Sunetra Sastry is a British make-up artist, born on September 5, 1957 in Newcastle, England. She is known for her work on the show “Black Adder”, and for being the former wife of actor and comedian Rowan Atkinson.
Early life and education
Sunetra was born into an ethnically mixed family, as her father was Indian and her mother British – when her mother married Sunetra’s father, she was disowned by her family. Sunetra’s early life was peaceful, even though she faced some racism in 1960s English society, being a child of mixed ethnicity. There is no more information about Sunetra’s early life and information about her early education is unknown.
It is known that Sunetra’s parents wanted her to pursue a career as a nurse. However, Sunetra’s true passion led her to study at Beauty College in London where she graduated with a degree in Make-Up Artistry.
Posted by Sunetra Sastry on Sunday September 11, 2011
Career
Sunetra joined the BBC in the early 1980s – she began working in “Blackadder” in 1986, where she became Stephen Fry’s make-up artist. Fry, an openly gay actor, revealed that he was attracted to Sunetra despite his sexual preferences. He expressed his feelings about this in his 2010 book “The Fry Chronicles: An Autobiography” in which he described Sunetra as “smart, funny, and as captivating and attractive as any girl I’d met in years.” He said he intended to ask Sunetra out but never did because he also found out that his friend Rowan Atkinson was attracted to her.
Rowan Atkinson, who played the lead role in the series, asked Fry to switch makeup artists with him.
At first, Fry thought Atkinson was unsatisfied with his actual makeup artist, but later realized that Atkinson was trying to get to know Sunetra better and his intention was to ask her out as well.
In 1988 she worked in the BBC TV movie “Smack & Thistle”. In 1995, she worked on “Blackadder II”, but she soon quit her job and put her make-up artist career on hold altogether to focus on her family.
Private life
Relationship and Marriage – Rowan Atkinson
After Atkinson and Sastry met in 1986, they began a relationship. In 1989 Atkinson proposed to Sunetra and they married in 1990. Stephen Fry was Atkinson’s best man.
In 1995, Sunetra and Rowan welcomed their first child, a son whom they named Benjamin. Two years later in 1995, they welcomed their second child, this time a girl they named Lily.
Who is Rowan Atkinson?
Rowan Sebastian Atkinson is primarily a comedy actor and writer born on January 6, 1955 in Consett, County Durham, England. Atkinson is internationally known for his appearances on the comedy series “Blackadder”, from 1983 to 1989, and his most memorable role in “Mr. Bean”, from 1990 to 1995.
However, Atkinson’s early years were not spent as a comedian. He graduated from Cathedral Chorister School, Durham, graduated with a degree in Electronic and Electrical Engineering from Newcastle University and went on to receive an MSc from Queen’s College, Oxford. His passion for comedy was second only to his enthusiasm for engineering, and he only made his foray into comedy because he wanted to overcome stuttering.
The story goes back to 1976, when he went to a meeting with Richard Curtis where a group of college students met in the summer to discuss sketches. Atkinson was silent during this series of meetings, and it was not until the last one that he was finally able to speak. He gave a monologue about driving in a manner so impressive that there was not a trace of stuttering or doubt in his voice.
Richard Curtis, who would also become a writer and comedian, described the situation: ‘He did a monologue about driving, followed by what he still does now, mimicking and talking at the same time. It was unlike anything else I had ever seen. It was pure genius.’
Not only did Atkinson manage to overcome his stuttering, but he also left behind the awkwardness and shyness that were part of the young and shy Rowan.
Three years later, Atkinson got his first roles as a comedian. His first major appearance came in 1979, in “Canned Laughter”, a movie he wrote and appeared in, starring in three roles, as Robert Box, Dave Perry and Mr. Marshal. In the same year, he was part of the cast in the BBC comedy show “Not the Nine O’Clock News” which aired from 1979 to 1982 which would earn Atkinson the 1981 BAFTA Award for Best Entertainment Achievement. Rowan appeared in a total of 28 episodes, playing various roles.
In 1980, Rowan appeared in several roles in the film “Peter Cook & Co.”, and landed another major role as Bernard Fripp in 1983’s short film “Dead on Time”.
However, in 1982, Rowan starred as “Black Adder”a TV series that put him in the spotlight and increased his fame in the UK.
The series was a pseudo-historical comedy centered on the Middle Ages, with Prince Edmund constantly trying to take the crown from his father. In this production, Atkinson played not only the lead role of Prince Edmund, but several other roles such as Edmund, Duke of Edinburgh; The flat adder; The Big Grouchy Butt; Edmund, Archbishop of Canterbury and others. The series lasted from 1982 to 1983 and was a great success.
In 1986 “Blackadder II”, a sequel to the first series, was broadcast. In 1987, the third part of the series entitled “Blackadder the Third” was broadcast, and in 1988 a TV short film entitled “Blackadder: The Cavalier Years” was released, followed by a TV movie entitled “Blackadder’s Christmas Carol”. in 1988.
In 1989, the sixth part of the series “Blackadder” was broadcast, titled “Blackadder Goes Forth”, and ran for six episodes.
