# Zoë Wanamaker

Zoë Wanamaker (born 13 May 1949) is an American born British actress who has worked extensively with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre. Wanamaker was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2001 by Queen Elizabeth II. She has received numerous accolades including a Laurence Olivier Award and nominations for three BAFTA Awards, and four Tony Awards.
A nine-time Olivier Award nominee, she won for Once in a Lifetime (1979) and Electra (1998). She has also received four Tony Award nominations for her work on Broadway; for Piaf (1981), Loot (1986), Electra (1999), and Awake and Sing! (2006).
She has acted in the films Wilde (1997), Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001), and My Week with Marilyn (2011). She was twice nominated for the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress, for Prime Suspect (1991) and Love Hurts (1992–1994). She portrayed Susan Harper in the sitcom My Family (2000–2011), and appeared in the ITV dramas Agatha Christie's Poirot (2005–2013), Mr Selfridge (2015), and Girlfriends (2018).

## Early life and education

Zoë Wanamaker was born in New York City on 13 May 1949, the daughter of Canadian actress and radio performer Charlotte Holland and American actor, film director, and radio producer Sam Wanamaker (born Samuel Wattenmacker). Her father was of Ukrainian-Jewish descent, although she had a secular and non-observant upbringing. The BBC series Who Do You Think You Are?, broadcast on 24 February 2009, revealed that her paternal grandfather Maurice Wanamaker (originally Manus Watmacher) was a tailor from Mykolaiv.
Whilst working in the United Kingdom in 1952, Wanamaker's father found out he had been blacklisted in Hollywood. Her parents therefore decided to remain in the UK. She was educated at the independent King Alfred School in Hampstead and at Sidcot School, a Quaker boarding school in Winscombe, Somerset. Zoe attended Hornsey College of Art for the Pre-Diploma Course before she trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama.

## Career
### Stage

Wanamaker's career started in the theatre. From 1976 to 1984 she was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. She won an Olivier Award for her 1979 performance in Once in a Lifetime and a second for Sophocles' Electra in 1998. In 1985, she played Verdi's wife Giuseppina Strepponi in the original production of After Aida. She appeared on stage playing the part of Beatrice opposite Simon Russell Beale as Benedick in the National Theatre's production of Much Ado About Nothing. She has received Tony Award nominations for her performances in Piaf, Loot, Electra, and Awake and Sing!.
In 1997, Wanamaker was the first person to speak on the stage of the newly completed replica theatre, Shakespeare's Globe, on London's South Bank. This was in recognition of the role played by her father in founding the new theatre. She subsequently became Honorary President of the Globe.
From May to October 2010, Wanamaker appeared in Arthur Miller's All My Sons as Kate Keller at the Apollo Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue in London.
Wanamaker appeared in Terence Rattigan's All On Her Own from 24 October 2015 until 13 January 2016 at the Garrick Theatre. The work is a one-woman play that preceded Rattigan's Harlequinade, which she also appeared in, each night as part of a never-before-seen double bill. In 2016 she appeared in the world premiere production of Elegy at the Donmar Warehouse.
She returned to the Broadway stage in the 2023 Sharr White memory play Pictures From Home alongside Nathan Lane and Danny Burstein. The play is adapted from photographer Larry Sultan's photo memoir of the same name.

