Kim Victoria Cattrall (pronounce /kəˈtræl/, rhyming with shall; born August 21, 1956) is an Anglo-Canadian actress known for playing Samantha Jones in Sex and the City. Cattrall, one of four children, was born in Widnes, 16 miles from Liverpool, England. Her mother, Shane, was a secretary, and her father, Dennis, a construction engineer. When she was less than a year old, her family emigrated to Courtenay, British Columbia, Canada. At 11 she returned to England when her grandmother became ill, and she studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA), before returning to Canada at 16 where she finished her final year of secondary school.