Biography:
Natascha McElhone (pronounced MAC-el-hone) is quickly becoming what Overseas Filmgroup calls "a burgeoning international star" since getting her first film break. She was born on March 23, 1971, in London, England and raised in Brighton, East Sussex, England by journalist parents. She has one brother, Damon, who writes movie scripts and lives in Hollywood.

Natascha took lessons in Irish dancing from the age of six to twelve. She attended St. Mary's Hall School for Girls in Brighton from 1982-1986. Her family now resides in a small town in Ireland.

The English actress (whose mother is Irish) studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art for three years, graduating in 1993, before beginning her career in the theatre. Her early stage credits include starring roles in London and Manchester productions of "Richard III" at Regent's Park, "The Count of Monte Cristo," "The Cherry Orchard" at the Leicester Haymarket and on national tour, and in "Midsummer Night's Dream" at the Open Air Theatre.

In 1994, Natascha appeared on British television as an army officer in "A Breed of Heroes," a feature-length BBC production. Other television credits from early in her career include appearances in several popular British series from 1991 to 1994; most notably, she played an art gallery assistant in an episode of "Absolutely Fabulous."

In 1996, Natascha made her film debut in Surviving Picasso and starred in the acclaimed Dennis Potter TV mini-series "Karaoke." Since then she has acted in many films, the most successful of these being The Truman Show and Ronin; both were released in 1998.

This year, Natascha played a public health inspector in FearDotCom, she was in City of Ghosts, Laurel Canyon, and Killing me Softly. Her latest movie, Steven Soderbergh's Solaris, just opened in theaters.

She currently resides in London with her husband, Dr. Martin Hirigoyen Kelly, a reconstructive plastic surgeon and their son, Theodore.