Esther Freud
Encyclopedia
Esther Freud is a British
novelist.
, Freud is the daughter of painter Lucian Freud
and Bernadine Coverley and is a great-granddaughter
of Sigmund Freud
. She travelled extensively with her mother as a child, and returned to London at the age of sixteen to train as an actress at The Drama Centre. She has worked in television and theatre as both actress and writer. Her first credited television appearance, though inauspicious, was as a terrifed diner in The Bill
in 1984, running frantically out of a Chinese restaurant after it had received a bombscare. A year later she appeared as an alien in the Doctor Who
serial Attack of the Cybermen
. Her novels include the semi-autobiographical Hideous Kinky
, which was adapted into a film
starring Kate Winslet
.
She is also the author of The Wild, Gaglow, The Sea House. She also wrote the foreword for The Summer Book
by Tove Jansson
.
Freud was named as one of the 20 'Best of Young British Novelists' by Granta
magazine in 1993. Her novels have been translated into thirteen languages. She is also the co-founder (with Kitty Aldridge
) of the women's theatre company Norfolk Broads.
In 2009, she donated the short story Rice Cakes and Starbucks to Oxfam's 'Ox-Tales
' project, four collections of UK stories written by 38 authors. Her story was published in the 'Water' collection.
, and a half-brother, Noah Woodman. Her uncle was the late politician Sir Clement Freud
. She has two cousins in the media: Matthew
and broadcaster Emma
. She is married to actor David Morrissey
, with whom she has three children and maintains homes in London and Southwold
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
novelist.
Life and career
Born in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Freud is the daughter of painter Lucian Freud
Lucian Freud
Lucian Michael Freud, OM, CH was a British painter. Known chiefly for his thickly impasted portrait and figure paintings, he was widely considered the pre-eminent British artist of his time...
and Bernadine Coverley and is a great-granddaughter
Freud family
The family of Sigmund Freud, the pioneer of psychoanalysis, lived in Austria and Germany until the 1930s before emigrating to England, Canada and the United States...
of Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis...
. She travelled extensively with her mother as a child, and returned to London at the age of sixteen to train as an actress at The Drama Centre. She has worked in television and theatre as both actress and writer. Her first credited television appearance, though inauspicious, was as a terrifed diner in The Bill
The Bill
The Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work...
in 1984, running frantically out of a Chinese restaurant after it had received a bombscare. A year later she appeared as an alien in the Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
serial Attack of the Cybermen
Attack of the Cybermen
Attack of the Cybermen is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in two weekly parts from 5 January to 12 January 1985. It opened Season 22 of the series...
. Her novels include the semi-autobiographical Hideous Kinky
Hideous Kinky
Hideous Kinky is an autobiographical novel by Esther Freud, daughter of British painter Lucian Freud and great-granddaughter of Sigmund Freud. In 1998, a film adaptation was produced. It depicts her hippy childhood in Morocco with her elder sister, Bella....
, which was adapted into a film
Hideous Kinky (film)
Hideous Kinky is a 1998 film based on a novel about a young English mother who moves from London to Morocco with her two young daughters. It was directed by Gillies MacKinnon. The soundtrack included music by Canned Heat, Richie Havens and the Incredible String Band. The film was marketed with...
starring Kate Winslet
Kate Winslet
Kate Elizabeth Winslet is an English actress and occasional singer. She has received multiple awards and nominations. She was the youngest person to accrue six Academy Award nominations, and won the Academy Award for Best Actress for The Reader...
.
She is also the author of The Wild, Gaglow, The Sea House. She also wrote the foreword for The Summer Book
The Summer Book
The Summer Book is a book written by Finnish author Tove Jansson in 1972.-Plot:An elderly artist and her six-year-old granddaughter Sophia spend a summer together on a tiny island in the gulf of Finland exploring, talking about life, nature, everything but their feelings about Sophia's mother's...
by Tove Jansson
Tove Jansson
Tove Marika Jansson was a Swedish-Finnish novelist, painter, illustrator and comic strip author. She is best known as the author of the Moomin books.- Biography :...
.
Freud was named as one of the 20 'Best of Young British Novelists' by Granta
Granta
Granta is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centers on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story’s supreme ability to describe, illuminate and make real." In 2007, The Observer stated, "In its blend of...
magazine in 1993. Her novels have been translated into thirteen languages. She is also the co-founder (with Kitty Aldridge
Kitty Aldridge
Kitty Aldridge is a British actress and writer.-Biography:After training as an actress at the Drama Centre London, Aldridge worked in film, theatre and television as an actress. She released her first novel Pop in 2001, and her second Cryers Hill was published on 1 March 2007. Aldridge is married...
) of the women's theatre company Norfolk Broads.
In 2009, she donated the short story Rice Cakes and Starbucks to Oxfam's 'Ox-Tales
Ox-Tales
Ox-Tales refers to four anthologies of short stories written by 38 of the UK's best known authors. All the authors donated their stories to Oxfam...
' project, four collections of UK stories written by 38 authors. Her story was published in the 'Water' collection.
Family
Freud has a sister, fashion designer Bella FreudBella Freud
Bella Freud is a London-based fashion designer with a number of celebrity clients.-Life and career:Freud was born in London, England. She is the daughter of Bernardine Coverley and artist Lucian Freud and great granddaughter of the inventor of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud. Her father Lucian Freud...
, and a half-brother, Noah Woodman. Her uncle was the late politician Sir Clement Freud
Clement Freud
Sir Clement Raphael Freud was an English broadcaster, writer, politician and chef.-Early life:Freud was born in Berlin, the son of Jewish parents Ernst Ludwig Freud and Lucie née Brasch. He was the grandson of psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud and the brother of artist Lucian Freud...
. She has two cousins in the media: Matthew
Matthew Freud
Matthew Freud is head of Freud Communications, an international public relations firm in the United Kingdom.-Biography:...
and broadcaster Emma
Emma Freud
Emma Vallencey Freud OBE is an English broadcaster and cultural commentator.-Early life:Emma Freud was born on 25 January 1962 and is the daughter of politician and broadcaster Sir Clement Freud and June Flewett. She is the great-granddaughter of psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud...
. She is married to actor David Morrissey
David Morrissey
David Mark Morrissey is an English actor and director. Morrissey grew up in the Kensington and Knotty Ash areas of Liverpool, and learned to act at the city's Everyman Youth Theatre. At the age of 18, he was cast in the television series One Summer , which won him recognition throughout the country...
, with whom she has three children and maintains homes in London and Southwold
Southwold
Southwold is a town on the North Sea coast, in the Waveney district of the English county of Suffolk. It is located on the North Sea coast at the mouth of the River Blyth within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town is around south of Lowestoft and north-east...
.
Works
- Hideous KinkyHideous KinkyHideous Kinky is an autobiographical novel by Esther Freud, daughter of British painter Lucian Freud and great-granddaughter of Sigmund Freud. In 1998, a film adaptation was produced. It depicts her hippy childhood in Morocco with her elder sister, Bella....
(1992) - Peerless Flats (1993)
- Gaglow (1997)
- The Wild (2000)
- The Sea House (2003)
- Love Falls (2007)
- Lucky Break (2010)
External links
- Interview Penguin site
- Biography Contemporary Writers
- Career Agent's website