Breakfast (literally meaning "breaking the fast" of the night) is the first meal taken after rising from a night's sleep, most often eaten in the early morning before undertaking the day's work. Among English speakers, "breakfast" can be used to refer to this meal, or, less commonly, to refer to a meal composed of traditional breakfast foods (eggs, oatmeal, sausages, etc.) served at any time of day.

Breakfast foods vary widely from place to place, but often include a carbohydrate such as grains, fruit and/or vegetable, protein, dairy, and beverage. Coffee, tea, juice, breakfast cereals, pancakes, sausages, bacon, sweet breads, fresh fruit, vegetables, eggs, mushrooms, black pudding, baked beans, muffins, crumpets and toast with butter and/or jam or marmalade are common examples of breakfast foods, though a large range of preparations and ingredients are associated with breakfast globally.

Nutritional experts have referred to breakfast as the most important meal of the day, citing studies find that people who skip breakfast are disproportionately likely to have problems with concentration, metabolism, and weight.

History

Breakfast has commonly been practiced worldwide and is a concept easily transferred between cultures, but there have been many regional interpretations over the years. In Medieval Europe, for instance, the basic format of meals differed from what is currently 'standard', in that only two meals were to be had; a heavy dinner at noon and a light supper, largely due to the influence of the Church.

However, exceptions existed, most notably for children and the infirm, whom were "allowed" a small breakfast meal, and many labourers, farmers, and other physical workers also took the meal despite criticism and social pressure on them not to, and by the 15th century even the nobility had begun to ignore the rules and mores of polite society and took breakfast.

The earliest appearance in print of the idea that "breakfast is the most important meal of the day" occurs in the novella ''The Metamorphosis'', published in 1915 by Franz Kafka, which includes the line, "for Gregor's father, breakfast was the most important meal of the day". This is due to your body fasting for 6–9 hours the night prior, and one would need to break the fasting. Thus called break-fast.

Africa

Breakfast in Africa varies greatly from region to region.

Egypt

The traditional Egyptian breakfast is ''ful medames'' served along with ''aish beladi'' (a kind of pita unique to Egypt, made with whole wheat flour, white flour, and bran), ''falafel'' (known in Egypt as '''' and made with fava beans), and pickled vegetables. Fried or boiled eggs and various cheeses are also popular.

Ghana

The typical breakfast includes omelets; a very sweet and dense bread known as sugar bread; and tea. Porridge is occasionally eaten at home, while many people purchase their breakfasts from street vendors. A porridge called Tom Brown (a light brown porridge made from roasted maize flour) is also eaten for breakfast. In contemporary times, a local meal called ''waakye'' (rice cooked in beans) is very common. People prefer to buy ''waakye'' from street vendors just as they do other small meals.

Morocco

Breakfast typically includes Moroccan bread, local pastries, baguettes, and croissants with olive oil or argan oil, ''smen'' (or ghee), honey, jam and ''amlou'' (a dip made from toasted almonds, argan oil and honey). Also common are cheese, yogurt, ''harira'', and ''bissara'' (a Moroccan fava bean puree). Common beverages include green tea with mint, coffee (including café au lait), warm milk, and fruit juice.

Nigeria

Nigeria has over 250 different ethnic groups, with a corresponding variety of cuisines. For the Hausa of northern Nigeria, a typical breakfast consists of ''kosai'' (cakes made from ground beans which are then fried) or ''funkaso'' (wheat flour soaked for a day then fried and served with sugar). Both of these cakes can be served with porridge and sugar known as ''koko''. For the south western Yoruba people (Ilé Yorùbá) one of the most common breakfasts is (''ounjẹ árọ'') is ''Ògì''— a porridge made from corn, usually served with evaporated milk. Ògì is eaten with ''Acarajé'' (akara) or ''Moi moi''. Both are made from ground bean paste; akara is fried in oil, and moi moi is wrapped in leaves or foil and then steamed. Ògì can also be steamed in leaves to harden it and eaten with akara or moi moi for breakfast. English tea or is served as a breakfast drink. Another popular option in southwest Nigeria is ''gari'', which is eaten like a cereal. ''Gari'', known in Brazil as ''farofa'', is made from the root of ''cassava''. For breakfast, it is soaked in water and sweetened with sugar.

Senegal

Breakfast typically includes coffee, with dried milk and abundant sugar, accompanied by ''baguette'' with various spreads: Chocoleca, a Nutella equivalent made from peanuts; butter; or processed mild cheese. Fresh fruit, including mangoes and bananas, is often also part of a simple breakfast.

Uganda

Breakfasts vary by region. People often have a cup of tea with a variety of either warm or cold foods. In central Uganda, tea is prepared with milk and ginger, and it is served with a warm meal known locally as ''katogo''. This is a combination of green cooking bananas (''matooke'') mixed either in a stew from beef or in sauce from vegetables such as beans. In some parts of northern Uganda, breakfast would consist of tea and boiled cassava.

Northern African coriender bread is a important breakfast item among Northern Africans.

Asia

Afghanistan

A typical breakfast would be omelette or boiled eggs, cake or biscuits, buttered toast, rice with ''koft'a'' (meat) or ''sabzi'' (vegetable). Drinks include black tea, or ''qaimaaq chai'' (green tea with milk and rose essence or cardamom seeds).

Bangladesh

Breakfast in the country is called ''Nashta''. There are moderate regional variations in its composition, but the most common would typically consist of roti/chapati, ''aloo/shabji bhaji'' or ''aloo dam'' (dishes made primarily of potatoes and vegetables), chicken curry, daal (lentil curry), spicy egg omelet, and cha (tea). A heavier variant of breakfast would go on to include paratha, special roti/chapati, chital peetha (similar to a rice flour and lentil-based pancake), poori/luchi, or bakarkhani. On some occasions, rice dishes substitute the flatbread. Beef curry or ''Nihari'' (spicy curry of beef or mutton shank) would be likely to accompany. A lighter (and also less spicy) variant of breakfast would comprise chital peetha, bhapa peetha (steamed cake made with rice flour and molasses), milk, molasses, ''khejur rosh'' (date syrup), coconut, ''khoi'' (puffed wheat), and ''muri'' (puffed rice). Sweet dishes like halwa, ''firni'' (similar to rice pudding), ''jarda'' (colourful, sweet rice-based dish), ''shemai'' (sweet vermicilli) and ''doi'' (thick yogurt) are popular during breakfast. Seasonal fruits, fresh or juiced, serve as a refreshing complement to a predominantly spicy breakfast. Semi-fermented rice, regular or dried fish curry, vegetable, herbs and chilies can constitute a breakfast in many rural areas. English-influenced breakfast of cereal, milk, toast with butter and jam spread, and fried egg is common in urban areas.

Burma

thumb|''htamin jaw'' — leftover or cold rice fried with onions and boiled peas from a streethawker is quick and popular. A traditional Burmese breakfast in town and country alike is ''htamin jaw'', fried rice with boiled peas (''pè byouk''), and ''yei nway jan'' (green tea) especially among the poor. Glutinous rice or ''kao hnyin'' is a popular alternative, steamed wrapped in banana leaf often with peas as ''kao hnyin baung'' served with a sprinkle of crushed and salted toasted sesame. Equally popular is the purple variety known as ''nga cheik'' cooked the same way and called ''nga cheik paung''. ''Si damin'' is sticky rice cooked with turmeric and onions in peanut oil and served with crushed and salted toasted sesame and crispfried onions. Assorted fritters such as ''baya jaw'' (''urad dal'') go with all of them. ''Nan bya'' or ''naan'' (Indian-style flatbreads) again with ''pè byouk'' or simply buttered is served with Indian tea or coffee. It also goes very well with ''hseiksoup'' (mutton soup). Fried ''chapati'', blistered like ''nan bya'' but crisp, with ''pè byouk'' and crisp fried onions is a popular alternative. ''Htat ta ya'', lit. "a hundred layers", is flaky multilayered fried ''paratha'' served with either ''pè byouk'' or a sprinkle of sugar. ''Eeja gway'' (Chinese-style fried breadsticks or ''youtiao'') with Indian tea or coffee is another favourite. ''Mohinga'' often available as an "all-day breakfast" in towns and cities, is rice vermicelli in fish broth kept on the boil with chickpea flour and/or crushed toasted rice, lemon grass, sliced banana stem, onions, garlic, ginger, pepper and fish paste and served with crisp fried onions, crushed dried chilli, coriander, fish sauce and lime. Add fritters such as split chickpea (''pè jan jaw''), urad dal (''baya jaw'') or gourd (''bu jaw''), boiled egg and fried fish cake (''nga hpè jaw''). The Rakhine ''Mont-de'', is a lighter variant of ''Mohinga''. It consists of thin rice noodles eaten with clear soup, made from boiled ngapi and lemon grass. Toasted fish flakes, from snakefish and green and red chili paste are also added, with seasoning. Rakhine ''Mont-de'' is also called ''ar-pu-shar-pu'' (literally "hot throat", "hot tongue") because of its heavy use of spicy ingredients. A salad version also exists. It is now available in many cities and towns across Burma.

Cambodia

In Cambodia, rice congee (babaw) is widely eaten for breakfast. Plain congee is typically eaten with salted eggs, pickled vegetables, or dried fish. Chicken congee, pig's blood congee, and seafood congee are also commonly eaten. Cambodians also enjoy rice served with sliced pork or chicken with pickled vegetables or a noodle dish (usually a noodle soup called ''khtieau''). ''Caw'' (a pork or fish soup dish made with caramelized sugar) is also eaten with congee or rice for breakfast.

Korea

In South Korea, breakfast consists of components similar to other Korean meals: a small plate of kimchi or several types of kimchi, a bowl of rice and a bowl of clear soup made with vegetables (radish, onion, seaweed green onion, cucumber, squash, any vegetable can be used) and enriched with stock made most commonly from meat, bones, shell fish or dried pollack or anchovies in the broth. Savory ''namul'' or vegetables cooked in a pan with oil and seasoned with salt and other flavorings can also be served as a nutritious alternative or acompaniment to fried or grilled fish. Western-style breakfasts consisting of sliced bread either plain or toasted in an electric toaster, jam and perhaps butter, coffee, washed and cut tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables, or eggs are also common.

Laos

In Laos, it is customary to eat soup for breakfast, as well as congee.

Nepal

''Tea'' and ''milk'' are part of the daily breakfast routine, along with ''satu'' (powder of corn) or ''chiura'' (beaten rice) or some local cookies. The pattern of breakfast is different but bread, soup, vegetables, and chappati called ''puri tarkari'' are greatly included nowadays in most places. ''Dal, bhat'' and ''tarkari'' are the famous staple foods of Nepal.

Hong Kong

Traditional Chinese breakfasts in Hong Kong follow those in Canton. Also found are local interpretations of English breakfast and eastern Chinese breakfast fare. The long periods of British colonial rule and the influx of many refugees from Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces and Shanghai around the end of the Chinese Civil War changed eating habits. In Hong Kong, ''cha chaan teng'' breakfasts might consist of Hong Kong-style milk tea, coffee, or ''yuan yang'' (half tea-coffee mix), served with bread (roll or toast), ham, and fried eggs (sunny-side up with 3 green peas on the side), and a bowl of macaroni in clear soup with shredded ham. The Taiwanese regard this local interpretation of the English breakfast as unique to Hong Kong. In upscale (upmarket) restaurants or hotels, however, standard English and Continental breakfasts are served.

Sri Lanka

The traditional breakfast includes usually fresh roti, pittu, string hoppers, hoppers, milk rice, appa, green gram or bread . These are usually eaten with sambol (coconut, maldive fish or seeni-onion fried with chili and sugar),with jaggery, plantains or curry (fish, meat or vegetable). Noodles and cereals such as cornflakes are relative newcomers in main cities. Sri Lankans also have a traditional soup-like drink called ''kanda''. A typical everyday breakfast can simply consist of "brother bread" with dhal curry, sambol, butter and cheese or jam, plantain banana and tea.

Taiwan

The influx of mainland Chinese to the Taiwan in 1949 after the end of the Chinese Civil War changed breakfast habits. Breakfasts tend to be a mix of northern and eastern Chinese dishes and the traditional southeastern Chinese fare. This is more pronounced in cities with high proportions of people of mainland Han Chinese descent, such as Taipei. A typical Taiwan breakfast consists of you tiao (a fried breadstick), dou jiang (a warm, savory soybean soup), and dan bing (crisp scallion pancakes). The you tiao is dipped in the dou jiang, similar to how bread is dipped in soup.

Thailand

In the case of Thailand, a variety of different foods are served for breakfast since the country has opened to the eating cultures from many countries. Thai-Chinese people typically have congee/jook, boil-rice with fishes, pickles, dried shredded pork; dim-sum is also popular in some provinces, particularly in the south of Thailand. During rush hours in big cities, particularly Bangkok, people would have a fast and simple Western style breakfast, for example, bread, cornflakes, omelet, coffee and milk. Street eateries in Bangkok offer a wide range of food, such as sandwiches, grilled or fried pork with sticky rice, noodles, rice and Thai curries. Since there are so many kinds of food for breakfast, Thai people usually say that they would eat whatever they want for their breakfast.

China

Breakfasts vary greatly between different regions.

Northern China breakfast fare typically includes steamed buns in different shapes (the stuffed ones are 'Bao Zi (buns)', those plain ones are called 'Man Tou' and those 'rolls' are sometimes called by those people living in a certain region as 'Hua (flower) Juan (roll)', grilled flat, round buns (Shao (grilled) Bing (biscuit)', with ''dòunǎi or dòujiāng'' (soya milk) or Chinese tea (served hot and plain, without lemon or milk).

Central and eastern China, typified by Shanghai and the neighbouring Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui provinces, breakfasts are characterised by the combination of both northern and southern dishes. These may be stuffed rice rolls (粢飯) (a bit similar to Japanese sushi but much bigger in size), ''yóudoùfu fěnsī'' (油豆腐粉絲) (fried bean curd and cellophane noodles soup); plain rice porridge (粥) served with numerous side dishes, such as salted duck eggs, pickled vegetables, and thousand-year eggs; or sweetened or savoury soya milk served with grilled flat, round buns or ''yóutiáo'' (油條).

Southeastern China, such as Fujian province, breakfasts consist of rice porridge served with side dishes such as pickled vegetables and thousand-year eggs.

Southern China, represented by Canton Province (Guangdong province), breakfasts include rice porridge/congee prepared to a thicker consistency than those sold in Shanghai. Side dishes may or may not be served. Congee can be eaten with fried dough (油條/油炸鬼) or other kinds of deep-fried bakery products (in Chinese style) if it is plain, or not, as far as you like. In many cases, however, congee is prepared with any kind of ingredients as you can or cannot imagine, such as beef slices, shredded salted pork, minced meat, thousand-year eggs, fish, or sliced pig's liver and kidney, meatballs, frog, chicken, or even abalone. You can find not less than one hundred combinations on the menus of such congee restaurants (usually these are food stalls selling mainly congee, noodles and those Chinese deep-fried bakery products alone). Other breakfast items include rice noodle rolls ('Cheong Fun' 腸粉), fried noodles (sauteed noodles with bean sprouts, spring onions, soya sauce and sometimes some shredded pork, or even ham, etc.), ''jiānbǐng'' (thin crisp omelettes with fillings folded in), ''lúobogāo'' (turnip puddings) and 'rice dumpling' (wrapped in bamboo leaves, usually as a festive food during Dragon Boat Festival at around June every year). For Cantonese, the typical breakfasts (apart from the home-made congees) are ''dim sum'' breakfasts. Dim sum is often eaten at Cantonese restaurants, while nowadays, with its growing popularity and the advancement of technology, many different kinds of deep-frozen dim sums are available in supermarket, with most can be ready to serve just by re-heating it in a microwave oven for a few minutes.

