Samantha Zoe Womack
(''
née
The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...
'' Janus; born 2 November 1972) is an English actress, singer, model and director who has worked in film, television and stage. Womack initially planned a career in singing and she represented the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
in the
Eurovision Song Contest 1991. Her song for the contest, "
A Message to Your Heart", was released as her only single in April 1991 and reached number 30 in the
UK singles chart.
Womack made her name as a pop star, and returned to the public eye in the mid-1990s with her role as Mandy Wilkins in ''
Game On'' (1995–1998), leading on to roles in the
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...
drama ''
Pie in the Sky'' (1995–1996) and the sitcom ''
Babes in the Wood
Babes in the Wood is a traditional English children's tale, as well as a popular pantomime subject. It has also been the name of some other unrelated works. The expression has passed into common language, referring to inexperienced innocents ent ...
'' (1998). She has since become known for playing the role of
Ronnie Mitchell in ''
EastEnders
''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...
'' (2007–2011, 2013–2017). Her portrayal of Ronnie gained her more prominence and acting roles after some time out of the limelight. She also played Tanya Porter in
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, ...
comedy-drama ''
Mount Pleasant'' from 2013 until the final episode in 2017. Womack has also toured across the United Kingdom playing
Morticia Addams
Morticia Addams (née Frump) is a fictional character from the '' Addams Family'' multimedia franchise created by American Charles Addams in 1933. She plays the role of the family's reserved matriarch. Morticia Addams has been portrayed by se ...
in the stage musical ''
The Addams Family
The Addams Family is a fictional family created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. They originally appeared in a series of 150 standalone single-panel comics, about half of which were originally published in ''The New Yorker'' between 193 ...
''.
Early life
Womack was born in
Brighton
Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...
. Her singer-songwriter father, Noel Janus (born Janes),
left the family when she was six, he went on to be a musician working with bands like
Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac are a British-American Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1967 by the singer and guitarist Peter Green (musician), Peter Green. Green named the band by combining the surnames of the drummer, Mick Fleetwood, and the bassis ...
, soon after, her model-actress mother, Diana O'Hanlon, married a doctor and the family moved to
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
.

Womack lived for a time aboard the ''
QE2'' with her choreographer grandmother, Sheila Holt (a former actress and choreographer to magician
David Nixon for a short time). Womack has a younger half-sister, Zoe. During an appearance on ''
Big Star's Little Star'' in 2014, it was revealed that she attended the same school as members of
All Saints, sisters
Nicole and Natalie Appleton, before going to the
Sylvia Young Theatre School
Sylvia Young Theatre School is an independent school in Marble Arch, London, England. It is a specialist performing arts school named after its founder and principal, Sylvia Young OBE.
Outline
The Sylvia Young Theatre School was founded in 19 ...
in London,
where she met future ''
EastEnders
''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...
'' co-star
Danniella Westbrook. At the age of 15, as a self-confessed "wild child", she left home for a life squatting, drinking, smoking and taking drugs.
Womack is the niece of
Angie Best, her father's sister and former wife of footballer
George Best
George Best (22 May 1946 – 25 November 2005) was a Northern Irish professional association football, footballer who played as a winger (association football), winger, spending most of his club career at Manchester United F.C., Manchester Un ...
.
Angie's son,
Calum Best, is Womack's cousin. As revealed on an episode of ''
Who Do You Think You Are?'' in 2012, Womack's great-great-grandmother Jessie Ryder was an actress in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
in the early 20th century.
Career
Eurovision Song Contest and early career
The actress first came to prominence in March 1991 aged 18, when she won the annual ''
A Song for Europe
A, or a, is the first Letter (alphabet), letter and the first vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''English alphabet#Letter names, a'' (pronounced ), plural ...
'' competition to represent the United Kingdom in the ''
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...
