- Born
- Birth nameLisa J. Maxwell
- Height5′ 2″ (1.57 m)
- Born in November 1963 to working-class parents, Lisa Maxwell was raised on an East London housing estate, and as a child was encouraged by her mother to pursue her obvious talent for entertaining, enrolling at the local drama school for weekend classes. Her first big break came in the early 1980s when she fought off 3000 contenders to become co-presenter of No Limits (1985), a pioneering youth programme which featured in the BBC's early evening schedule. In years to come, she built on this success with a stint as children's presenter on Thames TV's popular "Splash", and also acted as a foil to Russ Abbot and Les Dennis, both popular comedians of their day.
By the early 1990s, Lisa had been rewarded with her own weekly entertainment series, The Lisa Maxwell Show (1991) and in 1993, she tried her luck as an actress in America, although her audition for the role of Daphne in Frasier (1993) proved unsuccessful, partly due to a misunderstanding. During her time in the US, however, she did nonetheless secure roles in numerous popular series, among them Acapulco H.E.A.T. (1993) and the crime drama Murder, She Wrote (1984). Returning to Britain, she appeared in the London stage version of Grease and starred alongside Shane Richie in the popular musical, Boogie Nights. During this period, further acting roles followed, including her appearance in the BBC series, In Deep (2001). In 2002, she joined the cast of British television's longest-running police drama, The Bill (1984), portraying Acting DI Samantha Nixon, and her character remains a central figure to plot lines. Happily settled in her private life, a daughter was born to her in 1999.
- IMDb mini biography by: SW
- SpousePaul Jessup(February 29, 2012 - present) (1 child)
- Was originally lined up to play Daphne in Frasier (1993), but she had major disagreements with the producers over the script and without realising it, she had lost the 'role of a lifetime' and came back to England very, very upset.
- Gave birth to her daughter Beau Rose Jessup, with partner Paul Jessup, in a London hospital (13 October 1999).
- Returned to work 18 months after giving birth to her daughter Beau in order to begin filming In Deep (2001).
- Announced on Loose Women (1999) that she proposed to her partner Paul Jessup, having been in a relationship with him since June 1997, on the traditional Leap Year Day (29 February 2012).
- Godfather to her daughter Beau is her "Boogie Nights" co-star Shane Richie.
- When I was eleven, I wrote to Jim'll Fix It (1975) to ask whether I could do a duet with Liza Minnelli.
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