India

India has a vast range of breakfast dishes with traditional fare varying widely by region:

In West Bengal breakfast may include ''luchi''/''kochuri'' (stuffed luchis), puffed rice crisps with milk, ''jaggery'' and fruits. The ''luchi/kochuri'' are served with a vegetable curry or something sauteed. Semifermented rice (''panta bhaath''), which has a mild pungent flavour, is also eaten, sometimes with ''dal'' and chilies.

South Indian states, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala, in rural areas and farming communities especially, rice porridge (known as ''congee'', ''kanji'' or ''ganji'') is a traditional breakfast item. In other areas Kanji is served with various condiments such as spicy pickles, coconut chutney or curry the most popular and common breakfast items are most often served with chutneys (coconut, onion, chana dal or peanut chutnies) and/or Sambar and somekind of spicy powder called podi. This is usually accompanied with a tumbler of filter coffee. They include:

:* Idly — Steamed rice and urad dal saucers :* Vada — deep-fried urad dal or chana dal batter with spicy seasoning :* Dosa — Rice and urad dal batter made into thin, round pancakes.There are several variations as well. While the most common is the plain dosa, it is not uncommon to come across variations such as Masala Dosa(stuffed with Potato), Rava Dosa(the traditional dosa batter with onions, semolins, green chillies etc.), Uttapam (a spicier version) and so on. Some food critics claim there are tens of ways of making this dosa. :* Upma — Mildly spicy porridge prepared with broken wheat, semolina or semiya :* Pongal — Mildly spicy rice porridge, considered a very comforting morning meal :* Chapati — flat bread prepared with durum wheat flour :* Poori — Deepfried puffed rounds prepared with durum wheat flour or maida :* Rotte (Roti): Flat bread prepared with millet (sorghum) flour, commonly served in rural households. :* Poha (batata poha , poha chutni): just flattened rice and coconut or a mixture of flattend rice and potato mixture, commonly served in mangalore area.

In Kerala the traditional breakfast, ''praatal'' പ്രാതല്‍) includes ''puttu'' (പുട്ടു്) (eaten with ''kadala'' (കടല) (black chana curry) or ripe bananas (നേന്ത്രപ്പഴം), ''porotta'' (പൊറോട്ട) / ''pathiri'' (പത്തിരി) or ''orotti'' (ഒറോട്ടി) (eaten with chicken, mutton or vegetable curry), ''appam'' (അപ്പം) — ''paalappam'', ''vellayappam'', kallappam'', ''idiyappam'' (ഇടിയപ്പം) or ''noolappam'' (നൂലപ്പം) — with egg curry (മുട്ടക്കറി) or vegetarian stew, ''kappa'' (കപ്പ) (tapioca) and ''meencurry'' / ''meenvaruttathu'' (tapioca and fish) and other popular breakfast items like ''idli'' (ഇഡ്ഡലി) and ''dosa'' (ദോശ) or ''masala dosa'' (മസാല ദോശ). Other common dishes include ''ada'' (അട) — ''ilayada'', ''ottada'' — ''ariyappam'', and ''uppumaavu'' (ഉപ്പുമാവു്).

North India Hindu. The breakfast consists of stuffed paratha breads or unstuffed parathas (very dense but thin, circularly shaped flat breads) with fresh butter, cooked ''tatse'' vegetables, especially ''aloo sabzi''. ''Puri'' and ''chholey'' are also a popular breakfast, along with ''rajma-chawal''.

North India Muslim. Especially in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, this consists of shermal (a heavy but very soft sweet ''naan''-type bread) and ''taftan'' (slightly sweet and salty variant of ''naan''). Popular accompaniments include sweets like ''jalebi'', ''halwa'', and sweetened milk. Samosas, and a combination of jalebi with yogurt (''dahi-jalebi''), comprise stand-alone breakfast items in Uttar Pradesh and its surrounding parts. In Maharashtra, ''poha'', ''upma'', idli, thalipit, and ''shira'' (similar to ''kesaribath'') is frequently eaten for breakfast.

Gujarati breakfast items include ''haandvo'', ''dhokla'', ''sev-khamni'', ''theplas'' (a form of ''paratha''), ''bhaakhri'' and assorted hard and crisp masala puris with pickles. A dip for the ''theplas'' is also made by mixing pickle with yogurt. Tea is a staple item in breakfast.

In Maharashtra also called as नाश्ता, ''poha'', ''upma'', idli, thalipit,Vadapav,Misal and ''shira'' (similar to ''kesaribath'') is frequently eaten for breakfast.

Indonesia

A popular Indonesian breakfast is lontong sayur, a dish made of compressed rice with a spicy curry sauce and cooked vegetables, typically jackfruit, as well as mie (noodles), deep fried redskin peanuts, and kerupuk (prawn crackers). Optional accompaniments include boiled egg (sometimes in a spicy sambal) and perkedel (deep fried potato cakes). A quantity of the dish will be prepared prior to sale at a food cart or warung, and will be served at room temperature and not reheated during sale.

In homes, nasi goreng is the most popular breakfast dish. Unlike lontong however, nasi goreng is also eaten for lunch and dinner, making it the most reliable kind of dish. Lontong also needs far more preparation and would generally be eaten at a local warung or food cart, whereas nasi goreng is very easy to make, yet really tasty, and usually accompanied with shrimp and egg or any suitable accompaniment. Due to its popularity, nasi goreng is sold in many warungs throughout Indonesia and can be found in nearly all hotels in Indonesia.

Another popular breakfast is bubur ayam, which is rice porridge. It is usually served hot, with Cakwe (Chinese fried bread stick), spring onion leaves, pieces of chicken slices, some chilli sauce, and sweet soy sauce. Like nasi goreng, this dish can be served for lunch and dinner as well. It is also easy to make.

Among college students (especially for those who rent houses) mie instan (instant noodles) are popular, both the fried and soup variety. A popular brand is indomie, or its product, pop mie (instant noodles served in a cup). Its preparation is simple and takes around 5 to 10 minutes (especially pop mie, where only hot water is added). Such preparation makes it an easy breakfast for students because they need to attend college in the morning. Like the above, it can be served for lunch and dinner.

In addition to these, Indonesians often simply eat the leftovers from the previous evening's dinner, such as curry, with plain rice. The high tropical temperatures, high degree of humidity and widespread lack of refrigeration make it prudent to eat food while it is still relatively fresh. If lacking such leftovers, a basic dish such as fried ikan teri (dried fish), or some kind of fried egg, again served with plain rice, would be common.

Japan

A traditional Japanese breakfast is based on rice, seafood, and fermented foods, which do not differ substantially from dishes eaten at other meals in Japanese cuisine. An exception is ''nattō'' (a type of fermented soybeans), which is most popularly eaten for breakfast. A typical Japanese restaurant breakfast presentation would be miso soup, rice with ''nori'' or other garnishes, ''nattō'', rice porridge, grilled fish, raw egg, and a pickled vegetable. The influence of Japanese travelers has made this traditional breakfast a standard option on the menus of many upscale hotels worldwide. It is common in Japanese households to include leftover items from the last evening's dinner in the next day's breakfast. Western breakfast foods such as toast and boiled or fried eggs are also common, and cereals are becoming popular. The typical breakfast beverage is green tea (traditional).

Malaysia and Singapore

In Malaysia, breakfast sometimes consists of a popular Malay food called ''nasi lemak''. Other food such as ''roti canai'' (known as roti prata in Singapore), kaya toast, half boiled eggs and wonton noodles are also among the favorites. In East Malaysia, glutinous rice is eaten as breakfast. Malaysian Chinese from the town of Klang, which is famous for its bak kut teh, frequently eat this herbed pork rib soup dish for breakfast. In other parts of Malaysia and Singapore, however, it is more commonly eaten at other meals.

A typical Singapore breakfast can be relatively cosmopolitan, with a variety of food choices from various cultures. The traditional local breakfast is kaya toast with half-boiled eggs (served with soy sauce and pepper), and coffee/tea. Other common local breakfast foods include fried noodles or vermicelli (served with side dishes like fried eggs, vegetables, luncheon meat, hotdogs, meatballs, cheese, fish cake or tofu), mee goreng (Malay version of fried noodles, albeit spicier), nasi lemak, curry puffs, kueh-kueh (Malay cakes) or sandwiches for those on the move. There are other local favourites like bean curd, sweet soups like black glutinous rice porridge and green/red bean soup. North American and European-style breakfasts are also popular, such as breads and cereals, or breakfasts from fast-food or coffee chains.

Pakistan

Breakfast is called Nashta. The traditional breakfast in Pakistan is usually a heavy meal. There are several dishes:

''Halva puri cholay'' or ''halva puri'', for short, consists of two separate dishes, halva, a sweet made from semolina, and ''aloo cholay'', a spicy chickpea-and-potato curry eaten with ''puri'', a small circular deep-fried flat bread.

Egg khagina or ''Anday ka Khagina'' is a popular breakfast dish with families, particularly on weekends. Its preparation and appearance are similar to scrambled eggs, but includes the addition of vegetables, herbs and spices and is traditionally accompanied by Pakistani flat breads such as roti (chapatti) or paratha.

''Siri paya'' is eaten with naan (''siri paya'' is a stew made of cow, goat or lamb's brain and feet. "''Siri''" means the head of the animal and "''paya''" its feet. It is considered a delicacy.

''Nihari'' is a stew made from beef or lamb shanks, and eaten with naan.

Lassi is a drink made from milk and yogurt, served in sweet, and rarely, in salty flavor.

Otherwise, ''parathas'' is often the default option eaten for breakfast; they may be stuffed with vegetables, chicken, beef or mutton mince. Tea is served with breakfast.

In cities and other urban areas, eggs and toast with butter and jam are also popular. Another breakfast popular in urban areas in Pakistan is tea with buttered rusks and fresh orange juice. In Karachi and Hyderabad, where Urdu-speaking migrants from North India are in majority, Shermal and Taftan are a popular breakfast item.

Philippines

Breakfast is known in the Philippines as ''agahan'' or ''almusal''. Philippine breakfasts vary from moderate to very heavy, depending on tradition. In some areas, even leftover lechón (roast suckling pig) is eaten with fried rice.

Rice is a predominant staple in the Philippines. As such, a favourite traditional breakfast has fried rice called ''sinangag''. Usually, this is made of leftover rice from the previous dinner (so nothing is wasted, as well as because this yields a firm and "tossed" texture, which is preferred over sticky), and fried with salt and garlic cloves. This is then combined with fried or scrambled eggs, and a choice of breakfast meat: beef ''tapa'' (pan-seared steak), pork tocino (sweet cured pork), ''longganisa'' (sausage), dried, smoked fish (such as tuyo), canned sardines, sauteed corned beef, or adobo, sometimes with Western-style baked beans, sliced tomatoes and a local pickled papaya shreds (achara) on the side. Alternatively, a cheese-topped breakfast pastry called an ensaymada (a colonial relative of the Mallorcan ensaimada; a ''brioche'') is also eaten, usually with hot chocolate, as is pan de sal (Philippine breakfast roll) filled with a buffalo milk white cheese (''kesong puti''), and local barako coffee.

Western-style breakfasts such as pancakes, French toast, and porridge are also eaten at home, as are cold breakfast cereals which are popular with children. There is also a breakfast known as ''tapsilog'', which is a combination of ''tapa'', ''sinangag'' and ''itlog'' (egg). Finally, there is ''champorado'', a local chocolate sticky rice porridge, often served with a side dish of crisp-fried sun-dried fish (''danggit'' or ''tuyo'') — an unusual, though authentically Filipino combination.

In the early mornings, hawkers also sell rice porridge (''lugaw''/''goto''), and noodle soups (such as ''mami'', ''lomi'', and ''batchoy'') from stalls to those on their way to work. Bakeries also open early for those purchasing ''pandesal'' to eat at home, as well as for people who eat breakfast "on the go". ''Taho''s are also a popular accompaniment to breakfast, especially with children, and these are bought from vendors who carry them.

Vietnam

There are multiple breakfast menu options across Vietnam, and usually the urban household will buy this from vendors rather than make it (rural families usually have rice and leftovers warmed up for breakfast). Breakfast can be quite hearty, depending on whether one chooses to top their meal with a meat roll or pastries. Typical noodle breakfast dishes in Vietnam (which are usually served with a loaf of bread to dip in the soup) include phở (Vietnamese beef or chicken soup based rice noodle), hu tieu (rice noodles in a pork based soup), bún bò Huế (spicy Hue style beef soup based noodles), bún riêu (crab soup based vermicelli noodles) or Mì Quảng (prawn and pork rice noodles). Bánh cuốn (crêpe-like roll made from thin, wide sheets of rice flour filled with ground pork, minced wood ear mushroom, and other ingredients, including meat loaves and sauce), bánh bao (savoury meat buns or sweet bean buns), bánh mì (Vietnamese cold cut meat loaf breads), bánh mì ốp la (Vietnamese French bread with sunnyside-up eggs). The term ''ốp la'' is from the French ''oeuf au plat'' (which may be served with a hot meat ball soup)), xôi (or glutinous rice, either savoury or sweet), boiled eggs or congee (similar to the southern Chinese), are common breakfast meals in Vietnam. Often, the Vietnamese will drink Vietnamese iced coffee, tea, juice, or soy milk to complete their breakfasts.

Australia and New Zealand

In New Zealand and Australia, the typical breakfast strongly resembles breakfast in other English-speaking countries. Owing to the warm weather in some parts of Australia, breakfast is generally light. The light breakfast consists of cereals, toast, fruit, and fruit juices, rather than cooked items. However, people in these countries may also enjoy a heavy breakfast with fried bacon, eggs, mushrooms, sausage, tomatoes and toast, with tea or coffee and juice (similar to the full English breakfast). Some other typical meals include pancakes (which are more common in Australia than crêpes), porridge, yogurt, and hash browns. A meal popular at gala horse racing events is a "chicken and champagne breakfast" typically consisting of roast chicken, an egg dish, fresh fruits, breads, condiments and a glass of champagne, often as a picnic. In summer, a New Zealand breakfast will typically consist of some variation on toast, cereal, juice and fruit. In winter, many New Zealanders prefer porridge or Weet-Bix with hot milk. Some New Zealanders will create a full cooked breakfast after the English tradition — generally bacon and eggs, fried tomatoes, fried mushrooms, and toast. American-type breakfasts (pancakes etc.) are becoming more common in New Zealand. These are usually purchased from a restaurant for weekend brunch.

