Sarah Solemani

Sarah Solemani (born 4 September 1982) is an English actress, writer and activist, best known for starring in the BAFTA winning sitcom Him & Her,[1] playing Renee Zellweger's best friend 'Miranda' in Working Title's Bridget Jones's Baby, for which she was nominated for an Evening Standard Best Actress Award. She is also known for her roles in the British comedy TV series Bad Education and The Wrong Mans.

Sarah Solemani
Born (1982-09-03) 3 September 1982
Camden, London, England
OccupationActress, writer, playwright
Spouse(s)
​
(m. 2012)​
Children2

Early life

Solemani was born in the London Borough of Camden and grew up in Crouch End. Her father is a Persian Jewish mathematics lecturer (now retired).

After passing her A levels at the Henrietta Barnett School, she took a gap year before reading Social and Political Sciences (now the Human, Social and Political Sciences Tripos) at New Hall, Cambridge and graduating with an MA (Hons).[2][3]

At Cambridge, she joined the Cambridge University Footlights Dramatic Club and became social secretary during her first year and then vice president.[4] She went down in Footlights history for writing the biggest all-female comedy sketch ever performed on a Footlights stage, writing twenty five female students into her sketch 'Brawl'.

Career

Theatre

Solemani was a member of the National Youth Theatre during her gap year, starring as Elaine in the West End theatre production of The Graduate[4] and as 'Ayesha' in the critically acclaimed National Theatre production of Sanctuary.

Solemani was a member of the Young Writer's Group attached to the Royal Court Theatre, and a writer at the Young Vic Theatre. Two plays she wrote were produced at Soho Theatre.[2] Another of her works, The Cost of Things (2010), was presented at the Public Theater New York under the aegis of the Old Vic Theatre as part of the TS Eliot Project.

In 2011, she wrote The Baron which received the Old Vic New Voices 'Ignite' award.[5]

In 2009, she appeared in Simon Stephens Pornography at the Tricycle Theatre in London and in 2012, she appeared as Maryam in the play The House of Bernarda Alba at the Almeida Theatre.[2] She wrote Up the Royal Borough, part of an evening of plays in response to Owen Jones' Chavs at the Lyric Hammersmith. It gained good reviews.[6]

Television and film

Solemani's first film role was as a tableaux girl in Mrs Henderson Presents, which she performed during her third year of college.[2] Her first major TV role was as "Becky" in BBC Three sitcom Him & Her, which was first broadcast in November 2010, and ran for four series ending in 2013.[7]

In 2012, Solemani starred in the BBC Three comedy, Bad Education,[8] including its spin off movie The Bad Education Movie. In 2013, she featured in the BBC and Hulu's The Wrong Mans alongside James Corden. She went on to reprise the role in the second series.[9] Solemani wrote and starred in an episode titled Aphrodite Fry in the Sky TV series Love Matters that aired in 2013.[10] In 2014, she wrote the television film The Secrets on BBC One at 9pm to critical praise.

In Hollywood, Solemani was chosen by Bill Hader and Alec Berg to be part of their writing team on Hader's new HBO show Barry. While working in the United States, she has found the American television industry has a more positive attitude towards commissioning work by women and featuring female characters in their series.[11]

Print

Solemani has contributed to the New Statesman,[12] The Guardian, The Independent and Harper's Bazaar.

She writes regularly for the publications Red and Glamour.

Awards and acclaim

Solemani was awarded third place in the Barry Amiel and Norman Melburn Trust/New Statesman Prize for New Political Writing on the subject: "Do women's rights remain the privilege of the developed world?" in 2005.[13]

In 2011, Solemani won the Royal Television Society award for best Comedy Performance for her role in Him & Her along with her co-star Russell Tovey.[14]

In 2012, Solemani was named one of the year's Broadcast Hot Shots.[15]

Activist

Solemani is against the criminalisation of sex work, and has been a champion for sex worker rights since 2002. She was nominated by the English Collective of Prostitutes (ECP) to represent them in Parliament in order to halt further efforts to criminalise clients. She was an active supporter of former shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper in the 2015 Labour Leadership contest. She has introduced Cooper at various Labour Party events and has contributed to her speeches.

Personal life

Solemani married Daniel E. Ingram , a sustainable investment expert specialising in climate change[16] in Petah Tikva, Israel, on 3 June 2012.[17][18] Their daughter was born in December 2013 and their son was born in May 2018.[19]

The couple revealed their daughter's godparents at a ceremony in the New London Synagogue.

