Imelda Staunton Biography

Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton, OBE (born 9 January 1956) is an English actress. She is perhaps best known for her performances in the British comedy television series Up the Garden Path, the Harry Potter film series (in which she plays Professor Dolores Jane Umbridge) and Vera Drake. She drew critical acclaim as Vera Drake, earning her a Best Actress Oscar nomination and a number of wins including the BAFTA and Venice Film Festival Awards for best actress in a leading role.

Early life and education

Staunton was born in Archway, North London, the only child of Bridie (née McNicholas), a hairdresser, and Joseph Staunton, a road-worker and labourer. The family lived over Staunton's mother's hair dressing salon while Staunton's father worked on the roads. Both of her parents were first-generation Catholic immigrants from County Mayo, Ireland, with her father coming from Ballyvary and her mother from Bohola. Staunton's mother was a musician who could not read music, but could master almost any tune by ear on the accordion or fiddle and had played in Irish showbands.

Staunton attended La Sainte Union Convent School, an all-girls Catholic school on the edge of Hampstead Heath, from years 11 to 17. Her talent was spotted by Jacqueline Stoker, her elocution teacher. Before long she was starring as Polly Peachum in a school production of The Beggar's Opera. Staunton studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

Career

Theatre

When she was 18, Staunton enrolled at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), and studied alongside Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall and Juliet Stevenson. She graduated two years later in 1976, 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). Staunton then joined the Royal Shakespeare Company, and in 1982, moved on to the National Theatre. She has stated that her first job was a play by Goldoni. She is also known for her performance as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz for the Royal Shakespeare Company. She has had a long and distinguished career in the theatre, performing in such diverse plays as A Man for all Seasons, Mack & Mabel, Side by Side, and Elektra.

Staunton also appeared in a National Theatre 80th birthday tribute to Lord Olivier, Happy Birthday, Sir Larry on 31 May 1987 in the presence of Olivier.

Staunton has twice received an Olivier Award, Britain's highest theatre honour, one in 1985 for roles in two productions: A Chorus of Disapproval and The Corn Is Green and one for the 1991 musical, Into the Woods. She was nominated for her performance as Miss Adelaide in the 1996 revival of Guys and Dolls at the National Theatre. More recently, she appeared in the premiere of Frank McGuinness's There Came a Gypsy Riding at the Almeida in 2007 and opened in 2009 in English Touring Theatre's production of Entertaining Mr Sloane alongside Mathew Horne at the Trafalgar Studios. In October 2011 Staunton took the role of Mrs. Lovett in a revival of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, starring opposite singer Michael Ball, at the Chichester Festival. The show was well received, and it transferred to the Adelphi Theatre in London in March 2012.

Staunton will be playing the role of Rose in an upcoming London revival of the musical Gypsy in 2013.

Film

Staunton's first big-screen role came in a 1986 Bill Douglas film, Comrades. She then appeared in the 1992 film 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), Nanny McPhee (2005), Freedom Writers (2007), How About You (2007), and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007).

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 2004 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." She was nominated in the "British Actress in a Supporting Role" category at the London Film Critics Circle Awards. Staunton reprised her role as Dolores Umbridge in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One.

Recent 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). She will play one of the lead roles in the upcoming ghost film The Awakening.

Television

In 1993, she appeared on television alongside Richard Briers and Adrian Edmondson in If You See God, Tell Him. She has had other television parts in The Singing Detective (1986), Midsomer Murders, and the comedy drama series Is It Legal? (1995"98), as well as A Bit of Fry and Laurie season 4, episode 3. 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 Cranford, the five-part BBC series based on Mrs Gaskell's novels, and in the sequel to the series, Return to Cranford.

She also supplies the voices of Ruby (a mouse) and Twiba (The Worm who lives in Big's Apple) in the Children's TV show Big & Small. In 2010, she appeared in the Halloween special of Psychoville as Grace Andrews, and became a recurring cast member in the second series (2011). In 2011, she had a guest role in series 6 of Doctor Who playing the voice of the interface in "The Girl Who Waited."

Radio

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), in Diary of a Provincial Lady (from 1999) and 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 had also acted with Barlow in the TV series Is It Legal?

Other work

Staunton has narrated The Gruffalo and Tiddler for an unabridged audio book of Julia Donaldson's children's book.