Europe

As a general rule, traditional breakfasts are less substantial and less elaborate in the warmer, more southern countries bordering the Mediterranean, while breakfasts are traditionally larger, with a greater variety of dishes and greater prevalence of hot dishes in the cooler northern and central European countries.

Hotels and other types of lodging in Europe typically include breakfast in their rates, and in many cases, especially in larger hotels, it is served as a buffet. Specific items will vary from country to country, depending on local breakfast tastes and habits. In Switzerland, for example, cold cuts (luncheon meats), cheese, yoghurt, prepared fruit, butter, croissants, breads, and rolls are served. Sometimes foods belonging to the English breakfast eggs, sausages, tomatoes (fresh, grilled or canned), bacon can occasionally be found as part of the buffet.

Continental breakfast

Continental breakfast is a meal based on lighter Mediterranean breakfast traditions. It is a light meal meant to satisfy one until lunch. A typical continental breakfast consists of coffee and milk (often mixed as cappuccino or latte) or hot chocolate with a variety of sweet cakes such as waffles/pancakes, brioche and starchy foods such as croissants, often with a sweet jam, cream, or chocolate filling. It is often served with juice. The continental breakfast may also include sliced cold meats, such as salami or ham, yogurt or cereal, or a slice of cheese. Some countries of Europe, such as the Netherlands and those in Scandinavia, add fruit and cheese to the bread menu and occasionally a boiled egg or a small serving of salami.

The continental breakfast concept is not limited to Europe and is often served throughout the world in hotel chains. The term itself is of British origin. "The continent" in Britain refers to the countries of continental Europe. A "continental breakfast" thus denotes the type of lighter meal served in continental Europe, as opposed to the "full" English breakfast.

Northern Europe

Belgium

A typical Belgian breakfast is like that of its northern neighbor, the Netherlands. Most Belgians do not eat their most famous food for breakfast, Belgian waffles, which are traditionally sold in tourist areas of large cities, and are eaten as a snack. The breakfast in Belgium consists of breads, toasted or untoasted, with several marmalades, jams, and nut spreads, such as Nutella or just with a bar of chocolate. Other common toppings include sliced meats and cheeses. Pastries and croissants may be served on Sundays, but are mostly not eaten on weekdays. Belgians often enjoy coffee, tea, hot chocolate, milk, water, or fresh juice with breakfast.

Denmark

A typical breakfast in Denmark consists of cereals or bread, bread rolls (''rundstykker''), cheeses, fruit preserves (''marmelade'', usually made from berries or citrus fruits) and other toppings, accompanied by skimmed milk, tea or coffee. Weekends or festive occasions may call for Danish pastries (''wienerbrød'') or a bitters, such as Gammel Dansk.

Finland

Breakfast usually consists of open sandwiches. The sandwich is often buttered (with margarine), with toppings such as hard cheese or cold cuts. Finns usually don't have sweets on their breads such as jam (like the French and the Americans), or chocolate (like the Danes). Sour milk products such as yogurt or viili are also common breakfast foods, usually served in a bowl with cereals such as corn flakes, muesli, and sometimes with sugar, fruit or jam. A third food that is commonly eaten at breakfast is porridge (puuro), often made of rolled oats, and eaten with a pat of butter (voisilmä, lit. "butter eye") and/or with milk, fruit or jam, especially the sort made of raspberries or strawberries (sometimes lingonberries). Drinks are milk, juice, tea, or coffee.

Norway

Breakfasts in other parts of Norway can be quite ample. Fish, cheese, eggs, bacon, hot and cold cereals, breads, potatoes, and fruits are all eaten in various combinations, along with juices, coffee, and tea. or ''kulturmelk'' (Norway), a cultured milk similar to buttermilk or yogurt is often eaten with cereals. Whole-grain porridges with regular milk or butter are popular. Interestingly enough, the word for breakfast in the Swedish language/Norwegian language ("frukost" = early meal) means "lunch" in Danish. The Danish language word for breakfast is "morgenmad" (morning meal).

Latvia

A typical Latvian breakfast usually consists of open sandwiches with toppings made of vegetables, fish, eggs or cheese. Same as in Finland it is often buttered with margarine. Curd mixed with vegetables and salt as well as other sour milk products are very popular as well. Very often light oat porridge is eaten too. In general light, sour and salty tasting food is common for morning meal. Latvians usually drink coffee for breakfast. The Latvian word for breakfast is "brokastis".

Netherlands

The Dutch typically eat sliced bread with three choices of toppings: dairy products (numerous variations of cheese), a variety of cured and sliced meats, or sweet or semi-sweet products such as jam, peanut butter or chocolate toppings (''hagelslag'' (chocolate sprinkles), ''chocoladevlokken'' (chocolate flakes) and chocolate spread). Some typical, but less common products are apple syrup, honey, stroop (lesser known as bebogeen, a very sweet caramel topping made from sugar beets) and kokosbrood (a coconut product that is served thinly sliced like sliced cheese; also known as Cocosbread). Breakfast cereals and muesli are also popular, served with milk or yoghurt. Tea, drip coffee, milk, and juice are the most popular breakfast beverages. Breakfast may also include (for instance on Sundays) boiled eggs, raisin bread, pumpernickel, ontbijtkoek or croissants.

Sweden

Breakfast in Sweden is generally a sandwich made of a large amount of different types of soft bread or crisp bread, cold cuts, caviar, cheese, cottage cheese, cream cheese, goat cheese, eggs, scrambled or boiled, tomatoes or cucumber, or a toast with marmalade or maybe honey, juices, coffee, hot chocolate or tea. Breakfast cereals or muesli with milk, yoghurt or filmjölk, currants and fruits are popular or warm whole-grain porridge with milk and jam, (for example lingonberry jam). Pâté (leverpastej) with pickles, blueberry-soup (blåbärssoppa) and rose hip soup is also possible sometimes for breakfast.

Russia

Given Russia's cold climate, breakfasts tend to be substantial. Breakfast, or ''zavtrak'' as it is called in Russia, may consist of hot oatmeal or kasha, eggs, cheese, cured meats or sausage, rye breads with butter (butterbrods), and coffee or tea.

Central and eastern Europe

Germany & Austria

The typical German breakfast consists of bread rolls, butter, jam, ham, soft-boiled eggs and coffee. Cereals have become popular, and regional variation is significant, both in the amount of food and the offerings — cheeses, cold cuts, meat spreads, yogurt, granola and fruit (fresh or stewed) may appear, as well as eggs cooked to order (usually at smaller hotels or bed-and-breakfasts). A second breakfast is traditional in parts of Germany, notably Bavaria (there also called ''Brotzeit'', literally "bread time").

Hungary

Hungarians usually have a large breakfast. It consists of bread, bread rolls or crescent-shaped bread (''kifli''), toast, pastries with different fillings (sweet and salty as well), butter, jam or honey, eggs in different forms (fried/scrambled/omelette, etc.), salami, cold cuts, cheeses, hot dogs with mustard, tea, coffee or milk. Fruit juice in the morning is not that usual, hot drinks are more common. Hungarians sometimes have rice pudding called ''tejberizs'' or cream of wheat ''tejbegríz'', usually eaten with cocoa powder or cinnamon sugar. ''Lecsó'' made from tomatoes and green peppers can sometimes be a breakfast meal as well, mainly in the summer.

Poland

In Poland, a traditional, weekend breakfast may consist of soft boiled, scrambled or fried eggs, or curd cheese with herbs (''twarozek''), sandwiches or "milk soup" — cereals with milk or in some regions milk with broken bread; regional alternatives include pancakes, salads or sandwiches with various pastes (fish paste, egg paste, etc.) Black pudding or sausage is sometimes eaten, usually by itself. Modern breakfast consists of a meat, cheese or jam sandwich, with coffee (roasted grain beverage is still popular), tea, ''kefir'' or soured milk, or juice as a beverage. Second breakfast, which replaces lunch at work, is similar or identical to the actual breakfast.

Romania

The traditional Romanian breakfast consists of bread, cold plates such as mortadella and cheese, feta cheese, cucumber, tomatoes and eggs prepared as an omelette or sunny side up. Also, black coffee or tea usually are served. In addition, natural juice or yogurt are always taken in as an option.

Switzerland

Swiss breakfasts are often similar to those eaten in neighboring countries. A notable breakfast food of Swiss origin, now found throughout Europe, is ''muesli''.

Southern Europe

France

In France a typical domestic breakfast will consist of cups of coffee, often café au lait, or hot chocolate, usually served in big bowls, accompanied by a glass of orange or grapefruit juice. The main food consists of sweet products such as ''tartines'' (slices of baguette or other breads spread with butter, jam or chocolate paste), sometimes dunked in the hot drink. Brioches and other pastries such as ''croissants'', ''pains au chocolat'' and ''pains aux raisins'' are also traditional. Other products such as breakfast cereals, fruit compote, fromage blanc, and yogurt are becoming increasingly common as part of the meal. A typical French breakfast does not include any savory product.

Greece

Various kinds of pastry constitute the traditional Greek breakfast. Tyropita, spanakopita, and bougatsa (particularly in Northern Greece) are eaten, usually accompanied with Greek coffee. Simpler breakfasts include honey, marmalade or nutella cream (as well a Greek variation thereof, ''Merenda'') spread over slices of bread. Children typically drink chocolate or plain milk.

Serbia

In Serbia domestic breakfast can be: eggs in different forms (e.g. omelet with bacon, onion and feta cheese), canned fish or opened sandwiches with prosciutto or ham, feta cheese and salad (e.g. pickles). Different types of pies and pastry with various filings (e.g. Proja, Gibanica, Burek) are also served as the main dish. Yogurt and Coffee are preferred breakfast drinks. In the past it was a custom to drink Sljivovica before breakfast and after that Slatko with water. One of the traditional breakfasts consist of Proja, bacon, Sljivovica and garlic.

Bulgaria, Bosnia, Montenegro, Macedonia

Breakfast usually consists of various kinds of savory or sweet pastry, with cheese, meat or jam filling. The most typical breakfast consists of two slices of burek and a glass of ayran. Breakfast also often consists of open sandwiches. The sandwich is buttered (with margarine), with toppings such as prosciutto and yellow cheese.

Croatia

In Croatia the base is a continental breakfast with a variety of pastries with or without fillings (marmelade, chocolate, cheese, ham, nuts, poppy) and fermented milk products (yoghurt, soured milk, soured cream). Cold cuts, such as prosciutto, ham, salami, kulen, bacon, and various cheeses, are also very liked. Also, fried eggs or omelet and Vienna sausage with mayonnaise, mustard or ajvar are very often consumed. In continental parts you can easily find traditional ''sir i vrhnje'' (cottage cheese with soured cream and some spices). Coffee is much more preferred than tea (and it is mostly herbal tea).

Turkey

In Turkey, breakfast consists of fresh white sourdough bread, white cheese (feta), yellow cheese (''kaşar''), a wide variety of jam, fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, black and/or green olives, butter, honey, clotted water buffalo cream (''kaymak'') preserves, ''sujuk'', salami and a boiled egg — all accompanied by hot black tea in small tulip-shaped glasses. Breakfasts can be very elaborate for company or on weekends, and may include a variety of breads, pastries, and spreads, and several fresh fruits and vegetables in season, but the essential breakfast ingredients for almost every Turk on a daily basis are bread, cheese, jam, olives, and tea.

Italy

The traditional breakfast in Italy is simply Caffè latte (hot coffee with milk) with bread or rolls, butter, and jam — known as ''prima colazione'' or just ''colazione''. ''Fette biscottate'' (a cookie-like hard bread often eaten with butter and jam) and biscotti (cookies) are commonly eaten. Children drink hot chocolate, plain milk, or hot milk with very little coffee. If breakfast is eaten in a ''bar'' (coffee shop), it is composed of ''cappuccino e brioche'' (frothed hot milk with coffee, and a pastry). Occasionally (rarely) Italians have a quick breakfast snack during the morning (typically a ''panino'', or bread roll).

Malta

On the island of Malta, breakfast integrates both British and continental elements. Usually the Maltese start their day with a bowl of cereal mixed with milk, or with a cup of coffee. Bread, marmalade/jams or even nutella is also very common. Today cereal bars are also becoming a common type of breakfast on the island. The traditional English breakfast of eggs, sausages and fried bacon is also popular among the Maltese, especially on Sundays. Hotels usually serve both a continental as well as a full English breakfast.

Spain

In Central Spain the traditional breakfast is ''chocolate con churros'' — hot chocolate with Spanish-style fritters, which are extruded sticks of doughnut-like dough with a star-shaped profile. The chocolate drink is made very thick and sweet. In Madrid, ''churros'' are somewhat smaller and shaped like a charity ribbon. This meal is normally served in cafeterias. At home people usually have coffee or Cola Cao, juice, and either toast, cereal or a pastry. In the South and West it is more common to replace the "sandwich" toast with a slice of bigger bread and a topping of olive oil and salt, tomato and olive oil, butter, jam, pâté, ''jamón serrano'' (cured ham), and other options like ''sobrasada'' (a raw cured spiced sausage that is easy to spread), and in Andalucia, ''pringá''. Coffee with milk is the most popular choice among the wide selection of coffee variants (usually the main variation is the proportion of milk and coffee, and the size of the cup). Freshly squeezed orange juice is widely available in most places, either as an alternative to coffee or as a supplement. Traditionally the breakfast was not larger than these two items, because usually in late morning there was a break known as ''almuerzo'' when people had a bocadillo (Spanish sandwich). Nowadays the trend is towards a heavier breakfast - "almuerzo" being reserved only for people who do heavy physical work. Sometimes, toast is replaced with ''galletas'' (a type of cookie made with flour, sugar, oil and vanilla flavour), ''magdalenas'' (a Spanish version of the French madeleine made with oil instead of butter), or buns.

Portugal

A Portuguese ''pequeno-almoço'' comes in two varieties: one eaten running to work and another, more time-consuming one, more common on the weekends. When rushed in the morning, a cup of yogurt, milk, coffee or both and some bread with butter, cheese or jam suffices. Given the time, additions include orange juice, croissants, different kinds of pastry, and/or cereal.

United Kingdom and Ireland

Traditionally, people in the United Kingdom and Ireland have enjoyed a substantial hot meal for breakfast, featuring eggs, bacon, and sausages, accompanied by toast and tea or coffee. These items are sometimes eaten separately on morning rolls. In Britain, this was traditionally known as an English breakfast, though there are also Scottish and Welsh variations (e.g. Scottish breakfasts often include haggis, black pudding and potato scones. Many other items (for example kedgeree, grilled or fried tomatoes,grilled sheep kidneys, black pudding or white pudding, baked beans, fried sliced bread, various types of fried potatoes and mushrooms) may be included, depending on taste and location. Today, this dish remains popular, but is not usually served at breakfast time during the week. Many people instead reserve the full cooked breakfast for weekends, or go to a café or pub for it at the weekend. A full breakfast is also a meal available any time at many cafés and greasy spoons. It is also served at hotels, where it can be quite substantial in size and variety. The author Somerset Maugham once quipped "the only way to eat well in England is to have breakfast three times a day." This is sometimes quoted as the origin of the term, and indeed meal, ''all-day breakfast''.

