Sunetra Sastry is a British make-up artist, popularly known as the former wife of the famous English comedian, actor and screenwriter Rowan Atkinson aka Mr Bean. A professional makeup artist, most of Sastry’s work has featured for the BBC and several Rowan Atkinson Productions.
Who is Sunetra Sastry?
Sunetra Sastry was born in 1957 in Newcastle,England, to an Indian father and an English mother. Growing up in England in the 1960s, Sastry experienced a pivotal era of racial discrimination due to her father’s ethnic origin. What is more, her mother was disowned by her English family for marrying Sunetra’s father. However, Sastry overcame bourgeois injustices and discovered her passion for the beauty industry. After high school, she attended a beauty college in London, a decision that initially went against her parents’ desire to become a nurse instead. Eventually, however, they accepted and supported Sunetra’s passion. She later got a job at the BBC as a make-up artist. Some of their working credits includeBlack Adder and Smack & Thistle as well as several other Rowan Atkinson productions.
What happened to her relationship with Rowan Atkinson?
It was while working on the set of the TV show Black Adder in 1986 that Sastry met Atkinson. Rowan and Sunetra married after a few months in February 1990 at the Russian Tea Room in New York City.
A crew member on the long-running series Black Adder, Sastry, Stephen initially backed Fry but later switched to Atkinson after the latter approached Fry one day during rehearsals, specifically requesting that Sastry work on him instead. Stephen Fry, an openly gay actor who served as best man for Sastry and Atkinson’s wedding, admitted in his 2010 autobiography that Sastry was one of the few women who had dressed him. According to Fry, he had seriously considered challenging the “bright, funny, and intriguingly seductive” Sastry, but changed his mind when he discovered Atkinson was also interested in her.
Sastry and Atkinson’s union produced two children, a son Benjamin born in 1993 and a daughter Lily born in 1995. However, after 24 years of marriage, the couple separated, and by November 2015, they were officially divorced because Atkinson failed to appear in court during the divorce proceedings, behavior the judge called “unreasonable.”
Lily is a burlesque dancer and aspiring actress and has acted in a number of films. In addition to starring in the 2004 film Tooth, she has also made appearances alongside her father in two of his films – Mr. Bean’s Vacation (2007) and Johnny English Reborn (2011).
During her marriage to Atkinson, Sastry finally decided to put her career on hold and focus on raising her children. She was also supportive of her famous husband, whose extensive work in radio, television, theater and film has made him an accomplished entertainer. Today, Atkinson is one of Britain’s most successful and popular comedy performers, with a plethora of hits including Blackadder, Mr Bean, and Johnny English, to his credit and an estimated net worth of £70million accumulated over roughly four decades in the entertainment industry .
Atkinson currently resides in a £4millionLondon cottage Sastry resides in a £21million mansion in the city. At the time of their split, the estranged couple were building a £11million home in Oxfordshire. Sunetra is actively involved in charitable and humanitarian causes and has worked with charities such as the Brain Cancer Foundation in the UK.
Fast facts on Sunetra Sastry
Height: 5 feet 5 inches (1.65 m)
Weight: 55kg
Body measurements: 34-27-36 inches
Religion: Hinduism
Hair Color: Black
Hobbies: travelling