### Screen

Starting in the early 1980s, Wanamaker began performing on screen, most notably in a number of critically acclaimed television productions, such as the BBC Television production Edge of Darkness; she was nominated for a BAFTA Award for her portrayal of the love interest of a suspected serial killer in the first instalment of the Granada series Prime Suspect.
Television series have included Paradise Postponed (as Charlotte Fanner-Titmuuss, 1986) and Love Hurts (1992–94) with Adam Faith. She appeared with Wendy Hiller in The Countess Alice in 1992, playing a rebellious woman searching for the truth about her past in war-torn Germany. She played Clarice, one of the dim-witted twin sisters of Lord Groan in Gormenghast (2000), a BBC television adaptation of Mervyn Peake's trilogy. She played Madam Hooch in the film Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001). She did not reprise the role in the rest of the sequels, accusing the producers of underpaying their actors.
Wanamaker portrayed Susan Harper in the BBC situation comedy My Family from 2000 to 2011. She voiced a CGI character named Lady Cassandra in the Doctor Who episode "The End of the World" (2005), and reprised the role (also appearing in the flesh this time) in the episode "New Earth" (2006). Wanamaker lent her voice to the 2008 Xbox 360 game Fable II as the blind Seeress Theresa, who guides the playing character throughout the game. She returned to voice Theresa again in Fable III in 2010, and again in 2012 for Fable: The Journey.
She played Ariadne Oliver in six episodes of Agatha Christie's Poirot. In 2011, she played Paula Strasberg in Simon Curtis' My Week with Marilyn, which depicts the making of the 1957 film The Prince and the Showgirl starring Marilyn Monroe and Laurence Olivier. In 2015, she joined the cast of Mr. Selfridge as Princess Marie, the Russian mother-in-law of Rosalie Selfridge/Bolotoff. In 2021, she played Baghra, Alina Starkov's strict teacher and knowing adviser in Shadow and Bone.

## Honours

Wanamaker was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2001 New Year Honours for services to drama. She also received an honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of East Anglia on 19 July 2012.

## Public advocacy

Wanamaker has been a Patron of the UK charity Tree Aid, since 1997. Tree Aid enables communities in Africa's drylands to fight poverty and become self-reliant, while improving the environment. In 2006 Wanamaker recorded a successful Radio 4 appeal for the charity.
She is a patron of Dignity in Dying, the Lymphoedema Support Network, Youth Music Theatre UK and of the Young Actors' Theatre, Islington. She is also one of the Honorary Patrons of the London children's charity Scene & Heard. Wanamaker also supports Survival International's campaign to save the threatened native tribes in Brazil.
In August 2014, Wanamaker was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian expressing their hope that Scotland would vote to remain part of the United Kingdom in September's referendum on that issue.
Wanamaker is one of nine presidents of Better Planet Education.

## Personal life

Wanamaker lived for many years with fellow Royal Shakespeare Company actor David Lyon. In November 1994, she married the Scottish actor, playwright and screenwriter Gawn Grainger. Wanamaker holds both British and American citizenship, having become a British citizen in 2000.

## Filmography

Key :
| † | Denotes works that have not yet been released |

### Film

| Year | Film | Role |
| 1988 | The Raggedy Rawney | Elle |
| 1997 | Wilde | Ada Leverson |
| 1997 | Swept from the Sea | Mary Foster |
| 2001 | Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone | Madame Hooch |
| 2004 | Five Children and It | Martha |
| 2010 | It's a Wonderful Afterlife | Mrs. Goldman |
| 2011 | My Week with Marilyn | Paula Strasberg |