Another popular breakfast food in Scotland is the kipper, a type of salted, smoked herring that is then grilled or fried. A traditional Scottish Island breakfast are kippers or smoked haddock boiled in milk, and served hot.

In Northern Ireland they have their own take on the full cooked breakfast known as an Ulster Fry which includes sausages, bacon and eggs of an English breakfast but the hash browns beans and black pudding are replaced with a variety of fried breads including soda bread, potato bread and pancakes.

This traditional cooked breakfast has largely been replaced by simple, light foods mainly eaten cold: fruit, yogurt, packaged cereal with cold milk, and toast with a variety of spreads such as butter, jam, marmalade, lemon curd, Marmite, or peanut butter. Boiled eggs with soldiers are also a popular breakfast meal in the UK, although like the full English breakfast, they are mainly eaten at the weekend. In fact, eggs are quite popular as breakfast foods in general in the United Kingdom, and these may be eaten in a variety of ways - they may be eaten as boiled eggs, poached eggs, scrambled eggs or fried eggs. They may even be cooked as pancakes at Shrove Tuesday. Porridge is a traditional breakfast in Scotland as well as the rest of Britain in the winter months. In most British hotels, this breakfast is included in the room rate.

In Scotland traditional dishes include porridge, oatcakes with marmalade, potato scones, and black pudding. Potato scones are descended from Ireland and consist of mashed potato mixed with flour to create a type of scone. Black pudding is made from animal meat and blood.

Latin America

Latin American breakfasts feature many items seen in North American and continental European breakfasts in regional variations, according to their own culture.

In northern South America, maize-based breads, such as tortillas or ''arepas'', may dominate or be augmented with wheat breads or pastries. ''Caffè'', ''caffè e latte'', chocolate, and tea are common beverages.

Argentina and Uruguay

In Argentina and Uruguay, breakfast consists mainly of espresso coffee, ''café con leche'' (coffee with milk), tea (with or without milk) or ''yerba mate''. Other drinks include orange juice (specially in summer) and chocolate milk (mostly for childrens). These are usually accompanied with croissants(sometimes they are filled with hot or fresh cheesse and ham), brioches, ''facturas'' (pastries of German origin), filled churros, French bread with jam or dulce de leche and butter, grilled sandwiches of ham and cheese known as ''tostados'', cereals and sweet cookies or crackers.

Brazil

Brazilians use the term ''café-da-manhã'' (morning coffee) or, less often, ''desjejum'' (''des-'', un + ''jejum'', fast, fasting) to refer to breakfast. Black coffee, cow milk, yogurt and white cheese are quite popular, and so are fruit juices (especially orange, guava, mango, cashew and passion fruit). The coffee or juice accompanies bread rolls or sliced bread with jam or butter, grilled sandwiches of ham and cheese called ''misto-quente'', slices of cake such as corn cake, orange cake and carrot cake. As for children, the most popular are sweet cookies or crackers with jam, toasts with fruit compote called ''tostadinha'' or ''torrada com geléia/compota'' accompanying chocolate milk or hot chocolate,"mingau", a hot porridge made with cow's milk, corn starch, sugar and vanilla with cinnamon sprinkled on top, as well as cornflakes or ''sucrilhos'' (frosted flakes) with milk. Morning meals are different in the various regions of Brazil. In the Northeastern states, it is common to find ''tapioca'', a crêpe made of manioc flour, usually served with butter, cheese, coconut, or other fillings. It is also common to find ''cuscuz'', a kind of bread made with corn flour and steam-cooked. In the Southern states, adults use to drink a steaming yerba mate infusion in a typical gourd, called ''chimarrão''. The cold version is called ''tereré''.

Chile

In Chile, breakfast is a light meal consisting of milk, coffee or tea, ''juice'' (typically orange), and two types of bread: ''marraqueta'' and ''hallulla'', or toasts. They are accompanied with ''marmalade'', ''manjar'' (dulce de leche), butter, cheese, ham, margerine, eggs, avocado, cream or jelly.

Costa Rica

In Costa Rica breakfast is traditionally Gallo Pinto which includes black beans and rice. Some people may add ''natilla'' (sour cream), ''Salsa Lizano'' (a sauce commonly used in Costa Rican cuisine) and a corn tortilla. Black coffee or coffee with milk are the preferred beverages, although orange juice is also common. Another traditional drink is "aguadulce", made from sugar cane panela which is boiled in water or milk. Side dishes may include avocado, fried ripe plantain, ham or some type of cold meat like sausages or ''salchichón'', cheese, bread, eggs, etc.

Colombia

In Colombia there are various breakfast staples. In the Cundinamarca region people eat changua: a soup of milk, scallions, and cheese. In the Tolima region, a ''tamal tolimense'' is eaten in the company of hot chocolate and arepas. Tamales tolimenses are made with rice, dry legumes, beef, chicken and pork, egg, potato, and seasonings, covered with a maize dough, cooked while wrapped in a banana leaf. In Antioquia the usual fare includes arepa (arepa antioqueña, a typically home-made corn bread), with either cheese, fried eggs, or fried meat as well as hot chocolate as drink.

Cuba

Breakfast in urban areas traditionally consisted of café con leche that was sweetened and included a pinch of salt. Toasted buttered Cuban bread, cut into lengths, was dunked in the coffee. In rural Cuba, farmers ate roasted pork, beans and white rice, café con leche and cuajada sweetened with caramel.

Dominican Republic

In the Dominican Republic, the main dish for breakfast is called ''mangu'' (mashing boiled plantains). It is prepared with ground plantain mixed with butter and is usually eaten with salami, fried cheese, eggs (fried eggs or scrambled eggs). This dish is usually accompanied by cafe con leche, hot chocolate, or juice. Another main breakfast dish is the sandwich, prepared with cheese, ham, salami, or scrambled eggs. This is often accompanied with coffee, hot chocolate or juice. To make this particular sandwich the Dominican people use a bread called ''pan de agua'' (water bread—a simple bread made with water, flour, yeast, and salt). Other kinds of bread are also used to make this simple meal.

Ecuador

In Ecuador breakfast depends on the region it is served. Along the Pacific Coast (litoral), breakfast mainly consists of strong black coffee brewed in a special little aluminium pot (''café de olla''), fried plantain and white hard cheese made locally. It can include also an omelette and fresh fruit juices. In the highlands (Sierra), breakfast may include some black coffee or herbal teas (''infusiones'') with some fresh bread rolls, and scrambled eggs.

Guatemala

In Guatemala they eat scrambled eggs with ''frijoles'' (beans) and tortillas with some cheese, fried banana and sometimes ''chirmol'' (tomato sauce with condiments). Also, depends of the region, the Guatemalan people eat Paches (like a "tamal" but made from potaoes, pork or chicken, hot chile), Tamales (made from corn dough, spicy red sause, pork or chicken. Everybody likes drink coffee (boiled coffee), atol (hot beberage from oats, corn or dough).

Mexico

In the past, when Mexico's population was predominantly rural and agricultural, breakfast tradition included hot beverages and breads at dawn, and a heavier mid-morning ''desayuno'', consisting of an egg dish (such as huevos rancheros), chilaquiles, meats, beans, tortillas, pastries, and fruits. Commercial cereals are widely consumed now. Today, ''desayuno'' generally means "breakfast," and the Mexican breakfast may be the lighter or heavier version depending on personal taste or occasion. Usually, workday breakfasts differ from weekend or leisure day breakfasts in the amount and types of foods. Restaurants and hotels serve mainly buffet-style breakfasts with a variety of foods, oftentimes including "quesadillas" of various fillings, scrambled eggs, refried beans, ''chilaquiles'', fruits and cereals. ''Menudo'', a tripe stew considered a folk remedy for a hangover, has become a breakfast dish as well as one eaten at other meals. As with other large countries, breakfast in Mexico differs according to the region. In the north it is common to have ''salchicha con huevo'' (scrambled eggs with sausage) or ''machaca con huevo'' (scrambled eggs with beef jerky, in some places also called ''machacado''), and wheat tortillas. In the central and southern regions of the country, corn tortillas are commonly consumed. Most breakfast dishes in the state of Veracruz are called ''antojitos'' (this word can be used for other meals), which consist of pastries made with corn flour and tend to be quite fatty. The most common antojitos are ''picadas'' (or ''pellizcadas'', a tortilla with a sauce, onion and fresh cheese topping) and ''empanadas'' (tortillas filled with an ingredient like cheese, chicken or ''huitlacoche''); in the northwest ''birria'' (beef or goat stew) and ''barbacoa'' (steamed beef or lamb) are also very popular. A popular breakfast is ''huevo con chorizo'' (eggs with Mexican sausage). Mexicans are also known to have a high milk:cereal ratio.

Perú

In Lima and other coastal cities of Peru, daily breakfast is a fast and simple meal: sourdough bread with jam, butter, ham or a little bit of cheese on it and sometimes scrambled or fried eggs on it, served with a cup of coffee, tea or oatmeal. School-age kids used to have milk (plain or with cocoa powder) or thick oatmeal served in a bowl (with milk, coffee or cocoa powder) or a lighter oatmeal prepared with apple, quince, quinoa or kiwicha. In working-class areas of Lima, emoliente is a common breakfast, which consists of boiled barley with linseed, alfalfa, boldo, horsetail, key lime juice and an infusion of assorted herbs or boiled quinoa, served with wheat bread or sourdough bread with fresh farmhouse cheese or fried eggs. Sunday breakfasts are much bigger; they consist of tamales or a pan con chicharrón. Other common Sunday breakfasts are the salchicha huachana scrambled with eggs and served with bread, the lomo saltado, humitas with cheese on it, boiled ''choclo'' (corn) and many more dishes. During Sunday breakfast in Arequipa (in the south of the country), they eat a dish known as abodo de chancho. In the central mountain range area, it is typical to have breakfast very early in the morning, when they eat thick soups made out of ''mote'' (hominy) and some meat (e.g. tripe, chicken, sheep, etc.). It is also common in the andean area to have potatoes, hominy and boiled broad beans as a breakfast.

Venezuela

People in Venezuela welcome a hearty breakfast that is a variation of the traditional Venezuelan Pabellón criollo, without the rice and plantains. A typical breakfast would have minced meat, perico, black beans, grated hard white cheese and the ubiquous arepa. Fruit juices and coffee would surely be in the table as well. The full breakfast is usually served on weekends, as it might require a siesta afterwards. If there is only a short time, it is common to eat a cachito (baked dough roll filled with ham), an empanada or an arepa stuffed with fresh cheese, meat or any combination of a broad selection of fillings.

Middle East

Egypt

In Egypt the traditional breakfast is ''ful medames'': slow cooked fava beans (sometimes with lentils) dressed in olive oil, lemon juice and garlic, gebna kareesh (cottage cheese with tomatoes, dill or parsley, hot green pepper and olive oil), feta, edam, Parmesan cheeses, ta'ameya(falafel), sausage or pastirma with fried eggs, feteer, kahk and bosomaat (Egyptian pastries), eshta belasal (cream with honey), asal eswed we tehena (molasses with tahini), meraba belkeshta (jam with cream),mfta^a, shai belabn (tea with milk ).

Iran

In Iran, varieties of Iranian flatbreads (naan), Iranian feta cheese (''panir-e irani'') or Persian feta cheese, butter (''kareh''), a variety of traditional marmalades or jams (''morabba''), honey (''angebin'' or ''asal''), cream (''sar sheer (سرشیر)'') and hot tea are essential breakfast items. Other items, such as heavy cream, walnuts, hard and soft boiled eggs, and omelettes are also popular for breakfast. Traditionally, a choice of butter and cheese, butter and marmalade, heavy cream and honey, butter and honey, or cheese and walnuts are rubbed on fresh bread and folded into bite-sized sandwiches and are to be consumed with hot tea. The tea is preferably sweetened with sugar. Another breakfast food, which is usually consumed between the hours of three to five in the morning, in winter, is called ''halim''. ''Halim'' is a combination of wheat, cinnamon, butter and sugar cooked with either shredded turkey/chicken or shredded lamb in huge pots. It is served hot or cold, but preferably hot. Almost everywhere in the country, especially in colder regions, a lamb head stew (''kale pache'') is consumed, usually on the early hours of weekend (Friday mornings).

Israel

An Israeli breakfast typically consists of coffee, orange juice, fresh vegetables salad, goats/cows cream cheese, fresh bread or toast, olives, butter, fried eggs, and some small cookies or slices of cake. For an even fuller breakfast it might include hard-boiled eggs, cottage cheese, quark cheese, and Israeli salad. Another type of breakfast would be jachun or fried dough, ''malawach'' served with sweet fruits or something spicier. Hotels with continental breakfasts, in addition to the aforementioned items, will usually serve many different kinds of fish and yogurts, as well as a dish of egg and spicy tomatoes known as ''shakshuka''.

Palestine

A Palestinian breakfast typically consists of orange juice, coffee, fresh bread, a variety of cheeses, fresh vegetable salad, "Why it's rise and shine for the Palestinian breakfast"], fried or scrambled eggs and olives. It might also include hard-boiled eggs, yoghurt and jam, and in some cases cured fish or ''shakshuka''.

Jordan

Breakfast in Jordan varies depending on economic background, but can include any of the following: Labneh, Fried eggs, Hummos, Falafel, Fool, Mtabal, Allaiet bandora, Za'taar with olive oil, lamb sausage, jam and butter, turkey or beef mortadella, Thyme or cheese manousheh, fried cheese, white cheese, olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, assorted pickles and pita bread.

Lebanon

In Lebanon, there are several types of breakfast, including include ''labneh'', ''mankoucheh'', ''cheeses'', fresh cut herbs & vegetables, black olives, coffee, teas, pickles, fool, honey, butter, boiled or fried, boiled potatoes, pastries, eggs, hummus, martadella cold cut meats, local saussages, jams & marmalades, toast breads, ''kichek'', and ''knefeh''.

Mashriq

In the Mashriq, breakfast varies greatly according to taste, but a typical breakfast consists of tea or instant coffee, juice, a morning salad (cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, mint and olive oil), pita bread dipped in rich ''labneh'', a type of yogurt, or in olive oil and ''za'atar''. Hummus, ful medames and falafel are more common on the weekends. Other breakfast items include a variety of olives, cheeses, especially goat cheese, variety of vegetables, cereals, jams and pastries. In most Arab areas, the most popular breakfast by far is pita bread dipped in rich ''labneh'', a type of yogurt, or in olive oil and ''za'atar'' (a common Middle-Eastern spice mix). Other popular breakfast foods in the ''Mashriq'' include boiled eggs, olives, cheese and fava beans.

