter''.


Personal life

In 1980, Rix married actor
Jonathan Coy Jonathan Coy (born 24 April 1953) is a British actor. He has worked since 1975 largely in television, notably as Henry in the long-running legal series ''Rumpole of the Bailey'' and as Bracegirdle in the television series '' Hornblower'', adap ...
, with whom she has two children, including Jolyon Coy. Rix and Coy divorced in 1990. She married writer Richard Ommanney in 1994. Her paternal aunt,
Sheila Mercier Sheila Betty Mercier (''née'' Rix; 1 January 1919 – 4 December 2019) was an English actress, of stage and television, best known for playing Annie Sugden in the soap opera ''Emmerdale'' for over 20 years, from the programme's first episode i ...
, played Annie Sugden in ''
Emmerdale Farm ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British television soap opera that is broadcast on ITV. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin ...
'' for over 20 years. Rix is a long-standing member of the House Committee at
Denville Hall Denville Hall is a historic building in Northwood, a town in the London Borough of Hillingdon, England, which is used as a retirement home for professional actors, actresses and members of other theatrical professions. The present building in ...
.


Filmography


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rix, Louisa 1955 births Living people British film actresses British television actresses Daughters of life peers Actresses from London People from Kensington 20th-century British actresses 21st-century British actresses 20th-century English women 20th-century English people 21st-century English women Actors from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Rix family