FULL NAME : Anna Louise Mountford
DATE OF BIRTH : 11th February 1973
BORN : Kent. Moved to South Wales at 4 and then to London when she was 16.
LIVES : Muswell Hill, London
FAMILY : Her Uncle is a surgeon (gynecology) and her Aunt is a midwife.
PARTNER : Fiance Christian, a 3D animator.
CHILDREN : One son.
TRAINED : Went to Llantwit Fardne school in South Wales and was the year above Adrian Lewis-Morgan. Attended Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.
PREVIOUS JOBS : Brief spells of bar work and waitressing. Also selling toy computers in Selfridges over the Christmas period ‘I was right next to the grotto and heard the Christmas show 20 times a day.’
SKILLS : Singing (mezzo soprano), dance (jazz, tap and period), roller skating, swimming, horse riding, stage combat
ON CHARACTER KERI : ‘Keri is very honest and tells it like it is. She is hardworking and dedicated to her patients. She can be hasty at times and could sometimes package things better, but a lot of her directness is related to her youth and enthusiasm. I am also someone who values loyalty and honesty, though I don’t speak out as strongly as Keri.’
DESCRIBE KERI IN THREE WORDS : ‘I would say sexy, sassy and strong.’
ON SIMILARITIES BETWEEN HERSELF AND KERI : ‘I think she’s very honest and straight and I like to think that I try to be honest and straight with people. I don’t think she suffers fools and I don’t either.’
RESEARCH FOR ROLE : Anna spent a day in a ward with terminally ill kids which she found difficult, she found the staff amazing but said it was hard to talk to children who were dying. ‘I felt like I was treading somewhere that you shouldn’t.’
ON BEING SQUEAMISH : ‘I am squeamish, I’m not too bad I’m alright with needles and things, I don’t think I’d be particularly keen on cutting anyone up and putting my hands inside them. But you never know, I haven’t tried so I might be surprised.’
WHO WOULD PLAY HER IN A MOVIE OF HER LIFE : Jennifer Anniston
MOST VIVID CHILDHOOD MEMORY : ‘Being in a sandpit, wearing a rust coloured polo-neck jumper and a ladybird landing on my arm. It must have been the first time I’d seen a lady bird, because it really stuck in my mind.’
MOST FOOLISH THING DONE : ‘I came out of the HOLBY CITY green room and was being critical of one of the production team. They overheard me and I panicked, trying to cover my tracks. Needless to say it went horribly wrong – I was convinced that I was for the chop!’
WHO SHE ADMIRES : ‘I adore Madonna. She’s been a real inspiration to me in terms of exercise and healthy living. She makes me feel that getting older is okay really.’
WHAT MAKES HER ANGRY : ‘I don’t like dishonesty or disloyalty and people being cruel really makes me angry.’
HOBBIES : Singing/ music, exercise/ dance, clothes, interior design, restoring old furniture, horse riding, cinema
HOW SHE RELAXES : Osteopathy and pilates.
ON FUTURE GOALS : ‘I’m afraid I’m one of those television stars who longs to be a pop star. I love singing and that would be a dream come true for me. But more realistically, I want to start my own production company, and that’s my main goal after finishing Holby.’
REAL LIFE CASUALTY INCIDENT : While performing in Starlight Express she was injured ”I was part of a roller-skating train. We were always falling over, in fact I fell over every day for two and half years. But one day, I took a bad fall in the middle of a race going round an S-bend. The person following kicked me in the head and knocked me out.’
ON HERSELF : ‘I’ve always liked clothes and dressing up and I like to feel I look good because it gives me confidence. And because I used to dance I try to stay fit. But I don’t think I’m glamorous in any way. It is a really good looking cast, but no-one thinks about it until it gets pointed out when we’re doing publicity.’
HEALTH ADVICE SHE IGNORES : ‘I don’t put enough sunscreen on. I’m going to be old and wrinkly before my time!’
FAVE MUSIC : Rocky blues, Madonna, Joan Osborne, The Fun Loving Criminals.
FAVE FOOD : Goat’s cheese salad and roasted peppers.
WHO MAKES HER LAUGH : Eddie Izzard
TELEVISION CREDITS : Night Fever; Dreams of Gold; Casualty; Pie in the Sky; Friends Like These; Holby City; Jack of Heart; Kill by Inches; Murphy’s Law; Doctors; Silent Witness; Prime Suspect 6; The Giblet Boys; Mistresses; Doctors;
FILM CREDITS : Together Nina; The Cull Tina; Very Annie Mary; The Secret Life of Michael Fry; Shiner; Abraham’s Point; The Republic of Two
THEATRE CREDITS : Dead Funny; Marat/ Sade; The Beaux Strategem; Under Milk Wood; Starlight Express
RADIO CREDITS : Gaia; Love and Dissent; Hearts and Lives of Men; An Ideal Husband; The Importance of Being Ernest; A Woman of No Importance
AGENT : Rich Crater, Serendipity Entertainment Artists, 9107 Wilshire Blvd, 4th Fl, Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Emptage Hallett, 2nd Floor, 3-5 The Balcony, Castle Arcade, Cardiff, CF10 1BU.
DID YOU KNOW?
* Anna started off in Starlight Express. She did the whole show in German.
* Anna once had a scary encounter with a German stalker, who once bought out the front of a theatre stage so he could sit there and watch her perform ‘Starlight Express’. She says ‘fans in Britain are more sane!’
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Anna currently lives and works in LA. She is also writing and recording her first album, a collection of collaborative works under the name of The Annilee Ford Band.
Links
http://www.theannileefordband.com