''. She finished joint tenth and the song, "
A Message to Your Heart", peaked at number 30 on the
UK singles chart. Despite her achievements, her ''Eurovision'' entry is frequently remarked upon. She has said regarding the experience that her failure in the contest "devastated" her at the time and thought it would spell the end of her career. She has also called her appearance "ridiculous", in that she was dressed in a pink mini dress while singing about starving children and said the lyrics of the song are "burned into her memory" forever.
Womack developed her first love of acting, appearing in episodes of ''
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 ...
'' and ''
Press Gang''; in 1993 she appeared in ''
Demob'' with
Griff Rhys Jones
Griffith Rhys Jones (born 16 November 1953) is a Welsh actor, comedian, writer and television presenter. He starred in a number of television series with his comedy partner, Mel Smith. He and Smith came to national attention in the 1980s for ...
and
Martin Clunes
Alexander Martin Clunes (born 28 November 1961) is an English actor, director and television presenter. He is best known for portraying Martin Ellingham in the ITV comedy-drama series '' Doc Martin'', Gary Strang in the BBC sitcom ''Men Behavin ...
; and took to the West End stage, replacing
Debbie Gibson
Deborah Ann Gibson (born August 31, 1970) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She released her debut album ''Out of the Blue (Debbie Gibson album), Out of the Blue'' (1987) at age 16, writing and largely producing the material. The a ...
as Sandy in ''
Grease.''
In 1994 Womack appeared in the comedy-drama crime series ''
Minder.'' She played Marian Prince, a jazz club
chanteuse
Many words in the English vocabulary are of French origin, most coming from the Anglo-Norman spoken by the upper classes in England for several hundred years after the Norman Conquest, before the language settled into what became Modern Eng ...
and friend of Ray Daley in the episode "''All Quiet on the West End Front''".
From 1994 to 1998 Womack played Mandy in the
BBC Two
BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...
sitcom ''
Game On''. She remained on the show until its end in 1998. In between series of ''Game On'', she had a part in the
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...
drama ''
Pie in the Sky'' from 1995 to 1996 as Nicola Dooley, a waitress.
Womack then appeared in
the pilot for ''
The Grimleys'' with
Jack Dee, and the film ''
Up 'n' Under
''Up 'n' Under'' is a comedy by English playwright John Godber, first staged at the Hull Truck Theatre in 1984. It won The Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy that same year. The sequel, ''Up 'n' Under II'', followed in 1985.
Plot
It fo ...
'' with
Neil Morrissey
Neil Anthony Morrissey (born 4 July 1962) is an English actor, businessman, narrator, and television presenter. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Rocky in ''Boon (TV series), Boon'', and Tony in ''Men Behaving Badly''. Other notable acti ...
. In 1998 she starred in the
ITV1
ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the ITV (TV network), Channel 3 ...
series ''
Liverpool 1'' with her future husband Mark Womack. She then returned to comedy in the sitcom ''
Babes in the Wood
Babes in the Wood is a traditional English children's tale, as well as a popular pantomime subject. It has also been the name of some other unrelated works. The expression has passed into common language, referring to inexperienced innocents ent ...
'' co-starring another Sylvia Young Theatre School student,
Denise van Outen, it was critically panned despite respectable ratings, and Womack left after the first series.
In 1999, Womack played Cinderella in the
ITV Christmas pantomime alongside
Harry Hill
Matthew Keith Hall (born 1 October 1964), known professionally as Harry Hill, is an English comedian, presenter and writer. He pursued a career in stand-up following years working as a medical doctor, developing an offbeat, energetic performanc ...
,
Alexander Armstrong
Alexander Henry Fenwick Armstrong (born 2 March 1970) is an English actor, comedian, radio personality, television presenter, singer and farmer. He is the host of the BBC One game show ''Pointless'', and is a weekday morning-show presenter on C ...
,
Frank Skinner
Christopher Graham Collins (born 28 January 1957), known professionally as Frank Skinner, is an English comedian, actor, presenter and writer. At the 2001 British Comedy Awards, he was named Best Comedy Entertainment Personality. His televisio ...
