Samantha Morton Bio

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Samantha Morton Pictures

What is Samantha Morton's real name?
Samantha Morton

Where was Samantha Morton born?
Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England

When was Samantha Morton born?
May 13, 1977

What is Samantha Morton's height?
5'3" (1.60m)

Samantha Morton (born 13 May 1977) is an English actress and film director. She is also a campaigner for Social justice and she is an ambassador for the Save the Children organisation. Because of both her acting excellence and her commitment to political activism, a The Sunday Times journalist described her as "a Working class Vanessa Redgrave".

Samantha Morton: Early life

Morton was born in Clifton, Nottingham, England; the daughter of Pamela Freebury, a factory worker, and Peter Morton. Her parents divorced in 1979. At the age of seven, she was made a ward of the court and never lived with her natural parents again. The next nine years were spent in and out of Foster care and children's homes. She attended West Bridgford Comprehensive School, and, for a while, Haywood Comprehensive School, and was known for always getting in trouble. Under the effects of drugs, she threatened an older girl who had been bullying her. She was convicted of making threats to kill. She served 16 weeks in an attendance centre. Morton said in an interview, "as a child I had a serious anger problem but from the age of 16 I've been trying to turn bad things into positives". After leaving care, she lived in a Homeless Hostel and worked on a Youth Training Scheme in hairdressing.

Samantha Morton: Career

Morton took up acting as a child. She joined the Central Junior Television Workshop when she was thirteen and was soon being offered small-screen roles. In 1991 she was cast as Clare Anderson in the first series of Lucy Gannon's Soldier Soldier and also made a guest appearance, as Mandy, in an episode of Boon - both were Central TV productions.

Moving to London at sixteen, Morton applied to numerous drama schools, including RADA, without success. As a result she received no further formal acting training. Despite this she made her stage debut at the Royal Court Theatre, and continued her television career with a guest appearance on Peak Practice and an impressive performance in a memorable episode of Cracker: "The Big Crunch".

A controversial role in the second series of Kay Mellor's successful Band of Gold (1995) resulted in a lot of tabloid interest, some of which focused on Morton's upbringing and personal life. Further television roles followed, including parts in period dramas including Emma, Jane Eyre and The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling. Morton's reputation was growing fast and she was now able to move into films. The well-received Under the Skin (1997) continued to raise her profile and impressed Woody Allen enough for him to cast her in Sweet and Lowdown (1999). Morton gave an acclaimed performance and received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2000. In 2002 Morton won the British Independent Film Award for Best Actress for her work in Morvern Callar, followed by a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress for In America in 2004.

Morton has also appeared in a number of music videos. She worked with English garage rock band The Horrors on their debut video for "Sheena is a Parasite", and played a mermaid opposite Larry Mullen in U2's promotional video for "Electrical Storm".

Morton played the Moors Murderess Myra Hindley in a television film Longford (2006). Set between 1967 and 1997, the film depicts the relationship between the infamous child killer and Lord Longford, the politician who spent years campaigning for her release. Morton was severely criticised by the relatives of the children who were killed by Hindley and Ian Brady but she insisted, "It is my duty as a performer to raise issues...we're afraid to look at". Morton received a 2007 Emmy nomination and won a Golden Globe for her performance in the film, both for Best Supporting Actress.

Her directorial debut, a semi-autobiographical piece The Unloved, written in collaboration with screenwriter Tony Grisoni, was first broadcast on Channel 4 on 17 May 2009.

Samantha Morton: Personal life

Morton has two daughters: Esme (born 2000), with actor Charlie Creed-Miles; and Edie (born 4 January 2008 in London), with filmmaker Harry Holm. Morton is engaged to Holm, the son of actor Ian Holm.

In 2006 Morton was reported to have had a stroke. As a result she was said to be close to death and had to relearn how to walk and talk,.

In January 2009, whilst attending a fund raiser for the charity Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) she vowed to never work for the BBC again after the broadcaster refused to broadcast an emergency charity appeal for the victims of Israel's attack on Gaza on 27 December 2008.

In March 2009 Morton protested in Nottingham against the closure of some children's homes due to job cuts made by Nottingham City Council.