### Television

| Year | TV Series | Role | Notes |
| 1971 | ITV Sunday Night Drama | Sally | Episode Turn of the Year: Sally for the Keeps |
| 1971 | Take Three Girls | Jackie | |
| 1973 | Late Night Theatre | Alice | Episode The Eagle has Landed |
| 1973 | Between the Wars | Ada Abbott | Episode The Silver Mask |
| 1973 | ITV Sunday Night Theatre | Lorna Green | Episode Lorna and Ted |
| 1973 | Spy Trap | Muriel | Episode Sale of Work |
| 1974 | Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill | Pearl Craigie | TV Miniseries (1 episode) A Perfect Darling |
| 1975 | The Confederacy of Wives | Corinna | TV film |
| 1975 | Village Hall | Shirley Chatsfield | Episode Miss Health and Beauty |
| 1975 | Crown Court | Joan Carmichael | 1 episode |
| 1977 | A Christmas Carol | Belle | TV film |
| 1978 | BBC Play of the Month | Lucille/Dorinda | Danton's Death / The Beaux' Stratagem |
| 1978 | The Devil's Crown | Berengaria of Navarre | 3 episodes |
| 1981 | Strike: The Birth of Solidarity | Aline Pienkowska | TV film |
| 1982 | Baal | Sophie | TV film |
| 1982 | Inside the Third Reich | Annemarie Kempf | TV film |
| 1983 | Richard III | Lady Anne | TV film |
| 1983 | Enemies of the State | Zdena Tomin | TV film |
| 1985 | Edge of Darkness | Clemmy | TV Miniseries (3 episodes) |
| 1986 | Paradise Postponed | Charlie Fanner | TV Mini-series (8 episodes) |
| 1987 | Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story | Jean Kennerly | TV film |
| 1987 | Tales of The Unexpected | Margaret Smythe | 1 episode Skeleton in the Cupboard |
| 1988 | Once in a Lifetime | May Daniels | TV film |
| 1989 | The Dog It was That Died | Blidebeck | TV film |
| 1989 | Ball-Trap on the Cote Sauvage | Sarah Marriot | TV film |
| 1990 | Theatre Night | Emilia | Episode Othello |
| 1991 | Inspector Morse | Emma Pickford | Episode Fat Chance |
| 1991 | Prime Suspect | Moyra Henson | TV Miniseries (2 episodes) |
| 1992 | Screen Two: Memento Mori | Olive Mannering | TV film |
| 1992 | Screenplay: The Countess Alice | Connie | TV film |
| 1992 | Shakespeare: The Animated Tales | Lady Macbeth | Episode Macbeth |
| 1992 | The Blackheath Poisonings | Charlotte Collard | TV Miniseries (3 episodes) |
| 1992–1994 | Love Hurts | Tessa Piggot/Carver | 30 episodes |
| 1995 | Performance | Mrs Holroyd | Episode The Widowing of Mrs. Holroyd |
| 1995 | The English Wife | Carolina Griveau | TV film |
| 1997 | A Dance to the Music of Time | Audrey Mclintick | TV mini-series (2 episodes) |
| 1997 | Great Performances | Prologue/Herself | Episode Henry V at Shakespeare's Globe |
| 1999 | The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns | Mary Muldoon | TV miniseries |
| 1999 | David Copperfield | Miss Jane Murdstone | TV miniseries |
| 2000 | Gormenghast | Clarice Groan | TV Mini-Series (3 episodes) |
| 2000–2011 | My Family | Susan Harper | 114 episodes |
| 2001 | Adrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years | Tania Braithwaite | 6 episodes |
| 2005 | Agatha Christie's Marple | Letitia Blacklock | Episode A Murder is Announced |
| 2005 | A Waste of Shame | Countess of Pembroke | BBC Four film |
| 2005–2013 | Agatha Christie's Poirot | Ariadne Oliver | 6 feature-length episodes: Cards on the Table (2005) Mrs McGinty's Dead (2008) Third Girl (2008) Hallowe'en Party (2010) Elephants Can Remember (2013) Dead Man's Folly (2013) |
| 2005, 2006 | Doctor Who | Cassandra | 2 episodes: "The End of the World" and "New Earth" |
| 2006 | Johnny and the Bomb | Mrs Tachyon | 2 episodes |
| 2007 | The Old Curiosity Shop | Mrs Jarley | TV film |
| 2013 | Wodehouse in Exile | Ethel Wodehouse | TV film |
| 2015 | Mr Selfridge | Princess Marie | 10 episodes |
| 2017 | Babs | Joan Littlewood | TV film |
| 2018 | Inside No. 9 | Paula | Episode: "And the Winner Is..." |
| 2018 | Girlfriends | Gail Stanley | 6 episodes |
| 2018–2021 | Britannia | Queen Antedia | Main role (10 episodes) |
| 2019 | Killing Eve | Helen Jacobsen | Episode: "Desperate Times" |
| 2019 | Worzel Gummidge | Lady Bloomsbury Barton | Episode: "The Green Man" |
| 2021–2023 | Shadow and Bone | Baghra | Main role (11 episodes) |
| 2022 | The Man Who Fell to Earth | Watt | 2 episodes |
| 2023 | The Cleaner | Lucille | Episode: "The Statue" |
| 2023 | Black Ops | Celia Herrington | 3 episodes |
| 2024 | Criminal Record | Maureen | 5 episodes |
| 2024 | Inside No. 9 | Party Guest | Episode: "Plodding On" |
| 2025 | † Bergerac | Charlie Hungerford | In Production |