==United States and Canada==

Traditional

Traditional breakfasts in the United States and Canada derive from the full English breakfast and other European breakfast traditions and feature predominantly sweet or mild-flavored foods, usually hot. Typical items include hot oatmeal porridge, grits (in the South), other hot grain, porridges, eggs, sausage, pan-fried potatoes such as hash browns or home fries, biscuits, toast, pancakes, waffles, bagels, French toast, English muffins, pastries (such as croissants, doughnuts, and muffins), and fresh or stewed fruits of various types (stone, citrus, etc.). Steak may be served with eggs on the traditional menu. Cold cereal has become nearly ubiquitous in recent decades, and yogurt is widely popular. Coffee, tea, milk and fruit juices are standard breakfast beverages. Many regions of the United States have local breakfast specialties that are less popular nationally. In the South, homemade biscuits served with country-style gravy (also called sawmill gravy), country ham, and red eye gravy, as well as fried bologna and grits, are one traditional breakfast menu. In coastal South Carolina, mixing shrimp and grits is a common breakfast food; the Southwest has huevos rancheros and spicy breakfast burritos; scrapple is a favorite in the Mid-Atlantic states; salmon bagels are popular in the Northwest; pork roll is rarely available outside New Jersey and Pennsylvania; and New Englanders still occasionally indulge in fried salt pork, and pie. Fried eggs with bacon or sausage and American cheese on a seeded kaiser roll is a popular breakfast sandwich in parts of New York. Many soul food breakfast menus across the country include fried chicken wings, catfish, pork chops and salmon croquettes. Specialty items also vary in popularity regionally, such as: linguiça sausage and Spam in Hawaii; crab cakes in southern New England and the Mid-Atlantic regions; andouille sausage, chicory coffee, Chisesi ham, and beignets in Louisiana; chorizo in the Southwest; lox and smoked salmon in the Northwest; and goetta in Greater Cincinnati.

American breakfast customs derive from those of rural England in the 18th century, and some divergences probably reflect changes in the latter since that time. For example, modern English hot breakfasts commonly include lightly fried tomato slices or a sauteed whole mushroom, but neither are found in the United States. Breakfast kippers are also uncommon in the United States. On the other hand, the steak-and-eggs breakfast is rare in England and probably a recent American import. English muffins (not to be confused with the British crumpet) are commonly eaten as a breakfast food in the United States.

Some regions of Canada especially Quebec, New Brunswick and parts of eastern Ontario will commonly include maple syrup with crêpes, French toast, pancakes, or waffles.

Hotels now often serve breakfast buffets for a fixed price, or offer sweet rolls, cereal, and coffee as a free "continental" breakfast. Traditionally, hotel breakfasts were made to order at a restaurant or by room service. Omelets made to order are also an option.

Fast food restaurants offer a a quick variety of biscuits designed to be eaten quickly like sausage biscuits and chicken biscuits. Some dine in restaurants offer breakfast buffets providing a full traditional breakfast.

Contemporary

Today, most Americans and Canadians eat a reduced breakfast most days, but may still enjoy a traditional hearty breakfast on weekends, holidays, and vacations. Having only coffee or skipping breakfast entirely is also common. Eating out for breakfast or brunch is common on weekends and holidays.

A typical contemporary combination of food for a hearty breakfast consists of eggs (fried or scrambled), one type of meat, and one or two starchy dishes; commonly hash browns and toast. A more basic breakfast combination would be a starchy food (such as toast, pastry, breakfast cereal, oatmeal, pancakes, or waffles) either alone or served with fruit and yogurt. This second option, similar to the continental breakfasts served in Europe, is especially common in institutional situations where serving hot food is difficult, expensive, or impractical.

Restaurants that serve breakfast typically base their menus around egg dishes and pork meats such as sausage, ham and bacon. Pancakes and waffles are also popular. An assemblage commonly known as a ''country breakfast'' in restaurants consists of eggs or omelette, sausage or bacon, hash browns, sausage gravy, coffee, biscuits or toast with jam or jelly, and fruit juice.

A typical breakfast for those that eat ordinary breakfast as a home meal is instant oatmeal or a cold breakfast cereal with milk. Leftovers from the previous day's meals may also be eaten, such as cold pizza.

Breakfasts influenced by recent dietary advice are gaining in popularity in some parts of the country, such as California, featuring yogurt, whole-grain cereal, fresh fruit or egg-white omelets.

Coffee is the most common breakfast beverage. In the United States, 65% of coffee drunk during the day is with breakfast. Also common are tea, milk, hot chocolate, orange juice, and other fruit juices (grapefruit, tomato, etc.). Occasionally, caffeinated carbonated beverages may be substituted for the more traditional coffee or tea. Espresso drinks such as cappuccino and latte have become increasingly popular since the 1990s. In Washington State and British Columbia, the cappuccino and latte are the default way of buying coffee for breakfast.

The modern options typical of the U.S.A. and Canada are representative of Western-style breakfasts that have become common worldwide, especially in industrialized nations.

Breakfast foods are thought to be typically eaten during morning hours, these foods are distinct from other foods even if eaten outside of the morning. In this sense, some serve breakfast for supper. There are several fast food and casual dining chains in North America, such as IHOP and Denny's, that specialize in hearty breakfast-style foods, such as pancakes and country breakfasts, and offer them all day. Like greasy spoons in the UK, American coffeeshops and diners typically serve breakfast foods all day.

Quick/commuter's breakfast

A worker's breakfast often consists only of coffee and prepared food purchased on the way to work or brought from home, eaten during the morning commute or at the workplace just before clocking in. Food items that fit this eat-on-the-go strategy include various sweet breakfast breads and pastries such as muffins, bagels (often with cream cheese), sweetened flavored yogurt cups, smoothies and milkshakes, fresh fruit, granola, muesli or other quick "energy" bars, toaster pastries, and fast food. Many fast food restaurants sell breakfast versions of their typical offerings that include eggs and are usually sweeter and less spicy. Examples of such breakfasts-to-go are: egg-filled sandwiches on croissants, biscuits or muffins, and breakfast burritos filled with eggs, cheese and sometimes sausage.

Drinks

As the preceding regional descriptions show, beverage choices at breakfast are fairly uniform worldwide, comprising

Fruit juices (orange juice is the most popular),

Milk (hot, cold, possibly cultured), milk analogue or hot soya bean milk in Vietnam and China,

Hot caffeinated and decaffeinated beverages (tea, coffee, and chocolate).

Cultures around the world commonly shun or restrict alcoholic beverages at breakfast. (Alcohol is a depressant and a psychoactive drug, and so its effects might not be desired during working hours.) Notable exceptions would be the mimosa cocktail: champagne and orange juice (known as Buck's Fizz in the UK); Bloody Mary cocktail: vodka and spiced tomato juice; and liqueur coffee: a coffee brew with a shot of liqueur, which generally has a lower alcohol content than spirits (around 15 to 30%). Still, a mimosa is normally served at brunch, and rarely consumed before 10 am. Another notable exception is the Champagne breakfast, a full western breakfast accompanied by sparkling white wine; usually saved for special occasions.

Restaurants

Some restaurants devote themselves to breakfast or have special breakfast menus. The field is dominated on one hand by greasy spoons, diners, cafés, cafeterias, and fast food places, and by hotels. However, some breakfast places resemble standard restaurants in procedure, selection, and price.

Special occasions

The serving of a pancake breakfast is traditional on Pancake Day (Shrove Tuesday), and some celebrate a festive breakfast on Christmas morning.

See also

Breakfast television

Midnight breakfast

Wedding breakfast

Brunch

References

Further reading

External links

Wikibooks Cookbook

Category:Breakfasts Category:Meals Category:Gastronomy

ang:Morȝenmete ar:إفطار be-x-old:Сьняданак bg:Закуска ca:Esmorzar cv:Ирхи апат ceb:Pamahaw cs:Snídaně cy:Brecwast da:Morgenmad de:Frühstück es:Desayuno eo:Matenmanĝo eu:Gosari fa:صبحانه fr:Déjeuner gd:Biadh-maidne gl:Almorzo ko:아침밥 id:Sarapan is:Morgunmatur it:Colazione he:ארוחת בוקר ht:Dejne la:Ientaculum lb:Kaffi (Moolzecht) lt:Pusryčiai mk:Појадок ms:Sarapan na:Ijeiji in ijoran fj:Ikatalau nl:Ontbijt nds-nl:Mänèten ja:朝食 no:Frokost nn:Frukost nds:Fröhstück pl:Śniadanie pt:Desjejum ro:Mic dejun ru:Завтрак simple:Breakfast sr:Doručak su:Mumuluk fi:Aamiainen sv:Frukost tl:Agahan th:อาหารเช้า tr:Kahvaltı uk:Сніданок vi:Bữa ăn sáng war:Pamahaw yi:פרישטיק zh-yue:早餐 bat-smg:Posrītė zh:早餐

birth date	February 21, 1946
birth place	Hammersmith, London, England
birth name	Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman
occupation	Actor
years active	1978–present
partner	Rima Horton (1965–present) }}

Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman (born 21 February 1946) is an English actor and theatre director. He is a renowned stage actor in modern and classical productions and a former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Rickman is known for his film performances as Hans Gruber in ''Die Hard'', Severus Snape in the ''Harry Potter'' film series, Eamon de Valera in ''Michael Collins'', and Metatron in ''Dogma''.

He is also known for his prominent roles as the Sheriff of Nottingham in the 1991 film, ''Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves'', Alexander Dane in the 1999 sci-fi/comedy Galaxy Quest and as Colonel Brandon in Ang Lee's 1995 film ''Sense and Sensibility''. More recently he played Judge Turpin in Tim Burton's ''Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'' and voiced the Caterpillar in Burton's ''Alice in Wonderland''.

Early life

Rickman was born in South Hammersmith, London, to a working class family, the son of Margaret Doreen Rose (née Bartlett), a housewife, and Bernard Rickman, a factory worker. Rickman's mother was from Wales and a Methodist, and his father was of Irish Catholic background. He has one elder brother, David (b. 1944), a graphic designer, a younger brother, Michael (b. 1947), a tennis coach, and a younger sister, Sheila (b. 1949). Rickman attended Derwentwater Primary School, in Acton, a school that followed the Montessori method of education.

When he was eight, his father died, leaving his mother to bring up four children mostly alone. She married again, but divorced his stepfather after three years. "There was one love in her life," Rickman later said. Rickman excelled at calligraphy and watercolour painting, and from Derwentwater Junior School he won a scholarship to Latymer Upper School in London, where he started getting involved in drama. After leaving Latymer, Rickman attended Chelsea College of Art and Design and then The Royal College of Art. This education allowed him to work as a graphic designer for the radical newspaper the ''Notting Hill Herald'', which he considered a more stable occupation than acting. "Drama school wasn't considered the sensible thing to do at 18," he said.

After graduation, Rickman and several friends opened a graphic design studio called Graphiti, but after three years of successful business, he decided that if he were to ever explore acting professionally, it was now or never. This led him to write a letter to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) requesting an audition and was awarded a place in RADA which he attended from 1972–74. While there, he studied Shakespeare's works and supported himself by working as a dresser for Sir Nigel Hawthorne and Sir Ralph Richardson, and left after winning several prizes such as the Emile Littler Prize, the Forbes Robertson Prize, and the Bancroft Gold Medal.

Career

After graduating from RADA, Rickman worked extensively with various British repertory and experimental theatre groups on productions including ''The Seagull'' and Snoo Wilson's ''The Grass Widow'' at the Royal Court Theatre, and has appeared three times at the Edinburgh International Festival. In 1978, he played with the Court Drama Group, performing in several plays, most notably ''Romeo And Juliet'' and ''A View from the Bridge''. While working with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) he starred in, among other things, ''As You Like It''.

In 1982, British television audiences came to know Alan Rickman as the Reverend Obadiah Slope in the BBC's adaptation of ''Barchester Towers'' known as The Barchester Chronicles. In 1985, Rickman was given the male lead, Le Vicomte de Valmont, in the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of ''Les Liaisons Dangereuses'', directed by Christopher Hampton. When the show went to Broadway in 1987, Rickman earned both a Tony Award nomination and a Drama Desk Award nomination for his performance.

Rickman's career has been filled with a wide variety of roles. He has played romantic leads like Colonel Brandon in ''Sense and Sensibility'', and Jamie in ''Truly, Madly, Deeply'', as well as numerous villains in Hollywood big budget films: German terrorist Hans Gruber in ''Die Hard'' (1988), the Sheriff of Nottingham in ''Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves'' (1991), and most recently Severus Snape, the potions master in the ''Harry Potter'' series (2001–2011). In 1995, Rickman turned down the role of Alec Trevelyan in the James Bond film ''GoldenEye''.

His role in ''Die Hard'' earned him a spot on the AFI's 100 years...100 Heroes & Villains as the 46th best villain in film history. His performance as the Sheriff of Nottingham in ''Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves'' also made him known as one of the best actors to portray a villain in films. In 2007, ''Entertainment Weekly'' named him one of their favourite people in pop culture, saying that in the ''Harry Potter'' films, "he may not be on screen long – but he owns every minute," and that he is capable of "turning a simple retort into a mini-symphony of contempt." He has taken issue with being typecast as a "villain actor", citing the fact that he has not portrayed a stock villain character since the Sheriff of Nottingham in 1991. He has further said that he has continued to portray characters of complex and varying emotions.

During his long career Rickman has also played a number of comedic roles, sending up classically trained British actors who take on "lesser roles" as the character Sir Alexander Dane / Dr. Lazarus in the science fiction spoof ''Galaxy Quest'', portraying the angel Metatron, the voice of God, in ''Dogma'', appearing as Emma Thompson's foolish husband Harry in ''Love Actually'', providing the voice of Marvin the Paranoid Android in ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'', and the egotistical, Nobel Prize-winning father in ''Nobel Son''.

Rickman has also received acclaim for two biographical pieces he did for HBO. He won a Golden Globe and an Emmy for his performance as ''Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny'' in 1996, and was also nominated for an Emmy for his work as Dr. Alfred Blalock in 2004's ''Something the Lord Made''. He also starred in the independent film ''Snow Cake'' (with Sigourney Weaver and Carrie-Anne Moss) which had its debut at the Berlinale, and also ''Perfume: The Story of a Murderer'' (with Dustin Hoffman), directed by Tom Tykwer.

In 2007, Rickman appeared in the critically acclaimed ''Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'' directed by Tim Burton, alongside ''Harry Potter'' co-stars Helena Bonham Carter and Timothy Spall; he played antagonist Judge Turpin. ''The Miami Herald'' praised Rickman's performance, saying he "makes the judge's villainy something to simultaneously savour and despise" with his "oozing moral rot and arrogance". Rickman also appeared as Absolem the Caterpillar in Burton's 2010 film ''Alice in Wonderland''.

Rickman has performed on stage in Noël Coward's romantic comedy ''Private Lives'', which transferred to Broadway after its successful run in London at the Albery Theatre and ended in September 2002. Rickman had reunited with his ''Les Liaisons Dangereuses'' co-star Lindsay Duncan and director Howard Davies for this Tony Award-winning production.

His previous stage performance was as Mark Antony, opposite Helen Mirren as Cleopatra, in the Royal National Theatre's production of ''Antony and Cleopatra'' at the Olivier Theatre in London, which ran from 20 October to 3 December 1998. Before that, he performed in Yukio Ninagawa's ''Tango at the End of Winter'' in London's West End and the Riverside Studio production of ''Hamlet'' in 1991, directed by Robert Sturua.

