Marianne Jean-Baptiste

Marianne Raigipcien Jean-Baptiste (born 26 April 1967) is an Academy Award-nominated British actress, singer-songwriter and composer, best known for her role as Hortense Cumberbatch in the 1996 drama Secrets & Lies, for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, becoming the first black Briton to receive a nomination; and in the US as Vivian Johnson in the television series Without a Trace. --- Jean-Baptiste was born in London, England. She is of Antiguan and St. Lucian ancestry. She was classically trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and performed at the Royal National Theatre. She was nominated for a 1994 Ian Charleson Award for her performance in Measure For Measure with Cheek by Jowl. She gained international success from the Mike Leigh-directed social drama Secrets & Lies (1996), receiving Golden Globe and an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress nominations for her performance, becoming the first black British actress to be nominated for an Academy Award. She also collaborated with director Mike Leigh on stage in It's a Great Big Shame (1993). A writer and composer, Jean-Baptiste has recorded an album of blues songs and composed the musical score for Leigh's 1997 film Career Girls. --- She is married to British ballet dancer Evan Williams, with whom she has two daughters.