Alex Kingston Biography

Fast Facts

• Was inspired to be an actor after watching her uncle perform on stage in Germany
• First acted at age five playing the role of the angel Gabriel in a school play
• Got her first professional role at age 15 playing a bully on the TV series Grange Hill
• Was invited to join the Royal Shakespeare Company after finishing the two-year program at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London
• Made film debut in 1989's The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover
• Earned critical acclaim in 1996 for her portrayal of the title role in The Fortunes and Misfortunes of Moll Flanders
• Was noticed by producers of ER for her performance in Moll Flanders and took the role of Dr
• Elizabeth Corday on the series in 1997
• Underwent a very public divorce from actor Ralph Fiennes in 1997 (whom she met while attending London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) after he left her for actress Francesca Annis
• Complained of ageism in Hollywood at age 41 after her contract was not renewed on ER because, according to Kingston, producers wanted to concentrate on the younger cast's story lines
• Played Nurse Ratched in the London revival of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in 2006