Tracey Ullman

Tracey Ullman
Ullman at a book signing in 1998
Born
Trace Ullman

(1959-12-30) 30 December 1959 (age 64)
Slough, Berkshire, England
Citizenship
  • Great Britain
  • United States
Alma materItalia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts
Occupations
  • Actress
  • comedian
  • singer
  • dancer
  • screenwriter
  • producer
  • director
Years active1976–present
WorksFull list
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1983; died 2013)​
Children2
AwardsFull list
Comedy career
Medium
  • Television
  • film
  • theatre
  • books
Genres
Musical career
Genres
InstrumentVocals
Years active1983–1985
LabelsStiff

Tracey Ullman (born Trace Ullman; 30 December 1959)[1] is a British-American actress, comedian, singer, dancer, screenwriter, producer, and director. Critics have lauded her ability to shift seamlessly in and out of character and accents, with many dubbing her the "female Peter Sellers".[2][3][4] Her earliest mainstream appearances were on British television sketch comedy shows A Kick Up the Eighties (with Rik Mayall and Miriam Margolyes) and Three of a Kind (with Lenny Henry and David Copperfield). After a brief singing career (which garnered three top-ten singles), she appeared as Candice Valentine in Girls on Top with Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders.

Ullman emigrated from the United Kingdom to the United States. She would go on to star in her own network television comedy series, The Tracey Ullman Show from 1987 until 1990, which also featured the first appearances of the long-running animated media franchise The Simpsons. She later produced programmes for HBO, including Tracey Takes On... (1996–99) garnering numerous awards. Her sketch comedy series Tracey Ullman's State of the Union ran from 2008 to 2010 on Showtime. She has appeared in several feature films.[5]

In 2016, she returned to British television with the BBC sketch comedy show Tracey Ullman's Show, her first project for the broadcaster in over 30 years.[6] This led to the creation of the topical comedy series Tracey Breaks the News in 2017.

In 2017, Ullman was reportedly Britain's richest comedian and the second-richest British actress,[7] with an estimated wealth of £80 million.[8] She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including twelve American Comedy Awards, seven Primetime Emmy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, four Satellite Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

  1. ^ "Ullman, Tracey 1959-". Encyclopedia.com. Cengage. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  2. ^ "Tracey Ullman: 'My face is good for impersonations'". The Guardian. 10 January 2016. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  3. ^ "Tracey Ullman: The Energy, The Talent". The Washington Post. 22 August 1987. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  4. ^ "Watch Out For Ullman She's a Master of Accents, A Wiz at Changing Personalities. The Star of "I Love You To Death" Might Even Tuck Away Your Mannerisms For Future Reference". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philly.com. Archived from the original on 25 May 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  5. ^ "Tracey Ullman Returns to BBC with First Television Series in 30 Years". The Guardian. 8 January 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  6. ^ "BBC - Tracey Ullman's Show - Media Centre". BBC. BBC.co.uk. Archived from the original on 26 January 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  7. ^ "The UK's Richest Comedian Unloads Upper East Side Pad". The New York Post. 26 July 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  8. ^ "Starring role for women in the Sunday Times film and TV Rich List". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 18 August 2020. Retrieved 14 May 2017.