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.

Personal life

Staunton met her husband, English actor Jim Carter, in Richard Eyre's landmark early 1980s production of Guys And Dolls at the National Theatre. They have a daughter, Bessie, born in 1993. In 2007, the couple, together with Bessie, appeared in the BBC series Cranford (Carter was Captain Brown and Bessie a maid).

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

Theatre work

Repertory theatre:

• Waiting for Godot (Lucky, 1976), Birmingham Rep
• Hay Fever, Watermill, Newbury
• Grease, York Theatre Royal
• Henry V, Leeds Playhouse
• The Gingerbread Man, Leeds Playhouse

Two seasons at the Northcott Theatre, Exeter:

• Travesties (1978) Northcott Exeter
• A Man for All Seasons (1978) Northcott Exeter
• Elektra (Elektra, 1978) Northcott Exeter
• Dear Daddy (1978) Northcott Exeter
• Cinderella (1978) Northcott Exeter
• 'Tis Pity She's a Whore (1978) Northcott Exeter:
• Macbeth (1978) Northcott Exeter
• Cabaret (1978) Northcott Exeter
• As You Like It (1978) Northcott Exeter
• Saint Joan (Saint Joan, 1979) Northcott Exeter
• The Beggar's Opera (1979) Northcott Exeter
• Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (1979) Northcott Exeter
• Side by Side by Sondheim (1979) Northcott Exeter

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

• Pam Gems' Piaf (Piaf) Nottingham Playhouse
• Mack and Mabel (Mabel) Nottingham Playhouse
• Mrs Warren's Profession, Nottingham Playhouse
• A Little Night Music, Nottingham Playhouse

Touring (1981"82?):

• She Stoops to Conquer (Kate Hardcastle) Oxford Stage Company UK tour

Theatre roles in London::

• Guys and Dolls (Mimi, Hotbox Girl, 1982), Royal National Theatre Olivier
• The Beggar's Opera (Lucy Lockit, 1982), Royal National Theatre Cottesloe
• Schweyk in the Second World War (Anna, 1982) National Olivier
• Guys and Dolls (Miss Adelaide, 1983) National Olivier
• A Mad World, My Masters (Janet Cloughton, 1984) Theatre Royal Stratford East
• Us Good Girls (Paulette, 1984) Soho Poly
• The Corn Is Green (Bessie Watty, 1985), Old Vic " Olivier award
• A Chorus of Disapproval (Hannah Llewellyn, 1985) National Olivier " Olivier award
• The Fair Maid of the West (Bess Bridges, 1987) RSC Mermaid Theatre
• They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (Gloria Beatty, 1987) RSC Mermaid
• The Wizard of Oz (Dorothy, 1987) RSC Barbican Theatre
• Uncle Vanya (Sonya, 1988) Vaudeville Theatre
• The Lady and the Clarinet (Luba, 1989) The King's Head Theatre, Islington
• Into the Woods (Baker's Wife, 1990) Phoenix Theatre " Olivier award
• Rona Munro's Bold Girls (Cassie, 1991) Hampstead Theatre
• Tony Kushner's Slavs! (Bonfila, 1994) Hampstead Theatre
• Habeas Corpus (play) (Mrs Swabb, 1996) Donmar Warehouse
• Guys and Dolls (Miss Adelaide, 1996) National Olivier " Olivier nomination
• Divas at the Donmar: Imelda Staunton and Her Big Band (1"5 September 1998) Donmar Warehouse
• Yasmina Reza's Life X Three (Ines, 2000) National Cottesloe, then transferring to the Old Vic (2001)
• Michael Hastings' Calico (Nora Barnacle, 2004) Duke of York's Theatre
• Frank McGuinness's There Came a Gypsy Riding (Margaret, 2007) Almeida
• Joe Orton's Entertaining Mr Sloane (Kath, 2009) Trafalgar Studios
• Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance (Claire, 2011) Almeida Theatre
• Sweeney Todd (Mrs Lovett, 2011), Chichester Festival Theatre
• Sweeney Todd (Mrs Lovett, 2012), Adelphi Theatre " Olivier award