Rickman had also directed ''The Winter Guest'' at London's Almeida Theatre in 1995 and the film version of the same play in 1996 starring Emma Thompson and her real life mother Phyllida Law. He also compiled (with Katharine Viner) and directed the play ''My Name Is Rachel Corrie'' in April 2005 at the Royal Court Theatre, London, and won the Theatre Goers' Choice Awards for best director. In May 2010, he finished directing Strindberg's play ''Creditors'' at the Brooklyn Academy of Music Harvey Theatre after its previous run at London's Donmar Warehouse in 2008.

In October and November 2010, Rickman starred in the eponymous role in Henrik Ibsen's ''John Gabriel Borkman'' at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin alongside Lindsay Duncan and Fiona Shaw. The ''Irish Independent'' called Rickman's performance breathtaking. This production subsequently travelled to the Brooklyn Academy of Music for performances in January and February 2011.

In 2009 Rickman was given the James Joyce Award by University College Dublin’s Literary and Historical Society.

Rickman is to star with Colin Firth and Cameron Diaz in a remake of ''Gambit'' by the Coen brothers. He is also scheduled to appear in ''Seminar'', a new play by Theresa Rebeck, that opens on Broadway in autumn 2011.

In the media

Rickman was chosen by ''Empire'' as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (No 34) in 1995 and ranked No 59 in ''Empire'''s "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list in October 1997. In 2009 and 2010 Rickman ranked once again as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars by ''Empire'', both times Rickman was placed 8th out of the 50 actors chosen. Rickman became Vice-Chairman of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in 2003. He was voted No 19 in ''Empire'' magazine's Greatest Living Movie Stars over the age of 50 and was twice nominated for Broadway's Tony Award as Best Actor (Play): in 1987 for ''Les Liaisons Dangereuses'', and in 2002 for a revival of Noel Coward's ''Private Lives''. ''The Guardian'' named Rickman as an "honorable mention" in a list of the best actors never to have received an Academy Award nomination.

Two researchers, a linguist and a sound engineer, found "the perfect [male] voice" to be a combination of Rickman's and Jeremy Irons's voices based on a sample of 50 voices. Coincidentally, the two actors played brothers in the ''Die Hard'' series of films.

Rickman has also been featured in several musical works – most notably in a song composed by the English songwriter Adam Leonard entitled "Not Alan Rickman". Moreover, the actor played a "Master of Ceremonies" part in announcing the various instruments in Mike Oldfield's ''Tubular Bells II'' on the track ''The Bell''. Rickman was one of the many artists who recited Shakespearian sonnets on the 2002 album'' When Love Speaks'', and is also featured prominently in a music video by the band Texas entitled "In Demand", which premiered on Europe MTV in August 2000. In the video, lead singer Sharleen Spiteri danced the tango with Rickman: the clip was nominated for Best British Video at the Brit Awards.

Personal life

In 1965, at the age of 19, Rickman met his partner Rima Horton, a London Labour party politician and former economics professor. They began living together in 1977.

Filmography and awards

! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1978		Tybalt	BBC Television Shakespeare
		1980	Thérèse Raquin	Vidal	BBC Miniseries
1980		Clive	Episode #1.7
1982	Busted	Simon	BBC TV Movie
1982	''Smiley's People''	Mr. Brownlow	Episode #1.2
1982	''''	The Rev. Obadiah Slope	BBC Miniseries
1985		Narrator	British Audiobook Publishing Association's "Talkie Award" for Best Unabridged Classic Recording
1985	Summer Season	Croop	BBC TV Series
1985	''Girls On Top''	Dimitri / Voice of RADA	CIT TV Series
1988	''Die Hard''	Hans Gruber
1989	Revolutionary Witness	Jacques Roux	BBC TV Short
1989	''''	Ed, the painter
1989	Screenplay	Israel Yates	BBC TV Series
1990	''Quigley Down Under''	Elliot Marston
1991	''Truly, Madly, Deeply''	Jamie	Evening Standard British Film Awards#1991 Winners
1991	''[[Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves''	Sheriff of Nottingham	BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting RoleEvening Standard British Film Awards#1991 Winners
1991		Sinclair Bryant	[[Evening Standard British Film Awards#1991 Winners
1991	''[[Closet Land''	The Interrogator
1992	''Bob Roberts''	Lukas Hart III
1993		Dwight Billings	Propaganda Films TV Series
1994		Franz Anton Mesmer	Montreal World Film Festival for Best Actor
1995	''''	P.L. O'Hara
1995		Colonel Brandon	Nominated - BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting RoleNominated - Chlotrudis Award for Best Supporting ActorNominated - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
1996	''Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny''	Grigori Rasputin	Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor - Miniseries or a MovieGolden Globe Award for Best Actor - Miniseries or Television FilmSatellite Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television FilmScreen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
1996		Éamon de Valera	Nominated - BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
1996	''Castle Ghosts of Ireland''	Living Tyde	Documentary
1997	''''	Man in street (uncredited)	Director, co-writerBrussels International Film Festival: Audience AwardChicago International Film Festival: Gold Hugo Award for Best FilmVenice Film Festival: 'CinemAvvenire' Award and OCIC AwardNominated - Chlotrudis Award for Best DirectorNominated - Czech Lion Award for Best Foreign Language FilmNominated - Golden Lion Award
1998		Detective David Friedman
1998	''Dark Harbor''	David Weinberg
1999		The Metatron
1999	''Galaxy Quest''	Alexander Dane/Dr. Lazarus	Nominated - Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor
2000	''Help! I'm a Fish''	Joe	Voice
2001		Man
2001	''Blow Dry''	Phil Allen
2001	''''	John Gissing
2001		Severus Snape	Known as ''Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'' in the United States
2002		Severus Snape	Nominated - Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast
2002	''King of the Hill''	King Philip	Voice
2003	''Love Actually''	Harry	Nominated - Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast
2004	''Something the Lord Made''		Nominated - Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor - Miniseries or a MovieNominated - Satellite Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film
2004		Severus Snape
2005		Severus Snape
2005	''''	Marvin the Paranoid Android	Voice
2006		Antoine Richis
2006	''Snow Cake''	Alex Hughes
2007	''Nobel Son''	Eli Michaelson
2007		Severus Snape
2007		Judge Turpin	Nominated - Saturn Award for Best Supporting ActorNominated - Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast
2008	''Bottle Shock''		Seattle International Film Festival: Golden Space Needle Award for Best Actor
2009		Severus Snape	Spike TV Scream Award for Best Ensemble
2010			Voice
2010	''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1''	Severus Snape
2010	''''	Noel Odell	National Geographic documentaryVoice
2010	''''	He	''BBC Drama Production''
2011	''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2''	Severus Snape	MTV World Cup Award For Favorite Harry Potter Character Portrayal
2011	''The Boy in the Bubble''	Narrator	Animated short film
2012		Lord Shahbandar	Filming

References

External links

Category:1946 births Category:BAFTA winners (people) Category:BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor Category:Best Miniseries or Television Movie Actor Golden Globe winners Category:Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie Screen Actors Guild Award winners Category:Emmy Award winners Category:English film actors Category:English stage actors Category:English television actors Category:English voice actors Category:English theatre directors Category:Living people Category:Old Latymerians Category:People from Hammersmith Category:English people of Irish descent Category:English people of Welsh descent Category:Royal National Theatre Company members Category:Royal Shakespeare Company members Category:Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art Category:Alumni of the University of the Arts Category:Alumni of Chelsea College of Art & Design

ar:آلان ريكمان bg:Алън Рикман ca:Alan Rickman cs:Alan Rickman cy:Alan Rickman da:Alan Rickman de:Alan Rickman es:Alan Rickman eu:Alan Rickman fa:آلن ریکمن fr:Alan Rickman gl:Alan Rickman hr:Alan Rickman id:Alan Rickman it:Alan Rickman he:אלן ריקמן la:Alanus Rickman lt:Alan Rickman hu:Alan Rickman ms:Alan Rickman nah:Alan Rickman nl:Alan Rickman ja:アラン・リックマン no:Alan Rickman nds:Alan Rickman pl:Alan Rickman pt:Alan Rickman ro:Alan Rickman ru:Рикман, Алан simple:Alan Rickman sk:Alan Rickman sr:Алан Рикман sh:Alan Rickman fi:Alan Rickman sv:Alan Rickman tt:Алан Рикман tr:Alan Rickman uk:Алан Рікман zh:艾倫·瑞克曼

name	Catherine Tate
birth name	Catherine Ford
birth date	May 12, 1968
birth place	Bloomsbury, London, England
years active	1990–present
occupation	Actress, writer, comedian
domesticpartner	Twig Clark (until 2011)
children	Erin Clark (born 2003)
television	''Big Train''''Wild West''''The Catherine Tate Show''''Doctor Who''
residence	Richmond upon Thames, London, England
nationality	British
ethnicity	White British
religion	}}

Catherine Tate (born 12 May 1968) is an English actress, writer, and comedian. She has won numerous awards for her work on the sketch comedy series ''The Catherine Tate Show'' as well as being nominated for an International Emmy Award and four BAFTA Awards. Following the success of ''The Catherine Tate Show'', Tate played Donna Noble in the 2006 Christmas special of ''Doctor Who'' and later reprised her role, becoming the Doctor's companion for the fourth series in 2008.

Early life and education

Tate was born as Catherine Ford in Bloomsbury, and brought up in the Brunswick Centre. Her mother, Josephine, was a florist, and Tate has said that the character of Margaret in ''The Catherine Tate Show'', who shrieks at the slightest of disturbances, is based largely on Josephine.

Tate never knew her father, as he left very early on in her life, and consequently, she was brought up in a female-dominated environment, being cared for by her mother, grandmother and her godparents. As a child, Tate suffered from an obsessive-compulsive disorder which centred on word association. For example, Tate was not able to leave a jumper on the floor or it might have brought misfortune to her mother whose name began with the letter "J" like jumper.

She attended St Joseph's, Macklin Street, Holborn, a local Roman Catholic primary school. She then attended Notre Dame High School, Southwark, a South London convent secondary school for girls that was run by nuns. By the time Tate was a teenager, she knew she wanted to follow a professional acting career, and was subsequently sent to a boys' Roman Catholic school, Salesian College in Battersea at the age of 16. The school had the necessary facilities for drama. Tate left school without sitting her A-Levels. She then tried for four years to get a place in the Central School of Speech and Drama, succeeding on her fourth attempt. She studied there for three years, and until the age of 26, she lived in Holborn and Bloomsbury. Prior to getting a place at the Central School of Speech and Drama, Tate went to the Sylvia Young Theatre School, but left after a week; "Even at that age I realised I wasn't Bonnie Langford. It was very competitive", she stated.

Career

Beginnings

Tate began her television acting career with roles in serial dramas such as ''The Bill'', and London's Burning. Tate started stand-up comedy in 1996, and has appeared in comedy series such as ''The Harry Hill Show'', ''Barking'' and ''That Peter Kay Thing'' and a role in ''Men Behaving Badly''. She played the part of Kate in the unaired pilot episode of sitcom Not Going Out alongside Lee Mack and Tim Vine. In 1998 she wrote and starred in ''Barking'', a late night sketch show broadcast on Channel 4 and featuring a host of, back then, unknown stars such as David Walliams, Peter Kay and Mackenzie Crook.

Soon after, she became involved with Lee Mack's Perrier Comedy Award-nominated ''New Bits'' show at the Edinburgh Film Festival in 2000. In 2001, she returned to the festival with her own sell-out one-woman show, which was followed by roles in ''Big Train'', ''Attention Scum'' and ''TVGoHome''. After being spotted at Edinburgh, she was given the role of Angela in the comedy, ''Wild West'', with Dawn French, who commented "Catherine Tate is far too talented and she must be destroyed."

Tate has also performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and at the National Theatre. She acted the role of Smeraldina in a 2000 RSC production of ''A Servant to Two Masters'', and another role in ''The Way of the World'' at the National Theatre.

2004–05

Tate was approached at a post-show party at the Edinburgh Festival by then-BBC controller of comedy Geoffrey Perkins, who encouraged Tate to develop her character ideas, especially to push the boundaries with teenager Lauren Cooper. Undertaking Perkins' advice, after a live show Tate found the audience walking out of the show repeating the character's catchphrase ''Am I bovvered?''

Produced by Perkins at Tiger Aspect, Tate was given her own programme on BBC Two in 2004, which she co-wrote and starred in with Derren Litten, entitled ''The Catherine Tate Show'', which ran for three series. Two of the show's well-known characters are teenager Lauren Cooper and Joannie "Nan" Taylor, the cockney grandmother. Tate's inspiration for the cockney grandmother came from visits to old people's homes when she was at drama college. Tate won a British Comedy Award for Best Comedy Newcomer for her work on the first series of ''The Catherine Tate Show'', and with the first series becoming a success, in March 2005, Tate made a guest appearance during the BBC's Comic Relief as the character of Lauren from ''The Catherine Tate Show'', alongside boy-band McFly, which gained her further exposure.

In November 2005, Tate appeared in another charity sketch as part of the BBC's annual ''Children in Need'' telethon. The segment was a crossover between ''EastEnders'' and ''The Catherine Tate Show'', featuring ''Eastenders'' characters Peggy Mitchell, Little Mo Mitchell and Stacey Slater, whilst Tate appeared as Lauren. Also at that time, she was a guest star at the 77th ''Royal Variety Performance'' and appeared again in the guise of Lauren Cooper. During the sketch, Tate looked up at the Royal Box and asked The Queen, "Is one bovvered? Is one's face bovvered?". She also commented during the sketch that Prince Philip had fallen asleep: "she is bling, but the old fella next to her is asleep!" He then reportedly complained to the show's executive producer, saying he had been insulted. Tate later won a British Comedy Award for Best British Comedy Actress for her work in the second series of ''The Catherine Tate Show''. At the end of 2005, she appeared in the BBC television adaptation of ''Bleak House''.

Tate returned to the stage for the first time since working with the RSC, to play a role in the 2005 West End revival of ''Some Girl(s)'', alongside Sara Powell, Lesley Manville, Saffron Burrows and ''Friends'' star David Schwimmer. In an interview, Tate commented that she could not look Schwimmer in the eye during her time with him, leading to speculation that the pair did not get on. Tate immediately denied the rumours, explaining that she was joking about her attempts to act "cool" around Schwimmer, whom she described as "a very funny, personable man, and easy to get along with".

2006–07

The third series of ''The Catherine Tate Show'' aired in 2006, going on to win the National Television Award for most popular comedy as voted for by the public, and Tate's catchphrase "bovvered", used by her character Lauren Cooper, became so influential in popular culture that it was named Word of the Year and was even poised to enter the ''Oxford English Dictionary''. Tate also played the role of Donna Noble in ''Doctor Who'', a woman in a wedding dress who suddenly appears in the TARDIS at the end of the episode "Doomsday". The following episode, the Christmas special entitled "The Runaway Bride", saw Tate's character in a major role, where she was temporarily the Doctor's companion. On her appearance in the series, Tate commented "I'm honoured and delighted to be joining David Tennant aboard the TARDIS. I was holding out for a summer season at Wigan rep but as a summer job, this'll do."

