A United Kingdom of Actresses - Part 1, England
41 actresses, one from each of the 39 historic counties of England with a slight exception made for Yorkshire where we have one from each of the East, North and West Ridings.
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Emily O'Brien was born in Bedfordshire, England. Her mother is Persian and Emily speaks Farsi fluently. She is a three-time Daytime Emmy-nominated actress and writer, known for portraying the voice of The Woman in David Fincher's: Love Death and Robots in The Witness, her five-year series regular role on The Young and the Restless (1973), Pernicious (2014) the voice of Gamora in Telltale's Guardians of the Galaxy, and voicing Amelie in Hideo Kojima's Death Stranding. She attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, England and wrote, produced and directed her first project, Beatrice (2011), in 2011 which won Best Film at BIFF.Bedfordshire- Actress
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Ask Kate Winslet what she likes about any of her characters, and the word "ballsy" is bound to pop up at least once. The British actress has made a point of eschewing straightforward pretty-girl parts in favor of more devilish damsels; as a result, she's built an eclectic resume that runs the gamut from Shakespearean tragedy to modern-day mysticism and erotica.
Kate Elizabeth Winslet was born in Reading, Berkshire, into a family of thespians -- parents Roger Winslet and Sally Anne Bridges-Winslet were both stage actors, maternal grandparents Oliver and Linda Bridges ran the Reading Repertory Theatre, and uncle Robert Bridges was a fixture in London's West End theatre district. Kate came into her talent at an early age. She scored her first professional gig at eleven, dancing opposite the Honey Monster in a commercial for a kids' cereal. She started acting lessons around the same time, which led to formal training at a performing arts high school. Over the next few years, she appeared on stage regularly and landed a few bit parts in sitcoms. Her first big break came at age 17, when she was cast as an obsessive adolescent in Heavenly Creatures (1994). The film, based on the true story of two fantasy-gripped girls who commit a brutal murder, received modest distribution but was roundly praised by critics.
Still a relative unknown, Winslet attended a cattle call audition the next year for Ang Lee's Sense and Sensibility (1995). She made an immediate impression on the film's star, Emma Thompson, and beat out more than a hundred other hopefuls for the part of plucky Marianne Dashwood. Her efforts were rewarded with both a British Academy Award and an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Winslet followed up with two more period pieces, playing the rebellious heroine in Jude (1996) and Ophelia in Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet (1996).
The role that transformed Winslet from art house attraction to international star was Rose DeWitt Bukater, the passionate, rosy-cheeked aristocrat in James Cameron's Titanic (1997). Young girls the world over both idolized and identified with Winslet, swooning over all that face time opposite heartthrob Leonardo DiCaprio and noting her refreshingly healthy, unemaciated physique. Winslet's performance also garnered a Best Actress nomination, making her the youngest actress to ever receive two Academy Award nominations.
After the swell of unexpected attention surrounding Titanic (1997), Winslet was eager to retreat into independent projects. Rumor has it that she turned down the lead roles in both Shakespeare in Love (1998) and Anna and the King (1999) in order to play adventurous soul searchers in Hideous Kinky (1998) and Holy Smoke (1999). The former cast her as a young single mother traveling through 1970s Morocco with her daughters in tow; the latter, as a zealous follower of a guru tricked into a "deprogramming" session in the Australian outback. The next year found her back in period dress as the Marquis de Sade's chambermaid and accomplice in Quills (2000). Kate holds the distinction of being the youngest actor ever honored with four Academy Award nominations (she received her fourth at age 29). As of 2016, she has been nominated for an Oscar seven times, winning one of them: she received the Best Actress Oscar for the drama The Reader (2008), playing a former concentration camp guard.
For her performance of Joanna Hoffman in Steve Jobs (2015), she received her seventh Academy Award nomination.
Off camera, Winslet is known for her mischievous pranks and familial devotion. She has two sisters, Anna Winslet and Beth Winslet (both actresses), and a brother, Joss.
In 1998, she married assistant director Jim Threapleton. They had a daughter, Mia Honey Threapleton, in October 2000. They divorced in 2001. She later married director Sam Mendes in 2003 and gave birth to their son, Joe Alfie Winslet-Mendes, later that year. After seven years of marriage, in February 2010 they announced that they had amicably separated, and divorced in October 2010. In 2012, Kate married Ned Rocknroll, with whom she has a son. She was awarded Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in the 2012 Queen's Birthday Honours List for her services to Drama.Berkshire. Honourable mentions to Geraldine James and Geraldine McEwan.- Actress
- Producer
Claire Elizabeth Foy (born 16 April 1984) is an English actress. She studied acting at the Liverpool John Moores University and the Oxford School of Drama and made her screen debut in the pilot of the supernatural comedy series Being Human, in 2008. Following her professional stage debut at the Royal National Theatre, she played the title role in the BBC One miniseries Little Dorrit (2008), and made her film debut in the American historical fantasy drama Season of the Witch (2011). Following leading roles in the television series The Promise (2011) and Crossbones (2014), Foy received praise for portraying the ill-fated queen Anne Boleyn in the miniseries Wolf Hall (2015).
Foy gained international recognition for portraying the young Queen Elizabeth II in the first two seasons of the Netflix series The Crown (2016-2017), for which she won a Golden Globe and a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, among other awards. In 2018, she starred in Steven Soderbergh's psychological thriller Unsane and portrayed Janet Shearon, wife of astronaut Neil Armstrong, in Damien Chazelle's biopic First Man. For the latter, she was nominated for the BAFTA and Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress.
Foy was born in Stockport. She has said that her mother, Caroline, comes from "a massive Irish family". Her maternal grandparents were from Dublin and Kildare, respectively. She grew up in Manchester and Leeds, the youngest of three children. Her family later moved to Longwick, Buckinghamshire, for her father's job as a salesman for Rank Xerox. Her parents divorced when she was eight.
Foy attended Aylesbury High School, a girls' grammar school, from the age of twelve; she then attended Liverpool John Moores University, studying drama and screen studies. She also trained in a one-year course at the Oxford School of Drama. She graduated in 2007 and moved to Peckham to share a house "with five friends from drama school".Buckinghamshire.- Actress
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Rebecca Mader was born in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England as Rebecca Leigh Mader. She is an actress and writer, known for The Devil Wears Prada (2006), Iron Man Three (2013), Once Upon A Time (2014-2018) and Lost (2008-2010). She has been married to Marcus Kayne since November 23, 2016. She was previously married to Joseph Arongino.Cambridgeshire. Honourable mention to Olivia Newton-John.- Actress
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Polly Alexandra Walker was born on May 19, 1966 in Warrington, Cheshire, England. She graduated from Ballet Rambert School in Twickenham, began her career as a dancer, but an injury at age 18 forced her to change direction. She started at London's Drama Centre to the Royal Shakespeare Company, where she portrayed small parts before graduating to small roles on television. Polly landed the title role in the television series Lorna Doone (1990) before making her feature debut in Journey of Honor (1991) ("Shogun Mayeda"). She first gained attention as an English woman in an Irish terrorist brigade in Phillip Noyce's Patriot Games (1992).Cheshire. Honourable mentions to Wendy Hiller, Glenda Jackson, Patricia Routledge and Barbara Steele.- Actress
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The acclaimed Cornish actress Dame Kristin Scott Thomas was born in Redruth, Cornwall, to Deborah (Hurlbatt) and Lieutenant Commander Simon Scott Thomas. Her father was a pilot for the British Royal Navy and died in a flying accident in 1964. Her stepfather, Lt. Cdr Simon Idiens, was also a pilot, and died six years later under similar circumstances. Her childhood home was Dorset, England. She left at the age of 19 to work as an au pair in Paris. She was married to French doctor François Oliviennes, with whom she had three children; Hannah, Joseph, and George.Cornwall.- Emma Cleasby was born in Cumbria, England, UK. She is known for Dog Soldiers (2002), Doomsday (2008) and Inspector Lewis (2006).Cumberland.
