Britt Ekland
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| Britt Ekland | |
| Born | October 6, 1942 (age 64) Sweden |
Britt Ekland (born Britt-Marie Eklund on October 6, 1942) is a Swedish actress, long resident in the UK.
Ekland became famous 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. She stood by him after he suffered a series of massive heart attacks shortly after their marriage, and in 1965 they had a daughter Victoria. The couple made two films together, After the Fox in 1966 and The Bobo in 1967, before she divorced Sellers. Ekland also has a son, Nicholai (born 1973) from her relationship with record producer Lou Adler.
Britt Ekland had a much-publicised 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 exclusively on the relationship. (She is heard whispering on his song Tonight's the Night, Gonna Be Alright). Stewart has since admitted the relationship broke down because of his infidelity. After a highly public and acrimonious split she sued him for $12 million; the case was settled out of court. In 1984 she married rock musician Slim Jim Phantom who was almost two decades her junior and they had a son Thomas Jefferson (born 1988) before divorcing in 1992.
Ekland appeared in the 1974 James Bond movie The Man with the Golden Gun. Other notable film appearances include The Night They Raided Minsky's, Baxter (co-starring Patricia Neal), 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).
In the 1970s she was one of the most photographed and talked about celebrities in the world and in 1980 she published her autobiography "True Britt".
She was portrayed by Charlize Theron in The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (2004). She has criticised the film publicly and claimed it is not an accurate representation of her life with Sellers.
She is a close friend of Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne and is still a regular fixture on the rock and roll social scene. In the last few years she has appeared in several pantomimes in the UK.
She was one of the first celebrities to do Pilates (beginning in the 1970s) and she published a beauty and fitness book in 1984, followed by a fitness video in 1992. Ekland credits her personal Swedish trainer, Herb Genendelis, for a workout regimen that has kept her in "show biz shape".
Ekland's father was a successful retailer and she has three younger brothers. Her mother died some years ago after a long battle with Alzheimers and Ekland was diagnosed with osteoporosis (which in her case she attributes to chronic dieting and low calcium) after falling at an awards show and fracturing her wrist and ankle. She has been associated with both Alzheimer's and Osteoporosis organizations.
Fluent in English, French and German (and presumably Swedish as well), Ekland has worked with stage actor Benn Perry on various productions.