Tate had roles in three films in 2006, these included, ''Starter for 10'', ''Sixty Six'', and ''Scenes of a Sexual Nature''. She later appeared in the films ''Mrs Ratcliffe's Revolution'', in which she played the title character, and ''Love and Other Disasters''.

In the 2007 television adaptation of the novel, ''The Bad Mother's Handbook'', she played the lead role and co-starred with Anne Reid.

On 16 March 2007, Tate appeared for a second time on Comic Relief as some of her well-known characters from ''The Catherine Tate Show''. She acted in sketches with David Tennant, Daniel Craig, Lenny Henry, and the then Prime Minister Tony Blair, who used the show's famous catchphrase, "Am I bovvered?" Tate also appeared as Joannie "Nan" Taylor in an episode of ''Deal or No Deal'', hosted by Noel Edmonds.

Tate became a Patron of the performing arts group Theatretrain.

Late 2007–present

Despite speculation that the third series of ''The Catherine Tate Show'' would be the last, Tate and the BBC have not ruled out further episodes. She later filmed a one-off special episode which aired on Christmas Day 2007. The episode was subject to criticism when 42 viewers complained about the amount of swearing, and accused Tate of bigotry over the depiction of a Catholic family from Northern Ireland as terrorists, whose Christmas presents included a balaclava and a pair of knuckle dusters, in reference to The Troubles. After the complaints were made, an Ofcom report later concluded that the show was not offensive and did not violate broadcasting regulations. An extract from the Ofcom report read "Overall this episode was typical of the Catherine Tate Show and would not have gone beyond the expectations of its usual audience. For those not familiar with the show, the information given at the start was adequate."

She has also been nominated for four BAFTA Awards for her work on ''The Catherine Tate Show'' to date, including Best Comedy Performance.

Tate returned to ''Doctor Who'' in 2008 to reprise the role of Donna Noble as the Doctor's companion throughout the fourth series, which was shown on BBC One starting on 5 April for a 13-week run. Producer Russell T Davies said, "We are delighted that one of Britain's greatest talents has agreed to join us for the fourth series." Tate added, "I am delighted to be returning to ''Doctor Who''. I had a blast last Christmas and look forward to travelling again through time and space with that nice man from Gallifrey." At the TV Quick Awards 2008, Tate was voted best actress for her role in ''Doctor Who''. She returned as Donna Noble in the two-part ''Doctor Who'' Christmas special "The End of Time" which was broadcast over Christmas 2009.

In 2008, she starred as Michelle, a 38-year-old promiscuous maths teacher, in David Eldridge's ''Under The Blue Sky'' at the Duke of York's Theatre, London, alongside Francesca Annis and Nigel Lindsay. Tate injured her ankle in rehearsal on 15 July. She tackled previews with the aid of a crutch.

On 11 April 2009, 26 December 2009, and 30 January 2010, Tate with David Tennant guest hosted Jonathan Ross' BBC Radio 2 show.

In 2009 she created a one off special spin off to her long running TV sketch show. Although this time the show only starred 'Nan'. In the show, Nan played Scrooge, and was visited by 3 ghosts, one of whom was played by David Tennant. The show was a one off Christmas special.

In 2010, Tate took part in ''Channel 4's Comedy Gala'', a benefit show held in aid of Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, filmed live at the O2 Arena in London on 30 March.

Tate took part in a series of short comedy films called 'Little Crackers'.

Tate appeared as Queen Isabelle of Lilliput in the 2010 film adaptation of ''Gulliver's Travels''.

On 18 March 2011, the video for Take That's new single "Happy Now" was debuted on Comic Relief. The video shows comedians Catherine Tate, Alan Carr, James Corden, John Bishop and David Walliams audition to become Take That's ultimate tribute band, Fake That. Filming took place at Ealing Studios on 17 February 2011.

Tate appeared alongside former co-star David Tennant in the Shakespeare comedy ''Much Ado About Nothing'' at London's Wyndham's Theatre from 16 May to September 2011. For her performance - as Beatrice - Catherine won the BroadwayWorld UK Award for Best Leading Actress in a Play.

In the seventh season finale of ''The Office'', which aired on 19 May 2011, Tate guest starred as Nellie Bertram, a potential replacement for the departing Michael Scott (played by Steve Carell). She is set to return to the show midway through the eighth season for a recurring role.

On Saturday 17th December 2011, Tate presented the second episode of Channel 4's ''Laughing at the...'' series - entitled "Catherine Tate: Laughing at the Noughties" - in which she met Alan Carr, David Walliams, Noel Fielding, Rob Brydon and (her ''Doctor Who'' co-star) David Tennant to discuss the comedy highlights of the noughties.

Personal life

Tate's former partner is stage manager Twig Clark. They have a daughter, Erin (born at London's Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in January 2003), delivered following an emergency caesarean section. The family had a home in Richmond-upon-Thames, London. The family had both a cat and a dog, the latter of which was given to her by Jonathan Ross. Tate and Clark split in summer 2011.

Tate is the patron for the Laura Crane Youth Cancer Trust, supporting the charity since August 2006. In 2011 she took part in the charities 2011 Charity Calendar

Tate suffered from postpartum depression, from which she only recovered after the filming of the second series of The Catherine Tate Show. She also suffers from occasional panic attacks. Regarding her personal outlook, Tate has said "I'm an incredibly negative person, so any form of success is only ever going to be a relief to me and set my default position back to neutral."

Awards and nominations

All for her work on ''The Catherine Tate Show'' unless otherwise stated:

Awards

2004: British Comedy Award — Best Comedy Newcomer

2006: RTS Television Award — Best Comedy Performance

2006: British Comedy Award — Best TV Comedy Actress

2007: National Television Awards — Most Popular Comedy Programme

2008: TV Quick Award — Best Actress in a Drama Series (for ''Doctor Who'')

Nominations

2004: British Comedy Award — Best TV Comedy Actress

2005: British Comedy Award — Best TV Comedy Actress

2005: British Comedy Award — People's Choice Award (polled most votes but award not received) 2005: International Emmy — Best Performance by an Actress

2005: BAFTA TV Award — Best New Writer

2005: BAFTA TV Award — Comedy Programme or Series Award

2006: BAFTA TV Award — Best Comedy Performance

2007: BAFTA TV Award — Best Comedy Programme

2008: Nickelodeon's UK Kids Choice Awards 2008 — Funniest Person

2008: Nickelodeon's UK Kids Choice Awards 2008 — Best TV Actress (for ''Doctor Who'')

2008: National Television Award — Outstanding Drama Performance (for ''Doctor Who'')

Filmography

Television and film

{|class="wikitable" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9; |- align="center" ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Title ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Notes |- | 1990 | ''Surgical Spirit'' | Son's girlfriend | |- | 1993/94 | ''The Bill'' | WDC Palmer/Karen Brogan | |- |1994 | ''Milner'' | Jesson's P.A. | |- |1994 | ''Men Behaving Badly'' | Young woman | |- | 1998–2002 | ''Big Train'' | various roles | |- | 2000 | ''That Peter Kay Thing'' | | |- | 2001 | ''Attention Scum'' | | |- | 2002–2004 | ''Wild West'' | Angela Phillips | |- | 2004–20072009 | ''The Catherine Tate Show'' | various characters | |- | 2005 | ''Bleak House'' | Mrs Chadband | |- |rowspan=4| 2006 | ''Love and Other Disasters'' | Talullah Wentworth | |- | ''Starter for 10'' | Julie Jackson | |- | ''Sixty Six'' | Aunt Lila | |- | ''Scenes of a Sexual Nature'' | Sara | |- | 2005 || ''Marple'' | Mitzi Kosinski | "A Murder is Announced" |- | 200620082010 | ''Doctor Who'' | Donna Noble | "The Runaway Bride"Series 4 (Full Series)The End of Time |- | 2007 | ''The Bad Mother's Handbook'' | Karen | |- | 2007 | ''Mrs Ratcliffe's Revolution'' | Dorothy Ratcliffe | |- |rowspan=4| 2009 | ''The Sunday Night Project'' | Herself | Guest Host |- | ''The Justin Lee Collins Show'' | Herself | Guest |- | ''Genius'' | Herself | Guest |- | ''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' | Herself | Guest |- | rowspan="2"|2010 | ''Little Crackers'' | Josephine | Short film, Tate's first directing role. |- | ''Gulliver's Travels'' | Queen of Lilliput | |- | rowspan="3"|2011 | ''Monte Carlo'' | Alicia | Post-production |- | ''The Itch of the Golden Nit'' || Stella || Voice only |- | ''A Quiet Word With ...'' | Herself | Guest, season 2, episode 3 |- | 2011- |''The Office'' | Nellie Bertram | "Search Committee", will return in series 8 |- | 2011 | ''Laughing at the...'' | Herself | ''Catherine Tate: Laughing at the Noughties'' Presenter, season 1, episode 2 |}

Radio and CD audio drama

{|class="wikitable" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9; |- align="center" ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Title ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Broadcaster |- | 2008 | ''The Forever Trap'' | Narrator | BBC Audio |- | 2009 | ''The Nemonite Invasion'' | Narrator | BBC Audio |- | 2009-10 | ''Jonathan Ross'' | Presenter | BBC Radio 2 |}

References

External links

Catherine Tate at bbc.co.uk/comedy

''The Catherine Tate Show'' at bbc.co.uk/comedy

Category:1968 births Category:Living people Category:20th-century actors Category:21st-century actors Category:21st-century women writers Category:Actors from London Category:Alumni of the Central School of Speech and Drama Category:Audio book narrators Category:English comedians Category:English film actors Category:English stage actors Category:English television actors Category:English television writers Category:English women writers Category:People from Bloomsbury Category:People from Holborn Category:Royal National Theatre Company members Category:Royal Shakespeare Company members Category:Women comedians

cy:Catherine Tate de:Catherine Tate fr:Catherine Tate it:Catherine Tate pl:Catherine Tate pt:Catherine Tate ru:Тейт, Кэтрин sv:Catherine Tate

name	Alex Pettyfer
birth name	Alexander Richard Pettyfer
birth date	April 10, 1990
birth place	Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England
occupation
yearsactive	2005–present
website	Official site }}

Alexander Richard "Alex" Pettyfer (born 10 April 1990) is an English actor and model. He appeared in school plays and on television before being cast as Alex Rider, the main character in the 2006 film version of ''Stormbreaker''. Pettyfer was nominated for a Young Artist Award and an Empire Award for his role. He has been seen as a model in several advertising campaigns for Burberry. His next two starring roles were in the 2011 films ''I Am Number Four'', a science fiction action adventure, and ''Beastly'', a modernised retelling of ''Beauty and the Beast''.

Early life

Pettyfer was born in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, the son of Lee Ireland (née Robinson), an interior decorator, and Richard Pettyfer, an actor. He has a younger half-brother, James Ireland, a junior tennis player, from his mother's re-marriage to Michael Ireland, a property developer.

Pettyfer was raised in Windsor, and began his career as a child fashion model at the age of seven, for Gap, after meeting Ralph Lauren in a toy store in New York City. He also did advertisements for some yogurt brands. His first commercial was at age six.

As a schoolboy, he performed in plays, including in the role of Willy Wonka in a production ''Charlie and the Chocolate Factory''. Pettyfer was educated at two junior independent schools: The Mall School, a small school in Twickenham, followed by the Lambrook Haileybury school in Berkshire.. He subsequently attended two other independent boarding schools: Millfield School in Street in Somerset and Shiplake College near Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire. After his GCSEs, he left Shiplake College to attend the independent Sylvia Young Theatre School.

Career

In 2005, after a modelling career, Pettyfer made his professional acting début in the British television production of ''Tom Brown's Schooldays'', playing the lead character, Tom Brown; he received positive reviews for the role. In June 2005, he was cast in his most prominent role so far, that of teenage MI6 spy Alex Rider in the film ''Stormbreaker'', based on the novel by Anthony Horowitz. He was one of 500 who auditioned for the role. Pettyfer chose to appear in the film over a role in the film ''Eragon'', noting that he preferred ''Stormbreaker'' because it would be filmed in Britain, in the Isle of Man, while ''Eragon'' would film in the Czech Republic; Pettyfer is afraid of flying, and he liked the looks of the cast for ''Stormbreaker''. ''Stormbreaker'' was released on 21 July 2006 in the United Kingdom, on 6 October 2006 in the United States and on 21 September 2006 in Australia.

One review of Pettyfer's performance described him as playing the role with an "earnest intensity", although another noted that he "isn't quite at ease as an actor". Media reports specified that the film was expected to make Pettyfer a "teen idol". Pettyfer will not reprise the role if there is another Alex Rider film because he is now too mature for the role.

He next appeared in ''Wild Child'', a film set in California, Kent and Yorkshire part of which took place at Cobham Hall Girl's School in Kent. He played school boy Freddie Kingsley and he co-starred with Emma Roberts. In 2009, he played the callous ringleader of a group of cool but cruel teenagers who are picked off one by one by the ghost of one of their former victims, in the horror-comedy, ''Tormented''.

He starred in the film ''Beastly'', based on the novel by Alex Flinn, alongside Mary-Kate Olsen, Vanessa Hudgens, and Neil Patrick Harris. He finished filming on 13 August 2009, and the film was released on 4 March 2011. Pettyfer portrayed the main character in ''I Am Number Four'', released in February, 2011. The film co-starred Timothy Olyphant, Dianna Agron, and Teresa Palmer, and was directed by D. J. Caruso, produced by Michael Bay, and executive produced by Steven Spielberg.

It has also been announced that he will portray racing car driver James Hunt in the formula 1 biopic ''Shunt''. He will also serve as producer on the movie.

Sources also say that he has been offered the part of Jace Wayland in the upcoming portrayal of Cassandra Clare's best selling book, City of Bones. Jamie Campbell Bower was later cast as Jace Wayland.

He has also been offered a part in an upcoming film adaption of Joseph Delaney's The Wardstone Chronicles. He has declined the role.

He has also been offered a role in a future movie entitled 'The Paperboy' based on the Pete Dexter novel of the same name.

Personal life

On 14 June 2009, Pettyfer was voted No.35 on the Britain's top 50 most eligible bachelors by UK women's magazine ''Company''. In August 2009 the UK magazine ''Glamour'' ranked him at No.21 on their list of the sexiest men on the planet, as determined by a poll of 2000 British women.

After Pettyfer completed filming ''Stormbreaker'', he did not discuss the film with anyone at his school, citing the advice of his ''Stormbreaker'' co-star, Ewan McGregor, who told him to keep his personal and professional life separate. Pettyfer has since decided to leave school and concentrate on his film career, whilst studying drama at college, saying that "When you have already experienced going out and working in the real world, and you come back to school, you just see it as a playground and you don't want to be there any more".

Pettyfer has seven tattoos, including a Celtic cross on his chest, Tibetian script on the inside of his right arm, the words, "What Goes Around Comes Around" on his right shoulder, a Katakana script on his lower waist, and the letters "ER," the initials of his now ex-girlfriend Emma Roberts inside interlinking hearts on his right wrist. When Contactmusic asked him about the "ER" tattoo he said "I don't know how to say it, she's a lovely, lovely girl, we had a spell of something that is over now, but we're on good terms. She's beautiful, she's great; we're really good friends." The actor had gotten Roberts' name tattooed on his wrist while the two were dating. "I'm going to get asked about this, aren't I? I thought it was just between me and her," he said when asked about the tattoo.

