Daniela Lavender, Lady Kinsley (born in 1974, former name Daniela Barbosa) is a Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

ian actress, appearing on Brazilian television, and English-language television, film and stage, including touring with the British Shakespeare Company

British Shakespeare Company

The British Shakespeare Company was a British open-air touring Shakespeare Company. Founded by Robert J. Williamson in 1994 , it was renamed in 2005...

.

Early life

Born in Bahia, Brazil, Lavender is part of a close knit 30-strong family. At the age of eight, Lavender began training in ballet, jazz and contemporary dance. Lavender studied Flamenco dancing under Roberto Amaral and Yolanda Arroyo in Los Angeles. Lavender received a journalism degree from PUC University and studied drama at Dirceu de Mattos  school in Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...

, and traveled to London, studying English for a year. She auditioned for the London International School of Performing Arts

London International School of Performing Arts

The London International School of Performing Arts was founded in 2003 by Thomas Prattki - the former pedagogical director of the Jacques Lecoq International School of Theatre in Paris....

, playing ‘Queen Anne’ from Shakespeare's Richard III

Richard III (play)

Richard III is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1591. It depicts the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of Richard III of England. The play is grouped among the histories in the First Folio and is most often classified...

, and passed the audition in spite of the language barrier. On 3 September 2007, she married Sir Ben Kingsley

Ben Kingsley

Sir Ben Kingsley, CBE is a British actor. He has won an Oscar, BAFTA, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards in his career. He is known for starring as Mohandas Gandhi in the film Gandhi in 1982, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor...

.

Acting career

Lavender appeared in the low budget independent film Emotional Backgammon

Emotional Backgammon

Emotional Backgammon is a 2003 British independent comedy-drama about couples strategizing to repair relationships, with unexpected results. The film was written by Leon Herbert and Matthew Hope, directed by Herbert, and stars Herbert, Wil Johnson, Daniela Lavender, and Jacqueline de Peza. It is...

(2003), and was awarded "Best Actress" at the Denver Film Festival

Denver Film Festival

The Denver Film Festival is held in November, primarily in the Tivoli Union on the Auraria Campus and the new Denver Film Center/Colfax, in Denver Colorado...

. Lavender appeared in Ali G Indahouse

Ali G Indahouse

Ali G Indahouse is a British comedy film directed by Mark Mylod and starring the fictional character Ali G, who is performed by British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen...

and the BBC series Longitude

Longitude (TV serial)

Longitude is a 2000 TV drama produced by Granada Productions and the A&E Network for Channel 4, first broadcast in 2000 in the UK on Channel 4 and the US on A&E. It is an adaptation of the 1997 book of the same title by Dava Sobel...

, EastEnders

EastEnders

EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...

, and Casualty

Casualty (TV series)

Casualty, stylised as Casual+y, is a British weekly television show broadcast on BBC One, and the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast on 6 September 1986, and transmitted in the UK on BBC One. The...

. Lavender toured with the British Shakespeare Company

British Shakespeare Company

The British Shakespeare Company was a British open-air touring Shakespeare Company. Founded by Robert J. Williamson in 1994 , it was renamed in 2005...

 production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 2009, playing Hippolyta

Hippolyta

In Greek mythology, Hippolyta or Hippolyte is the Amazonian queen who possessed a magical girdle she was given by her father Ares, the god of war. The girdle was a waist belt that signified her authority as queen of the Amazons....

 and Titania. Lavender is starring in Taj, the first production from Kingsley's production company, based on the story of the Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal is a white Marble mausoleum located in Agra, India. It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal...

. In the film, Lavender will portray Princess Kandahari Begum, appearing with Kingsley for the first time.

Other work

Lavender has supported Action for Brazil's Children Trust (ABC) as an ambassador, to raise awareness and funding to assist the disadvantaged.

