Tracey Ullman is a British comedienne,
actress, and singer who is most famous for being the
host of a variety television show bearing her name.
Born in London, England, her early appearances were
in British TV sketch comedy shows with Rik Mayall in
Kick Up the Eighties and Three of a Kind with Lenny
Henry and the English comedian David Copperfield. She
also appeared with French and Saunders and Ruby Wax
in Girls on Top.
In 1983, she had great success as a singer on the
legendary punk label Stiff Records, although her style
was more comic romantic than punk. She had six songs
in the British Top 100 in less than two years, including
her first hit "Breakaway" and the international
hit "They Don't Know" (both written by label-mate
Kirsty MacColl), and the Madness cover version "My
Guy" (whose video featured the British politician
Neil Kinnock), Her songs were over-the-top evocations
of 1960s and 1970s pop music with an 1980s edge, "somewhere
between Minnie Mouse and The Supremes" as Britain's
Melody Maker put it, or "retro before retro was
cool", as a retrospective reviewer wrote in 2002.
The video for "They Don't Know" featured
a cameo from Paul McCartney; at the time Ullman was
filming a minor role in McCartney's film Give My Regards
To Broad Street.
Her US television show, The Tracey Ullman Show, earned
four Emmys and spawned The Simpsons, which was featured
in very simple cartoon shorts. She later appeared in
Tracey Takes On... on HBO.
She has appeared in many films, including I Love
You to Death, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Household
Saints, Small Time Crooks, and A Dirty Shame. She was
also the modern-day cartoon voice of Little Lulu. She
also had a recurring role as Ally's unconventional
therapist on the television series Ally McBeal.
Thanks to her part ownership of The Simpsons she
features in the Sunday Times Rich List of wealthiest
UK Citizens. She became a naturalized U.S. citizen
in 2003. |