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Who is Tamzin Outhwaite?
British actress Tamzin Maria Outhwaite was born in Ilford, London, England, on 5 November 1970, making her zodiac sign Scorpio. She has 48 acting credits, and is perhaps known best for starring as Melanie ‘Mel’ Owen in 621 episodes (1998-2019) of the popular romantic crime series soapie “EastEnders”, which today stars Pam St. Clement, Steve McFadden and Adam Woodyatt, and was created by Julia Smith and Tony Holland. It follows the lives of several working-class people from London’s Albert Square, the series has aired over 8,000 episodes since 1985, and has won 189 of its 484 award nominations.
Tamzin’s currently shooting for the upcoming movies “Murder is Easy”, “Tell Me You Love Me”, and “Thirteen Cars”.
Education and early life
Tamzin was raised alongside her brothers Jake and Kes in Ilford, by their father Colin Frank Outhwaite and mother Anna (nee Santi); Tamzin rarely speaks about her family in public, because she respects their privacy, but it’s known that her mother’s of Italian descent, as her maternal great grandfather Adelmo Santi and his first son Pietro Santi were born in Italy.
Tamzin fell in love with acting at quite an early age, which was why she studied at Stagestruck Theatre Company as a teenager; she appeared in a number of theatre plays in the mid-1980s, often portraying lead characters.
Tamzin also spent some time attending Sylvia Young Theatre School, and upon dropping out of Stagestruck in 1987, she began studying drama and dance at London Studio Centre.
Roles in movies
Tamzin’s debut film role was playing Girlfriend in the 1993 musical drama “The Mystery of Dr Martinu”, and some of her following roles were in the 2001 drama “Red Cap”, the 2002 crime drama “Out of Control” and the 2003 comedy “Final Demand”.
The year 2004 saw her play Caz in the popular romantic drama “When I’m Sixty-Four”, which stared Peter McNamara and Paul Freeman, and was directed by Jon Jones. It follows two elderly men from different backgrounds as they’re becoming friends, and the movie won four awards. Tamzin could then have been seen appearing in the 2004 thriller “Frances Tuesday”, the 2005 action crime comedy “7 Seconds”, and the 2005 romantic drama “Walk Away and I Stumble”.
In 2007, she played Burns’ Date in the critically acclaimed romantic crime drama “Cassandra’s Dream”, which starred Ewan McGregor and Colin Farrell, and was written and directed by Woody Allen; it follows two brothers who’ve turned to crime and have become enemies. The remainder of the 2000s saw Tamzin appear in the romantic drama “Radio Cape Cod”, and the short comedy “One Careful Owner”, both released in 2008.
The year 2012 saw her play Molly in the romantic drama “Great Expectations”, which starred Ralph Fiennes and Toby Irvine, and was directed by Mike Newell. It follows orphan Pip who’s now become a gentleman, and the movie won one of its nine award nominations.
Tamzin’s three most recent film roles have been in 2020 in the mystery drama “What a Carve Up!” and the horror “The Haunting of Alice Bowles”, and the 2021 crime horror thriller “Bull”.
Roles in TV series
Tamzin’s debut TV series role was playing Girl in Pub in the 1995 episode “Drunk” of the comedy “British Men Behaving Badly”, and the following year saw her play Danielle Bannon in the episode “Hers” of the crime drama “The Bill”.
In 2003 and 2004, she starred as Sergeant Jo McDonagh in all 12 episodes of the crime drama “Red Cap”, which also starred Douglas Hodge and James Thornton, and was created by Patrick Harbinson; it follows the lives of members of the British military’s Special Investigations Branch.
In 2006 and 2007, she played Rebecca Mitchell in 16 episodes of the comedy “Hotel Babylon”, which starred Dexter Fletcher and Martin Marquez, and was created by Tony Basgallop. It follows the lives of people working at the luxurious hotel Babylon, and the series was nominated for two awards. The remainder of the 2000s saw Tamzin star in both the crime mystery mini-series “The Fixer” and the crime science fiction mini-series “Paradox”.
My playmates today!#NewTricks#oscarsselfie pic.twitter.com/FmBBzUNABe
— tamzin outhwaite (@mouthwaite) March 7, 2014
From 2012 through 2015, she played Detective Chief Inspector Sasha Miller in 23 episodes of the crime comedy “New Tricks”, which starred Dennis Waterman, James Bolam and Alun Armstrong and was created by Roy Mitchell and Nigel McCrery. It follows the lives of three retired police officers, the series aired from 2003 through 2015 and won one of its five award nominations.
Some of Tamzin’s most recent roles in TV series have been in two episodes of the 2022 crime thriller “We Hunt Together”, the 2022 episode “Can’t See the Blood for the Trees” of the mystery comedy “Murder, They Hope” and four episodes of the 2023 crime mystery “The Tower”.
Other credits
Tamzin sang the song “Waterloo” in a 2000 episode of the series “EastEnders”, and the songs “Don’t You Want Me” and “I Know Him So Well” in the 2017 episode “Empty Orchestra” of the series “Inside No. 9”.
Some of her recent talk-show appearances have been in “Freeze the Fear with Wim Hof”, “Munya and Filly Get Chilly” and “Pointless Celebrities”.
Awards and nominations
Tamzin’s won three of her six award nominations.
She won a 1999 National Television Award for Most Popular Newcomer and two British Soap Awards for Sexiest Female in 1999 and 2000, all three for her performance in “EastEnders”.
Love life and relationships
There are several men whom Tamzin’s been with, that we know about. In 1999 and 2000, she was in a relationship with Australian producer Marty Benson, and from 2000 through 2003, Tamzin was in a relationship with Steve Ellington, a non-celebrity British man.
She dated British actor Nigel Harman in 2003, and was in the second half of 2003 and through 2004 in a relationship with Jamie Baker, a retired British professional tennis player.
On 11 June 2006, Tamzin exchanged vows with famous British actor Tom Ellis, who’s appeared in 69 movies and TV series and is perhaps known best for starring as Lucifer Morningstar in all 93 episodes of the crime fantasy series “Lucifer”, which aired from 2016 through 2021. Tamzin gave birth to their first daughter Florence Elsie Ellis on 17 June 2008, and their second daughter Marnie Mae Ellis followed on 1 August 2012. Tamzin and Tom separated in 2013, and their divorce was finalized on 28 April 2014.
Since 2018, she’s been in a relationship with Tom Child, a British non-celebrity who’s 21 years her junior.
There are no other men whom Tamzin’s perhaps been with, that we know about; she’s in a relationship with Tom Child as of August 2023, was once married to Tom Ellis and has two daughters with him.
Interesting facts and hobbies
It was famous British actor James McAvoy who introduced Tamzin to her former husband Tom on her 35th birthday.
She was three months pregnant with her second daughter while shooting for the 2012 movie “Great Expectations”.
Tamzin was physically highly active as a teenager and played various sports with her peers, excelling in soccer.
Her father Colin has a single acting credit, as he voiced a supporting character in two episodes of the 2020 drama mini-series “Dun Breedin’”.
Tamzin’s today living in London, and is an ambassador of the Park Theatre in the Finsbury Park area of London.
One of her favorite actors is Taron Egerton, and some of her favorite movies include “Tetris”, “Kingsman: The Secret Service” and “Rocketman”.
Appearance and net worth
Tamzin’s age is 52. She has blonde hair and brown eyes, weighs around 140lbs (63kgs) and is 5ft 8ins (1.73m) tall.
Tamzin’s net worth’s been estimated at over $8 million, as of August 2023.
