Britt-Marie Ekland (born 6 October 1942) is a Swedish actress with residency in the United Kingdom, Hollywood California, and Sweden. She is best known for her roles as a Bond girl in The Man with the Golden Gun, and in the British cult horror film The Wicker Man, as well as her marriage to actor Peter Sellers, and her high-profile rock and roll social life.

Contents

• 1 Early life
• 2 Career
• 3 Filmography
• 4 Personal life
• 5 Discography
• 6 References
• 7 External links

Early life

Ekland's father was a successful retailer in Stockholm, Sweden (her birthplace). She has three younger brothers. Her mother died after a long battle with Alzheimers.[citation needed]

Career

Ekland was the Bond girl in the 1974 James Bond movie The Man with the Golden Gun. Other notable film appearances include The Night They Raided Minsky's, Baxter!, The Double Man, Get Carter (in the 1999 BBC television series I Love the '70s she hosted the 1971 episode in homage to her role as "Anna" in the film), and the 1973 cult film The Wicker Man (for which her voice was dubbed to disguise her Swedish-accented English).[citation needed]

She also portrayed biographical characters, such as the one based on real-life actress Anny Ondra (boxer Max Schmeling's wife) in the television movie Ring of Passion (1978), and prostitute Mariella Novotny in the feature film Scandal (1989) about the Profumo affair.

Ekland published a beauty and fitness book in 1984, followed by a fitness video in 1992. Ekland credits her personal trainer, Herb Genendelis, for a workout regimen that has kept her in "show biz shape".[citation needed]

She appeared on stage as a cast member in Cinderella at the Regent Theatre Stoke-On-Trent in December 1999 and January 2000. She also appeared in Grumpy Old Women Live, in December 2007 participated in the Swedish reality show Stjärnorna på slottet (The stars at the castle) along with Peter Stormare, Arja Saijonmaa, Jan Malmsjö and Magnus Härenstam, and in December 2007 and January 2008 she starred again in Cinderella at Swindon's Wyvern Theatre.[1] She appeared as a guest on the top rated British daytime television show Loose Women, in January 2008. From December 2008 to January 2009, Britt starred in Cinderella at the Shaw Theatre in London. In a rare instance of her singing, she performed the song My Prince, originally recorded by Lara Pulver on the album Act One - Songs from the Musicals of Alexander S. Bermange. In 2009/10 she played the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella at Princess Theatre, Torquay. On 14 November 2010, she joined the celebrity cast in the hit UK reality show I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!.

Filmography

• G.I. Blues (1960)
• The Happy Thieves (1962)
• Kort är sommaren (1962)
• The Commandant (1963)
• Det är hos mig han har varit (1963)
• The Devil (1963)
• The Prize (1963)
• Company of Cowards? (1964)
• Do Not Disturb (1965)
• Too Many Thieves (1966)
• After the Fox (1966) (Italian title: Caccia alla volpe)
• The Double Man (1967)
• The Bobo (1967)
• The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968)
• Stiletto (1969)
• Machine Gun McCain (1969)
• The Conspirators (1969)
• The Year of the Cannibals (1970)
• Tintomara (1970)
• A Time for Loving (1971)
• Percy (1971)
• Get Carter (1971)
• Diabólica malicia (1972)
• Endless Night (1972)
• Asylum (1972)
• Baxter! (1973)
• The Wicker Man (1973)
• The Ultimate Thrill (1974)
• The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
• Royal Flash (1975)
• High Velocity (1976)
• Casanova & Co. (1977)
• King Solomon's Treasure (1977)
• Slavers (1978)
• The Monster Club (1980)
• Satan's Mistress (1982)
• Dr. Yes: Hyannis Affair (1983)
• Dead Wrong (1983)
• Erotic Images (1983)
• Love Scenes (1984)
• Fraternity Vacation (1985)
• Marbella, un golpe de cinco estrellas (1985)
• Moon in Scorpio (1987)
• Scandal (1989)
• Cold Heat (1989)
• Beverly Hills Vamp (1989)
• The Children (1990)

Personal life

Ekland became famous overnight as a result of her 1964 whirlwind romance and marriage to British actor and comedian, Peter Sellers, who proposed after seeing her photograph in the paper and them meeting in London.[2][3] She stood by him after he suffered a series of massive heart attacks shortly after their marriage (July 24th 1980). Ekland was stepmother to Sellers' children Sarah and Michael (who died of heart attack at about the same age as his father). In January 1965 they had a daughter, Victoria. The couple made two films together, After the Fox in 1966 and The Bobo in 1967, before divorcing the following year (1968).

In June of 1973, she had a son, Nic Adler, with record producer Lou Adler. She also had a much-publicized romance with rock star Rod Stewart; they were introduced in 1975 by Joan Collins and lived together for over two years, with Ekland giving up her career to focus on the relationship.[citation needed] From 1979-1981 she dated and became engaged to Girl frontman and future L.A. Guns singer Phil Lewis.[citation needed]In 1984 she married rock musician James McDonnell (aka Slim Jim Phantom), who was almost two decades her junior. They had a son, Thomas Jefferson (born in 1988), and divorced in 1992.[citation needed]

In the 1970s Ekland was one of the most photographed and talked about celebrities in the world and in 1980 her best-selling autobiography, True Britt, was published.[4]

A close friend of Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne, she is still a regular fixture on the rock'n'roll social scene.[citation needed]

In 2004 Ekland was portrayed by Charlize Theron in The Life and Death of Peter Sellers. Theron invited her to be her date at the Cannes Film Festival, where she became highly emotional when she saw the film. [5]

She was diagnosed with osteoporosis in 2004, (which she attributes to yo-yo dieting and low calcium)[6] after falling at an awards show and fracturing her wrist and ankle. She has been associated with both Alzheimer's and osteoporosis organizations. The actress is fluent in English, French, and German, in addition to her native Swedish.

Discography

• "Do it to Me" / "Private Party" (1979) #15 SWE (According to Britt herself, the LP went straight in at number 7 at the English chart, but there is no proof for this)

References

1. "Oxford Mail review of Cinderella at Wyvern Theatre, Swindon". Archive.oxfordmail.net. 2007-12-18. http://archive.oxfordmail.net/2007/12/18/209591.html. Retrieved 2010-10-04.
2. Britt Ekland interview on BBC link title
3. Sikov, Ed (2002). Mr. Strangelove: a biography of Peter Sellers. Pan MacMillan. ISBN 0283072970.
4. Eklund, Britt, True Britt, Simon & Schuster (February 1984) ISBN 0139310894
5. Ashwood, James (2007-01-30). "Charlize Theron interview - Interviews - Movies". Virgin Media. http://www.virginmedia.com/movies/interviews/charlizetheron.php. Retrieved 2010-10-04.
6. HEALTH WATCH: Bone Disease Highlighted - Health - RedOrbit

External Links

• http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001180/
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britt_Ekland
• http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britt_Ekland
• http://runeberg.org/vemardet/1993/0272.html