Emily Lloyd

Emily Alice Lloyd-Pack (born 29 September 1970), known as Emily Lloyd, is a British actress.

In 1986, director David Leland cast her as Lynda, the leading role in his film Wish You Were Here.

The film was based loosely on the memoirs of Cynthia Payne.

Lloyd's younger half-sister Charlotte played the 11-year-old Lynda in a flashback sequence.

At the age of 16, she starred in her debut and breakthrough role in the 1987 film Wish You Were Here, for which she received critical acclaim and Best Actress awards from the National Society of Film Critics and the Evening Standard British Film Awards.

Wish You Were Here received an International Federation of Film Critics award at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival, and Lloyd received widespread acclaim for her performance.

Roger Ebert said she was the key to the film's performance, calling it "one of the great debut roles for a young actress".

Lloyd received the 'Best Actress' award from the National Society of Film Critics in 1987, and also at the 1987 Evening Standard British Film Awards.

She was also nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in 1988.

Following her success, Steven Spielberg warned her not to get involved in the film industry and to "be a kid and go to Disneyland".

Lloyd, however, moved to Manhattan where she was living alone at 17.

She subsequently relocated to Manhattan at 17, received numerous film offers, and starred in the 1989 films Cookie and In Country.

Lloyd's mental health began to decline in her late teens, and she missed out on several prominent roles due to a combination of factors.

She received numerous film offers and reportedly beat over 5,000 actresses, including Jodie Foster, for the lead role in the 1989 film Cookie.

Lloyd reported that her mental health deteriorated in Manhattan, and began developing a tic, had difficulty concentrating, and was hearing voices.

She later said she was aware she needed help but did not know how to go about getting treatment.

Her co-star in Cookie, Peter Falk, became so frustrated with her behaviour during filming that he slapped her, after which she slapped him back.

Lloyd's performance in Cookie was praised by The New York Times.

Her next role was in the 1989 film In Country opposite Bruce Willis, though the two stars reportedly did not get along during filming.

Rick Groen from The Globe and Mail praised Lloyd's performance as "letter perfect – her accent impeccable and her energy immense".

She turned down the lead role in the 1990 film Pretty Woman as she had already agreed to star in Mermaids, from which she was later recast.

Lloyd had to turn down an offer for the lead role in Pretty Woman; she had already been contracted to star in the 1990 film Mermaids.

Lloyd was cast as the daughter of the character played by the film's star, Cher.

Cher, however, thought that Lloyd did not look enough like her to portray her daughter and complained about her casting.

The original director of the film, Lasse Hallström, was fired at Cher's insistence, and Lloyd was subsequently told she was no longer required.

Her part was given to Winona Ryder.

Lloyd sued Orion Pictures for breach of contract and received $175,000 in damages.

She was fired from the 1992 film Husbands and Wives as her deteriorating health affected her ability to work, and was also replaced in the 1995 film Tank Girl.

In 1997, a journalist said Lloyd was "in danger of becoming better known for the parts she has lost than those she has played".

Though she continued to act in films during this time, she was mostly relegated to supporting roles.

Lloyd's mental health continued to deteriorate in later years.

Her father married Jehane Markham in 2000; they had three sons: Hartley, Louis and Spencer.

At the age of 15, Lloyd was taking acting lessons at the Italia Conti School in London.

While she played the lead role in the 2002 independent film The Honeytrap to critical acclaim, and also performed in theatrical productions, she had difficulty finding work and was diagnosed with several mental health conditions.

By 2013, Lloyd's health had stabilised.

That same year she published an autobiography, Wish I Was There.

Lloyd was born in London, the daughter of Sheila Ball (née Mackie, later Lloyd-Pack), a theatrical agent who was a long-time secretary at Harold Pinter's stage agency, and actor Roger Lloyd-Pack.

Her grandfather, Charles Lloyd-Pack, was also a stage and film actor.

Lloyd's parents separated when she was 18 months old; her father moved out of the family home though Emily continued to live with her mother in Milner Square, Islington.

Lloyd-Pack married telephone engineer Martin Ball and had a second daughter, Charlotte, when Lloyd was five; however the couple separated two months after her birth.