28 Facts About Kathy Burke

Katherine Lucy Bridget Burke was born on 13 June 1964 and is an English actress, comedian, writer, producer, and director.

Kathy Burke achieved fame with her appearances on sketch shows such as French and Saunders and her recurring role as Magda on the BBC sitcom Absolutely Fabulous, as well as her frequent collaborations with fellow comedian Harry Enfield.

Kathy Burke made her film debut in the 1982 drama Scrubbers.

Kathy Burke was born at the Royal Free Hospital, London on 13 June 1964, and was brought up in Islington, North London by her Irish Catholic parents Paddy and Bridget.

Kathy Burke's mother, known as Bridie, died of cancer when Burke was two years old.

Kathy Burke lived with her father, a builder who was an alcoholic, and attended the Maria Fidelis Convent School, a secondary school in Euston, until she was 16 years old.

Kathy Burke then studied at the Anna Scher Theatre School in Islington.

Kathy Burke appeared in a non-speaking role in a 1985 public information film about heroin addiction.

Kathy Burke first became familiar to television audiences as a player of minor roles in sketches by better-known performers such as Harry Enfield, Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders.

Kathy Burke first appeared as a member of Bananarama parody band Lananeeneenoonoo in 1989, and then as a member of Spice Girls look-alike band the Sugar Lumps in 1997.

In real life Kathy Burke is a big fan of Morrissey and appeared in the video for his 1989 single "Ouija Board, Ouija Board" and later in the 2002 Channel 4 documentary The Importance of Being Morrissey.

Kathy Burke quickly became successful in her own right and although mainly associated with comedy, she has played several serious roles including that of Queen Mary Tudor in the film Elizabeth, which was released in 1998.

In 1994 Kathy Burke was awarded the Royal Television Society Award for Best Actress, for her performance as the mute Martha in the 1993 BBC TV series Mr Wroe's Virgins.

Kathy Burke won the Best Actress award at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival for her role in the gritty drama Nil by Mouth.

Kathy Burke was so convinced she would not win that she made no plans to attend the ceremony; when told shortly beforehand she had won, she found her passport was out of date.

Kathy Burke said in an interview with Dawn French in Dawn French's Girls Who do Comedy that she no longer felt the same creative energy associated with acting that she used to and that this was the reason she had stopped acting.

Kathy Burke appeared in the 2007 Christmas Special of The Catherine Tate Show as Nan's daughter Diane.

In 2007, Kathy Burke contracted Clostridium difficile while in hospital for an operation, resulting in her having to pass directing duties on Dying for It at the Almeida Theatre.

Kathy Burke wrote and appeared as a nun in a short autobiographical film, "Better Than Christmas", for Sky 1's Little Crackers, a collection of comic shorts that first aired in December 2010.

On 19 January 2012, it was announced that Kathy Burke had written her first TV series; her short for Little Crackers had led to a four-part series, "Walking and Talking", based on her teenage years.

Kathy Burke appeared as a nun in each episode of the series, which aired in the summer of 2012 on Sky Atlantic.

In 2011, Kathy Burke played Connie Sachs in the film adaptation of the novel Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.

Kathy Burke was long-listed for a BAFTA nomination for her performance as Supporting Actress in 2012.

Kathy Burke appeared in the 2015 Peter Pan prequel film, Pan, as Mother Barnabas.

In November 2015 Kathy Burke presented the BBC topical news panel show Have I Got News for You.

Kathy Burke touched on subjects such as marriage, pregnancy and cosmetic surgery.

In 2021, Kathy Burke appeared as a guest judge in series 3 of RuPaul's Drag Race UK.

Kathy Burke directed ITV's four-part murder mystery series Holding, which premiered on 14 March 2022 and is based on Graham Norton's novel of the same name.