Imelda Staunton
Template:Short description Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox person Dame Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton (born 9 January 1956)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> is an English actress and singer. After training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Staunton began her career in repertory theatre in 1976 and appeared in various theatre productions in the West End and across the UK. Over her career, she has received several awards including a British Academy Film Award, and five Laurence Olivier Awards as well as nominations for an Academy Award, three British Academy Television Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and three Emmy Awards.
On London stage, she has received fourteen Laurence Olivier Award nominations, winning the Best Supporting Role in a Play for her work in both A Chorus of Disapproval / The Corn Is Green (1985) followed by four wins for Best Actress in a Musical for her roles in the musicals Into the Woods (1991), Sweeney Todd (2013), Gypsy (2016), and Hello, Dolly! (2024). She was Olivier-nominated for The Beggar's Opera (1982), The Wizard of Oz (1988), Uncle Vanya (1988), Guys and Dolls (1997), Entertaining Mr Sloane (2010), Good People (2015), and Follies (2018).
On film, Staunton took early roles in films such as Peter's Friends (1992), Much Ado About Nothing (1993), Sense and Sensibility (1995), and Shakespeare in Love (1998). Staunton won a BAFTA Award for playing the title role of a working-class woman in Vera Drake (2004). She later gained notoriety for playing Dolores Umbridge in two of the Harry Potter films in 2007 and 2010. She also acted in Nanny McPhee, Another Year (2010), Pride (2014), and Downton Abbey (2019), and voiced roles in Chicken Run (2000), Arthur Christmas (2011), and Paddington (2014).
On television, Staunton starred in the sitcoms Up the Garden Path from (1990–1993) and Is it Legal? (1995–1998). She received Primetime Emmy Award and British Academy Television Award nominations for her portrayals of Alma Hitchcock in the HBO television film The Girl (2012) and Queen Elizabeth II in the Netflix historical series The Crown (2022–2023).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Staunton also took roles in Antonia and Jane (1990), Citizen X (1995), David Copperfield (1999), My Family and Other Animals (2005), Cranford (2007), and Flesh and Blood (2020).
Early life and education
Staunton was born in Archway, north London, the only child of Bridie (née McNicholas), a hairdresser, and Joseph Staunton, a labourer.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> They lived over Staunton's mother's salon.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Her parents were immigrants from County Mayo, Ireland;<ref name=looks>Template:Cite web</ref> her father from Ballyvary and her mother from Bohola.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Her mother, a musician, had played in Irish showbands; while she could not read music, she could play almost any tune by ear on the accordion or fiddle.<ref name=looks/> When Staunton was in her teens, her parents separated, both later meeting new partners.
As a pupil at La Sainte Union Catholic School,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Staunton took drama classes with her elocution teacher and had starring roles in school plays, including that of Polly Peachum in The Beggar's Opera.<ref name=looks/><ref name=big>Template:Cite web</ref> Encouraged by her teacher, she auditioned for drama schools: while the Central School of Speech and Drama and Guildhall School of Music and Drama did not extend offers to her,<ref name=big/> she was accepted into the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at age 18.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Acting career
1976–1999: Career beginnings and early roles
Staunton graduated from RADA in 1976,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> then spent six years in British repertory theatre, including a period at the Northcott Theatre, Exeter, where she had the title role in Shaw's Saint Joan (1979). She then moved on to roles the National Theatre, including Lucy Lockit in The Beggar's Opera (1982), which earned her Olivier Award nominations for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical and Most Promising Newcomer of the Year in Theatre.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> She also appeared in two revivals of Guys and Dolls at the National Theatre; the first in 1982 in which she met her husband Jim Carter<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the second in 1996 in which she played Miss Adelaide and was nominated for the Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref>
In 1985, Staunton won her first Laurence Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role for her work in both The Corn Is Green at The Old Vic and A Chorus of Disapproval at the National Theatre.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite web</ref> She also played Dorothy Gale in the Royal Shakespeare Company's 1987 revival of The Wizard of Oz at the Barbican Centre,<ref name="stage">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> which earned her another Olivier nomination for Best Actress in a Musical.<ref name=":3">Template:Cite web</ref> Staunton won her first Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for playing the Baker's Wife in the original London production of Into the Woods (1990).<ref name=":4">Template:Cite web</ref>
Staunton's first big-screen role came in a 1986 film Comrades. She then appeared in the 1991 film Antonia and Jane, and in the 1992 film Peter's Friends. Other film roles include performances in Much Ado About Nothing (1993), Deadly Advice (1993), Sense and Sensibility (1995) and Twelfth Night (1996). In 1993, she appeared on television alongside Richard Briers and Adrian Edmondson in If You See God, Tell Him. Staunton also played the wife of Detective Burakov in the 1995 HBO movie, Citizen X, which recounted the pursuit and capture of Russian serial killer Andrei Chikatilo. She has had other television parts in The Singing Detective (1986), Midsomer Murders, and the sitcom Is It Legal? (1995–98), as well as A Bit of Fry and Laurie. She was a voice artist on Mole's Christmas (1994). Staunton shared a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Performance by a Cast in 1998 for Shakespeare in Love.
