Martina Laird
Martina Laird (born 1971) is a Trinidadian actress, director and acting teacher. Early life and education. Martina Laird was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad in 1971. Her interest in Drama began early, when she was seven, and from the age of 13 she studied with such local luminaries as Beryl McBurnie, and regularly attended performances at the Little Carib Theatre. At the age of 17, she went to England having won a national scholarship to study French at the University of Kent at Canterbury, and she did Drama as part of her degree course. Having told her  parents of her acting ambitions at the age of 20, on the advice of Derek Walcott, who was a family friend, Laird awent on to attend the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. Career. After beginning her acting career on the stage, she landed a role in the BBC TV drama "Casualty", most memorably playing the character Comfort for several years. She also featured in other popular television series, including "Holby City" and "EastEnders". Among her notable stage credits are Sophia in Errol John's "Moon on a Rainbow Shawl", directed by Michael Buffong, in a 2012 production at the  Royal National Theatre, and "The House that Will Not Stand" at the Tricycle Theatre (2014), and since 2016 performances in several Shakespeare plays: "The Taming of the Shrew", "Romeo and Juliet", "Julius Caesar", "The Tempest" and "Henry IV", "Coriolanus" and "All's Well That Ends Well". Awards that Laird has won include a Screen Nation Award and Michael Elliot Trust Award.