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1986	The Singing Detective	Staff Nurse White	TV
1986	Ladies in Charge	Edith	TV
1986	Comrades	Betsy Loveless
1988	Thompson	Various roles	TV series
1989	A Sleeping Life	Polly Flinders
1990	Yellowbacks	Cheryl Newman	TV
1990	Up the Garden Path	Izzy	TV series
1990	They Never Slept	The Producer
1990	The Englishman's Wife	Stephanie	TV
1991	Antonia And Jane	Jane Hartman
1992	Peter's Friends	Mary Charleston
1992	A Masculine Ending	Bridget Bennet	TV
1993	Much Ado About Nothing	Margaret
1993	Don't Leave Me This Way	Bridget Bennet	TV
1993	If You See God, Tell Him	Muriel Spry	TV
1993	Deadly Advice	Beth Greenwood
1994	Woodcock	Edna	TV
1994	Frank Stubbs Promotes	Susan	TV
1994	Mole's Christmas	Village Mother (voice)	TV
1995	Citizen X	Mrs Burakova	TV
1995	Look At The State We're In!	Councillor Johnson	TV
1995	Is It Legal?	Stella Phelps	TV
1995	A Bit Of Fry And Laurie	Herself	TV
1995	Sense and Sensibility	Charlotte Jennings Palmer
1995	The Adventures of Mole	(voice)	TV
1996	Twelfth Night	Maria
1996	Tales From The Crypt	Sarah	TV series
1996	The Snow Queen's Revenge	(voice)
1997	Remember Me?	Lorna
1997	The Ugly Duckling	Scruffy
1998	Shakespeare In Love	Nurse
1998	The Canterbury Tales	The Prioress	TV series
1999	Midsomer Murders	Christine Cooper	TV series
1999	David Copperfield	Mrs. Micawber	TV
2000	Chicken Run	Bunty (voice)
2000	Rat	Conchita
2000	Jack And The Beanstalk	Dilly (voice)
2000	Victoria Wood With All The Trimmings	Mrs. Cottisloe	TV
2001	Another Life	Ethel Graydon
2001	Crush	Janine
2002	Murder	DCI Billie Dory	TV
2002	Ready	Naomi
2003	Cambridge Spies	The Queen	TV
2003	Let's Write A Story	Mrs. Twit	TV
2003	The Virgin Of Liverpool	Sylvia, Conlon
2003	Strange	Reverend Mary Truegood	TV
2003	Bright Young Things	Lady Brown
2003	Blackball	Bridget
2003	I'll Be There	Dr. Bridget
2004	Vera Drake	Vera Drake
2005	Nanny McPhee	Mrs. Blatherwick
2005	Fingersmith	Mrs Sucksby	TV
2005	A Midsummer Night's Dream	Polly	TV
2005	Little Britain	Mrs. Mead	TV series
2006	My Family And Other Animals	Mother
2006	Shadow Man	Ambassador Cochran
2006	Dog Town	Gwen Gregson	TV
2006	The Wind in the Willows	Barge Lady	TV
2007	Cranford	Miss Octavia Pole	TV series
2007	Freedom Writers	Margaret Campbell
2007	Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix	Professor Dolores Jane Umbridge
2007	How About You	Hazel Nightingale
2008	Big & Small	Ruby/Twiba	TV
2008	Three and Out	Rosemary Cassidy
2008	A Bunch of Amateurs	Mary
2008	Clay	Mary Doonan	TV
2009	Taking Woodstock	Sonia Teichberg
2009	Return to Cranford	Miss Octavia Pole
2010	White Other	Lynne McDermott
2010	Alice In Wonderland	Tall Flower Faces (voice)
2011	Psychoville	Grace Andrews	TV series
2010	Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1	Dolores Jane Umbridge
2010	Another Year	Janet
2011	The Awakening	Maud Hill
2011	Arthur Christmas	Mrs. Santa
2011	Doctor Who	The Interface (voice)	TV series
2012	The Pirates! Band of Misfits	Queen Victoria
2012	The Girl	Alma Hitchcock	TV
2014	Maleficent	Knotgrass	Filming