On radio, she has appeared in the title role of the detective drama series Julie Enfield Investigates, as the lead "Izzy Comyn" in the comedy Up the Garden Path (which later moved to ITV with Staunton reprising the role), in Diary of a Provincial Lady (from 1999), as "Courageous Kate" in Series 1 of Elephants to Catch Eels and as "Xanthippe" in Series 2 of Acropolis Now. She starred opposite Anna Massey in the post-World War II mystery series Daunt and Dervish, and opposite Patrick Barlow in The Patrick and Maureen Maybe Music Experience. She played the role of a schoolboy as the lead character in the five part (15 minutes each): "The Skool Days of Nigel Molesworth" for BBC Radio 4.
2000–2011: Vera Drake and Harry Potter films
During this period she acted in Chicken Run (2000), Another Life (2001), Bright Young Things (2003), Nanny McPhee (2005), Freedom Writers (2007) and How About You (2007). In 2004, she received the Best Actress honours at the European Film Awards, the BAFTAs, and the Venice Film Festival for her performance of the title role in Mike Leigh's Vera Drake, which also won Best Picture.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> For the same role, she received her first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress, the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role.
She had a guest role playing Mrs. Mead in Little Britain in 2005, and in 2007 played the free-thinking gossip, Miss Pole, in Cranford, the five-part BBC series based on Mrs Gaskell's novels.
Staunton portrayed Dolores Umbridge in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007), for which she received widespread acclaim.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She was nominated in the "British Actress in a Supporting Role" category at the London Film Critics Circle Awards.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Staunton reprised her role as Dolores Umbridge in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 in 2010. In 2011, she played Grace Andrews in the second series of Psychoville.
Other film roles include the 2008 movie A Bunch of Amateurs, in which she starred alongside Burt Reynolds, Derek Jacobi and Samantha Bond, and the character of Sonia Teichberg in Ang Lee's Taking Woodstock (2009). Staunton provided the voice of the Talking Flowers in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland (2010), and played one of the lead roles in the ghost film The Awakening in 2011.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the ensuing 20 years, Staunton mainly had roles in plays, including Sonya in Uncle Vanya (1988), Kath in Entertaining Mr Sloane (2009) and Good People (2014), for which she received Olivier nominations for Best Actress in a Play. She also appeared in two productions at the Almeida Theatre, firstly in the premiere of Frank McGuinness's There Came a Gypsy Riding in 2007 and secondly in a revival of Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance in 2011. In 2011, she was the Voice of the Interface in the highly acclaimed and nominee for the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form) episode of Doctor Who – "The Girl Who Waited". In 2012, she portrayed Alma Reville, the wife of Alfred Hitchcock, in the HBO television movie The Girl, which also starred Toby Jones and Sienna Miller. Her performance saw her nominated for a BAFTA Television Award and a Primetime Emmy Award.
2012–2019: Return to musical theater
Most recently, Staunton has appeared in two Chichester Festival Theatre productions, taking on the role of Mrs. Lovett in a revival of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd between 2011 and 2012, starring opposite Michael Ball, before starring as Rose in a revival of Gypsy between 2014 and 2015.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Both productions transferred to London for critically and commercially acclaimed runs.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Staunton won her second and third Olivier Awards for Best Actress in a Musical for the two productions in 2013 and 2016 respectively.<ref name=":5">Shenton. Mark. "Winners of 2016 Olivier Awards Announced: 'Gypsy', 'Kinky Boots', 'In the Heights' Emerge Victorious" Playbill, 3 April 2016</ref> In 2012, she voiced Queen Victoria in the Aardman film The Pirates! Band of Misfits, where she serves as the main antagonist. In 2014, she co-starred in Maleficent as well as the British comedy-drama Pride. In late 2014, she had a voice role in Paddington, a film based on the Paddington Bear books by Michael Bond. Staunton and her Harry Potter co-star Michael Gambon voiced Paddington's Aunt Lucy and Uncle Pastuzo, respectively.
