Wikipedia Bio / Profile Background
Introduction : Who is Sunetra Sastry?
Sunetra Sastry is an Anglo-Indian makeup artist, who is best known for being the long-time first wife of comedian Rowan Atkinson aka ‘Mr Bean.’
Young Life and Family Details :
- Sunetra Sastry Origin : Sunetra was born in 1957, to parents of mixed-orgin – an Indian father and an English mother.
- Parents : She has stated that growing up in that era, she was subjected to racism almost daily due to her father’s culture.
- Her mother was raised in a high-class English family but was disowned after marrying Sunetra’s father. Sunetra has said that any time she has attempted to ask her mother about it, her only response has been ‘It was worth it.’
- Education : After finishing high school, she attended a Beauty College in London, against the wishes of her parents. They firmly believed that it was not a real career and pushed her to consider nursing, however, once they saw her passion for it in action – they began to support her.
Rowan Atkinson Sunetra Sastry Marriage and Children :
- Sunetra met actor Rowan Atkinson in 1986 while working on the TV show Black Adder as a makeup artist.
- At the time, she was assigned to do the makeup of Rowan’s co-star Stephen Fry, but after seeing her one-day he convinced Stephen to swap.
- The two began dating after a few months and got engaged in late 1989.
- They married in February of 1990 at Russian Tea Room in New York City, with Stephen Fry acting as the best man for the wedding ceremony.
- The two had two children together, a son named Benjamin (born in 1993) and a daughter named Lily (born in 1995). Post the birth of her kids, Sunetra set her career aside to focus on raising their family.
Divorce & Affairs :
- It was announced in February of 2014 that Rowan and Sunetra were legally separating after 24 years of marriage, and rumours began swirling of infidelity on Rowan’s part.
- These rumours were made worse by the fact that Rowan immediately began publicly dating the 32-year-old actress Louise Ford after their separation.
- Her daughter Lily publicly labelled her father’s actions as ‘a dick move.’
- On November 10, 2015, a judge granted Sunetra a divorce within 65 seconds of proceedings commencing, after Rowan failed to appear in court. The judge also labeled Rowan’s behaviour towards his ex-wife as unreasonable.
- During the time of their separation, Sastry and Rowan were in the process of building an £11-million home in Oxfordshire.
- In October 2017, it was reported that their daughter Lily Atkinson had decided to not use her father’s surname anymore and started using her mother’s maiden name.
Is Sunetra Sastry Indian and Other Fun Facts :
- Sunetra has worked most of her career as a makeup artist for many of Rowan Atkinson’s productions, including Black Adder. She has also worked on the BBC TV movie Smack & Thistle in 1988.
- In 2010, the openly gay actor Stephen Fry admitted in his biography that he knew he was only 90% gay because he had been attracted to Sunetra during the time he filmed Black Adder.
- He stated that if he had not found out Rowan was attracted to her, he would have made a move on her, but decided to step aside as he felt they were the real deal.
- She prefers to stay out of the public eye, but works on charities such as The Brain Cancer Foundation of Great Britain, and has been praised by many humanitarians for her efforts.
hi medam sunetra sastry where you from? india
Hi Sunetra,
My 14-year-old son believes in the death of Mr. Bean. I told it’s rumors. He doesn’t believe me. He thinks I am manipulating him. Hahaha.
With love from India,
Shobha Prabhu
Hi Sunetra,
ur maiden name is Sastry. Er you connected to Lal Bahadur Shastry who was the 2nd prime minister of India? (just curious)
Thanks for supporting our lovely Mr Bean for 24 yrs.
I have gone through the divorce by myself.
Divorce helps us to separate 2 individuals to come out the uncomfortable situation between two partners.
May God Bless U.
Siva
Hi. My name is DINESH S. Negi. I am frm India.
I love Both. Mr Bean your Best Comedyin in the world…And Sunetra sastri. Madam. Ur Best supporter in the world…For Mr Bean
9221537449
In the interests of accuracy, the definition of Anglo-Indian under the Indian Constitution is the descendants of a British/European male parent and an Indian mother. The child of an Indian father and British/European mother is not ‘Anglo-Indian’; British if born in Britain, of mixed-race ancestry, certainly.