Discography

2012

Sweeney Todd Revival Cast Recording

Mrs. Lovett

Awards and nominations

Theatre

• 1982 - Olivier Award, Nominee, Best Actress in a Musical for The Beggar's Opera
• 1988 - Olivier Award, Nominee, Best Actress in a Musical for The Wizard of Oz
• 1985 " Olivier Award, Winner, Outstanding Performance of the Year in a Supporting Role for A Chorus Of Disapproval, at the NT Olivier, and The Corn Is Green, at The Old Vic
• 1991 " Olivier Award, Winner, Outstanding Performance of the Year by an Actress in a Musical for Into The Woods, at the Phoenix
• 1997 - Olivier Award, Nominee, Best Actress in a Musical for Guys and Dolls
• 2010 " Olivier Award, Nominee, Best Actress for Entertaining Mr. Sloane, at Trafalgar Studio 1
• 2012 - Theatre Awards UK, Winner, Best performance in a Musical as Mrs Lovett in Sweeney Todd
• 2013 - Olivier Awards, Winner, Best Actress In A Musical for "Sweeney Todd"

Television

• 2006 " International Emmy Awards, Nominated, Emmy for Best Performance by an Actress for My Family and Other Animals (2005) (TV)
• 2010 " British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Television Award, Nominated, Best Supporting Actress for Cranford (2009) (TV)
• 2013 " British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Television Award, Nominated, Best Supporting Actress for 'The Girl' (2012) (TV)
• 2013 - Critics' Choice Television Award, Nominated, Best Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie for 'The Girl' (2012) (TV)
• 2013 - Primetime Emmy Awards, Nominated, Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie for 'The Girl' (2012) (TV)

Films

• 1999 " Screen Actors Guild Award, Winner, Best Performance by a Cast for Shakespeare in Love (1998)
• 2000 " Irish Film and Television Awards, Nominated, Best Actress for Rat (2000)
• 2004 " European Film Award, Winner, Best Actress for Vera Drake (2004)
• 2004 " Venice Film Festival, Winner, Volpi Cup, Best Actress for Vera Drake (2004)
• 2004 " London Film Critics Circle Award, Winner, Best Actress for Vera Drake (2004)
• 2004 " National Society of Film Critics Award, Winner, Best Actress for Vera Drake (2004)
• 2004 " Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Awards, Winner, Best Actress for Vera Drake (2004)
• 2004 " Chicago Film Critics Association Awards, Winner, Best Actress for Vera Drake (2004)
• 2004 " Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards (LAFCA), Winner, Best Actress for Vera Drake (2004)
• 2004 " San Diego Film Critics Society Awards, Winner, Best Actress for Vera Drake (2004)
• 2004 " Seattle Film Critics Awards, Winner, Best Actress for Vera Drake (2004)
• 2004 " New York Film Critics Circle Awards, Winner, Best Actress for Vera Drake (2004)
• 2004 " Toronto Film Critics Association Awards, Winner, Best Performance, Female for Vera Drake (2004)
• 2005 " Vancouver Film Critics Circle, Winner, Best Actress for Vera Drake (2004)
• 2005 " British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Award, Winner, Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role for Vera Drake (2004)
• 2005 " Evening Standard British Film Awards, Winner, Best Actress for Vera Drake (2004)
• 2005 " Chlotrudis Awards, Winner, Best Actress for Vera Drake (2004)
• 2005 " National Society of Film Critics Awards, (NSCF) USA, Winner, Best Actress for Vera Drake (2004). Tied with Hilary Swank for Million Dollar Baby (2004).
• 2005 " Academy Award, Nominated for an Oscar, Best Actress for Vera Drake (2004)
• 2005 " Screen Actors Guild Awards, Nominated, Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role for Vera Drake (2004)
• 2005 " Golden Globe, Nominated, Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture " Drama for Vera Drake (2004)
• 2005 " Golden Satellite Award, Nominated, Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama for Vera Drake (2004)
• 2005 " Empire Awards, UK, Nominated, Best British Actress for Vera Drake (2004)
• 2005 " Online Film Critics Society Awards, Nominated, Best Actress for Vera Drake (2004)
• 2005 " The Broadcast Film Critics Association Award, Nominated, Best Actress for Vera Drake (2004)
• 2008 " Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, Nominated, Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
• 2008 " London Critics Circle Film Awards, Nominated, British Supporting Actress of the Year for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
• 2009 " California Independent Film Festival, Winner, Audience Award, Best Actress " Comedy for Three and Out (2008)