80s Pop Culture Icon Nicknamed ‘Lassie’ Turns 70

Long before he was a Beatle, Ringo Starr was just a kid in Liverpool who needed a babysitter, and that babysitter was related to a future Hollywood star.

Kim Cattrall‘s aunt, Jean, looked after a young Ringo Starr years before Beatlemania turned him into one of the most famous musicians on the planet. Cattrall, who was born and spent her early years in Liverpool herself, has confirmed the family connection in interviews over the years. It’s the kind of only-in-Liverpool story that sounds too good to be true, but the timeline checks out: the Cattralls and the Starkeys were neighbors in the same city long before either family had any idea what was coming.

Cattrall turns 70 today, and that Beatles tri. She left Liverpool as an infant when her family emigrated to Canada, returned briefly at age 11 to study at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, then finished high school back in Canada before heading to Hollywood in her early 20s on a five-year movie deal

Her early film work included a memorable turn in the raunchy 1981 comedy Porky’s, where she played a gym teacher nicknamed “Lassie” for a loud, howling sound effect during one of the film’s most talked-about scenes. She followed that with roles in Police Academy, Big Trouble in Little China opposite Kurt Russell, and the romantic comedy Mannequin.

Of course, her biggest and most enduring role came later: Samantha Jones on Sex and the City, a part that earned her a Golden Globe, four additional Golden Globe nominations, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and five Emmy nominations. She reprised the role in two feature films and returned for a cameo in the 2023 revival And Just Like That…

This story was originally published byParadeon Aug 21, 2026, where it first appeared in theEntertainmentsection. Add Parade as aPreferred