Short Biography

Kensit was born in Hounslow, West London, England and is the daughter of Margie, a publicist, and James Kensit nicknamed Jimmy The Dip, who was a friend of the notorious London gangsters the Kray twins. James served time in prison before Patsy was born and later went on to become an antiques dealer.[1]

Kensit was brought up as a Catholic and and attended the independent Newland House School in Twickenham, West London, followed by an independent Catholic school, St Catherine`s School (also in Twickenham), funded by her early professional work, and then the independent Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts stage school.[2] Kensit`s first tabloid-published relationship was with Spandau Ballet`s Gary Kemp. At the time she was 15, he was 24.

Early work
At the age of four, Kensit appeared in a television advert for Birds Eye frozen peas. In 1972, she had her first role in the film For the Love of Ada. Her next film role was two years later in The Great Gatsby starring with Mia Farrow—whom she would later portray in the 1995 biopic Love and Betrayal: The Mia Farrow Story.

As a pupil at the Italia Conti Academy stage school, Kensit`s first starring roles were in British children`s television programmes such as The Adventures of Pollyanna (1982) and Luna. She also appeared as Estella in a BBC adaptation of Great Expectations in 1981.


[edit] Rise to fame
She started to come to fame in 1985, leading a dual career as the lead singer of the band Eighth Wonder and an actress. Eighth Wonder had two Top 40 singles ("I`m Not Scared" UK #7 and "Cross My Heart" UK #13) and appearing on Top of the Pops, while Kensit also starred as Eppie in an adaptation of Silas Marner, with Ben Kingsley. At the time, Kensit at the height of her fame infamously stated: "All I want is to be more famous than anything or anyone".[citation needed]

In 1986, she won the lead female role in the film version of Absolute Beginners, based on the book by Colin MacInnes. In November 1987, she sang a duet with the Italian singer and songwriter, Eros Ramazzotti, entitled `La Luce Buona Delle Stelle`, which in English translates to `The Good Light Of The Stars`. In 1988, Eighth Wonder had their only UK top 10 hit with "I`m Not Scared", which was written and produced by the Pet Shop Boys. Although the band`s success quickly waned, the song appeared in the 1989 film Lethal Weapon 2, in which Kensit, now focused solely on being an actress, played Rika van den Haas, a South African consulate secretary with whom cop Martin Riggs (played by Mel Gibson) falls in love.

Following Lethal Weapon 2, she gave what many observers considered her best performance in 1991`s little-seen Twenty-One.[3]Template:Dubious source Of her role, Variety magazine wrote, "Fans of Kensit get plenty of her; her lovely face and form are always the center of attention. The cool control with which she executes the role is admirable".[4] In 1992, she had a leading role in the British film Blame it on the Bellboy as Miss Carolyn Wright, a desperate real estate dealer in Venice who would stop at nothing to clinch a deal. In 1995, Kensit starred in Angels & Insects, with Kristin Scott Thomas and Mark Rylance, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Costume Design and in which she complied with director Philip Haas` request to bleach her pubic hair. Kensit`s last major lead film role was in the Newcastle-based The One and Only, which failed to get wide distribution.

Miscellaneous Information

Measurements

Bust: 35" C  Waist: 25"  Hips: 37"

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