- Lauren Marie Socha is an actress, known for her role in Misfits (2009).
She born June 9, 1990, in Derby, Derbyshire, England, to Kathleen (Lyons) and Robert Socha, and has Polish, English, Irish, and Italian ancestry. In 2010, Socha starred alongside Tim McInnerny in the short film Missing. She also had a minor role in the television mini-series Five Daughters.Derbyshire. Honourable mention to Suzy Kendall. - Actress
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Collins entered motion pictures as a stripper in the exploitation film, Secrets of a Windmill Girl (1966), and television, as a maid in the British drama series Upstairs, Downstairs (1971). In 1988, she starred in the one-woman play 'Shirley Valentine' in London, and soon after, brought the role to Broadway, winning a Tony Award. She collected a BAFTA Film Award and was nominated an Academy Award for her performance in the film version, Shirley Valentine (1989). Several stage, film and television performances followed.Devon.- Actress
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Serena Scott Thomas was born on 21 September 1961 in Nether Compton, Dorset, England, UK. She is an actress and producer, known for Inherent Vice (2014), The World Is Not Enough (1999) and Hostage (2005). She was previously married to Scott J. Tepper.Dorset. Honourable mention to Jayne Atkinson.- Actress
- Producer
Cathy is a combat performance artist and is a specialist in movement/psychological choreography. She has spent 16 years in the martial art and professional boxing industry as a fighter of which she was ranked number 3 in the World and held both English and European title and a professional boxing and martial arts coach. She has done choreography for and performed in a British movie and a music video and managed the movement choreography and emotional choreography on a London opera. She is very highly respected within the sports industry for her physical and psychological knowledge and experience.Durham. Honourable mentions to Wendy Craig and Flora Robson.- Actress
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One of the world's most famous and distinguished actresses, Dame Maggie Smith was born Margaret Natalie Smith in Essex. Her Scottish mother, Margaret (Hutton), worked as a secretary, and her English father, Nathaniel Smith, was a teacher at Oxford University. Smith has been married twice: to actor Robert Stephens and to playwright Beverley Cross. Her marriage to Stephens ended in divorce in 1974. She was married to Cross until his death in 1999. She had two sons with Stephens, Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens who are also actors.
Maggie Smith's career began at the Oxford Playhouse in the 1950s. She made her film debut in 1956 as one of the party guests in Child in the House (1956). She has since performed in over sixty films and television series with some of the most prominent actors and actresses in the world. These include: Othello (1965) with Laurence Olivier, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969), California Suite (1978) with Michael Caine and Jane Fonda, A Room with a View (1985), Richard III (1995) with Ian McKellen and Jim Broadbent, Franco Zeffirelli's Tea with Mussolini (1999) with Judi Dench, Joan Plowright and Cher and Gosford Park (2001) with Kristin Scott Thomas and Clive Owen, directed by Robert Altman. Maggie Smith has also been nominated for an Oscar six times and won twice, for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969) and California Suite (1978).
Smith later appeared in the very successful 'Harry Potter' franchise as the formidable Professor McGonagall as well as in Julian Fellowes' ITV drama series, Downton Abbey (2010) (2010-2011) as the Dowager Countess of Grantham.Essex. Honourable mentions to Vicki Michelle, Sarah Miles, Anna Neagle, Hermione Norris, Tamzin Outhwaite, Joan Sims, Juliet Stevenson and Amanda Tapping.- Millie Katharine Midwinter-Lean was born on 18th August 1995 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. She started performing aged 6 with the Everyman Youth Theatre and secured her 1st role shortly afterwards in the 2002 production of The Magician's Nephew.
Her mother enrolled her with an agency at 12 in order for her to gain some more confidence. Her first breakthrough came when she was cast as Lucy Turner in Panic Button (2011).
After several films Millie decided to leave her acting career behind and in 2013 attended Greenwich University to study Engineering.Gloucestershire. Honourable mention to Gabrielle Glaister. - Actress
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Holly Aird was born in Aldershot, Hampshire on the 18th May, 1969. She showed a huge interest in ballet so she started to attend a local dance school. At the age of nine, young Holly was picked out by a casting director to star in The History of Mr. Polly (1980).
Her first acting appearance went well, and she began getting even more roles, such as The Tale of Beatrix Potter (1983) and The Flame Trees of Thika (1981).
It was around the time that Holly was filming The Flame Trees of Thika (1981) that her parents divorced but they stayed good friends and were always supportive in her pursuit of fame.
Holly is one of only a few actresses who manage the difficult transition from child/teenage actor to adult actress. She is now most well-known as "Nancy Thorpe/Garvey" in Soldier Soldier (1991) and, more recently, for her role as forensic pathologist, "Frankie Wharton", in the BBC series, Waking the Dead (2000), which she left at the end of season four to concentrate on her family.
Her personal life certainly hasn't been easy. Holly married actor James Purefoy but they divorced in 2002, only a few years after the birth of their son, Joseph Purefoy, who suffered from a rare blood disease which had both mum and dad at his bedside in the hospital. Joseph has now recovered and Holly has had a second child, Nelly Merritt, with her second husband, Toby Merritt, after meeting him on the set of Waking the Dead (2000)'s second season.Hampshire. Honourable mentions to Juliet Aubrey, Kirsty Dillon, Amanda Holden, Elizabeth Hurley and Catherine McCormack.- Actress
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Beryl Reid was the daughter of Scottish parents and grew up in industrial Manchester, England. She left home at the age of 16 to go and work in a shop. She lasted 6 weeks. She applied for and was accepted in a revue in the Summer season in Bridlington. She had no formal training but joined the National Theater in London as a comedy actress. Her first big success came in the BBC radio show "Educating Archie" (a ventriloquist - on the radio). She played the naughty schoolgirl, Monica, and later, the Brummie Marlene. Her film roles were few and far between, but always well received. She transferred her Tony award winning performance of the lesbian radio star to the screen in The Killing of Sister George (1968). But she was best known and loved for her (slightly tipsy) older ladies such as in The Beiderbecke Tapes (1987) and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979).Herefordshire.- British-born Esmé Bianco is an internationally-acclaimed actress and performer, best-known for her role as "Ros" in the Emmy Award-winning show, Game of Thrones (2011).
Degree-educated in Drama and Theatre Arts at London's Goldsmiths University; Bianco's acting career started with performances in music videos for the likes of Robbie Williams and Slayer, and UK television appearances on BBC and Channel 4; before she was cast as "Ros" in the pilot episode of HBO's "Game of Thrones".
