Tracey Ullman facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tracey Ullman
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Ullman at a book signing in 1998
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| Born |
Trace Ullman
30 December 1959 |
| Citizenship |
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| Alma mater | Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts |
| Occupation |
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| Years active | 1976–present |
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Works
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Full list |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 2 |
| Awards | Full list |
| Comedy career | |
| Medium |
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| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1983–1985 |
| Labels | Stiff |
Tracey Ullman (born Trace Ullman on 30 December 1959) is a talented British-American actress, comedian, singer, dancer, writer, producer, and director. She is famous for how easily she can change into different characters and accents. Many people call her the "female Peter Sellers" because of this skill.
Tracey first became well-known on British TV comedy shows like A Kick Up the Eighties and Three of a Kind. After a short singing career where she had three songs in the top ten, she acted in the show Girls on Top.
Later, Ullman moved from the United Kingdom to the United States. There, she starred in her own TV comedy series, The Tracey Ullman Show, from 1987 to 1990. This show was also where the famous animated series The Simpsons first appeared as short cartoons. She then created shows for HBO, like Tracey Takes On..., which won many awards. Her sketch comedy series Tracey Ullman's State of the Union was on Showtime from 2008 to 2010. She has also been in several movies.
In 2016, she returned to British television with the BBC sketch comedy show Tracey Ullman's Show. This was her first project for the BBC in over 30 years. This show then led to the news-based comedy series Tracey Breaks the News in 2017. In 2017, Tracey Ullman was said to be Britain's richest comedian and the second-richest British actress. She has won many awards, including twelve American Comedy Awards and seven Primetime Emmy Awards.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Tracey Ullman was born Trace Ullman in Slough, England, on 30 December 1959. She was the younger of two daughters. Her father, Anthony John Ullman, was from Poland and her mother, Doreen Cleaver, was British. Her father had been a soldier in the Polish Army during World War II. After moving to England, he worked as a lawyer, furniture salesman, and travel agent.
When Tracey was six years old, her father passed away from a heart attack. After this, her family moved to Hackbridge, in southwest London. Her mother found it hard to earn enough money without her father's income. To cheer up her family, Tracey and her sister Patti would put on shows for their mother.
As her mother remarried, the family moved often, and Tracey went to many different schools. She loved writing and performing in school plays. A headmaster noticed her talent and suggested she go to a performing arts school. At age twelve, she won a full scholarship to the Italia Conti Academy, a famous performing arts school.
When she was sixteen, Tracey went to a dance audition. She thought it was for a summer show, but it led to a contract with a German ballet company. She performed in a show called Gigi in Berlin. When she came back to England, she joined a dance group called Second Generation. She also started acting in musical theatre. She performed in popular West End musicals like Grease, Elvis The Musical, and The Rocky Horror Show.
Television Career
Starting Out in TV
Tracey Ullman began her television career in 1980. She played a role in the British series Mackenzie. She then appeared in an experimental play called Four in a Million at London's Royal Court Theatre. For her performance, she won an award for Most Promising New Actress.
In 1981, she joined the cast of the BBC Scotland sketch comedy show A Kick Up the Eighties. This show led to her being offered her own comedy show. She made sure she could choose the writers, approve the scripts, and pick the costumes. Her show, Three of a Kind, started in 1981. It co-starred comedians Lenny Henry and David Copperfield. This show helped her win her first BAFTA award in 1984. She quickly became very popular in Britain.
In 1985, she starred in the ITV sitcom Girls on Top. She played a character named Candice Valentine. The show also starred Dawn French, Ruby Wax, and Jennifer Saunders.
The Tracey Ullman Show
In 1985, Tracey Ullman moved to Los Angeles with her husband, Allan McKeown. She wanted to focus on movies and stage acting. However, her agent sent a video of her work around Hollywood. This video caught the attention of a CBS executive.
Producer James L. Brooks felt that a sketch show would be perfect for her talents. The Tracey Ullman Show first aired on 5 April 1987. This show also featured the very first appearances of The Simpsons as short animated cartoons. These shorts were shown before and after commercials. The Simpsons cartoons later became their own popular half-hour series in 1989.
The Tracey Ullman Show won ten Primetime Emmy Awards. Tracey Ullman herself won three Emmys, including one in 1990 for her performance. The show was the first primetime show on the Fox network to win an Emmy award. The show finished after four seasons in 1990.
Working with HBO
In 1991, Tracey's husband won a bid for a television company in England. Part of their plan was to include a Tracey Ullman special. This special, called Tracey Ullman: A Class Act, was about the British class system. It aired in 1993 on ITV.
This special made HBO in America interested in working with her. They asked her to make a special about an American topic. She chose New York City. Tracey Ullman Takes on New York debuted in 1993. This show won two Emmy Awards and other honors. Its success led to the creation of the HBO sketch comedy series Tracey Takes On... in 1996.
Ullman returned to HBO in 2003 with the TV special Tracey Ullman in the Trailer Tales, which she also directed. She came back to HBO again in 2005 with her one-woman stage show Tracey Ullman: Live and Exposed.
Shows on Showtime
After becoming an American citizen in 2006, Tracey Ullman announced she would be moving from HBO to Showtime. Her new sketch comedy series, Tracey Ullman's State of the Union, started on 30 March 2008. It ran for three seasons and ended in 2010.
