BEN KINGSLEY BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:

Ben Kingsley was born on December 31st, 1943 in Scarborough, England with the birth name Krishna Pandit Bhanji.  His father, Rahimtulla Harji Bhanji, was a doctor and Kingsley received his early education at Manchester Grammar School.  He later studied at the University of Salford, followed by continuing his education at Pendleton College, which later became home to the Ben Kingsley Theatre.
 
It was not until the 1960's that he actually became involved with acting, beginning first as a stage performer.  He took on the stage name, Ben Kingsley at this time in fear that a foreign name might make it more difficult for him to break into the industry.  Some of his early stage productions were, "Volpone" and "A Midsummer Nights Dream".
 
By the mid 60's he was also appearing in small parts on a number of television series such as, "Pardon the Expression" (1966), "Coronation Street" (1966-1967), "The Adventurer" (1973) and "Full House" (1973).  He then gained a large amount of attention when he was cast in the film, "Gandhi" (1982) for which he won an Oscar for Best Actor, a Golden Globe, a BAFTA Award and London Film Critics Circle Award. 
 
He was now considered to be one of the finest British actors. As his career progressed he was now seen on the big screen in highly successful films such as, "Schindler's List" (1993), "What Planet Are You From?" (2000), "Rules of Engagement" (2000) and "Sexy Beast" (2000).  In addition to his film work, he graced the television in a number of television movies, "The Tale of Sweeney Todd" (1997), "Anne Frank: The Whole Story" (2001) and "Miss Harris" (2005).  
 
Ben Kinglsey remains known as a very strong and talented actor within the entertainment industry.  He has not let his career slow down. In fact, some of his more recent roles are all in post production and to be released soon, "Noahs Ark: The New Beginning" (2011), "The Dictator" (2012), "A Doll's House" (2012), "The Last Voyage of Demeter" (2013) and "Ender's Game" (2013). 
 
In 2010 he was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of fame and he was also named a Commander of the, Order of the British Empire in the year 2000 followed by being made a knight bachelor in 2002. 
 
He has had a very successful professional career however his personal life has had a few up's and downs.  He has been married a total of four times.  His first wife was Angela Morant from 1966 through 1972 and together they and two children.  He then married Alison Sutcliffe in 1978 and after having two children this marriage also came to an end in 1992.  He then chose to wed again to Alexandra Christmann in 2003 but this marriage lasted just two short years.  He currently remains married to his fourth wife, Daniela Lavender whom he married in 2007 and the couple reside in Oxfordshire in England. 
 

Filmography

2013 Ender's Game
2013 The Last Voyage of Demeter
2012 Crossmaglen
2012 A Doll's House 
2012 The Dictator
2012 A Common Man
2011 Noah's Ark: The New Beginning 
2010-2011 The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
2011 Hugo
2010 Fable III 
2010 Aral. El mar perdido
2010 Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time 
2010 Teen Patti
2010 Shutter Island 
2010 1001 Inventions and the Library of Secrets 
2008 Fifty Dead Men Walking
2008 The Love Guru
2008 War, Inc. 
2008 Elegy 
2008 The Wackness 
2008 Transsiberian 
2007 The Ten Commandments 
2007 The Last Legion
2007 You Kill Me
2006 Jackanory 
2006 Lucky Number Slevin
2005 BloodRayne
2005 Mrs. Harris
2005 Oliver Twist 
2005 A Sound of Thunder 
2004 Suspect Zero 
2004 Thunderbirds 
2004 Spooky House 
2003 House of Sand and Fog 
2003 Helena: First Pilgrim to the Holy Land
2002 Tuck Everlasting
2001 The Triumph of Love
2001 A.I. Artificial Intelligence
2001 Anne Frank: The Whole Story 
2000 Sexy Beast
2000 Rules of Engagement 
2000 What Planet Are You From?
1999 Alice in Wonderland
1999 The Confession 
1999 Parting Shots 
1998 Crime and Punishment 
1997 The Tale of Sweeney Todd
1997 Photographing Fairies 
1997 The Assignment
1997 Weapons of Mass Distraction
1996 Twelfth Night 
1995 Moses 
1995 Species
1995 Joseph
1994 Death and the Maiden 
1993 Schindler's List 
1993 Searching for Bobby Fischer 
1993 Dave 
1992 Sneakers 
1992 Freddie as F.R.O.7. 
1991 Bugsy
1991 L'amore necessario 
1991 The War That Never Ends 
1990 O Quinto Macaco 
1990 Romeo.Juliet 
1990 The Children
1990 Una vita scellerata
1989 Murderers Among Us: The Simon Wiesenthal Story
1989 Slipstream 
1988 Testimony 
1988 Lenin: The Train
1988 Without a Clue 
1988 Pascali's Island
1988 The Secret of the Sahara 
1987 Maurice
1986 Stanley's Vision 
1985 Silas Marner 
1985 Harem 
1985 Turtle Diary 
1984 Oxbridge Blues 
1984 Hallmark Hall of Fame 
1983 Kean
1983 Betrayal 
1982 The Merry Wives of Windsor 
1982 Gandhi 
1978-1979 BBC2 Playhouse 
1976-1979 Crown Court 
1977 The Velvet Glove
1976 Dickens of London
1975 The Love School 
1974 2nd House 
1974 Antony and Cleopatra 
1973 Wessex Tales 
1973 Play for Today 
1973 Fear Is the Key 
1973 Full House 
1973 A Misfortune
1973 The Adventurer 
1966-1967 Coronation Street 
1966 Orlando
1966 Pardon the Expression