Although originally cast in the pilot for only one scene opposite Peter Dinklage, Bianco's talent spoke volumes and changed the course of the series. Astounded by her single performance, executives boldly swayed from the books on which "Game of Thrones" is based, turning "Ros", a one-time guest star fabricated for the pilot into a series regular. Interestingly, after getting the series green light, the original pilot episode was totally re-shot with the exception of Bianco's first scene with Dinklage; a scene which garnered her a three-season run. "Game of Thrones" secured her a loyal fan base across the globe and her popularity continues to grow along with her rising film career.
Bianco has enjoyed a successful modeling career, fronting campaigns for luxury lingerie brands, such as Agent Provocateur, Modern Courtesan and Atsuko Kudo, and has traveled the world with her burlesque and cabaret shows, creating high octane performances for the likes of Sting, the Monte Carlo Grand Prix, W hotel, Ministry of Sound and Vanity Fair.
She lives in Los Angeles.Hertfordshire. Honourable mentions to Stephanie Beacham, Helen Grace and Frances de la Tour. - Actress
- Music Department
Rula Lenska was born on 30 September 1947 in St. Neots, Cambridgeshire, England, UK. She is an actress, known for Royal Flash (1975), Queen Kong (1976) and Seven Dials Mystery (1981). She was previously married to Dennis Waterman and Brian Deacon.Huntingdonshire.- Actress
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Naomi Ellen Watts was born on September 28, 1968 in Shoreham, England to Myfanwy Edwards "Miv" (Roberts), an antiques dealer and costume/set designer, and Peter Watts (Peter Anthony Watts), Pink Floyd's road manager. Her maternal grandfather was Welsh. Her father died when she was seven and she followed her mother and brother around England until she was 14 and they finally settled in Australia, homeland of her maternal grandmother. When they arrived, she coaxed her mother to let her take acting classes. After bit parts in commercials, she landed her first role in For Love Alone (1986). Naomi met her best friend Nicole Kidman when they both auditioned for a bikini commercial and shared a taxi ride home. In 1991, Naomi starred with Kidman in the sleeper hit Flirting (1991), directed by John Duigan. Naomi continued her career by starring in the Australian Brides of Christ (1991) co-starring Oscar-winners Russell Crowe and Brenda Fricker.
In 1993, she worked with John Duigan again in Wide Sargasso Sea (1993) and director George Miller in Gross Misconduct (1993). Tank Girl (1995), in 1995, an adaptation of the comic book was a cult hit, starred Naomi as "Jet Girl", but it didn't do at the box-office or do much for her career. Watts continued to take insignificant parts in movies including the much forgotten film Children of the Corn: The Gathering (1996). It wasn't until David Lynch cast her in the critically acclaimed film Mulholland Drive (2001) that she began to become noticed. Her part as an aspiring actress showed her strong acting ability and wide range and earned her much respect, as much as to say by some that she was overlooked for a Oscar nomination that year. Stardom finally came to Naomi in the surprise hit The Ring (2002), which grossed over $100,000,000 at the box-office and starred Watts as an investigative reporter hunting down the truth behind several mysterious deaths seemingly caused by a video tape. While the movie did not fare well with the critics, it launched her into the spotlight. In 2003, she starred in Alejandro González Iñárritu's 21 Grams (2003) which earned her - what some say is a much overdue Oscar nomination and brought others to call her one of the best in her generation of actors. The same year, she was nominated for 21 Grams (2003), Naomi was chosen to play "Ann Darrow" in director Peter Jackson's King Kong (2005) which took her to New Zealand for a five month shoot. Watts completed her first comedy in I Heart Huckabees (2004) for director David O. Russell, playing a superficial spokes model - a break from her usual intense and dramatic roles she is known for.
In 2005, she reprized her role as the protective-mother-reporter "Rachel Keller" in The Ring Two (2005). The movie, released in March, opened to $35,000,000 at the box office in the first weekend and established her as a box-office draw. Also in 2005, it was decided that her independent movie Ellie Parker (2001) would be re-released in late 2005 after its success at resurfacing at the Sundance Film Festival. The movie, which Naomi also produced, features her in the title role and is a bit biographical, but yet exaggerated take of the life of a struggling actress as she comes to Hollywood and encounters nightmares of the profession (it also features Watts' own beat-up Honda which she travels around in). In 2006, she starred with Edward Norton in The Painted Veil (2006). In July of 2007, Naomi gave birth to a boy, Alexander Pete (Sasha Schreiber) in Los Angeles with Liev Schreiber. Since then her career choices have gathered even more critical acclaim with starring roles roles in German director Michael Haneke's American remake of his thriller Funny Games (2007), David Cronenberg's Eastern Promises (2007), and the action-thriller, The International (2009), released in February 2009. In mid-2008, Watts announced she was expecting her second child with Schreiber and gave birth to second son Samuel Kai Schreiber, in New York on December 13.Kent. Honourable mentions to Brenda Blethyn and Hatti Jacques.- Actress
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Miranda Richardson was born in Southport, Lancashire, England on March 3, 1958, to Marian Georgina (Townsend) and William Alan Richardson, a marketing executive. She has one sister, eight years her senior. Her parents and sister are not involved in the performing arts. At an early age she performed in school plays, having shown a talent and desire to "turn herself into" other people. She has referred to it as "an emotional fusion; you think yourself into them". This mimicry could be of school friends or film stars.
She left school (Southport High School for Girls) at the age of 17, and originally intended becoming a vet. She also considered studying English literature in college, but decided to concentrate on drama and enrolled at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School (as did many well-known British actors). After three years she graduated and moved into repertory theatre. She became affiliated with the Library Theatre in Manchester in 1979, where she became an assistant stage manager. She obtained her Equity card, and after several regional productions, first appeared on the London stage (Moving at Queens Theatre) in 1981. British television roles soon followed, and then film.
Since then, Miranda has moved into the international arena, and has made films in America, France and Spain. Television work (on both sides of the Atlantic) continues, as does some stage work. Her roles are diverse, but powerful and engaging. She has been quoted as stating "what I basically like is doing things I haven't done before" and this continually comes through in the variety of roles she has played in her career. She is also selective in the roles she takes, being uninterested in performing in the standard Hollywood fare, and preferring more offbeat roles. She was approached to play the Glenn Close role in Fatal Attraction (1987), but found it "regressive in its attitudes". Her attitude is summed up by a quote from an interview that appeared in the New York Times (Dec 27 1992): "I would rather do many small roles on TV, stage or film than one blockbuster that made me rich but had no acting. And if that's the choice I have to make, I think I've already made it".
