Stephenson, Pamela 1950-

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STEPHENSON, Pamela 1950-

PERSONAL: Born December 4, 1950, in Auckland, New Zealand; married, Nicholas Ball, 1979 (divorced); married Billy Connolly, December 20, 1989; children: Daisy, Amy, Scarlett. Education: Sydney Church of England Grammar School for Girls, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; National Institute of Dramatic Arts, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Author Mail, Overlook Press, One Overlook Drive, Woodstock, NY 12498.

CAREER: Licensed psychotherapist, Los Angles, CA. Performed briefly as a stand-up comedian at the Comic Strip, a club in London, England; Not the Nine O'Clock News, England, cast member, 1979-82. Has appeared in numerous movies, among them The Secret Policeman's Other Ball, 1982, Superman III, 1983, and Scandalous, 1984. Also appeared on the television show, Saturday Night Live, 1984-85.

AWARDS, HONORS: W. H. Smith Book Award for best biography, 2002, for Billy.

WRITINGS:

Billy, HarperCollins (London, England), 2001, Overlook Press (Woodstock, NY), 2002.

SIDELIGHTS: Pamela Stephenson has always been known for her irrepressible personality, and proudly notes that she resisted the best efforts of her parents and the Sydney Church of England Grammar School for Girls to subdue her. She studied dance to help recover from polio. Her interest in drama and performance took her to the National Institute of Dramatic Arts in Sydney where she studied until she left Australia in 1975. After some months traveling, Stephenson settled in London, England and began a career in entertainment. She performed as a stand-up comedian at the Comic Strip, a London club. From 1979 to 1982 she appeared regularly with Rowan Atkinson, Griff Rhys Jones, and Mel Smith on the satirical British television show, Not the Nine O'Clock News. Stephenson's talents as an impersonator are well recognized. In her prime she could offer up a range of characters as diverse as Barbra Streisand, Margaret Thatcher and Amy Carter. Stephenson has appeared in a number of films, among them John Gielgud's Scandalous, The Secret Policeman's Other Ball, and Richard Lester's Superman III, where she played Christopher Reeve's romantic interest. Saturday Night Live also claimed her as a cast member from 1984 to 1985.

Upon her move to Los Angeles with her husband and children, Stephenson changed careers. She enrolled in a clinical psychology program and is now a practicing psychotherapist in California. The production of her biography of her husband has added the title of author to her resume.

Billy, Stephenson's biography of her husband, Billy Connolly, was published by HarperCollins in 2001 in London. Connolly is a renowned comedian and actor with a reputation for an uncensored and raucous style of humor. His great suffering during childhood, including maternal abandonment and sexual abuse by his father created problems in his adult life. His busy career and family life are the result of having wrestled successfully with the demons of his youth. Billy won the W. H. Smith Award in the biography category.