Imelda Staunton

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Imelda Staunton

Born Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton
9 January 1956 (1956-01-09) (age 52)
London, England
Occupation Actress
Years active 1976 - present
Spouse(s) Jim Carter (1985 - present)

Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton, OBE, (born January 9, 1956) is an English actress best known for her performances in the British comedy television series Up the Garden Path and the films Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Vera Drake. For the latter, in which she played the title character, she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress.

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[edit] Personal life

Staunton was born in Archway, North London to Bridie (née McNicholas), a hairdresser, and Joseph Staunton, a road-worker and labourer.[1] Both of her parents are first-generation Catholic immigrants from County Mayo, Ireland, with her father coming from Ballyvary and her mother from Bohola.[2] She attended La Sainte Union Convent School, an all girls catholic school on the edge of Hampstead Heath, from years 7 to 11.[2][3] Staunton is married to the English actor Jim Carter and they have a daughter, Bessie, born 1993.

[edit] Career

[edit] Theatre

Staunton trained for the stage at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, then spent six years in English repertory, including a period at the Northcott Theatre, Exeter where she had the title role in Shaw's Saint Joan (1979), before moving back to London.

Staunton has stated that her first job was a play by Goldoni.[4] Her most recent stage appearance was in the premiere of Frank McGuinness's There Came a Gypsy Riding at the Almeida in 2007.

She has twice received an Olivier Award, Britain's highest theatre honour, for roles in two 1985 productions: A Chorus of Disapproval and The Corn Is Green and for the 1991 Into the Woods. She was nominated for her performance as Miss Adelaide in the 1996 revival of Guys and Dolls at the National Theatre.[5]

She was awarded the O.B.E. (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2006 New Year's Honours List for her services to drama.

Repertory theatre:

Two seasons at the Northcott Theatre Exeter:

Two seasons at the Nottingham Playhouse (1980-81?):

Touring (1981-82?):

Theatre roles in London::

[edit] Film

One of her first films was an appearance in the 1992 movie Peter's Friends. Other early roles include performances in Much Ado About Nothing (1993), Deadly Advice (1993),Sense and Sensibility (1995) Twelfth Night (1996), Chicken Run (2000), Another Life (2001), Bright Young Things (2003),

Staunton shared a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Performance by a Cast in 1998 for Shakespeare in Love. 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. For the same role, she received Best Actress nominations for the 2005 Golden Globes and Academy Awards.

Staunton portrayed Dolores Umbridge in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007), a performance described as "coming close to stealing the show."[6] She was nominated in the "British Actress in a Supporting Role" category at the London Film Critics Circle Awards.[7]

Her latest role was the lead in the British comedy, Three and Out, released on 25th April 2008.

[edit] Other work

In 1993 she appeared on the small screen alongside Richard Briers and Adrian Edmondson in If You See God, Tell Him. She has had other television parts in The Singing Detective (1986) and the comedy drama series Is it Legal? (1995-8). She was a voice artist on Mole's Christmas (1994). She had a guest role playing Mrs Mead in Little Britain in 2005, and in 2007 played the free-thinking gossip, Miss Pole, in the BBC1 five-part drama series based on Mrs Gaskell's Cranford novels.

On radio, she has appeared in the title role of 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), as Mrs Blatherwick, the vile cook in Nanny McPhee, and in Diary of a Provincial Lady (from 1999) and Acropolis Now.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Lawley, Sue. "This Week's Guest: Imelda Staunton", BBC Radio 4, 2005-05-15. Retrieved on 2007-01-06. 
  2. ^ a b Imelda Staunton Biography. Tiscali Film and TV. Retrieved on 2007-07-16.
  3. ^ Irish News UK - News from the Irish Community in Britain
  4. ^ The prime of Miss Imelda Staunton
  5. ^ Olivier Awards winners [1]
  6. ^ McCurry, Justin. "Japan goes wild about Harry", The Guardian, 2007-06-29. Retrieved on 2008-05-17. 
  7. ^ "London critics love 'Control,' 'Atonement'", Variety, 2007-12-13. Retrieved on 2007-12-15. 

[edit] External links

Awards
Preceded by
Scarlett Johansson
for Lost In Translation		 BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
for Vera Drake
2005		 Succeeded by
Reese Witherspoon
for Walk the Line
Preceded by
Hope Davis
for American Splendor		 NYFCC Award for Best Actress
2004
for Vera Drake		 Succeeded by
Reese Witherspoon
for Walk the Line