Filmography

Year	! Title	! Role
2005		Tom Brown (character)>Tom Brown
2006		Alex Rider (character)>Alex Rider
2008		Freddie Kingsley
2009		Bradley White
2011		John Smith/Number Four/Daniel Jones
2011		Kyle Kingson/Hunter
2011		Fortis

Modelling

2008: Burberry – Spring/Summer

2008: Burberry – The Beat For Men eau du cologne

2009: Burberry – Spring/Summer

Awards and nominations

! Year	! Award	! Category	! Nominated work	! Result
	Young Artist Awards	Best Performance in an International Feature Film Leading Young Actor or Actress	rowspan="2"
Empire Award	Best Male Newcomer
2010	ShoWest Award
	MTV Movie Awards
	"Choice Movie: Liplock" (shared with Vanessa Hudgens)
"Choice Movie: Breakout Male"	''Beastly'' and ''I Am Number Four''

References

External links

Official site

Category:English child actors Category:English film actors Category:English male models Category:English television actors Category:Old Millfieldians Category:People from Stevenage Category:1990 births Category:Living people Category:People educated at Shiplake College Category:People educated at The Mall School

bn:আ্যলেক্স পেটিফার ca:Alex Pettyfer cs:Alex Pettyfer da:Alex Pettyfer de:Alex Pettyfer es:Alex Pettyfer fr:Alex Pettyfer hi:एलेक्स पेटीफर id:Alex Pettyfer it:Alex Pettyfer he:אלכס פטיפר hu:Alex Pettyfer ms:Alex Pettyfer nl:Alex Pettyfer ja:アレックス・ペティファー no:Alex Pettyfer pl:Alex Pettyfer pt:Alex Pettyfer ro:Alex Pettyfer ru:Петтифер, Алекс sl:Alex Pettyfer fi:Alex Pettyfer sv:Alex Pettyfer th:อเล็กซ์ เพตตีเฟอร์

name	Emma Roberts
birth name	Emma Rose Roberts
birth date
birth place	Rhinebeck, New York, USA
occupation	Actress, voice actress, singer, model
years active	2001–present
parents	Eric Roberts, Kelly Cunningham
website	http://www.emma-roberts.us }}

Emma Rose Roberts (born February 10, 1991) is an American actress, model and singer. She is the daughter of actor Eric Roberts and niece of Julia Roberts. Roberts became known for her role as Addie Singer in the Nickelodeon television series ''Unfabulous''. She released her debut album, which also served as the show's soundtrack ''Unfabulous and More''. Roberts then pursued a solo singing career by recording two songs for the soundtracks of ''Ice Princess'' and ''Aquamarine'' (in which Roberts starred as one of the leads). Roberts then began to focus on her acting career, the title character in the 2007 film ''Nancy Drew'', and her voice-over debut in ''The Flight Before Christmas''.

In 2008 and 2009, Roberts was cast in the coming-of-age movies ''Wild Child'', ''Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac'' and ''Lymelife''. Roberts appeared in the 2009 family film ''Hotel for Dogs'' and ''The Winning Season''. In 2010, she appeared in ''Valentine's Day'', which also starred Julia Roberts. Later the same year, she had a leading role in ''It's Kind of a Funny Story''. In 2010, she played the role of Molly in the Joel Schumacher film ''Twelve''. In 2011, she starred as one of the leads, Jill Roberts, in the horror film ''Scream 4''.

Early life

Roberts was born in Rhinebeck, Dutchess County, New York. She is the daughter of actor Eric Roberts and Kelly Cunningham. Emma Roberts is the stepdaughter of Eliza Roberts and Kelly Nickels (formerly of L.A. Guns) and the niece of actresses Julia Roberts and Lisa Roberts Gillan.She is part Native American. She has two stepsiblings, Morgan and Keaton Simons, and a half sister, Grace Nickels. Roberts attended Archer School for Girls in Brentwood, California from 2004–2005 for 7th and 8th grade.

Acting career

2001–2005: Early career and ''Unfabulous''

During her childhood, Roberts spent time on the sets of her aunt Julia Roberts's films. These experiences sparked a desire in Emma, from the age of five, to follow her father and aunts into the film industry. Although her mother initially wanted her to have a normal childhood, Roberts made her acting debut at age nine in Ted Demme's 2001 drama ''Blow''. It was the first film for which she ever auditioned. In the film, she portrayed Kristina Jung, the daughter of Johnny Depp's character, cocaine smuggler George Jung. In 2001, Roberts also had a role in Leif Tilden's 10-minute short ''bigLove'', and was an uncredited extra in some scenes featuring her aunt Julia Roberts in ''America's Sweethearts''.

She went on to appear in smaller roles in two family films, in 2002's ''Grand Champion'', as the sister of the main character Buddy (Jacob Fisher); and in 2003's ''Spymate'', as the kidnapped daughter of former secret agent Mike Muggins (Chris Potter), who tries to rescue her with the help of a spy monkey. ''Grand Champion'' had a brief theatrical release in August 2004, while ''Spymate'' was not released until February 2006, when it was given a theatrical run in Canada, followed by its DVD release in April 2006. In August 2003, Roberts was scheduled to shoot an independent film called ''Daisy Winters'', starring as the title character, alongside Rachel Weisz. However, the film, which would have been Roberts' first leading role, never began shooting due to financial problems. In 2004, Roberts became a teen idol at the age of 13, starring as the lead character Addie Singer in the Nickelodeon series ''Unfabulous'', which debuted in September 2004. Nickelodeon had wanted to cast her for the role from the beginning, and the teen sitcom earned Roberts a Teen Choice Award nomination and several Young Artist Award nominations. The show aired for three seasons from 2004–2007 and aired 42 episodes; the third season ended on December 16, 2007.

The television series focused on Addie Singer (Roberts) a seventh grader whose life is "unfabulous" and she writes songs about her life. The television series had had various TV movies which include: The Perfect Moment which premiered on Nickelodeon on October 6, 2006. In 2004 Roberts guest-starred in an episode of the Nickelodeon series ''Drake and Josh'', Roberts was in the episode "Honor Council". Because her character on ''Unfabulous'' writes songs and plays guitar, Nickelodeon soon considered a career in music for Roberts.

2006–2011: Theatrical films

In 2006, Roberts returned to the big screen, starring alongside Sara Paxton and singer JoJo in ''Aquamarine''. Roberts won a 2007 Young Artist Award for Best Supporting Young Actress in a Feature Film for her role in the film. The film ''Aquamarine'' took No.5 place at the box office on its opening weekend making 8 million. In early 2006, Roberts finished shooting her title role in ''Nancy Drew''. The film was released to theaters on June 15, 2007, and grossed over 7 million in its opening weekend, though the film was not well received by critics. In December 2007, Roberts began filming ''Hotel For Dogs''. In 2008, Roberts had her voiceover debut when she voiced the English version of the character Wilma in the CGI-animated family film ''The Flight Before Christmas''.

In 2009, Roberts starred alongside Jake T. Austin in ''Hotel for Dogs'', based on the novel by Lois Duncan. The film premiered on January 15, 2009 and was released to theaters on January 16, 2009 and took No.5 place in its opening weekend with over $17 million. The film has to-date grossed over $114 million, and received generally mixed reviews from critics. Roberts starred as the lead in the film ''Wild Child'', about a rebellious teen from Malibu sent to a boarding school in England. Roberts described her character as "pretty much your typical spoiled-brat Malibu socialite who gets shipped off to British boarding school." Roberts also appeared in the indie film ''Lymelife'' with Alec Baldwin, which was premiered at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival. Roberts said that ''Lymelife'' is “kind of like ''American Beauty'' meets ''The Ice Storm''”, and that her reasoning for doing the film was that, “Some people look at me and think, She’s just Julia Roberts’s niece. So I wanted to do something smaller and edgier, something that would show I really am an actress.”

Roberts co-starred as Grace in the hit 2010 film ''Valentine's Day'' with her aunt Julia Roberts. Roberts is set to reunite with ''Nancy Drew'' director Andrew Fleming on both ''Rodeo Gal'' and a ''Nancy Drew'' sequel, although the latter has been put on hold since 2007. She appeared in the sports comedy ''The Winning Season''. In 2010, Roberts also appeared in ''Twelve'' and ''It's Kind of a Funny Story''.

According to BloodyDisgusting.com Roberts will be starring in the horror film, ''Grimm'', which follows the Quinn family that moves to Marburg, Massachusetts, a town that turns out to be haunted by the most horrific nightmares spawned by the imagination of the Brothers Grimm. She co-starred in the film adaptation of ''Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac'', as well as ''A Great Education''. She also starred alongside with Freddie Highmore in 2011's romantic comedy ''The Art of Getting By''. In May 2010, Roberts received the role of Jill Roberts in the Wes Craven film ''Scream 4''. She played a new character in the film, alongside Neve Campbell, The film opened in theaters April 15, 2011.

Music career

In 2005, Roberts had a debut album ''Unfabulous and More''. The album was released on September 27, 2005 through Columbia Records and Nick Records. It also served as the soundtrack to the television series, ''Unfabulous'', in which Roberts stars. The album peaked at No.46 on ''Billboard'''s Top Heatseekers chart. In September 2005, two promotional singles were released from the album: "I Wanna Be" and "Dummy". The album includes several original songs (among them "Dummy" and "I Wanna Be", both of which were also released as music videos, "I Have Arrived" and "This Is Me", which was co-written by Roberts), as well as some of Addie's songs from the first season, including "Punch Rocker" and "New Shoes" (both from the episode "The Party"), "94 Weeks (Metal Mouth Freak)" (from "The Bar Mitzvah") and "Mexican Wrestler" (which had previously appeared on Jill Sobule's 2000 album Pink Pearl and in the episode "The 66th Day" from Unfabulous). Heather Phares from Allmusic praised her "fresh" and "genuine voice" (which is debateable for those who don't prefer her sometimes boisterous vocals), and also claimed that the album was "filled with, sweet idealistic songs sung by a young girl who sounds like a young girl instead of a pop tart". During the same year, Roberts recorded "If I Had It My Way" for the soundtrack of the 2005 Disney film ''Ice Princess''. In 2006, Roberts covered the song "Island in the Sun", which was originally recorded by Weezer in 2001; she recorded the song for the ''Aquamarine's'' soundtrack, a film where she starred as one of the leads.

Roberts said in a 2007 interview, "Right now I am focusing on movies, I am getting ready to start a new movie this summer so that is taking a lot of my time. I think when I am a little bit older it is definitely something I’d like to pursue." In another interview, she said, "My musical career is indefinitely on hold. I don’t like people who become like ‘actor slash singer.’ I think people should be one or the other because usually you’re not going to be great at both. You’re going to better at one, so you might as well stick to the one you’re good at. I’m going for acting."

Other work

In February 2009, she was named the brand ambassador for Neutrogena, appearing in print and television ads for the company. Roberts has also appeared multiple times as part of ''Teen Vogue''’s Best Dressed list, including June 2007, September 2008, December 2008 and February 2009.

Personal life

Roberts formerly dated ''Wild Child'' co-star Alex Pettyfer. Roberts is currently in a relationship with former ''Glee'' actor Chord Overstreet.

Filmography

Year
rowspan="3"	2001	''Big Love''	Delilah
''Blow (film)	Blow''	Young Kristina Jung
''America's Sweethearts''	Girl in Purple T-shirt
2002	''Grand Champion''
rowspan="2"	2006	''Spymate''
''Aquamarine (film)	Aquamarine''	Claire Brown
2007	Nancy Drew (2007 film)>Nancy Drew''
rowspan="2">2008	''The Flight Before Christmas''
''Wild Child (film)	Wild Child''	Poppy Moore
rowspan="3"	2009	Hotel for Dogs (film)>Hotel for Dogs''
''Lymelife''	Adrianna Bragg
''The Winning Season''	Abbie
rowspan="6"	2010	Valentine's Day (film)>Valentine's Day''
''Twelve (film)	Twelve''	Molly Norton
''4.3.2.1''	Joanne
''Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac''	Alice Leeds
''It's Kind of a Funny Story (film)	It's Kind of a Funny Story''	Noelle
''What's Wrong with Virginia''	Jessie Tipton
rowspan="2"	2011	''The Art of Getting By''
''Scream 4''	List_of_Scream_characters#Jill_Roberts>Jill Roberts

''Drake & Josh'' ''Jonas L.A.'' ''Extreme Makeover: Home Edition''

+ Television
Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
2004–2007	''Unfabulous''	Addie Singer
2004	|	Addie	Episode: "Honor Council"
rowspan="2"	2010	|	Herself	Episode: "House Party"
''Take Two with Phineas and Ferb''	Herself
2011	|	Herself	Guest Star

Discography

;Studio albums :*2005: ''Unfabulous and More'' ;Soundtrack appearances :*2005: ''Unfabulous and More'' :*2005: ''Ice Princess'' :*2006: ''Aquamarine'' ;Other Released Singles :*2005: ''Santa Claus Is Coming To Town''

Awards

! Year	! Result	! Award	! Category	! Nominated work
2005	Nominated	Teen Choice Award	Choice TV Breakout Performance — Female	''Unfabulous''
2005	Nominated	Young Artist Award	Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama) – Leading Young Actress	''Unfabulous''
2005	Nominated	Young Artist Award	Outstanding Young Performers in a TV Series	''Unfabulous''
2006	Nominated	Young Artist Award	Best Young Ensemble Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama)	''Unfabulous''
2007	Nominated	Kids' Choice Award	Favorite TV Actress	''Unfabulous''
2007	Nominated	Teen Choice Award	Choice TV Actress: Comedy	''Unfabulous''
2007	Nominated	Teen Choice Award	Choice Movie: Female Breakout
2007	Nominated	Teen Choice Award	Choice Movie Actress: Comedy	''Nancy Drew''
2007	Won	Young Artist Award	Best Performance in a Feature Film — Supporting Young Actress
2007	Won	ShoWest	Female Star Of Tomorrow	Herself
2008	Nominated	Kids' Choice Awards	Favorite TV Actress	''Unfabulous''
2008	Nominated	Young Artist Award	Best Performance in a TV Series — Leading Young Actress	''Unfabulous''
2008	Nominated	Young Artist Award	Best Young Ensemble Performance in a TV Series	''Unfabulous''
2008	Nominated	Young Artist Award	Best Performance in a Feature Film — Leading Young Actress	''Nancy Drew''
2008	Nominated	Young Artist Award	Best Performance in a Feature Film — Young Ensemble Cast	''Nancy Drew''
2010	Nominated	Young Artist Award	Best Performance in a Feature Film — Leading Young Actress

References

External links

Official site

Emma Roberts at Allmovie

[ Emma Roberts] at Allmusic

Category:1991 births Category:Actors from California Category:Actors from New York Category:American child actors Category:American child singers Category:American female singers Category:American film actors Category:American pop singers Category:American television actors Category:Columbia Records artists Category:Living people Category:People from Dutchess County, New York Category:Children of Entertainers

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