According to "1994 Current Biography Yearbook", she resides in South London with her two Siamese cats, Otis and Waldo. She has now moved to West London. Her hobbies include drawing, walking, gardening, fashion, falconry, and music. She, by her own admission, is a loner and lives rather modestly. An actor who studied with Ms Richardson at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre in the late 1970s described her as "a strong minded, specially gifted, rather pretty young woman who enjoys wearing jewelry. She wore toe rings, which in the late 1970s and especially in England, were a rarity and considered rather racy." He also remarked on her drive, even then, to be an actress of the highest caliber.Lancashire. Honourable mentions to Kate Ashfield, Dora Bryan, Shirley Anne Field, Thora Hird, Sarah Lancashire and Nicola Stephenson.- Actress
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Parminder Nagra was born in Leicester, Leicestershire, England, UK. She is an actress, known for Bend It Like Beckham (2002), ER (1994) and The Blacklist (2013). She was previously married to James Stenson.Leicestershire. Honourable mentions to Kate O'Mara and Josette Simon.- Actress
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Dame Joan Ann Plowright, the Baroness Olivier, is one of the most distinguished actors of her generation. She may be best remembered as the third wife and widow of Laurence Olivier, generally considered the greatest anglophone actor of the 20th Century, but she had a distinguished career of her own on stage and screen spanning six decades.
Born in Brigg, Lincolnshire on October 28, 1929, she received her training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and made her professional stage debut at Croydon in 1948. Her London debut came in 1954, and two years later, she joined George Devine's English Stage Company at the Royal Court Theatre, which would change her life just as the drama at the Royal Court revolutionized the English theater.
The Royal Court's 1956 production of John Osborne's _Look Back In Anger' was a watershed in English theatrical history, ushering in the 'Angry Young Man" era in British cultural life. In 1957, Plowright first co-starred with her future husband Olivier in the Royal Court's production of Osborne's The Entertainer (1960) when she took over the role of Archie Rice's daughter Jean Rice when the play transferred to a commercial venue in the West End. She recreated the role in Tony Richardson's 1960 film of the play.
To escape the notoriety from Olivier's divorce from Vivien Leigh, Plowright and Olivier went to New York, where they appeared on Broadway, he in Becket (1964) and she in A Taste of Honey (1961). For her performance as Josephine, which Rita Tushingham played in the movie version, she won a 1961 Tony Award as Best Actress in a Play. (She had first appeared on Broadway in a twin bill of Eugène Ionesco's "The Chairs" and "The Lesson" in January 1958, a month before she appeared with Olivier in "The Entertainer".) When his divorce from Leigh came through, they were married in March 1961 in New York with Richard Burton as Larry's best man.
From 1963 onward, she was a member of the National Theatre, which was headed by Olivier. Plowright created a distinguished stage career and was acclaimed when she began appearing more frequently in movies and television starting in the the 1980s. She was made a Dame Commander of the British Empire, the female equivalent of a knighthood, in the 2004 Queen's New Year Honours.
Plowright divorced her first husband, the actor Roger Gage, to marry Olivier in 1961 and they had three children, Richard Kerr Olivier, Tamsin Olivier and Julie Kate Olivier.Lincolnshire. Honourable mentions to Patricia Hodge, Jennifer Saunders and Sybil Thorndike.- Actress
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Jane Seymour was born as Joyce Penelope Wilhelmina Frankenberg in 1951 in Middlesex, England, to a nurse mother and gynaecologist/obstetrician father. She is of Polish Jewish (father) and Dutch (mother) descent. She adopted the acting name of "Jane Seymour" when she entered show business as it was easier for people to remember (and the name of one of King Henry VIII's wives). She attracted the attention of the James Bond film producers when they saw her on British television. She was cast as the main Bond girl, "Solitaire", in Live and Let Die (1973). The role gained her international recognition but she was in danger of losing it all like the previous Bond girls, so she came to the U.S.
A casting director advised her to lose her English accent and acquire an American accent to land roles on American television. She did and started getting roles, earning five Emmy nominations, resulting in one win for Onassis: The Richest Man in the World (1988) for playing Maria Callas. She won Golden Globe awards for both East of Eden (1981) and the American television series Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (1993), where she played the title role for 5 years. She occasionally appeared in feature films, memorably in Somewhere in Time (1980) and in Wedding Crashers (2005).
Married and divorced four times, she gave birth to four children and is a stepmother to two. They have children of their own, making her a grandmother. As of 2018, she has been acting in television movies and making guest-appearances.Middlesex. Honourable mentions to Gabrielle Anwar and Keira Knightley.- Actress
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Miranda grew up in Burnham Thorpe on the North Norfolk coast and trained at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. Her father, Nick, is a jazz pianist and her mother, Caroline, read the news for Anglia television. In 2011, she played the title role in 'Anne Boleyn' at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre to great critical acclaim.Norfolk. Honourable mentions to Ruth Madoc and Hannah Spearritt.- Actress
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Trained in music and dance, tiny-framed, pixie-like Judy Carne was born Joyce Botterill in Northampton, England on April 27, 1939, the daughter of a grocer. Trained in dance, she appeared in music revues as a teenager and changed her name at the advice of a dance teacher.
Slowly building up a career on British TV, she arrived in America in 1962, the eve of the mid-60s "British invasion," and appeared to good advantage on the TV series Fair Exchange (1962). Beginning unobtrusively in film, she developed enough as a light comedienne to score well on the smaller screen and won a regular role on the sitcom The Baileys of Balboa (1964). Stardom came with her own romantic comedy series Love on a Rooftop (1966) opposite the late Pete Duel. The latter series, though short-lived, was quite popular and showcased Carne's appeal to maximum advantage. She found herself embraced by America as a cute, pert-nosed Cockney lass with a Peter Pan-like effervescence.
It was no surprise when a couple of years later she soared to "flower power" stardom on the hip and highly irreverent TV cult variety show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (1967), where she introduced the phrase "Sock it to me!" to the American vernacular. As the plucky brunette, she always seemed to be on the receiving end of a slapstick prank, but the audiences loved her for it. The show also made instant household names out of fellow Laugh-In comrades Arte Johnson, Ruth Buzzi, Henry Gibson, Jo Anne Worley, Lily Tomlin, and, notably, Goldie Hawn, who managed to out-perk even Judy and grab the lion's share of attention. Judy proved herself a game sport for a while, but made the decision to leave the series after only two seasons-- tired of the grind, the typecast, and the disappointment of having her singing/dancing skills undermined.
In the long run it probably was a major career mistake. With the exception of her role as Polly (the Julie Andrews roles) in a Broadway revival of "The Boy Friend" that also featured Sandy Duncan, Judy's post "Laugh-In" professional life was unexceptional with a surprising quick descent. There were a couple of mini-movies, a failed TV idea for a sitcom called "Poor Judy", a failed Las Vegas music act, and the TV talk show circuit. Nothing panned out. Despite an innocent, bubbly, cheery exterior, her private life was anything but. Her 1963 marriage to rising star Burt Reynolds was over within a couple of years. The divorce was acrimonious, to say the least, with nasty, below-the-belt accusations being flung from both sides and feeding the tabloid sheets. A second marriage to TV producer Robert Bergman in 1970 lasted even less than that. More problematic, however, was Judy's escalating financial problems and a drug problem which started with marijuana and hallucinogens and developed into a full-fledged heroin addiction.
In the late 60s and 70s she tried to maintain somewhat with scattered appearances on the musical and comedy stage with roles in "Cabaret" (as Sally Bowles), "Absurd Person Singular," "There's a Girl in My Soup", "The Owl and the Pussycat" and "Blithe Spirit". Her career pretty much in shambles, she fell quickly into the lifestyle of a junkie and began living in squalor. For the next decade, she literally dropped out of sight. The only time she was heard from was when she was busted for a drug arrest or when she made unhappy headlines for a near-fatal 1978 car crash (her ex-husband Robert was driving) that left her with a broken neck.
