Emily Lloyd

At 54 years old, Emily Lloyd has this physical status:

At the age of 15, Lloyd was taking acting lessons at the Italia Conti School in London. In 1986, director David Leland cast her as Lynda, the leading role in his film Wish You Were Here. The film was based loosely on the memoirs of Cynthia Payne. Lloyd's younger half-sister Charlotte played the 11-year-old Lynda in a flashback sequence. Wish You Were Here received an International Federation of Film Critics award at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival, and Lloyd received widespread acclaim for her performance. Roger Ebert said she was the key to the film's performance, calling it "one of the great debut roles for a young actress". Lloyd received the 'Best Actress' award from the National Society of Film Critics in 1987, and also at the 1987 Evening Standard British Film Awards. She was also nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in 1988.

Following her success, Steven Spielberg warned her to not get involved in the film industry and to "be a kid and go to Disneyland". Lloyd, however, moved to Manhattan where she was living alone at 17. She received numerous film offers and reportedly beat over 5,000 actresses, including Jodie Foster, for the lead role in the 1989 film Cookie. Lloyd reported that her mental health deteriorated in Manhattan, and began developing a tic, had difficulty concentrating, and was hearing voices. She later said she was aware she needed help but did not know how to go about getting treatment. Her co-star in Cookie, Peter Falk, became so frustrated with her behaviour during filming that he slapped her, after which she slapped him back. Lloyd's performance in Cookie was praised by The New York Times.

Her next role was in the 1989 film In Country opposite Bruce Willis, though the two stars reportedly did not get along during filming. Rick Groen from The Globe and Mail praised Lloyd's performance as "letter perfect – her accent impeccable and her energy immense". Lloyd had to turn down an offer for the lead role in Pretty Woman, as she had already been contracted to star in the 1990 film Mermaids. Lloyd was cast as the daughter of the character played by the film's star, Cher. Cher, however, thought that Lloyd did not look enough like her to portray her daughter and complained about her casting. The original director of the film, Lasse Hallström, was fired at Cher's insistence, and Lloyd was subsequently told she was no longer required. Her part was given to Winona Ryder. Lloyd sued Orion Pictures for breach of contract and received $175,000 in damages.

Her next role was in the 1990 film Chicago Joe and the Showgirl; Roger Ebert commented that Lloyd "shows again, in only her fourth role, what a remarkable new talent she is." Shortly thereafter she began dating musician Gavin Rossdale. According to Lloyd the relationship was troubled, and one night at his apartment alone, she attempted suicide by taking aspirin and slashing her wrists. She was found by one of Rossdale's friends and spent the next six weeks in hospital. She was cast in Woody Allen's 1992 film Husbands and Wives, but was fired by him after two weeks due to her ill health. Allen complained Lloyd was spending too much time in her trailer; Lloyd later stated that was because she was making herself vomit. Later in 1992, she had a supporting role in Robert Redford's A River Runs Through It. The Hollywood Reporter said that Lloyd provided "another memorable performance", while Malcolm Johnson from the Hartford Courant said she and co-star Brad Pitt brought "verve and charm" to the film. In 1995, she was initially cast as the eponymous lead character for the film Tank Girl. The film's director, Rachel Talalay, states she fired Lloyd for refusing to shave her head for the role. Lloyd, who had spent four months training for the film, disputes this, saying she offered to rescheduled her appointment with the film's hair stylist to the following day as the stylist had a dinner date, after which Talalay ostensibly fired her for "being difficult". Lloyd said she was actually fired due to their personality clashes. Lloyd states she "went to pieces" after Tank Girl, believing she was cursed.

In 1996, she appeared in the Sean Bean football film When Saturday Comes, then had a supporting role in the critically acclaimed film Welcome to Sarajevo. In 1997, Lloyd went to India where she took the anti-malaria drug mefloquine, which is contraindicated for people with mental disorders. Lloyd became sick on the trip and was also bitten by a stray dog. Lloyd attributes the combination of the drug and the attack to causing a subsequent mental breakdown. She lost 2 stone (13 kg) on the two-week trip, and developed obsessive-compulsive disorder afterwards. Despite this, she continued to work in film, appearing in Boogie Boy later that year. In 1998, she appeared in the film Brand New World, her last performance until she played the lead role in the independent thriller The Honeytrap in 2002, for which she received critical acclaim. The following year, she starred in the film Riverworld.

Theatre career

Lloyd made her début on the stage in 1996 as Bella Kooling in Max Klapper at the Electric Cinema. In 1997, she was cast as Eliza Doolittle in the Albery Theatre production of Pygmalion, produced by Bill Kenwright. It was to be her West End debut. Shortly after rehearsals began, the original director Giles Havergal walked out, with reports he found Lloyd impossible to work with. Lloyd later left the production herself, citing an issue with another member of the cast. A journalist from The Independent subsequently commented that Lloyd was "in danger of becoming better known for the parts she has lost than those she has played". In 2003, she appeared as Ophelia in Hamlet at the Shakespeare Festival in Leeds and Brighton. Lloyd spoke positively of her experience in the play, though, according to The Daily Telegraph, one reviewer said her performance left audiences "visibly cringing".

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