Staunton returned to the Harold Pinter Theatre in London West End in 2017 as Martha in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, starring alongside Conleth Hill, Luke Treadaway and Imogen Poots at the Harold Pinter Theatre.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This play was broadcast in National Theatre Live on 18 May 2017. Staunton performed the role of Sally in the 2017 National Theatre revival of Stephen Sondheim's Follies, alongside Janie Dee as Phyllis, and Philip Quast as Ben.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The show was broadcast through the National Theatre Live initiative on 16 November 2017. An August 2018 announcement revealed that Staunton would be among the new cast to join the original actors in Downton Abbey which started principal photography at about the same time.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2020–present: The Crown and theatre roles
Since May 2020, Staunton stars in the Apple TV+ comedy series Trying. The first season premiered on 1 May 2020 and the second-season premieres on 14 May 2021, with the show already renewed for a third season.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On 31 January 2020, it was announced that she would be portraying Queen Elizabeth II in the fifth season of the critically acclaimed Netflix series The Crown.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On 9 July 2020, it was announced that the series had been extended to a sixth and final season, with Staunton again to reprise her role of the Queen.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Staunton's performance in the fifth season earned her nominations for a Golden Globe Award and BAFTA Television Award.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Her performance in the sixth season earned her nominations for another Golden Globe Award and Primetime Emmy Award.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In summer 2024, Staunton played the role of Dolly Gallagher Levi in a revival of the musical Hello, Dolly! at the London Palladium.<ref>Al-Hassan, Aliya. Review Roundup: Did Imelda Staunton Delight in HELLO, DOLLY! at The London Palladium? broadwayworld.com, 19 July 2024</ref> Staunton's performance won her another Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Staunton has narrated unabridged audio-book versions of many of Julia Donaldson's children's books, including The Gruffalo, The Gruffalo's Child, Monkey Puzzle, The Snail and the Whale, Stick Man and Zog, as well as other children's books. In 2014 she collaborated with her husband, Jim Carter, and Show of Hands on Centenary: Words and Music of the Great War, an album of songs and poetry from and inspired by World War I. Staunton reprised her role as Dolores Umbridge for the Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry attraction opening at Universal Epic Universe in 2025.
Personal life
Staunton and her husband, actor Jim Carter, have a daughter, Bessie, born in 1993. In 2007, they appeared in the BBC series Cranford, with Carter as Captain Brown and Bessie as a maid.<ref>"Imelda Staunton on acting naturally" The Sunday Times, 21 June 2008</ref> They live in West Hampstead.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2025 Staunton and her daughter Bessie Carter co-starred in a production of Mrs. Warren's Profession in London.<ref name="Observer202504">Template:Cite news</ref>
In 2014, Staunton's dog, Molly, appeared as Chowsie the dog in Gypsy at the Chichester Festival Theatre from 6 October to 8 November. Staunton played the leading role of Mama Rose.<ref>Chichester Festival Theatre "Gypsy A Musical Fable" 2014 Official Program.</ref>
Political Views
Staunton endorsed the Labour Party in the 2024 United Kingdom general election.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Staunton is also a patron for the Milton Rooms, a new arts centre in Malton, North Yorkshire along with Bill Nighy, Jools Holland and Kathy Burke<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and is also patron at Swan Theatre, Worcester where she made her acting debut as well as leading creative health charity Breathe Arts Health Research <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Performances and works
Film
Television
| Year(s) | Title | Role(s) | Notes | Template:Abbr |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Playhouse | Template:Sort | Episode: "Easy Money" | <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> |
| 1986 | Ladies in Charge | Edith | Episode: "Double Act" | <ref name=TV>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Template:Sort | Template:Sort | Miniseries; 5 episodes | <ref name=TV/> | |
| 1988 | Thompson | Various roles | Miniseries; 6 episodes | <ref name=TV/> |
| 1989 | Template:Sort | Template:Sort | 3 episodes | <ref name=TV/> |
| 1990–1993 | Up the Garden Path | Template:Sort | Main role; 18 episodes | <ref name=TV/> |
| 1990 | ScreenPlay | Template:Sort | Episode: "Antonia and Jane" Episode: "The Englishman's Wife" |
<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> |
| Template:Sort | Template:Sort | Episode: "Yellowbacks" | <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | |
| Masterpiece | Louie | Episode: "The Heat of the Day" | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 1991 | Screen Two | Template:Sort | Episode: "They Never Slept" | <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> |
| 1992 | Template:Sort | Template:Sort | Television film | <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> |
| Performance | Template:Sort | Episode: "Roots" | <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | |
| 1993 | Don't Leave Me This Way | Template:Sort | Television film | <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> |
| If You See God, Tell Him | Template:Sort | Miniseries; 4 episodes | <ref name=TV/> | |
| 1994 | Woodcock | Edna | Television film | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Frank Stubbs Promotes | Susan | Episode: "Charity" | <ref name=TV/> | |
| Mole's Christmas | Various roles | Voice; Television film | <ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> | |
| 1995 | Citizen X | Template:Sort | Television film | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Look at the State We're In! | Template:Sort | Miniseries; Episode: "Local Government" | <ref name=TV/> | |