Film, Theatre & Television

Title	Year	Producers !! Director !! Notes
Longitude	2000	Granada TV	Charles Sturridge
Down to Earth Down to Earth (UK TV series) Down to Earth was a BBC One television series first broadcast in 2000 about a couple who start a new life on a Devon farm. The early episodes of the series were based on a series of books written by Faith Addis about their real-life move from London to Devon.The music in the series was composed by...	2001	BBC	John B. Hobbs
Casualty Casualty (TV series) Casualty, stylised as Casual+y, is a British weekly television show broadcast on BBC One, and the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast on 6 September 1986, and transmitted in the UK on BBC One. The...	2001	BBC	Paul Duane
Ali G Indahouse Ali G Indahouse Ali G Indahouse is a British comedy film directed by Mark Mylod and starring the fictional character Ali G, who is performed by British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen...	2002	Working Title Films	Mark Mylod
Emotional Backgammon Emotional Backgammon Emotional Backgammon is a 2003 British independent comedy-drama about couples strategizing to repair relationships, with unexpected results. The film was written by Leon Herbert and Matthew Hope, directed by Herbert, and stars Herbert, Wil Johnson, Daniela Lavender, and Jacqueline de Peza. It is...	2003	Carazon Productions	Leon Herbert	(lead) Best Actress, Denver Film Festival Denver Film Festival The Denver Film Festival is held in November, primarily in the Tivoli Union on the Auraria Campus and the new Denver Film Center/Colfax, in Denver Colorado...
Eastenders EastEnders EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...	2003	BBC	Louise Berridge
Paixão Crua (“Raw Passion”)	2004	Independent	Tim Reid Tim Reid Timothy L. "Tim" Reid is an American actor, comedian and film director best known for his roles in prime time American television programs, such as Venus Flytrap on WKRP in Cincinnati , Marcel "Downtown" Brown on Simon & Simon , Ray Campbell on Sister, Sister and William Barnett on That 70's Show...	(lead)
Midsummer Night's Dream	2009	British Shakespeare Company	Robert J Williamson
Precious Precious (film) Precious , is a 2009 American drama film directed by Lee Daniels. Precious is an adaptation by Geoffrey S. Fletcher of the 1996 novel Push by Sapphire. The film stars Gabourey Sidibe, Mo'Nique, and Paula Patton...	2009	Equinoxe Films	Lee Daniels
The Scientist	2010	Polynation Pictures	Zach LeBeau
A Woman Alone	2011	Tabard Theatre, London		by Dario Fo Dario Fo Dario Fo is an Italian satirist, playwright, theater director, actor and composer. His dramatic work employs comedic methods of the ancient Italian commedia dell'arte, a theatrical style popular with the working classes. He currently owns and operates a theatre company with his wife, actress...  and Franca Rame Franca Rame Franca Rame is an Italian theatre actress and playwright. She is also the wife of Nobel Prize winning author Dario Fo and the mother of the writer Jacopo Fo.- Life :...
Viva Maria		Oval Theatre, London	Andre Pink
The Beelzebub Sonata		The Gate, London	Duncan Wood
Steel Magnolias		Troubadour Café, London	Scott Williams
Tartuffe		Troubadour Café, London	Scott Williams
Sexual Perversity In Chicago		Troubadour Café, London	Scott Williams
Lysistrata		Troubadour Café, London	Scott Williams
A Voice Screaming to Heaven		Troubadour Café, London	Scott Williams
Viva O Pova Brazileiro		Shanty Towns, Rio	Augusto Boal
Lanterna De Fogo		Princesa Isabel, Rio	Calé Miranda
Manchild		BBC	David Eves
Trouser Press		Independent	Paul Duane
Nick Cave		BBC	Paul Duane
Mulheres De Areia		Rede Globo TV, Rio	Wolf Maia

External links

• "As brasileiras de Bollywood". Globo.
• "Ben Kingsley's Wife Attracts the crowds to Dublin drama". Herald.ie.
• "The Stars Come Out to Play". Globe and Mail.
• "Ben Kingsley gets romantic at Taj". GlamSham.com.