,
Paul Merton,
Ronnie Corbett
Ronald Balfour Corbett (4 December 1930 – 31 March 2016) was a Scottish actor, broadcaster, comedian and writer. He had a long association with Ronnie Barker in the BBC television comedy sketch show ''The Two Ronnies''. He achieved promine ...
and many more.
A popular choice for photo shoots in men's magazines such as ''
FHM'', she came 21st in the
FHM 100 Sexiest Women in the World poll in 1998 and 41st in 1999.
Smaller roles
In 1990, she appeared as a guest in two episodes of the
CITV
CITV is a British children's morning programming block on ITV2 and formerly a free-to-air channel owned by ITV plc. CITV, then Children's ITV, launched on 3 January 1983 as a late afternoon programming block on the ITV network for children aged ...
comedy sitcom ''
Spatz''; Series 1 Episode 2 and 3. It is rumoured that a possible falling out may have occurred leading to her swift exit from the show after such a brief stint. This is fuelled by her reluctance to admit for many years that she was part of the show.
In 2002 she returned to TV in
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...
drama ''
Strange
Strange may refer to:
Fiction
* Strange (comic book), a comic book limited series by Marvel Comics
* Strange (Marvel Comics), one of a pair of Marvel Comics characters known as The Strangers
* Adam Strange, a DC Comics superhero
* The title c ...
'' and she appeared in films ''The Baby Juice Express'', ''
Lighthouse Hill'' and ''Dead Man's Cards''.
In January 2005 she narrated ''
Jordan & Peter: Laid Bare'' for
ITV2
ITV2 is a Television in the United Kingdom, British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998. For a number of years, it had the largest audience share after the fiv ...
. She later directed an anti-bullying music video for
Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
band Just 3, entitled ''Stand Tall''. The video starred her and
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founded in ...
footballer
Jamie Carragher. The video was heavily backed by
Childline ambassador
Esther Rantzen
Dame Esther Louise Rantzen (born 22 June 1940) is an English journalist and television presenter who presented the BBC television series ''That's Life!'' for 21 years, from 1973 until 1994. She works with various charitable causes and founded t ...
.
In 2006, Womack starred in the
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...
comedy ''
Home Again'' as Ingrid, and as Miss Adelaide in the West End production of the musical ''
Guys and Dolls
''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical theater, musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Run ...
'' at London's
Piccadilly Theatre, initially with
Patrick Swayze
Patrick Wayne Swayze ( ; August 18, 1952 – September 14, 2009) was an American actor, singer, songwriter, and dancer. Known for his romantic, tough, and comedic roles in blockbusters and cult films, Swayze was nominated for three Golden Glob ...
and then ''
Miami Vice
''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo Tubbs, Ricardo "Rico" Tub ...
'' star
Don Johnson
Don Wayne Johnson (born December 15, 1949) is an American actor and singer-songwriter. He played the role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s television series '' Miami Vice'', for which he won a Golden Globe, and received a Primetime Emm ...
. She reprised the role at the
Sunderland Empire opposite
Alex Ferns
Alexander Ferns (born 13 October 1968) is a Scottish actor and television personality. His role in ''EastEnders'' as Trevor Morgan from 2000 to 2002 was described as "Britain's most-hated soap villain". He also played the role of Rick Harper ...
in 2007.
''EastEnders''
On 11 May 2007 it was announced that she would be joining ''
EastEnders
''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...
'' as
Ronnie Mitchell, a cousin of the well known Mitchell brothers. She had previously appeared in the soap in a minor role as a girlfriend of
Simon Wicks, played by
Nick Berry
Nicholas Berry (born 16 April 1963) is a retired English actor and pop singer. He is best known for his roles as Simon Wicks in ''EastEnders'' from 1985 to 1990, and as Constable, PC Nick Rowan in ''Heartbeat (British TV series), Heartbeat'' f ...
