Catherine Tate facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Catherine Tate
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Tate at the 2019 GalaxyCon Raleigh
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Catherine Jane Ford
5 December 1969 Bloomsbury, London, England
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| Years active | 1991–present |
| Spouse(s) | Jeff Gutheim (married since at least 2018) |
| Children | 1 |
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Catherine Tate (born Catherine Jane Ford on December 5, 1969) is a famous English actress, comedian, and writer. She is best known for her hilarious sketch comedy series, The Catherine Tate Show, and for playing the popular character Donna Noble in the science fiction show Doctor Who.
For The Catherine Tate Show, she won many awards and was nominated for seven BAFTAs. She first appeared as Donna Noble in the 2006 Doctor Who Christmas special and returned for the fourth series in 2008. She came back to the role again for the show's 60th anniversary in 2023.
Tate also starred in the spin-off series Catherine Tate's Nan and the movie The Nan Movie, playing the grumpy grandmother character. From 2011 to 2013, she played Nellie Bertram in the American version of the sitcom The Office. She has also voiced characters in animated shows, like the evil sorceress Magica De Spell in DuckTales.
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Early Life and Schooling
Catherine Tate was born in Bloomsbury, London. Her mother, Josephine, was a florist. Tate has said that her mother inspired the character Margaret from The Catherine Tate Show, who gets scared very easily. Tate never knew her father and was raised by her mother, grandmother, and godparents.
As a child, Tate had obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This meant she had thoughts that made her repeat certain actions. For example, she couldn't leave a jumper on the floor because she worried it might bring bad luck to her mother.
Tate went to a Catholic primary school and then a convent school for girls. By the time she was a teenager, she knew she wanted to be an actress. At 16, she went to a boys' school, Salesian College, because it had a good drama department. She tried for four years to get into the famous Central School of Speech and Drama and finally succeeded on her fourth try.
When she became a professional actress, she changed her last name from Ford to Tate. She chose the name after the character Jessica Tate from the American TV show Soap.
Career Beginnings
Tate's acting career started with small parts in TV shows like The Bill and London's Burning. In 1996, she began performing stand-up comedy. This led to her appearing in sketch shows like The Harry Hill Show.
She also acted on stage with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Her first big TV role was in the comedy series Wild West from 2002 to 2004, where she starred alongside Dawn French.
A Star is Born: The Catherine Tate Show
A BBC comedy producer saw Tate perform and encouraged her to develop her characters. This led to her own show, The Catherine Tate Show, which started in 2004. She co-wrote the show and starred as many different characters.
Two of her most famous characters are:
- Lauren Cooper, a teenager with a bad attitude whose catchphrase was "Am I bovvered?" (meaning "Am I bothered?").
- Joanie "Nan" Taylor, a rude and funny Cockney grandmother.
The show was a huge success. Tate won a British Comedy Award for Best Comedy Newcomer. Her catchphrase "Am I bovvered?" became so popular it was named Word of the Year in 2006. She even performed as Lauren Cooper for the Queen, asking her, "Is one bovvered?"
Traveling Through Time and Space in Doctor Who
In 2006, Tate appeared in the Doctor Who Christmas special, "The Runaway Bride", as Donna Noble. Her character was a temp worker from London who accidentally ended up in the Doctor's TARDIS.
Fans loved her performance so much that she was asked to return as the Doctor's full-time companion for the fourth series in 2008, starring alongside David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor. Donna Noble became one of the most beloved companions in the show's history.
Tate returned to the role for the 2009 Christmas special, "The End of Time", and again for the 60th anniversary specials in 2023. She and David Tennant are good friends and have worked together many times.
From the Big Screen to The Office
Besides her TV work, Tate has appeared in several movies. These include Love and Other Disasters (2006), Gulliver's Travels (2010), and Monte Carlo (2011).
In 2011, she joined the cast of the American version of The Office. She played Nellie Bertram, a special projects manager, and was a main character in the last two seasons of the show.
More Recent Work
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Tate has continued to create and star in her own shows. In 2022, she created the Netflix series Hard Cell, a comedy set in a women's prison where she played six different characters. In 2023, she starred in the BBC sitcom Queen of Oz, which she also wrote.
She has also done a lot of stage work, including appearing in the Shakespeare play Much Ado About Nothing with David Tennant in 2011. For her performance, she won a BroadwayWorld UK Award for Best Leading Actress.
In 2016, she took The Catherine Tate Show on a live tour across the UK, bringing her famous characters to the stage.
Personal Life and Charity Work
Catherine Tate has one daughter, who was born in 2003. She is married to American screenwriter Jeff Gutheim. Tate has said that she can be a negative person, so success is always a relief to her. She also suffers from occasional panic attacks.
Tate is very involved in charity work. She is a patron of the Laura Crane Youth Cancer Trust, which helps young people with cancer. She has also supported charities like Children in Need and Comic Relief for many years, often appearing in their telethons as her famous characters.
She is a big animal lover and supports Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, an animal rescue center. She has said that if she weren't an actress, she would want to work with animals in need.
Images for kids
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Tate at Raleigh Supercon in 2018
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Tate with David Tennant at GalaxyCon Raleigh in 2019
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See also
In Spanish: Catherine Tate para niños