Later in 1999, ten years after the sixth installment of “Blackadder”, a short film titled “Blackadder Back & Forth” was released, featuring every Blackadder character from the entire series.
In addition to his role in “Blackadder”, Atkinson created Mr. Bean, the character who would become one of his most memorable and iconic roles ever. In 1990 “Mr. Bean” first appeared in the series that lasted until 1995. During the years that the series aired, Atkinson also played the role of Mr. Bean in several TV short films such as “The Library” in 1990, “Police Station”, “Hale & Pace: The Stonk” and “The Bus Stop” in 1991. In 1992, he appeared in the short video “Mr. Bean & Smear campaign Feat. Bruce Dickinson: (I Want to Be) Elected”, and in another short film titled “Blind Date.” In 1994, he reprized his role of Mr. Bean in the TV series “Schmidteinander” and in the video “The Best Bits of Mr. Bean” in 1995, when the series ended.
Other times he played this role was in the movie “Bean” in 1997, in the short film “Boyzone: Picture of You” and in the series “Ohh, Nooo! Mr. Bill Presents”. Years later, in 2002, the animated series titled “Mr. Bean: The Animated Series” began and aired for 17 years, with a total of 105 episodes.
In 2007, a short TV movie titled “Mr. Bean’s Wedding” was broadcast, followed by “The Dame Edna Treatment”. The same year the movie “Mr. Bean’s Holiday” was released, along with another short video titled “Matt Willis: Crash”. In 2012, Atkinson appeared in the TV special entitled “London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony: Isles of Wonder”.
In addition to his long work with Mr. Bean, Atkinson also appeared in several other productions.
Official date! Tune in for the premiere of Maigret in Montmartre on Sunday December 24th at 8:30pm on @ITV, starring @Rowan Atkinson as Jules Maigret!
Posted by Rowan Atkinson on Tuesday December 12, 2017
In 1983, he appeared as Small-Fawcett, in “Never Say Never Again”. In 1988, he played the role of Dr. Schooner in the short film “The Appointments of Dennis Jennings”.
The following year he played the role of Ron Anderson in the movie “The Tall Guy”, then appeared as Mr. Stringer in the movie “The Witches” in 1990, and the same year as Nigel Havers in the sixth episode of the second season. from the series “A little Fry and Laurie”. In 1991 he was Charles Pinkworth in the TV movie “Bernard and the Genie”, and in 1993 Dexter Hayman in the movie “Hot Shots! Part Deux”. In 1994, he played one of his most amazing roles in the movie “Four Weddings and a Funeral” as Father Gerald, and voiced the character of Zazu in the animated movie “The Lion King” and the video game “Animated StoryBook: The Lion King”.
In 1995 he appeared in another TV movie, “Full Throttle” as Sir Henry ‘Tim’ Birkin, and in the TV series “The Thin Blue Line” as Detective Inspector Raymond Fowler.
In 2003, Johnny English starred in the movie of the same name, and in the same year Rufus starred in “Love Actually”. Other movies he acted in were “Keeping Mum” in 2005; as Chief Inspector Maigret in the TV movie series “Maigret in Montmartre”, and reprized in “Johnny English Strikes Again”.
Divorce – 2014
Rowan and Sunetra’s marriage lasted almost 25 years, but in 2014 they announced their divorce. Sunetra filed for divorce that year, which was granted by the judge after Atkinson failed to appear in court, describing Atkinson’s behavior as “unreasonable.” At first, the reason for the divorce was unknown, but right after their divorce, Atkinson began dating young actress Louise Ford.
Ford and Atkinson met during the production of “Quartermaine’s Terms”, a play by Simon Gray that premiered at Wyndham’s Theater in 2013. However, Ford and Atkinson did not begin their relationship until a year later.
The divorce and rumors that circulated afterwards affected Atkinson’s reputation. In addition to public criticism of his performance, his family also criticized him. His daughter Lily described his behavior as “a dick move,” referring to the fact that her father began publicly displaying his new relationship right after the divorce.
In 2017, Lily expressed her wish to no longer use her father’s name, and use her mother’s maiden name instead. She is now known as Lily Sastry.
Sunetra has not been married since the divorce. Atkinson still maintains a romantic relationship with Louise Ford, and they welcomed their first child in 2017.
9 Facts About Rowan Atkinson: A Man Who Made The Whole World Laugh Without Saying A Word#Rowan Atkinson #Mr.Bean #readitnuonline https://t.co/EcnwqVdmeF
— Read It Now Online (@ReadItNowOnline) June 11, 2020
Net value
Sunetra Sastry has an estimated net worth of $15 million which is a result of her work as a makeup artist and the divorce settlement. As of early 2020, Atkinson’s alleged wealth is over $130 million.
Appearance
Sunetra is a woman of mixed ethnicity. She has brown eyes and brown hair and is 1.63 m tall. Her weight is unknown.
Interesting facts
Sunetra has donated to organizations such as The Brain Cancer Foundation of Great Britain.
Sunetra’s daughter Lily is also an actress.
Sunetra is a very private person, which is why she prefers to stay away from the media spotlight.