. During her first stint, Womack's character Ronnie was central to many storylines including the controversial baby-swap story which was aired during 2011. On 6 January 2011, it was announced that she had quit the soap due to her unhappiness with the baby swap storyline. Womack made her final appearance as Ronnie on 7 July 2011 when the character was sent to prison.
Since appearing on ''EastEnders'' she has made regular television appearances on ''
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' is a British chat show presented by Jonathan Ross and broadcast on BBC One between 2001 and 2010. The programme featured Ross' take on current topics of conversation, guest interviews (usually three per show ...
'', ''
The Paul O'Grady Show
''The Paul O'Grady Show'' was a British comedy chat show presented by comedian Paul O'Grady, first shown on 11 October 2004. The programme was a teatime chat show consisting of a mixture of celebrity guests, comic stunts, musical performances ...
'', ''
Richard & Judy
''Richard & Judy'' (also known as ''Richard & Judy's New Position'') is a British television chat show presented by the married couple Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan. The show originally aired on Channel 4 from 26 November 2001 to 22 Augus ...
'' and ''
Loose Women''. In November 2007, she sang with ''EastEnders'' co-stars in the 2007 ''
Children in Need
''BBC Children in Need'' is the BBC's UK Charitable organization, charity dedicated to supporting disadvantaged children and young people across the country. Established in 1980, the organisation has raised over £1 billion by 2023 through its ...
'' charity appeal.
In May 2013, it was confirmed that Womack would return to ''EastEnders'' as Ronnie Mitchell. Ronnie was later
killed-off during the episode broadcast on 1 January 2017, when she was trying to save her sister
Roxy Mitchell (
Rita Simons) from drowning in a hotel swimming pool, and drowned herself. Her last “appearance” was in the episode broadcast 19 January 2017 when Ronnie was shown as a corpse lying in her coffin.
Theatre and continued success
In 2011 Womack played the lead role, Ensign Nellie Forbush, a
US Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
nurse from
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...
, in the
Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5  ...
production of
Rodgers and Hammerstein
Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their musical ...
's musical ''
South Pacific'' at the
Barbican Theatre in London. In March 2013, Womack starred opposite her husband on stage in the world premiere of ''Hope'' at 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 Liverpool.
From September 2013, Womack played the regular role of Tanya in series three of Sky Living's ''
Mount Pleasant''. She continued in this role until the final episode in 2017. Altogether, Womack appeared in 25 episodes as Tanya Dawson (later Porter when the character married).
In 2015, she appeared in the film ''
Kingsman: The Secret Service'' as lead actor
Taron Egerton's character's mother. This was Womack's first main role in such a high-profile film. In 2017 Womack reprised the role in a smaller appearance in ''
Kingsman: The Golden Circle''.
In 2017, Womack toured as
Morticia Adams in the musical-comedy ''
Addams Family'' as Morticia around the UK and Ireland. She was announced to reprise the role in 2021 for a tour around
UK and
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, however she did not reprise the role on tour for unknown reasons. The role of Morticia Addams was instead played by Strictly Come Dancing champion Joanne Clifton
In September 2018, it was announced that she would be playing Fairy Bow Bells in the pantomime ''
Dick Whittington
Richard Whittington ( March 1423) of the parish of St Michael Paternoster Royal,Will of Richard Whittington: " I leave to my executors named below the entire tenement in which I live in the parish of St. Michael Paternoster Royal, Londo/ ...
''.
Womack appeared in ''
Silent Witness
''Silent Witness'' is a British crime drama television series produced by the BBC that focuses on a team of forensic pathology experts and their investigations into various crimes. The series was created by Nigel McCrery, a former murder squa ...
'' in early 2019.
On an episode of ''
Loose Women'' in February 2019, Womack confirmed that offers had been made to her about a project with co-star and best friend
Rita Simons. In response to this, they both said that they would wait for the right one to come along.
From 2021 to 2023, she portrayed the
White Witch
Jadis is a fictional character and the main antagonist of '' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'' (1950) and '' The Magician's Nephew'' (1955) in C. S. Lewis's series, ''The Chronicles of Narnia''. She is commonly referred to as the White Witc ...
in the UK touring and West End productions of ''
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe''.