Filmography

Film and television
Year Title Role Notes
2003 Red Cap Gillian Jennings TV series
2005 Mrs Henderson Presents Vera Film
2006 Undone Edna Radio series
2006 Hyperdrive Alie TV series
2007 Living with Two People You Like Individually... But Not as a Couple Antonia TV series – Pilot
2007 Roman's Empire Jenny TV series
2007 Suburban Shootout Donna TV series
2010–2013 Him & Her Becky TV series
2011 Silent Witness Mary Olivant TV series – episode 109 ("The Prodigal")
2011 Psychoville Emily TV series
2011 Coma Girl Siobhan TV series – Pilot
2011 Uptown Downstairs Abbey Lady Mary TV series – special for Comic Relief
2012 The Borgias Magdelena TV series
2012 Skins Celia Champion TV Series
2012–2014 Bad Education Miss Gulliver[8] TV series
2013 Love Matters Aphrodite Fry[20] TV series – episode 109 ("Aphrodite Fry")
2013–14 The Wrong Mans Lizzie Green TV series
2013 Crackanory Narrator TV series
2014 The Secrets Charlotte TV series
2015 The Bad Education Movie Miss Gulliver[8] Film
2015 Hector Sara Film
2016 The Five Pru Carew TV series
2016 Bridget Jones's Baby Miranda Film
2017 No Offence DCI Christine Lickberg TV series
2017 The Pact Amy TV pilot
2019 How to Build a Girl Angie Film
2019 Greed Melanie
2020 Inside No 9 Emily TV series - Death Be Not Proud
2021 Chivalry Bobby Also co-creator and writer with Steve Coogan

Stage
Year Title Role Notes
2000 The Graduate Elaine Gielgud Theatre[21]
2007 Burning Cars Hampstead Theatre[22]
2009 Pornography Tricycle Theatre[23]
2012 The House of Bernarda Alba Maryam Almeida Theatre[24]

References
  1. "Him & Her – Sarah Solemani plays Becky" (Press release). BBC Press Office. 10 September 2010.
  2. Gilbert, Gerard (21 January 2012). "Where are all the female comics?". The Independent. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
  3. "Alumnae Achievements" (PDF). The Dolphin. Cambridge: New Hall (33): 12. Summer 2007.
  4. Simon Round (16 September 2010). "Interview: Sarah Solemani". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
  5. "The Directors". Young Vic. 9 December 2011. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
  6. Carmel Doohan (17 October 2012). "Chavs at Lyric Hammersmith". Exeunt Magazine.
  7. "Him & Her Series 4". BBC Three. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
  8. "Bad Education". BBC Three. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
  9. Ellen E Jones (23 December 2014). "Our boys from Bracknell hit the ground running on a trip to the Texas badlands". The Independent. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  10. "Sky Living to show 6 one-off comedies". Custard TV. 15 November 2012. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
  11. Solemani, Sarah (20 October 2017). "'The TV and film industries are toxic – and it starts in the audition room'". The Guaradian. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  12. "Sarah Solemani". New Statesman. Archived from the original on 1 October 2010.
  13. "New Political Writing Prize 2005". Barry Amiel & Norman Melburn Trust. Archived from the original on 20 June 2012. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
  14. "RTS Announces Winners for the Programme Awards 2011" (Press release). Royal Television Society. Archived from the original on 19 July 2012. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
  15. "Broadcast Hot Shots 2012". Broadcast. August 2012. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
  16. Meet ... Daniel Ingram, Manager, BT Pension Scheme
  17. "Social & Personal" (PDF). New London Bulletin. New London Synagogue. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 May 2012.
  18. Liat Elkayam (29 June 2012). "Departures/Arrivals: Who took off from and landed at Ben Gurion Airport this week?". Haaretz. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
  19. Lamont, Tom (7 September 2014). "Sarah Solemani: 'Russell Tovey? He came to my hen do'". The Guardian.
  20. "Love Matters" Aphrodite Fry (TV Episode 2013) - IMDb
  21. Darren Dalglish (23 October 2001). "The Graduate at Gielgud Theatre". LondonTheatre.co.uk. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
  22. "Darings Pairings at Hampstead". The British Theatre Guide. 5 September 2007. Archived from the original on 12 November 2012. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
  23. Billington, Michael (7 August 2009). "Pornography, Tricycle, London". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
  24. Daisy Jestico (30 January 2012). "Theatre Review: The House of Bernarda Alba at Almeida Theatre". Islington Gazette. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
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