Judy's tell-all 1985 autobiography, "Laughing on the Outside, Crying on the Inside", was a harrowing and heart-wrenching read with explicit detailing of her descent into degradation. Despite the book, the adorable English girl who captured America's heart in the late 1960s failed to win back a now-disinterested audience. She remains a prime example of what the flip side of a glamorous Hollywood can turn out to be.
In later years, Judy lived and was not heard of much since the publishing of the book. She has allegedly been married twice more since then. She was also in attendance for the televised 25th anniversary of "Laugh-In" and a televised "Laugh-In" Christmas show both in 1993. Out of the picture since the early 1980's, she was a 1990 guest for talk show hosts Geraldo Rivera and Howard Stern and made an isolated appearance as a homeless person in the downbeat urban movie drama What About Me (1993), written and directed by the film's star Rachel Amodeo.
Living quietly in the village of Pitsford for two decades, she died from pneumonia on September 3, 2015, at a hospital in Northampton.Northamptonshire. Honourable mentions to Joan Hickson and Nanette Newman.- Imogen Stubbs was born in Rothbury, Northumberland, lived briefly in Portsmouth, where her father was a naval officer, and then moved with her parents to London, where they inhabited an elderly river barge on the Thames. Educated at St. Paul's and then Westminster, where she was one of the "token girls" in the Sixth Form, she went on to Oxford, where she gained a First Class degree. She achieved success on stage with the Royal Shakespeare Company, notable as Desdemona in "Othello", which was directed by Trevor Nunn, and has worked consistently on stage and screen.Northumberland. Honourable mention to Janet McTeer.
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Rebecca Grant is mainly known for playing series regular 'Daisha Anderson' in BBC1's Bafta award winning program, Holby City and Shaheen Wazir in Tiger Aspect's 'Prisoners Wives II'. She received an award for 'Best Actress in a lead role' at the International Filmmakers Festival for World Cinema in an Independent Movie called 'Kristina'. She has just finished playing the lead in 'Chakara' a film by Laidback Films starring opposite Ben Richards, Kasia Nossier and Rez Kempton.
Rebecca has had a succession of compelling and challenging theatrical roles and received many rave reviews in national newspapers. These included 'Nurse Flynn' in 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' , 'Magic Wanda' in Immodesty and Walter's Burlesque!' and 'Tagores Women' for Kali Theatre and 'Bombay Dreams' all in the heart of London's West-end. She was cast as 'Viola' in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night at The Royal in Northampton then called back a few months later to play the feisty American-Canadian rebel 'Jean' in JB Priestly's 'The Glass Cage'. Throughout her extensive theatrical and TV roles she has had the pleasure of working opposite Robert Powell, Patsy Kensit, Christian Slater, Eddie Izzard and Martin Freeman.Nottinghamshire. Honourable mentions to Cherie Lunghi and Samantha Morton.- Actress
- Art Department
- Additional Crew
Lucy Fleming was born on 15 May 1947 in Nettlebed, Oxfordshire, England, UK. She is an actress, known for Survivors (1975), The Boat That Rocked (2009) and Mystery and Imagination (1966). She has been married to Simon Williams since April 1986. She was previously married to Joseph William Peter Laycock.Oxfordshire. Honourable mentions to Miriam Margolyes, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Frances O'Connor, Rachel Ward and Annabelle Wallis.- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Sound Department
Moira Quirk was born in Rutland, England, UK. She is an actress, known for Hogwarts Legacy (2023), Destiny 2: The Witch Queen (2022) and Dragons Rescue Riders: Heroes of the Sky (2021). She has been married to Michael Rayner since 26 May 1996. They have two children.Rutland.- Actress
- Producer
Natalie Lisinska burst onto the Canadian acting scene soon after graduating from Toronto Metropolitan University Theatre School, when she was cast as the lead in "At the Hotel", a series directed by Ken Finkleman for the CBC. Other leading roles soon followed. Adept at both comedy and drama, Natalie was the series lead of "Insecurity" (CBC) for two seasons and won a Canadian Screen Award for her recurring role in the acclaimed dramatic series "Orphan Black" (BBC America). Natalie has worked extensively in Canadian film and television including leading roles on "The Lake" (Prime Video), "Northern Rescue" (Netflix/CBC), "The Expanse" (SyFy), "Mary Kills People" (Global) and "Young People F*cking" (Maple Pictures). A bright light wherever she goes, Natalie is energized and grounded by the live wires at home, her always hilarious son and actor/writer husband, Matthew MacFadzean.Shropshire. Honourable mention to Rosemary Leach.- Actress
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Jenny Agutter was born on December 20, 1952, in Taunton, Somerset, England, UK. The daughter of an army officer, she spent her childhood traveling and living in different countries. Her film career began at the age of 12 in East of Sudan (1964), which was quickly followed by Ballerina: Part 1 (1966) and Ballerina: Part 2 (1966), and A Man Could Get Killed (1966). Other films and television appearances in her early career include Gates to Paradise (1968), Long After Summer (1967), Star! (1968), I Start Counting (1970), The Great Inimitable Mr. Dickens (1970), and The Wild Duck (1971).
In 1970, she appeared in what was her real big break as a child star: The Railway Children (1970), as "Bobbie". The next year, Hollywood called and she spent several years there, appearing in such works as The Cherry Orchard (1971), Walkabout (1971), and The Snow Goose (1971) with Richard Harris, for which she received an Emmy Award. She also appeared in the critically acclaimed A War of Children (1972) and Shelley (1972).
In 1976, Jenny really came to the attention of US film audiences with her starring role in the science-fiction classic Logan's Run (1976) with Michael York. Though not a critical favorite, it was a huge box-office success and spawned a television series. She also starred alongside Richard Chamberlain in a well-received made-for-TV version of the famous Dumas tale The Man in the Iron Mask (1977) and turned in a solid performance in the WW II thriller The Eagle Has Landed (1976) with Michael Caine and Donald Sutherland. The next year, she starred in Peter Shaffer's weighty Equus (1977) as "Jill Mason", alongside Richard Burton. Among her other TV and film work during the 1970s were Dominique (1979), School Play (1979), and The Riddle of the Sands (1979).
In 1981, she played "Desdemona" opposite William Marshall in The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice (1981). Other Shakespeare performances include "King Lear", Love's Labour's Lost (1985) as "Rosaline" for the BBC and Romeo & Juliet (1993) as "Lady Capulet". During this time, she was in numerous films and television series, including Sweet William (1980), Beulah Land (1980), The Survivor (1981), Amy (1981), and one of the films for which she is most fondly remembered, An American Werewolf in London (1981). She also appeared in This Office Life (1984), Secret Places (1984), Silas Marner (1985), Dark Tower (1987), Miss Right (1982), and King of the Wind (1990).
