Latest news with #BessieCarter
Telegraph
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Nazi-obsessed Mitford sisters ‘were modern and progressive'
The Mitford sisters have been described as 'modern and progressive women' by an actress playing one of them in an upcoming series. Bessie Carter, who has appeared in Bridgerton, plays Nancy, the eldest Mitford sister, in the historical drama Outrageous, which airs next week. She said the sisters – two of whom had a fascination with Nazism – 'refused to conform'. She told the Radio Times: 'They were definitely women who didn't want to just do the debutante balls. They wanted to work and to exercise their brains. 'The Mitfords were modern women, they were really progressive. They always asked, 'Why can't I do that?'' The six sisters – Nancy, Pamela, Diana, Unity, Jessica and Deborah – were born to Lord and Lady Redesdale and experienced an upbringing steeped in eccentricity. They were constantly in the headlines, and Unity in particular scandalised British society by her closeness with Adolf Hitler. She was known as the 'English girlfriend' of the Fuhrer and fawned over the man who threatened her country's liberty. In January, the discovery of the 1930s socialite's long-lost diaries revealed the extent of her infatuation. The diaries appear to show that Unity, whose father was a first cousin of Sir Winston Churchill's wife Clementine, met Hitler almost 140 times – sometimes alone, raising the prospect of a sexual relationship between the pair. Diana also scandalised society when she left her husband, the Guinness heir, to marry Sir Oswald Mosley, the British fascist leader with whom she had been having an affair. Threat to national security She was imprisoned at Holloway prison during the Second World War for being considered a danger to national security. The family's exploits have inspired books and films and will now be depicted in Outrageous. Carter added of the six women who will be portrayed: 'What we do in the show is look at those early years when they're about to step out into the world and make their mark. 'They're refusing to conform to what was expected of them at the time, which was to be wives and mothers.' She explained: 'Outrageous is looking at these six sisters and wondering how long a family will hold together. And at what point do you have to confront hard truths and face your differences? 'That's relevant today, isn't it? We probably all have a family member who politically is in a different place. How do we deal with that?' Joanna Vanderham, who plays Diana in the new show, added: 'Nancy told on Diana. She informed Churchill that Diana was a threat to national security and had her imprisoned. Who does that to their own sister?' She said: 'The Mitfords were mad! I feel that people will go, 'That wouldn't have happened.' Then they'll Google it and realise it did. The Mitfords were outrageous. The title is absolutely justified.'
Perth Now
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Bessie Carter 'doesn't care' she's accused of being a nepo baby
Bessie Carter doesn't consider herself to be a 'nepo baby'. The 31-year-old actress - who is the daughter of actors Dame Imelda Staunton and Jim Carter - has brushed off suggestions that she's a so-called 'nepo baby', insisting she's not used her parents' fame and success to further her career. Speaking to The Independent, Bessie explained: "I have a lot of drive to make stuff happen myself, instead of waiting for the phone to ring." The actress - who plays Prudence Featherington on the hit Netflix series 'Bridgerton' - insists that she's worked hard for her success. She reflected: "Some people might use that phrase (nepo baby), but I don't really care. I believe in myself and my trajectory being what it is, and I've never used my parents, ever, to get any work." Despite this, Bessie still enjoys working in the same industry as her mother. She said: "It's really nice when I'm in hair and makeup and the makeup artist says, 'I worked with your mum.' Who wouldn't like that?" Imelda has enjoyed a hugely successful career, starring on stage and screen for decades. But Bessie only became truly aware of her mother's success when she was cast in the 'Harry Potter' film franchise. The actress shared: "Like most children, I grew up reading them and going to the bookshops at midnight, so that was quite exciting." Meanwhile, Bessie believes the timing of 'Bridgerton's release was one of the keys to its success. The hit TV show - which is set during the Regency era in England - was released in December 2020, following the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Bessie noted that fans were quick to attach themselves to the programme. The actress - who has starred on the show alongside the likes of Jonathan Bailey and Nicola Coughlan - told the BBC: "It was December 2020, and I believe the world was ready to escape into something that was joyous, hopeful, and had a happy ending. And so ... that's the honest answer. "I just think it was a delightful thing to look at, and hopefully a bit funny and a bit romantic."