Other ventures
In January 2011 she appeared as one of the celebrity contestants on the BBC show ''
The Magicians'', working with magician Chris Korn. For her "celebrity's choice" trick, she chose being
sawn in half by Korn in an illusion called
Clearly Impossible. In March 2011 she appeared with
Lenny Henry
Sir Lenworth George Henry (born 29 August 1958) is a British Jamaicans, British-Jamaican comedian, actor and writer. He gained success as a Stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian and impressionist in the late 1970s and early 1980s, culminating in ' ...
,
Angela Rippon
Angela May Rippon (born 12 October 1944) is an English broadcaster, former newsreader, writer and journalist.
Rippon presented radio and television news programmes in South West England before moving to BBC One's ''BBC Nine O'Clock News, Nine ...
and
Reggie Yates
Reginald Yates (born 31 May 1983) is a British television presenter, actor, writer and director with a career spanning three decades on screen as an actor, television presenter and radio DJ. Yates played Leo Jones in ''Doctor Who'' and has wo ...
in the BBC fundraising documentary for
Comic Relief
Comic Relief is a British charity, founded in 1986 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Sir Lenny Henry in response to the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. The concept of Comic Relief was to get British comedians to make t ...
called ''Famous, Rich and in the Slums'', where the four celebrities were sent to
Kibera
Kibera (Kinubi language, Kinubi: ''Forest'' or ''Jungle'') is a division and neighbourhood of Nairobi, Kenya, from the city centre. Kibera is the largest slum in Nairobi, and also the largest urban slum in all of Africa. The 2009 Kenya Popul ...
in Kenya, Africa's largest
slum
A slum is a highly populated Urban area, urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are p ...
.
In November 2011, it was reported that Womack was in the running, alongside
Dannii Minogue
Dannii Minogue (; born 20 October 1971) is an Australian singer, television personality, and actress. As a child, she became known for her appearances on the television talent show ''Young Talent Time'' (1982–1988). She went on to play the r ...
to become a judge on the 2012 series of ''
Britain's Got Talent''. However, it was later confirmed that the judging panel for series six would be
Simon Cowell
Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality and businessman. He has judged on the British television talent competition shows ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003), ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor UK ...
,
Alesha Dixon,
Amanda Holden
Amanda Louise Holden (born 16 February 1971) is an English media personality, actress and singer. Since 2007, she has been a judge on the television talent competition show '' Britain's Got Talent'' on ITV. She also co-hosts the national ''H ...
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 ...
. Womack has since confirmed that she was offered a place on the judging panel and that she had a meeting with Cowell in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
. She has said that although she was grateful, she rejected the offer as "it's just not me".
In 2012 Womack appeared in series nine of the BBC's ''
Who Do You Think You Are?'' The episode revealed her descent on her father's side from two musicians, her great grandfather Alexander Cunningham Ryan, his partner's father Pierre François Odilon Garraud, & Pierre's partner, an actress, Jessie Ryder.
In February 2013, she took part in ''
All Star Family Fortunes'', donating money to
Comic Relief
Comic Relief is a British charity, founded in 1986 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Sir Lenny Henry in response to the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. The concept of Comic Relief was to get British comedians to make t ...
and
ActionAid
ActionAid is an international non-governmental organization whose stated primary aim is to work against poverty and injustice worldwide.
ActionAid is a federation of 45 country offices that works with communities, often via local partner organi ...
.
Womack was interviewed on ''
John Bishop: In Conversation With...'' in November 2017. This episode titled ''John Bishop: In Conversation With...Samantha Womack'' included an in depth conversation about her life and career. In February 2020, it was announced that Womack would be taking part in the challenge for ''
Sport Relief
''Sport Relief'' was a wikt:biennial, biennial charity event from Comic Relief, in association with BBC Sport, established in 2002.
It was the idea of Kevin Cahill, CBE, who had joined Comic Relief in 1991 to establish a new department as Dire ...
