Koo Stark Biography

(American Photographer and Actress)

Birthday: April 26, 1956 (Taurus)

Born In: New York, New York, United States

Koo Stark is an American actress and photographer who grew popular owing to her relationship with Prince Andrew in the 1980s. After training in a stage school, Stark decided to become an actress and made her debut with the comedy film ‘All I Want Is You... and You... and You...’ She followed this up with several other roles in the movies ‘Las Adolescentes’ and ‘The Awakening of Emily’ and the television series ‘Shades of Greene’. ‘The Sunday Drama’, and ‘The Awakening of Emily’, but none of these were commercially successful. Her choice of movies was also widely criticized, and critics stated that she would have been more successful as an actress if not for her early disasters. However, Stark found her calling as a photographer as the years passed and she trained under the reputed photographer Norman Parkinson in early 1980s. Soon enough, she released her first photography book ‘Contrasts’ and exhibited her collection at various galleries. These became popular, and she found success. Stark’s interest in movies and TV dwindled as the years passed, and her last credited role was in the TV series ‘Cluedo’. Since the 1990s, Koo Stark has exhibited at reputed galleries and continues to work as a photographer.
5
Quick Facts

Also Known As: Kathleen Norris Stark

Age: 67 Years, 67 Year Old Females

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Tim Jeffries (m. 1984 - div. 1990)

father: Wilbur Stark

mother: Kathi Norris

children: Tatiana Walker

Born Country: United States

Actresses Photographers

U.S. State: New Yorkers

Childhood & Early Life
Kathleen Norris Stark was born on April 26, 1956, to Wilbur Stark and Kathi Norris, in New York City. Her father was a popular writer and producer, and her mother was a television presenter. She has two older siblings: Pamela Stark and Brad Stark.
She studied at the Hewitt School in New York and later moved to the Glendower Preparatory School in Kensington in London. She moved to London when she was 15 with her father as her parents had divorced. It was around the same time she developed an interest in acting and entertainment.
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Career
After training in a stage school in acting and drama, Koo Stark decided to embark upon an acting career and was first seen in the comedy ‘All I Want Is You... and You... and You...’ in 1974. She played the role of Jennifer Ready in the Bob Kellett film, and the movie was successful at the box office.
In 1975, she appeared in a minor role in the popular film ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show.’ Later in the same year, she played the role of Ana in the drama ‘Las adolescentes’, directed by Pedro Masó. Starring the likes of Anthony Andrews and Susan Player, the movie was a disaster, both commercially and critically.
She made her TV debut in 1975 as well with an appearance in the short-lived drama TV series ‘Shades of Greene’. In the episode titled ‘The Blue Film’, she played the role of the lead girl. Despite an impressive performance, the series did not take off.
In 1976, Koo Stark starred in the movie ‘The Awakening of Emily’ where she starred alongside Sarah Brackett and Victor Spinetti. The movie was deemed to be softly pornographic and performed poorly and at the box office.
In 1977, she was first seen in the TV series ‘The Sunday Drama’ as Deborah in the episode ‘The Cuckoo Calls’. Later, she played the role of Justine Jerome in the Chris Boger movie ‘Cruel Passion’. She starred alongside Martin Potter and Lydia Lisle; however, the movie was declared a flop.
Apart from acting, Stark steadily developed a reputation as a photographer in the 1980s. She was invited by Gene Nocon to display her photographs at his exhibition ‘Personal Points of View’ in 1983.
In the mid-1980s, Stark started training under Norman Parkinson, a celebrated fashion photographer, in Tobago. Eventually, he became her mentor and she landed a book deal for her work. In 1985, Stark released her book ‘Contrasts’ and it was a huge success in the art world.
Parallelly, Koo Stark continued working in films. She was next seen in the Steve Barron comedy drama ‘Electric Dream’ in 1984. The movie performed well at the box office, and Stark received many good reviews for her performance as well.
Despite a successful career on the large screen, Koo Stark increasingly gravitated toward photography and began expanding her portfolio to include reportage, landscapes, still life, and other popular genres of photography. Her successful book, ‘Contrasts’, was later staged as an exhibition at Hamiltons Gallery in 1985.
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In 1986, she appeared in an episode of ‘The Two Ronnies’ as Alice and later played a role in ‘Eat the Rich’ the following year. With her interest moving toward photography, Stark focused less on movies. Her last acting role was in 1991, when she played the role of Miss Scarlett in the series ‘Cluedo’.
After retiring from the big screen, Stark exclusively focused on her photography. In 1994, she hosted the exhibition ‘The Stark Image’ at the Gallery Bar in Park Lane. Her work was also featured in Holbein Place in Belgravia.
In 2001, her exhibition ‘Stark Images’ was displayed at Dimbola Lodge, Isle of Wight and at Fruitmarket Gallery, Market Street, Edinburgh. Her next exhibition took place after nine years in 2010. She showcased ‘Portraits by Koo Stark’ at Winter Gardens, Ventnor in Isle of Wight.
Her reputation steadily grew, and her work eventually featured in various reputed magazines. Currently, her portraits are displayed in the National Gallery and are part of the collections in the Victoria and Albert Museum.
In 2011, her exhibition ‘Koo Stark: Contrasts’ was held at Dimbola Lodge from February to April. She followed this up with a solo exhibition titled ‘Kintsugi’, which was displayed first at Leica Gallery in Mayfair and later at Leica store in Manchester in May and August 2017, respectively.
Her latest exhibition ‘Kintsugi Portraits’ was held at the San Lorenzo in Beauchamp Place, London in November 2017. She continues to work as a photographer and hopes to hold more solo exhibitions in the future.
Major Works
Koo Stark is most remembered as a photographer rather than an actor. Her first collection ‘Contrasts’ was published as a book in 1985 and it was declared a unanimous success. The book was later transformed into an exhibition at Hamiltons Gallery in Carlos Place, London.
Family & Personal Life
Koo Stark grew infamous for her relationship with Prince Andrew in the 1980s. She first met him in February 1981 and grew close over the next two years. They were even spotted holidaying together and it was generally understood that this was a serious love affair.
Koo Stark’s association with Prince Andrew brought her undue attention and she was constantly hounded by the press and paparazzi. She and Andrew split up in 1983 owing to the unwelcome attention, and she remained friends with him afterward.
In August 1984, she married Tim Jeffries, a photograph gallery manager, in Hampstead. It wasn’t a public wedding, and the couple decided to keep their wedding as low-profile as possible. However, their marriage soured, and they divorced in 1990.
She was in a relationship with the American banker Warren Walker, and the couple was engaged to be married. However, Walker ended their relationship before this. Stark and Walker have a daughter, Tatiana, who was born in May 1997. Prince Andrew became her godfather.

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- Koo Stark Biography
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URL
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