Laura Elizabeth Campbell (born 24 May 1953), better known as Nell Campbell or by her stage name Little Nell, is an Australian actress, singer and former club owner. She played the role of Columbia in both the 1975 film The Rocky Horror Picture Show and the original stage play from which it was adapted.
Campbell released her EP, The Musical World of Little Nell (Aquatic Teenage Sex & Squalor), through A&M Records in 1978. She appeared as Nurse Ansalong in the 1981 film Shock Treatment, the sequel of Rocky Horror Picture Show. In 1984, she appeared as Beth in the drama film The Killing Fields. Campbell owned the nightclub Nell's from 1986 to 2004.
Early life Campbell was born in Sydney, to Ruth and Ross Campbell. Ross, a writer, Note: [on-line] version established at White Room Electronic Publishing Pty Ltd in 2007 and was expanded from the 2002 edition. referred to her as "Little Nell" (after a character in Charles Dickens' The Old Curiosity Shop) in his family life column in the Sydney Daily Telegraph. She grew up with three siblings: Sally, Patrick and Cressida. Her elder sister Sally was a property master, a set designer and (subsequently) a fashion designer; her younger sister Cressida Campbell is an artist; her elder brother Patrick (who died in 2020) was a solar engineer at the University of New South Wales. Nell began dancing when she was 10, in order to remain healthy following being diagnosed with hepatitis A. She was called Laura E. Campbell until the age of about 17, when she went by the nickname "Sonny" (pronounced to rhyme with "Donny"), short for "Sonata". She attended high school at Abbotsleigh School for Girls in Sydney, supporting herself as a waitress.
Career Campbell decided to use the name "Little Nell" as a stage name after her arrival in Britain in the early 1970s with her family. She sold clothes at Kensington Market; her stall was next to Freddie Mercury's. She also worked as a busker and as a soda jerk in a café, where her tap dancing is often noted as the reason why she was cast as Columbia in the original production of The Rocky Horror Show following an impromptu audition. She reprised the role in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, released in 1975, and starred as Nurse Ansalong in the 1981 sequel, Shock Treatment.
After The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Campbell signed a recording contract with A&M Records. Her debut single was "Stilettos and Lipstick" backed with "Do the Swim", released in 1975. She also recorded a disco version of the song "Fever" in 1978, which was again backed with "Do the Swim". The B-side of both of these releases became better known, perhaps helped by a performance on British television in which she accidentally (and repeatedly) exposed her breasts. While edited out of the original broadcast in 1975, the unedited version was shown worldwide on bloopers shows (beginning with the British show It'll Be Alright on the Night in 1977). Following this notoriety, another effort was made to promote the recordings made in 1975 and 1976. In 1978, a "triple B-side" extended play titled The Musical World of Little Nell (Aquatic Teenage Sex & Squalor) was released which featured both "Do the Swim" and "Stillettos and Lipstick" along with the track "Dance that Cocktail Latin Way" (also known as "Tropical Isle") which originally appeared as the B-side of her second single from 1976. Following some success with the EP, the other two tracks, singles "Fever" and "See You Round like a Record", were released as a single but that was to be her last release on A&M. A final single, "Beauty Queen" from the film The Alternative Miss World, was released on PRE Records in 1980.
Campbell has also appeared in several stage productions, including the Off-Broadway play You Should Be So Lucky and the Broadway musical Nine. She appeared as Sandra LeMon in the British TV series Rock Follies of '77.
In 1986, Campbell opened the nightclub Nell's on West 14th Street in Manhattan (New York) with Keith McNally and Lynn Wagenknecht. In 1995 she opened two restaurants in New York: The Kiosk (uptown) and E&O (downtown). Nell's was sold in 1998 to Noel Ashman and his business partner, actor Chris Noth, right before Campbell gave birth to her daughter, Matilda Violet, with ex-boyfriend and business partner, Eamon Roche. The club closed in 2004.
Campbell has written several magazine articles, including regular segments called "MamaTalks" and "FirstLook" in the now-defunct Talk magazine, starting in the December 1999 issue.
