James was born in London, the second of two boys. His parents were from Trinidad, but he never knew his father. His mother, Phyllis Mary James, died when he was 12 and the boys went into a council children's home. An uncle living in the USA wanted them to live with him, but they didn't want to leave Britain. When he was 16 he was fostered with a social worker who had two older children, and they remain very close.

At 17 he began writing plays (Storm Damage was broadcast by the BBC in 2000 and won a Royal Television Society award in 2001) and he is also a highly-respected actor, with credits in Shakespeare, the films Elephant Juice, Lost in Space, Snatch, Lucky Break, 24 Hour Party People, Les Misérables and Among Giants, and TV shows Undercover Heart, Cold Feet, Out of the Blue, Comics, A Touch of Frost and Civvies, as well as a number of commercial voice-overs.

References

Castaway. "Lennie James." [Includes portrait]. Available at: http://www.castaway.org.uk/leja.htm
James, Lennie. "Some Mother's Son," The Independent on Sunday [London], 14 March 1999, Real Life section, p. 5
Johnson, Richard. "Ghosts of the Past," Radio Times, 22-28 January 2000, p. 20
"Lennie James," The Western Mail [Cardiff] Magazine, 25 January 2003, p. 41

Indexes

African
Uk/great Britain
20th Century
21st Century
Formal, American/European-Type Fostering
School-age Years, Adolescence
Orphaned (Both Parents)
Others ("Strangers")
Adoptive/Foster Family Included Birth Child(ren)
Institutional Care
Parents Separated or Divorced
Birth Siblings Placed Together