In the 1990s, she concentrated mainly on television, with roles in TECX (1990); Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less (1990); Red Dwarf (1988); The All New Alexei Sayle Show (1994); The Buccaneers (1995); And the Beat Goes On (1996); September (1996) with Edward Fox, Michael York, Virginia McKenna, and Jacqueline Bisset; A Respectable Trade (1998) with Warren Clarke, Anna Massey, and Richard Briers. Her theatrical films during this period included Darkman (1990) with Liam Neeson; and Blue Juice (1995) with Sean Pertwee, Ewan McGregor, and Catherine Zeta-Jones. She also appeared as "Mrs. Bruce" in two feature-length episodes of the popular ITV series Bramwell (1995) in which she starred with Jemma Redgrave. She has also made several guest appearances in TV shows such as The Red Dwarf (1998); Boon (1986); The Equalizer (1985) with Edward Woodward; The Twilight Zone (1985); Magnum, P.I. (1980) and The Six Million Dollar Man (1974).
Jenny married to Johan Tham in August 1990. They have one son Jonathan, born in December 1990 and live in Cornwall, England, UK. Her particular love is charity work for The Diabetic Association and NCH Action for Children - a charity which provides home and other help for homeless children - with which she has been involved for many years.Somerset. Honourable mentions to Sarah Parish and Indira Varma.- Actress
- Writer
- Script and Continuity Department
Meera Syal was born on 27 June 1961 in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England, UK. She is an actress and writer, known for Yesterday (2019), Beautiful Thing (1996) and Absolutely Anything (2015). She has been married to Sanjeev Bhaskar since 21 January 2005. They have one child. She was previously married to Chandra Shekhar Bhatia.Staffordshire. Honourable mention to Frances Barber.- Actress
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Rosemary Harris is an English actress. She has won 4 Drama Desk Awards, and nominated 9 times for Tony Awards. In 1966, she won the "Tony Award for Best Actress" for her role as Eleanor of Aquitaine in "The Lion in Winter". In films, she is better known for portraying May Reilly Parker in the "Spider-Man" film trilogy (2002-2007). Her character Aunt May is Spider-Man/Peter Parker's paternal aunt-in-law and surrogate mother.
In 1927, Harris was born in Ashby, Suffolk, a former civil parish in East Suffolk. Her parents were Stafford Berkeley Harris and his wife Enid Maude Frances Campion. Her father served in the Royal Air Force (RAF), and the Harris family relocated to the locations of his military assignments. For some time, Stafford served in British India. So Harris spend part of her childhood there.
Harris attended various convent schools. When she reached adulthood, she decided to follow an acting career. She made her theatrical debut in 1948, at Eastburn. She appeared for a few years in English repertory theatre, though she had no formal training as an actor. She joined Anthony Cundell's theatrical company, which was headquartered at Penzance, Cornwall.
From 1951 to 1952, Harris received her formal acting education at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). She made her debut in the New York stage in 1951, performing in "Climate of Eden" by Moss Hart (1904-1961). Shortly after, she made her West End debut in London. In 1954, Harris made her film debut in "Beau Brummell".
For several years, Harris appeared in classical theatre productions of the Bristol Old Vic, a British theatre company headquartered in Bristol, South West England. She later started performing for the Old Vic, the company's London-based parent company. In 1963, Harris performed at the opening production of the then-new National Theatre Company (later known as the Royal National Theatre), a theatrical company founded that year by Laurence Olivier (1907-1989). In that performance, Harris played Ophelia in "Hamlet" by William Shakespeare. Her co-star in the role of Hamlet was Peter O'Toole (1932-2013). The performance received positive reviews, with a theatre critic commenting that Harris was "the most real and touching Ophelia".
From 1959 to 1967, Harris performed in Broadway for the Association of Producing Artist (APA). APA was a production company established by her then-husband Ellis Rabb (1930-1998), Her best known role in this period was playing the historical queen Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122-1204) in "Lion in Winter", the role for which she won the 1966 Tony Award for Best Actress.
In 1967, Harris and Rabb received a divorce, and she consequently stopped performing for the APA. The company did not long survive Harris' departure, disbanding in 1969. Also in 1967, Harris was wed to her second husband, the fiction writer John Ehle (1925-2018). Ehle specialized in works set the Appalachian Mountains, and has been nicknamed "the father of Appalachian literature". They jointly raised a daughter, the actress Jennifer Ehle (1969-).
Harris gained a high-profile television role in the 1970s, playing protagonist George Sand (1804-1876) in the BBC television serial "Notorious Woman" (1974). The series lasted for a single season and 7 episodes. The well-received series was broadcast in the United States from 1975 to 1976. For this role, Harris won the 1976 "Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie".
In 1978, Harris appeared in the role of Berta Palitz Weiss in the American television miniseries "Holocaust". Her character was the mother of a large Jewish family during the Holocaust. The miniseries was the first American television production focusing on the Holocaust, and was considered controversial for allegedly trivializing the historical tragedy. Harris' role was critically well-received, and she won the 1978 "Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Television Series Drama".
In the 1980s, Harris' only major appearance in a television production was her role as Mrs Ramsay in the television film "To the Lighthouse". The film was an adaptation of a 1927 novel by Virginia Woolf (1882-1941), and focused on the life of the Ramsay family at their summer home on the Isle of Skye.
In the 1990s, Harris co-starred with her daughter Jennifer Ehle in the television series "The Camomile Lawn" (1992). Ehle played the young adult version of the character Calypso, while Harris played the elderly version of the character.
In 1994, Harris had a high-profile film role in the historical drama "Tom & Viv", which dramatized the problematic relationship between the poet Thomas Stearns "T.S." Eliot (1888-1965) and his first wife Vivienne Haigh-Wood Eliot (1888-1947), Harris played the role of Vivienne's mother, Rose Robinson Haigh-Wood. For this role, Harris was nominated for the 1994 "Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress". The Award was instead won by rival actress Dianne Wiest (1946-).
Later, Harris again co-starred with Jennifer Ehle in the historical drama film "Sunshine" (1999). They played young and elderly versions of the character Valerie Sonnenschein. The film follows depicts the history of Hungary from the late 19th century to the 1950s, through the life experiences of a Hungarian Jewish family.
Harris gained the high-profile role of May Reilly Parker in the comic book adaptation "Spider-Man" (2002). The film was a box office hit, earning about 822 million dollars at the worldwide box office. Harris was introduced to a much wider audience than before. She resumed her role in the sequels Spider-Man 2 (2004) and Spider-Man 3 (2007).
Harris continued her theatrical career in the 2010s. Her last high-profile role in the decade was the role of Mrs. Higgins in a Broadway revival of "My Fair Lady". She appeared in the role from 2018 to 2019.
In 2021 was 93-years-old. She has never officially retired, though she no longer appears frequently in films. She has become one of the longest-lived actors of her era.Suffolk.- Actress
- Producer
The dark and classically beautiful British actress and social activist Julia (Karin) Ormond was born on January 4, 1965, in Surrey, into England, the second of five children. Born of privilege as the daughter of a well-to-do laboratory technician, her parents divorced when she was young. Julia attended Guildford High School and Cranleigh, a private school, where she showed interest in theatre at that time appearing in a couple of their musicals.
Julia's grandparents were artists, and she initially intended to be one herself but, after one year of art school, renewed her dedication to acting and transferred to Webber-Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, where she graduated in 1988.