| 1995–1998 | Is It Legal? | Template:Sort | Main role; 21 episodes | <ref name=TV/> |
| 1995 | Template:Sort | Various roles | Voice; Television film | <ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> |
| 1996 | Template:Sort | Various roles | Voice; Television film | <ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> |
| Tales from the Crypt | Template:Sort | Episode: "About Face" | <ref name=TV/> | |
| 1998–2000 | Template:Sort | Template:Sort | Miniseries; 3 episodes | <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> |
| 1999 | Midsomer Murders | Template:Sort | Episode: "Dead Man's Eleven" | <ref name=TV/> |
| David Copperfield | Template:Sort | Two-part television special | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2002 | Murder | Template:Sort | Miniseries; 4 episodes | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2003 | Let's Write a Story | Template:Sort | Docuseries; Episode: "Humour" | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Cambridge Spies | Template:Sort | Miniseries; Episodes 2 and 4 | <ref name=TV/> | |
| Strange | Template:Sort | Miniseries; Episode: "Incubus" | <ref name=TV/> | |
| 2005 | Fingersmith | Template:Sort | 3 episodes | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| ShakespeaRe-Told | Template:Sort | Episode: "A Midsummer Night's Dream" | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| Little Britain | Template:Sort | Series 3, episode 6 | <ref name=TV/> | |
| My Family and Other Animals | Template:Sort | Television film | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2006 | Dogtown | Template:Sort | Miniseries; Episode 4 | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Template:Sort | Barge Lady | Television film | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2007 | Where Have I Been All Your Life? | Angela | Television short | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Cranford | Template:Sort | Miniseries; 5 episodes | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2008 | Clay | Template:Sort | Television film | <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> |
| Coming Up | Mother | Episode: "Lickle Bill Um" | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| Big & Small | Template:Sort | Voice; 28 episodes | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2009 | Return to Cranford | Template:Sort | Episodes: "August 1844", "October 1844" | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2010–2011 | Psychoville | Template:Sort | Guest role (Halloween special) main role (series 2); 7 episodes |
<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2010 | White Other | Template:Sort | Television short | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2011 | Doctor Who | Template:Sort | Voice; Episode: "The Girl Who Waited" | <ref name=TV/> |
| 2012 | Template:Sort | Template:Sort | Television film | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2013 | Mouse and Mole at Christmas Time | Various roles | Voice; Television film | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2014 | That Day We Sang | Enid | Television film | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2019 | Template:Sort | Template:Sort | Miniseries; 6 episodes | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2020 | Flesh and Blood | Mary | Miniseries; 4 episodes | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Talking Heads | Template:Sort | Episode: "A Lady of Letters" | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2020–2021 | Trying | Penny | 8 episodes | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2022–2023 | The Crown | Queen Elizabeth II | Main role (Seasons 5–6); 20 episodes |
<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> |
| 2023 | Brassic | Aunt Edie | Episode: "A Very Brassic Christmas" | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
Theatre
Theme park
| Year | Title | Role | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry | Dolores Umbridge | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
Discography
- 1990: Into the Woods – Original London Cast; as baker's wife.
- 2010: Julia Donaldson Audio Collection; as the narrator of the Gruffalo, The Gruffalo's Child, Highway Rat, Zog, and Charlie Cook's Favourite Book.
- 2012: Sweeney Todd – Revival Cast Recording; as Mrs. Lovett.
- 2015: Gypsy – London Cast Recording; as Momma Rose.
- 2019: Follies – London Cast Recording; as Sally.
Awards and honours
Staunton has received numerous accolades including a BAFTA Award, five Olivier Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award in addition to nominations for an Academy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, and two Primetime Emmy Awards. Staunton was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2006 New Year Honours, Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2016 New Year Honours and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2024 Birthday Honours, all for services to drama, and the last additionally for charity.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
See also
- List of British actors
- List of Academy Award winners and nominees from Great Britain
- List of actors with Academy Award nominations
Notes
References
External links
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- Template:YouTube
- Imelda Staunton in Conversation, filmed BAFTA event, March 2009
- 1956 births
- Living people
- 20th-century English actresses
- 21st-century English actresses
- Actresses awarded damehoods
- Actors from the London Borough of Islington
- Actresses from London
- Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
- Audiobook narrators
- Best Actress BAFTA Award winners
- Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire
- English film actresses
- English musical theatre actresses
- English people of Irish descent
- English radio actresses
- English Shakespearean actresses
- English stage actresses
- English television actresses
- English voice actresses
- Best Actress European Film Award winners
- Laurence Olivier Award winners
- Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners
- People from Archway, London
- Royal Shakespeare Company members
- Volpi Cup for Best Actress winners