Back to British TV
After more than 30 years, Ullman returned to the BBC with the sketch comedy show Tracey Ullman's Show in 2016. This show also aired in the United States on HBO. In 2017, the show was nominated for a BAFTA award and its first Primetime Emmy Award. In 2018, it received two more Primetime Emmy nominations. This show eventually led to the creation of Tracey Breaks the News in 2017, which focused on current events.
Other Important Roles
In 1995, Tracey Ullman became the first modern voice for the cartoon character Little Lulu. In 1999, she had a recurring role as a unique therapist on the show Ally McBeal. Her acting in this role won her a Primetime Emmy Award, her seventh, and an American Comedy Award.
In 2005, she co-starred with Carol Burnett in the TV version of Once Upon a Mattress. Tracey played Princess Winnifred, a role Carol Burnett made famous on Broadway. This time, Burnett played the Queen.
In 2014, Ullman appeared as Genevieve Scherbatsky, the mother of a character in How I Met Your Mother. In 2017, she was announced to star in the series Howards End, playing Aunt Juley Mund. In 2019, it was announced that Ullman would play Betty Friedan in the series Mrs. America. This series premiered in 2020 and her performance earned her an Emmy nomination. Ullman also played councilwoman Irma Kostroski in the eleventh and twelfth seasons of Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Music Career
Tracey Ullman started her music career in 1983 after meeting the wife of the head of Stiff Records. The record label owner, Dave Robinson, liked the musical parodies she did on Three of a Kind. He signed her to a recording contract.
Within 18 months, Ullman had five songs that made it into the Top 30 on the UK Singles Chart. Her first two songs, "Breakaway" and "They Don't Know", sold very well. Her first album also sold well. Her songs were fun and reminded people of 1960s and 1970s pop music, but with a 1980s style.
Her first album, You Broke My Heart in 17 Places (1983), was a Top 20 hit in the UK. It included three UK Top 10 songs. Her first hit, "Breakaway", reached number 4 in the UK. This was followed by the international hit "They Don't Know", which reached number 2 in the UK and number 8 in the United States. The music video for "They Don't Know" even featured a short appearance by Paul McCartney. A third song from the album, "Move Over Darling", reached number 8 in the UK.
Ullman released her second and final album, You Caught Me Out, in 1984. This album included her version of Madness's song "My Girl", which she changed to "My Guy". This song reached number 23. Its music video featured a short appearance by the British politician Neil Kinnock. Her last Top 30 hit was "Sunglasses" (1984), which reached number 18 in the UK. During this time, she also appeared as a guest video jockey (VJ) on MTV in the United States.
Film Career
Besides her television work, Tracey Ullman has acted in many films. Her first movie role was a small part in Paul McCartney's film Give My Regards to Broad Street (1984). She then had a supporting role in the drama Plenty (1985), starring Meryl Streep.
She played her first main role in a movie in I Love You to Death (1990). She acted alongside Kevin Kline and River Phoenix. She has also had main and supporting roles in films like Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993), Bullets Over Broadway (1994), Small Time Crooks (2000), and A Dirty Shame (2004). She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her work in Small Time Crooks in 2001.
She played Jack's mother in the movie version of the musical Into the Woods (2014). She also appeared in the musical film The Prom (2020). Her voice work in animated films includes Tim Burton's Corpse Bride, The Tale of Despereaux, and Onward.
Theatre Work
Tracey Ullman has a long history of performing on stage, starting in the 1970s. In 1980, she appeared in a play called Talent in Liverpool. In 1982, she played Kate Hardcastle in She Stoops to Conquer. In 1983, she helped develop the musical Starlight Express and performed in The Grass Widow with Alan Rickman.
In 1990, she starred with actor Morgan Freeman in a production of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew. This play was set in the Wild West. In 1991, she performed on Broadway in a one-woman show called The Big Love. Both Taming of the Shrew and The Big Love earned her Theatre World Awards.
In 2011, she returned to the British stage in the play My City. Her performance earned her an Evening Standard Theatre Award nomination for Best Actress. In 2012, she joined the cast of What About Dick?, a musical comedy radio play, playing three different roles.
Personal Life
Tracey Ullman married producer Allan McKeown in 1983. They had two children: a daughter named Mabel, born in 1986, and a son named John, born in 1991. Allan McKeown passed away from prostate cancer on 24 December 2013.
Tracey's mother passed away in a fire at her apartment on 23 March 2015. She was 85 years old. In September 2018, Ullman shared that her daughter was expecting a baby, making Tracey a grandmother.
Tracey Ullman became an American citizen in December 2006. She has dual citizenship, meaning she is a citizen of both the United Kingdom and the United States. In 2006, she was named the "Wealthiest British Comedian" with an estimated wealth of £75 million. In 2017, this was estimated to be £80 million.
She enjoys knitting and co-wrote a knitting book called Knit 2 Together: Patterns and Stories for Serious Knitting Fun in 2006.
Images for kids
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Ullman in 1987
More Information
Music Albums
- You Broke My Heart in 17 Places (1983)
- You Caught Me Out (1984)
See also
In Spanish: Tracey Ullman para niños