Appearing in the play "Wuthering Heights" as Catherine, she met and eventually married her Heathcliff (actor Rory Edwards) in real life. In 1989 she won the London Drama Critic's Award for her performance in "Faith, Hope and Charity" as "best newcomer." Julia also made an immediate impression on TV with her debuting role as a young drug addict in the series Traffik (1989)
She earned star-making attention in the TV-movie Young Catherine (1991), in which she portrayed Catherine the Great (also featuring husband Edwards). She then portrayed wife Nadya in the TV movie Stalin (1992) starring Robert Duvall in the title role. She made the jump into feature films scoring a top-billed debut opposite Ralph Fiennes in The Baby of Mâcon (1993), a drama about a woman giving an "immaculate birth." She followed this this with lead or second lead roles in such films as the European biopic Nostradamus (1994); the romantic drama Captives (1994) co-starring Tim Roth; and the period war drama Legends of the Fall (1994) as the object of affection for both Brad Pitt and Aidan Quinn. It was around the time of this career rise (1994) that her marriage ended.
With Hollywood now taking a firm notice, Julia was given the fetching role of Queen Guinevere alongside Sean Connery's King Arthur and Richard Gere's Lancelot in First Knight (1995) and, more importantly, was entrusted with Audrey Hepburn's title role in the revival of Sabrina (1995), her radiant presence nearly stealing the picture away from handsome co-stars Harrison Ford and Greg Kinnear.
Strangely, Julia's major rise led her in a different direction. From there she instead went on to grace a number of independents and foreign features. She played the title role in the Danish/German/Swedish co-production Smilla's Sense of Snow (1997) as a woman who gets involved with a strange murder mystery; the Russian period drama The Barber of Siberia (1998) as a lovely American who gets dangerously involved with a young Russian cadet; and involved herself in another messy affair with Vince Vaughn in the indie drama The Prime Gig (2000). On stage, she appeared in David Hare's "My Zinc Bed," for which she received a 2001 Olivier Award nomination for "Best Actress."
Into the millennium, Julia found herself busy film-wise with the political drama Resistance (2003), cult filmmaker David Lynch's thoroughly offbeat Inland Empire (2006), I Know Who Killed Me (2007), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008), The Music Never Stopped (2011), Albatross (2011), My Week with Marilyn (2011) (as Vivien Leigh), Chained (2012), Ladies in Black (2018) and Son of the South (2020). On TV she appeared in the mini-series Beach Girls (2005), and had recurring roles on CSI: NY (2004), Nurse Jackie (2009), Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001), Mad Men (2007), Gold Digger (2019), plus a series starring role as one of Witches of East End (2013). She also co-starred in the short-lived series Incorporated (2016).
In 1999, she married a second time to political activist Jon Rubin. They had one daughter, Sophie, before their divorce. On a political front, Julia has been involved fighting human trafficking since the mid-1990s. In 2005, she was appointed United Nations Goodwill Ambassador with a focus on anti-human-trafficking initiatives and awareness.Surrey. Honourable mentions to Julie Andrews, Jacqueline Bisset, Anna Chancellor and many others.- Actress
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Born in Arundel, Sussex, in 1948, Judy's father moved the family to London when she was 10 years old and enrolled her and sister Sally Geeson into the Corona Academy, Chiswick. Judy initially wanted to be a ballet dancer but had to change course when she suffered from terrible headaches as a result of some of the moves. Acting had always been a great interest, however, and she chose to pursue this, making her first TV appearance in Dixon of Dock Green (1955) aged 12. Her first major film role was as wayward teenager Pamela Dare opposite Sidney Poitier in To Sir, with Love (1967) at the age of 18.
After a very successful film run during the 1960s and 1970s, Judy took a trip to the US in October 1984, choosing to stay on for a while. By May 1985 she had met and married Kristoffer Tabori and moved to California. However, the marriage had broken down by 1989. Despite this, Judy chose to stay in the US, making her home in Los Angeles.Sussex. Honourable mentions to Alexandra Bastedo, Sally Geeson, Haydn Gwynne, Anna Massey and Amanda Redman.- Born in Birmingham, England, Hazel Court carried on a love affair with the world of movies and make-believe that made her a leading student at her hometown's School of Drama and later helped her land a contract with the J. Arthur Rank Organisation. Graduating from bits to supporting roles to leads, Court worked in English films from the mid-'40s until the early 1960s, when she relocated to Hollywood. The flame-haired Court was married to Irish actor Dermot Walsh before she married American actor-director Don Taylor.Warwickshire. Honourable mentions to Stephanie Cole, Felicity Kendal and Billie Whitelaw.
- After her education at a boarding school in the Lake District she studied acting under Sir Frank Benson in 1930. Her first acting roles were in Shakespeare plays. mainly playing boys roles. She then joined the Nuneaton Repertory Theatre where she continued in Shakespeare but now in strong roles such as Cordelia, Ophelia, Cressida and Titania. On marrying in 1936 she gave up acting to raise her son and daughter. She returned to the stage after the war and continued her relationship with 'The Bard' by joining the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford Upon Avon.Westmorland.
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Billie Piper studied at the prestigious Sylvia Young Theatre School. She caught the eyes of record producers who were interested in signing a young vocalist when she was the poster girl for the ad campaign of a British pop music magazine, "Smash Hits". She released her first single, "Because We Want To", which debuted at #1 at age 15. Her second single, "Girlfriend", was also a #1 hit. By the time she turned 16, Billie had released 4 singles that all made the top three on the charts. She has been labeled the "Pop Princess" of England, UK.Wiltshire. Honourable mention to Diana Dors.- Tall, reedy, thin-browed, light-haired British award-winning theatre actress Margaret Leighton was born in Worchestershire, England, on February 26, 1922, the daughter of a businessman. Expressing an early desire to act, she quit school at age 15 and auditioned and joined Sir Barry Jackson's Birmingham Repertory Theatre. Becoming one of his star students, he hired her as a stage manager and offered her the small role of Dorothy in the stage play Laugh with Me (1938). The play marked her professional stage debut. The play was immediately taken to the BBC-TV (Laugh with Me (1938). During these productive repertory years, she involved herself in the classical plays Chekov, Shakespeare, and Shaw, among others..
In 1944, Margaret made her London debut at the Old Vic, playing the daughter of the troll king in 'Peer Gynt. Joining the company under the auspices of Laurence Olivier and Ralph Richardson, she earned distinction as a classical stage actress. In 1946, she made her Broadway debut in repertory with productions of Henry IV, Parts I and II (as Lady Percy), Uncle Vanya (as Yelena), and others.
The opulent actress with strikingly odd, yet fascinating facial features stole more than a few plays and films away from the stars with her stunning portrayals of neurotic, brittle matrons. Her unique brand of sophisticated eccentricity went on to captivate both Broadway and London audiences with her many theatre offerings, particularly her portrayals of Celia Coplestone in The Cocktail Party (1950) and Orinthia in a revival of The Apple Cart (1953). Her New York performance as Mrs. Shankland in Terence Rattigan's drama Separate Tables (1956) earned her a Tony Award. She returned to Broadway in 1959, to play Beatrice in Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, before returning in 1962 as Hannah in The Night of the Iguana, and earning her second Best Actress Tony. She'd continue to return to Broadway throughout the 1960's with such plays as, The Chinese Prime Minister, Slapstick Tragedy, and the 1967 heralded production of The Little Foxes,first playing Birdie before taking over the role of Regina.