Daily Mail
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Bridgerton actress and her very famous mother hit back against nepo baby claims
Bridgerton star Bessie Carter and her famous mother Imelda Staunton have hit back against ' nepo baby ' claims in a new interview. The actress, 31, is the daughter of The Crown and Harry Potter star Imelda and Downton Abbey icon Jim Carter. The pair have never worked on the same project until now where they are both starring in the theatre production Mrs Warren's Profession in London. But Bessie insists she has made her career happen on her own and 'doesn't really care' about the term 'nepo baby' being used. She told The Independent: 'I have a lot of drive to make stuff happen myself, instead of waiting for the phone to ring. 'Some people might use that phrase (nepo baby), but I don't really care. I believe in myself and my trajectory being what it is, and I've never used my parents, ever, to get any work.' From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Supporting her statement Imelda added: 'There seem to be about 22 million more actors now. During the time of Maggie [Smith] and Robert Stephens [the late parents of the actor Toby Stephens], you could count actors with that level of celebrity on one hand. 'Now it's not unusual for children to have parents who are also actors, simply because there are so many of them.' A synopsis for Mrs Warren's Profession at the Garrick Theatre reads: 'Vivie Warren is a woman ahead of her time. 'Estranged from her wealthy mother, she delights in a glass of whisky, a good detective story, and is determined to carve herself a sparkling legal career in an age ruled by men. Her mother, however, is a product of that old patriarchal order. Exploiting it has earned Mrs. Warren a fortune and paid for her daughter's expensive education – but at what cost?' Bessie graced the cover of May's Tatler issue recently where she opened up about her acting power couple parents. She is the daughter of Imelda and Jim - though many didn't know this when she rose to fame on the period Netflix show as the obnoxious Prudence Featherington. Now she is starring as Nancy Mitford in new six-episode series Outrageous which follows the lives of the Mitford sisters and is based on Mary S Lovell's biography. Speaking to the publication she was full of praise for her parents and their successful careers - and says she took inspiration from her mother Imelda for her latest role. Imelda famously played The Queen in the later series of The Crown which Bessie says helped her in playing real people too - including her new part as Nancy Mitford. She said of playing real people: 'We're not imitating them, but we're taking the essence of them and trying to regurgitate it as truth. 'It's something my mother had to go to town with given that the Queen was so known by everyone… she smashed it! 'I think that's such a hard line, but really doing the voice and the physicality and then bringing your own proof to it, that's the fun.' She added that she is grateful that her parents 'know what life as an actor is like' and 'what filming days are like'. Bessie explained: 'They know that when I'm on my way home I might not have the energy to talk on the phone because they know how all-consuming it is. We just know the game.' During the Tatler interview she didn't mention her boyfriend Sam Phillips who she met filming the last series of Bridgerton. Last May MailOnline revealed that despite their characters not interacting on the show, the actors began dating after meeting on set of season three. Filming for the series began in July 2022 and wrapped in March 2023, with Bessie moving into Sam's flat in Brighton three months later. Bessie played the role of Prudence Featherington on the hit Netflix show, while Sam, 39, played Nicola Coughlan 's character Penelope's new suitor Lord Debling. The pair have been photographed at several events with her family, including alongside Bessie's famous parents. The furthest back they have been pictured was in May 2023 where they looked cosy at a theatre event - suggesting they could have been together a good while. Last year rumours began to swirl on TikTok that the pair could be an item, with one content creator posting a recent video titled: 'Bridgerton co-stars that are dating in real life'. Many were quick to comment on the rumours as one said: 'Okayyyy featherington sisters bagging the hot ones!' Another said: 'They're so cute!!', while a third penned: 'I love this so much!' Representatives for Bessie and Sam have been contacted by MailOnline for comment. The pair were first pictured together in May 2023 as they attended the Theatrical Consequences: The 5th Annual Platform Presents West End Gala after party at Tequila Mockingbird in London. Then in November 2023 the pair attended the Wonka premiere together with Bessie's famous actress mother Imelda, 68. They posed as a trio with Imelda stood in the middle - suggesting Sam had been introduced to her side of the family some time before. Then in December 2023 Bessie her famous dad Jim, 75, accompanied Sam to The Crown season 6 finale celebration event. He plays the Queen's Equerry Stephen Chambers in season 3 and 4 of Netflix's The Crown.