Filmography
Film YearTitleRoleNotes 1974 Barry McKenzie Holds His Own Nerida Brealey Feature film 1974 Ulla's Fete Self Short film1975 The Rocky Horror Picture Show Columbia Feature film Lisztomania Olga Feature film Alfie Darling Party Guest Feature film 1976 Summer of Secrets Kym Feature film1977 Jubilee Crabs Feature film Journey Among Women Meg Feature film 1980 The Alternative Miss World Herself Film documentary 1981 The Rocky Horror Treatment Self (uncredited) TV film 1981 Shock Treatment Nurse Ansalong Feature film (sequel to The Rocky Horror Picture Show) 1982 Pink Floyd – The Wall Groupie Live-action/animated feature film1983 Dead on Time Female Teller Short film Stanley Amy Benton Feature film 1984 The Killing Fields Beth Feature film 1985 I Wanna Be a Beauty Queen The Opening Act 1998 Great Expectations Erica Thrall Feature film 2000 Joe Gould's Secret Tamara Feature film The Intern The Host Feature film 2013 The Last Impresario Herself Documentary film 2019 Palm Beach Unimpressed Grandmother Feature film 2021 Seriously Red Doc Nell Feature film
Television YearTitleRoleNotes 1971 GTK TV series, 1 episode 1975The London Weekend Show Performer 2 episodes1977 Rock Follies of '77 Sandra LeMon 6 episodes It'll Be Alright on the Night Herself1979 Hazell Pamela 1 episodeShoestring Joanna Lomas 1980 Armchair Thriller Zoe Summers 3 episodes 1981 Funny Man Fiona 1 episode 1981 Countdown Performer (singing "Beauty Queen") 1 episode 1983 Bergerac Mrs. Moberley 1987 Saturday Night Live Performer 2010 Rake Flick Moyers
Television (as self) Year Title Role Notes 1980 TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes Self TV series US, 1 episode 1987 Saturday Night Live Self – Guest TV series US, 1 episode 1989 After Dark Self – Guest TV series UK, 1 episode 1990 The Big Picture Self (as Little Nell) TV series UK, 1 episode 1990 The Word Self – Guest TV series UK, 1 episode 1990 Juke Box Jury Self – Panelist (as Little Nell) TV series UK, 1 episode 1995 Rocky Horror Double Feature Video Show Self Video US 2000 VH-1 Where Are They Now? Self TV series US, 1 episode 2000 Rocky Horror 25: Anniversary Special Self TV Special US 2001 Backstory Self TV series US, 1 episode 2001 Tracey Ullman's Visible Panty Lines Self TV series UK, 2 episodes 2008 Spicks and Specks Self TV series Aus, 2 episodes 2015; 2022 Studio 10 Self with Patricia Quinn TV series, 1 episode 2016; 2022 Today Extra Self – Guest TV series Aus, 1 episode 2018 Horror Kung-Fu Theatre Self TV series US, 1 episode 2019 Time Warp: The Greatest Cult Films of All-Time Self TV miniseries US 2020 Midnight Movie Macabre Self TV series US 2021 Rocky Horror 45: The Movie Self Film documentary UK 2022 The Chronicles of Podcast Self TV series UK, 1 episode 2022 Today Extra Self – Guest TV series Aus, 1 episode 2022 Studio 10 Self – Guest TV series Aus, 1 episode 2023 The Morning Show Self – Guest TV series Aus, 1 episode 2023 Weekend Sunrise Self TV series Aus, 1 episode 2023 Studio 10 Self – Guest TV series Aus, 1 episode
Theatre +YearTitleRoleNotes1973The Rocky Horror ShowColumbiaThe Royal Court Theatre Upstairs1975And They Used to Star in MoviesMinnie MouseSoho Theatre1977A Streetcar Named DesireStellaOxford PlayhouseCensored Scenes From King KongIris FantocciniOpen Space Theatre1978StoopHerselfSoho Theatre1985Women Behind BarsHostFootbridge Theatre at Sydney University1994You Should Be So LuckyPollyOff-Broadway2003NineLina DarlingOn Broadway at Eugene O'Neill Theatre2006The Rocky Horror Tribute ShowHerselfThe Royal Court Theatre Upstairs2022–2023All's Nell That Ends NellOne-woman show2023The Rocky Horror Show 50th AnniversaryNarratorLondon
Discography Singles / EPs "Stillettos and Lipstick" / "Do the Swim" (A&M, 1975) "See You Round like a Record" / "Dance that Cocktail Latin Way" (A&M, 1976) "Fever" / "Do the Swim" (A&M, 1976) The Musical World of Little Nell (Aquatic Teenage Sex & Squalor) (A&M, 1978) "Fever" / "See You Round like a Record" (reissue) (A&M, 1978) "Beauty Queen" (Pre Records, 1980)
Guest vocals Tuff Little Surfer Boy (featured as "Roxanne" for the song by Truth & Beauty) (1974)
Soundtracks and Cast Recordings The Rocky Horror Show (Original London Cast) (1973) The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) Shock Treatment (1981)
References
External links Website
Little Nell at RockyMusic.org