During the 1950's and 1960's, Margaret would alternate between working on British and U.S. films. She made her British debut as Catherine Winslow in Rattigan's The Winslow Boy (1948) starring Robert Donat, then co-starred opposite David Niven in the period biopic Bonnie Prince Charlie (1948). Hitchcock used her next in one of his lesser known romantic crime films Under Capricorn (1949) before entangling herself in a romantic triangle with Celia Johnson and Noël Coward in The Astonished Heart (1950), which was both written and directed by Coward. In the crimer Calling Bulldog Drummond (1951), Margaret plays a Scotland Yard sergeant who pulls the master sleuth (Walter Pidgeon) out of retirement to infiltrate a vicious gang together, while in the mystery crime drama, Murder on Monday (1952), the touching drama The Holly and the Ivy (1952) and the saucy comedy A Novel Affair (1957), she reunited with her Old Vic theatre mentor, Ralph Richardson.
Margaret married (1947) and divorced (1955) noted publisher Max Reinhardt (of Reinhardt & Evans), known for his collection of letters and photographs from playwright and novelist George Bernard Shaw. Her second husband would be actor Laurence Harvey who starred in the British crime thriller The Good Die Young (1954) in which Margaret made a co-starring appearance as his abused wife. They would marry later in 1957.
Margaret earned her first top cinematic billing as Helen Teckman in The Teckman Mystery (1954) and reunited with David Niven in the military film Court Martial (1954). Playing a Southern aristocrat in the U.S. filming of William Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury (1959) starring Yul Brynner, she followed that in the 1960's with a co-star part opposite Peter Sellers in the comedy Waltz of the Toreadors (1962) and an all-star American cast headed by Henry Fonda in the potent political drama The Best Man (1964). The black comedy The Loved One (1965) and the dramatic 7 Women (1965), playing one of several ladies in peril at a Chinese mission, followed.
Appearing in TV-movie versions of literary classics including Arms and the Man,As You LIke It. Margaret began to make guest appearances on TV programs, including; Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955),Playhouse 90 (1956), in addition to a recurring role on Dr. Kildare (1961)
Divorced from Harvey in 1961, Margaret's third and final marriage to actor Michael Wilding in 1964 was an enduring match-up. The couple went on to co-star in the period piece Lady Caroline Lamb (1972). Other notable screen credits include Marriage a la Mode (1955), Waltz of the Toreadors (1962), The Madwoman of Chaillot (1969) and the made-for-TV, Great Expectations (1974) as Miss Havisham. Margaret would receive her only Oscar nomination for her support role in The Go-Between (1971), as Julie Christie's manipulative, class-conscious mother.
In 1971, Margaret was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, but didn't let it slow her down for quite some time. She continued to perform in such films as X, Y & Zee (1972), The Nelson Affair (1973) and the TV horror offering Frankenstein: The True Story (1973). By 1975, when she was no longer capable of walking, she continued to act giving an over-the-top comic performance in A Dirty Knight's Work (1976). Margaret passed away on 13 January, 1976. Margaret had no children by any of her marriages.Worcestershire. Honourable mentions to Susan Jameson and Trudie Styler. - Actress
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The striking actress Anna Maxwell-Martin is a rising star on both stage and screen. Anna had dreamed all her life of becoming an actress even though her family had no background in the arts. She starred in school plays and an acclaimed production of "Breezeblock Park" in the role of Betty.
At the age of 20, she auditioned for the prestigious Royal Academy Of Dramatic Art, the school she had dreamed of attending since childhood but unfortunately, she wasn't accepted. Undeterred, she applied for the London Academy Of Dramatic Art, where she was accepted. Alumni include Donald Sutherland, Rita Wilson, Anthony Head (aka Anthony Stewart Head), Natascha McElhone, plus hundreds more.
While she was training at LAMDA, her father died. Anna wanted to be strong and complete her training, as she was sure her father would have wanted. She used the emotions she felt to breathe life into the more emotional parts she was playing in the plays in which she performed while at drama school including the lead in "Romeo and Juliet," "Three Birds Alighting on a Field," "Much Ado About Nothing," "Mother Clap," and "The Way of the World".
Upon successful completion of the three-year acting program, Anna at age 24 embarked upon a career that has built up gradually over the past four years. She starred in the Trevor Nunn-helmed "Coast of Utopia" and "Dumb Show" at the Royal Court in London with Terry Johnson, but her moment of glory on stage so far has to be her Olivier award-nominated performance in the adaptation of Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" as the 12-year-old heroine Lyra.
Though has worked extensively on stage, Anna has graced the big and small screen. Guest appearances in Midsomer Murders (1997) and opposite Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper in Doctor Who (1963) and most recently she can be seen in the role of Esther Summerson in the BBC's adaptation of Charles Dickens's book Bleak House (2005) starring Denis Lawson, Johnny Vegas, and Gillian Anderson.
Her film credits include The Hours (2002) with Nicole Kidman, the four-parter BBC drama North & South (2004) as Bessie Higgins, and Penny in Enduring Love (2004) alongside James Bond star Daniel Craig and transatlantic star Rhys Ifans.Yorkshire (East Riding). Honourable mention to Maureen Lipman.- Actress
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Dame Judi Dench was born Judith Olivia Dench in York, England, to Eleanora Olive (Jones), who was from Dublin, Ireland, and Reginald Arthur Dench, a doctor from Dorset, England. She attended Mount School in York, and studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama. She has performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre, and at Old Vic Theatre. She is a ten-time BAFTA winner including Best Actress in a Comedy Series for A Fine Romance (1981) in which she appeared with her husband, Michael Williams, and Best Supporting Actress in A Handful of Dust (1988) and A Room with a View (1985). She received an ACE award for her performance in the television series Mr. and Mrs. Edgehill (1985). She was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1970, a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 1988 and a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH) in 2005.Yorkshire (North Riding). Honourable mentions to Thelma Barlow and Penelope Wilton.- Actress
- Camera and Electrical Department
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Jodie Whittaker came to prominence after her breakout performance in Venus (2006), which was met with a string of nominations, including British Independent Film Award and Satellite Award nominations for "Most Promising Newcomer" and "Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical." Whittaker has also received critical acclaim for her performances in Journeyman (2017), Adult Life Skills (2016), and Broadchurch (2013), and also starred in Wired (2008), Attack the Block (2011), Good Vibrations (2012), and Trust Me (2017).
In 2017 she made history as the thirteenth actor and first woman to play the Doctor in Doctor Who (2005). She made her onscreen debut as the Doctor on December 25, 2017, in the episode titled Twice Upon a Time (2017). Her casting was met with overwhelming acclaim and positivity, and in 2020 she was voted the second greatest Doctor in the programme's 57-year history, only losing narrowly to David Tennant.Yorkshire (West Riding). Honourable mentions to Helen Baxendale, Diana Rigg, Mollie Sugden and Mary Tamm.