''. In 2021, she acted alongside ''
Harry Potter
''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven Fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...
'' actress
Jessie Cave in the British
sitcom
A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...
''
Buffering''.
Personal life
In 2007, Womack won "substantial" damages from the ''
Sunday Sport
The ''Sunday Sport'' is a British tabloid newspaper that was founded by David Sullivan in 1986. It mainly publishes images of topless female glamour models, and is well-known for publishing sensationalised, fictionalised, and satirical con ...
'' newspaper over a story headlined "Sam's sex and drugs shame". She sued the ''Sport'' over an article published on 22 July, which claimed she had "coke fuelled threesomes" and took part in a "three-hour drug fuelled lesbian orgy".
In September 2015, it was reported that she was "living in fear" and had alerted the police that she was being
stalked.
The stalker was given a suspended sentence in December, the same year.
Relationships
Janus married an Italian citizen, Mauro Mantovani, in 1997 after a long relationship. The relationship broke down and the couple divorced in 1998.
Womack began a relationship with ''
Liverpool 1'' co-star
Mark Womack. They married in 2009 after ten years together. The couple have two children: son Benjamin Thomas Womack (born 2001) and daughter Lili-Rose Womack (born 2005). Mark Womack also has a son, Michael Womack, from a previous marriage.
In 2009, Womack took her husband's surname and began to use it professionally. In August 2020, Womack announced that she and Mark had quietly separated in 2018, but that they are still living together in the same house with their children. Since 2019, Womack has been in a relationship with ''
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 ...
'' and ''
Emmerdale
''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British television soap opera that is broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a List of fictional towns and villages, fict ...
'' actor,
Oliver Farnworth.
Womack and her husband Mark are best friends with
Scott Maslen and his wife Estelle Rubio. They have known each other since they were teenagers. Maslen is godfather to Womack's two children, and she is godmother to Maslen's son, Zak. They often go on holiday together with their children, which Womack revealed during an appearance on ''
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' is a British chat show presented by Jonathan Ross and broadcast on BBC One between 2001 and 2010. The programme featured Ross' take on current topics of conversation, guest interviews (usually three per show ...
'' in January 2008. In late 2007 Maslen joined the cast of ''EastEnders'' as
Jack Branning, who has a relationship with Womack's character, Ronnie. This was something that both Maslen and Womack were initially uncomfortable with when they read the scripts, with Maslen commenting in various interviews that having to kiss Womack was like having to kiss his sister.
Womack is also best friends with her former ''EastEnders'' co-star
Rita Simons, who played her sister
Roxy Mitchell.
Health
In April 2008, Womack broke her shoulder when she tripped and fell down the stairs at her home while rushing to get ready for work.
On 8 August 2022, in a post paying tribute to
Dame Olivia Newton-John following her death from
breast cancer
Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...
, Womack revealed on
Twitter
Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
that she had been diagnosed with the disease herself. In December 2022, Womack announced that she was now cancer free.
Filmography
Film
Television
Theatre credits
Discography
*May 1991 "
A Message to Your Heart" / "Heaven is a Place for Heroes" (
Hollywood Records
Hollywood Records is an American record label owned by the Disney Music Group which focuses on pop, rock, alternative, hip hop and country genres, also specializing in recordings for a more mature audience not suitable for the flagship Wal ...
),
UK Singles Chart No. 30
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Womack, Samantha
1972 births
Living people
Actresses from Brighton
Alumni of the Sylvia Young Theatre School
English expatriates in Italy
English film actresses
English people of French descent
English people of Irish descent
English soap opera actresses
English television actresses
English stage actresses
People from Cardington, Bedfordshire
20th-century English actresses
21st-century English actresses
20th-century English women singers
20th-century English singers
21st-century English women singers
21st-century English singers
Actresses from Bedfordshire
Models from Brighton and Hove
English female models
Actors from the Borough of Bedford
Eurovision Song Contest entrants