The Independent
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
‘It feels completely normal': Imelda Staunton reflects on acting with her daughter
Imelda Staunton says acting on stage alongside her daughter Bessie Carter feels 'completely normal.' The pair are working together for the first time in George Bernard Shaw 's Mrs Warren's Profession at the Garrick Theatre, playing a mother and daughter. 'It's weird that it just feels normal,' Staunton told the BBC 's Laura Kuenssberg in an interview aired on Sunday (25 May). 'It's a wonderful play, a difficult play, and so we've had sleepless nights and phone each other,' she said. 'It feels like we've sort of done it before, even though we never have,' Carter added.
Telegraph
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Mrs Warren's Profession: Imelda Staunton and her daughter make a winning double act
This classy, period-dressed production of one of Bernard Shaw's best-known plays brings Imelda Staunton back to the West End as Mrs Warren, a woman of means who harbours the societally unacceptable secret that her wealth derives from prostitution (formerly her own, now that of others in 'hotels' she manages in Europe). What's not to like? Well, at the risk of sounding like an ingrate, I'd say Dominic Cooke's briskly efficient, interval-free revival courts seeming a bit anodyne, especially given the PR promise that Cooke and co are bringing this once contentious, long-banned 1894 work 'crashing into the 21st century' (they don't). That said, few should pass up the opportunity to see Staunton on stage. Even laying aside the fact that she has been the Queen in The Crown, she qualifies as revered acting royalty. A musicals doyenne of late (witness her Olivier-winning turn in Hello, Dolly!), without breaking into song she can still rivet attention with just a glance or a twitch of the shoulders. An added draw is that her daughter, Bessie Carter, has been cast as Mrs W's vivacious, anti-sentimental and recalcitrant offspring Vivie. Though physically dissimilar, Carter (a star of Bridgerton) carries her mater's thespian DNA in her sparkle and subtlety – a smirk, a bemused look, and you're hooked. (Others may spot affinities with her father Jim, Downton's Mr Carson; a game you can play all night.) The big scenes between mother and daughter are quietly tremendous, and crackle with a genuine sense of a familial bond without becoming cosy. When Kitty spells out just what a wretched life she narrowly escaped by going on the game, you see the scales fall from Vivie's eyes and sympathy flower. Staunton gives her character a nicely brittle air, combining defiance and defensiveness, with a residual cockney accent – an obstacle to full respectability which she perforce craves instead for her girl. When that status is spurned, for trading on the exploitation of other women – Vivie resolving to forge her own proto-feminist path of toil – you glimpse how crushed, wounded and lonely Mrs Warren is and the comfortless and possibly childless world Vivie's noble resolve may result in. Despite being of its time, their showdown conveys the age-old tussle between parent and child and crystalises the ethical wrench between improving one's lot and not hurting others. Topical in a way – what hidden agonies fund well-heeled or Western lifestyles today? – but elsewhere a tepidity sets in. The mute, scene-shifting contributions of a female chorus in undergarments, sporting accusatory looks to mournful music, feel reductively decorative and aren't enough to save Chloe Lamford's sparse, black-walled set from visual insufficiency. The male actors handle their polished but sometimes still dusty side of the dialogue with stiff dependability – among them Robert Glenister as a creepily predatory elder businessman, and Kevin Doyle as a comically twitchy, archetypally compromised vicar, with a past of his own. Shaw, the old radical, would be glad to see how his work has endured – but wouldn't he also want it showing a bit more fire in its belly?
