DATE OF BIRTH : 19th March 1960
PLACE OF BIRTH : Switzerland
FAMILY : Mother, Clair – a concert pianist and father, Leonard – a Russian Jew. One brother, Richard and two sisters, Sarah and Sonia. Also has a half brother, Benjamin, from her father’s second marriage.
FAMILY BACKGROUND : Although born in Switzerland, the family moved to Germany where she began her schooling. At 5, her parents divorced, where she, her siblings and mother moved to England. Her father moved to Scotland.
PARTNER : Adrian Der Gregorian
PREVIOUS RELATIONSHIPS : Previously married to Roland Brine. Later had her first child with Jeremy Sams and her second child with cameraman Oleg Poupko.
CHILDREN : Two sons, Toby (b.1994), Alfie (b.2002)
PREVIOUS JOBS : An au pair, bar work, delicatessen, kindergarton teacher, secretary, receptionist, Assistant Manager of a toy department at Harvey Nicholls, and a year as a backing singer
BEST & WORST MEMORIES OF WORKING ON CASUALTY : ‘The worst was getting up so early and the best was working with such a great cast.’
LOOKING BACK ON HER TIME IN CASUALTY : ‘In terms of how I look, I feel more comfortable with a camera than on stage. A film camera, that is. I feel very very uncomfortable if I do TV because I know they don’t have time or money to light it properly – though I loved the year I spent on CASUALTY and wish, with hindsight that I’d stayed longer.’
TELEVISION CREDITS : Red Dwarf; Sunday in the Park with Steven; Hey Honey I’m Home; Casualty; The Complete Guide to Relationships; Black Daisies for the Bride; The Charter 88 Bad Government Awards; Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Narrator); Hey Mr Producer; Strassman; Frank Stubbs Promotes; Me and the Girls; Blues in the Night; Divorce; The Ancient Manner; Ragtime; Me and my Girls; Blues in the Night; Divorce; Shakers; The Ancient Mariner; Starburst; Video Entertainers; Exclusive Yarns
FILM CREDITS : Medium Cool
THEATRE CREDITS : Oklahoma; Minnie’s Boys; Rock Star; A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum; Jack and the Beanstalk; Blondel; Cavalcade; The Wizard of Oz; Small Expectations; Girlfriends; Spin of the Wheels; Blues in the Night; The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940; Butterflies Are Free; Ghetto; Sunday in the Park with George; April in Paris; The Three Sisters; The Break of Day; The Day You’ll Love Me; Merrily We Roll Along; Maria Friedman by Special Arrangement; The Break of Day; Passion; Romeo & Juliet; Therese Raquin; Square Rounds; Canary Blunt; Lady in the Dark; A Little Night Music; Chicago; The Witches of Eastwick; Ragtime; The Woman in White
MUSIC CAREER : In 1995 she released an album ‘Maria Friedman’, which included covers of ‘Broadway Baby’ and ‘A Man With a Child in His Eyes’. She has sung at The Royal Festival Hall, Barbican, Royal Albert Hall, Edinburgh Hall, Glasgow Concert Hall and St David’s Hall.
COMMERCIALS : Kodak; Abbey National
BOOKS : Appears in ‘CASUALTY : The Inside Story’ by Hilary Kingsley.
AGENT : Liz Roberts, The Old Thatch, Greenhurst Lane, Thakeham, West Sussex RH20 3HA.
John Cohen, Clintons, 55 Drury Lane, Covent Garden, London WC2H 5RZ.
DID YOU KNOW?
* Maria has won two Olivier awards for her theatre performances.
* Maria was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005 and has since made a recovery.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Maria Friedman now has a successful career in musical theatre.
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