Emily Lloyd

By 2003, Lloyd was struggling to find acting work. Cassandra Jardine from The Daily Telegraph stated that during an interview Lloyd frequently lost track of her sentences, stared into the distance and made sudden exclamations for no apparent reason. Lloyd attributed her mental state to the mefloquine exacerbating her existing anxiety and depression issues, and attributed her lack of regular acting work to these conditions and the stigma surrounding mental illness. By this time, Lloyd had lost contact with her Hollywood connections, and had had to sell the London apartment she bought with her film earnings. In 2005, she was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder, and told Suzanne Kerrins from the Sunday Mirror that while she did receive film offers, she was focusing on getting better, adding that she sometimes wished she had never been given the role in Wish You Were Here as it had been "both a blessing and a curse". Lloyd said she did not want anybody's sympathy, rather she just wanted "to feel well again". In April 2013, Lloyd stated that she had been calm and stable for the past few years. She said she had no regrets regarding her life, though wished "that on a few occasions [she'd] been able to enjoy the experiences fully". In May 2013, Lloyd published an autobiography, Wish I Was There. Following the birth of her daughter in 2014, Lloyd stated she was happy and that her mental illness had "faded into the background". In 2016, she had a role in the film No Reasons.

Lloyd's mental health continued to deteriorate in later years. 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 Emily Lloyd-Pack in London, the daughter of Sheila Hughes (née Laden), 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. Hughes remarried telephone engineer Martin Ball and had a second daughter, Charlotte, when Lloyd was five; Hughes and Ball separated two months after her birth. Her father married Jehane Markham in 2000; they had three sons: Hartley, Louis and Spencer.

In 1997, Lloyd went to India where she consumed the anti-malaria drug mefloquine, which is contraindicated for people with mental disorders. While on the trip, she was bitten by one of the Dalai Lama's dogs while waiting to meet with him. Lloyd attributes the combination of the drug and the attack to causing a subsequent mental breakdown. Lloyd's mother stated that when her daughter came back after only a week in India she had lost a considerable amount of weight and the two barely recognised one another. Lloyd developed obsessive-compulsive disorder thereafter, and struggled with the condition. Despite this, she continued to work in film, having a supporting role in the critically acclaimed 1997 film Welcome to Sarajevo, and also appeared in the film Boogie Boy that year. In 1998, she appeared in the film Brand New World, her last performance until she played the lead role in the independent thriller The Honeytrap in 2002, for which she received critical acclaim. The following year, she starred in the film Riverworld.

Lloyd made her début on the stage in 1996 as Bella Kooling in Max Klapper at the Electric Cinema. In 1997, she was cast as Eliza Doolittle in the Albery Theatre production of Pygmalion, produced by Bill Kenwright. It was to be her West End debut. Shortly after rehearsals began, the original director Giles Havergal walked out, with reports he found Lloyd impossible to work with. Lloyd later left the production herself, citing an issue with another member of the cast. A journalist from The Independent subsequently commented that Lloyd was "in danger of becoming better known for the parts she has lost than those she has played". In 2003, she appeared as Ophelia in Hamlet at the Shakespeare Festival in Leeds and Brighton. Lloyd spoke positively of her experience in the play, though according to The Daily Telegraph , one reviewer said her performance left audiences "visibly cringing".

Lloyd's only public long-term relationship was with Danny Huston. The couple split in 1995. In 2013, she revealed had been sexually abused by a family friend when she was five, which was a major cause of her anxiety and depression in later life. In October 2014, Lloyd had a daughter, Arrabelle, with her partner, vocalist Christian Jupp.

Lloyd's mental health began to suffer in her late teens, and she missed out on several prominent roles due to a combination of factors. 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 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 star in films during this time, she was mostly relegated to supporting roles.

Her next role was in the 1990 film Chicago Joe and the Showgirl; Roger Ebert commented that Lloyd "shows again, in only her fourth role, what a remarkable new talent she is." Shortly thereafter she began dating Gavin Rossdale. According to Lloyd the relationship was troubled, and one night at his apartment alone, she attempted suicide by taking aspirin and slashing her wrists. She was found by one of Rossdale's friends and spent the next six weeks in hospital. She was cast in Woody Allen's 1992 film Husbands and Wives, but was fired by him after two weeks due to her ill health. Allen complained Lloyd was spending too much time in her trailer; Lloyd later stated that was because she was making herself vomit. Later in 1992, she had a supporting role in Robert Redford's A River Runs Through It. The Hollywood Reporter said that Lloyd provided "another memorable performance", while Malcolm Johnson from the Hartford Courant said she and co-star Brad Pitt brought "verve and charm" to the film. In 1995, she was initially cast as the eponymous lead character for the film Tank Girl. The film's director, Rachel Talalay, states she fired Lloyd for refusing to shave her head for the role. Lloyd, who had spent four months training for the film, disputes this, saying she simply rescheduled her appointment with the film's hair stylist to the following day, after which Talalay ostensibly fired her for "being difficult". Lloyd said she was actually fired due to their personality clashes. Lloyd states she "went to pieces" after Tank Girl, believing she was cursed. After she finished filming Under the Hula Moon later that year she returned to London. She was offered a role on the TV series Casualty, though left production as she found she was too unwell to work. Shortly thereafter, she was also diagnosed with Tourette syndrome, and after being prescribed several types of medication and then experimenting with crack cocaine, was referred to the psychiatric ward at Homerton University Hospital for six months. In 1996, she appeared in the Sean Bean football film When Saturday Comes.

Following her success, Steven Spielberg warned her to not 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 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 she 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". Lloyd had to turn down an offer for the lead role in Pretty Woman, as 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 US$175,000 in damages.

At the age of 15, Lloyd was taking acting lessons at the Italia Conti School in London. 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 sister Charlotte played the 11-year-old Lynda in a flashback sequence. 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.

Emily Lloyd-Pack (born 29 September 1970), known as Emily Lloyd, is an English actress. At the age of 16, Lloyd 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. She subsequently relocated to Manhattan at 17, and received numerous film offers, starring in the 1989 films Cookie and In Country.