### Video games

| Year | Video Game | Role |
| 2008 | Fable II | Theresa |
| 2010 | Fable III | Theresa |
| 2012 | Fable: The Journey | Theresa |
| 2018 | Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery | Madam Hooch |

### Theatre

| Year | Play | Role | Location |
| 1970 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Hermia | University Theatre, Manchester |
| 1970 | Creditors | Tealk | University Theatre, Manchester |
| 1970 | The Cherry Orchard | Anya | Stables Theatre Club, Manchester |
| 1971 | Pictures in a Bath of Acid | Fanny Falkner | West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds |
| 1971 | Family Album | Emily Valance | West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds |
| 1971 | Twelfth Night | Olivia | West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds |
| 1971 | Dick Whittington | Tommy the Cat | Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh |
| 1971 | The Hostage | Teresa | Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh |
| 1972 | The Birthday Party | Lulu | Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh |
| 1972 | When Thou Art King | Lady Percy/Doll | Far East Tour |
| 1972 | Guys and Dolls | Miss Adelaide | University Theatre, Manchester |
| 1973 | The Provoked Wife | Belinda | Watford Palace Theatre |
| 1973 | Twelfth Night | Viola | Tour |
| 1973 | Jack and the Beanstalk | Margery, the Baron's daughter | Cambridge Arts Theatre |
| 1974 | She Stoops to Conquer | Constance Neville | Tour |
| 1974 | French Without Tears | Jacqueline Maingot | Tour |
| 1974 | Cabaret | Sally Bowles | Redgrave Theatre, Farnham |
| 1974 | Tom Thumb | Princess Huncamunca | The Young Vic |
| 1974 | Much Ado About Nothing | Hero | The Young Vic |
| 1975 | Kiss Me Kate | Bianca | Oxford Playhouse |
| 1975 | The Taming of the Shrew | Katherina | Tour |
| 1975 | The Beggar's Opera | Mrs. Vixen/Lucy Locket | Nottingham Playhouse |
| 1975 | Jug | Eva Hirst | Nottingham Playhouse |
| 1975 | A Streetcar Named Desire | Stella Kowalski | Nottingham Playhouse |
| 1976 | Pygmalion | Eliza Doolittle | Nottingham Playhouse |
| 1976 | The Servant of Two Masters | Smeraldina | Nottingham Playhouse |
| 1976 | The Devil's Disciple | Essie | Aldwych Theatre |
| 1976 | Ivanov | Babakina, Marfa Yegorovna | Aldwych Theatre |
| 1976 | Wild Oats; or, The Strolling Gentleman | Jane | Aldwych Theatre |
| 1978 | The Taming of the Shrew | Bianca | The Other Place, Stratford-upon-Avon |
| 1978 | Captain Swing | Gemma Beech | The Other Place, Stratford-upon-Avon |
| 1979 | Piaf | Toine | The Other Place, Stratford-upon-Avon |
| 1979 | Once in a Lifetime | May Daniels | Aldwych Theatre |
| 1981 | Piaf | Toine | Plymouth Theatre, New York City |
| 1982 | The Importance of Being Earnest | Gwendoline | Royal National Theatre |
| 1983 | The Time of Your Life | Kitty Duval | The Other Place, Stratford-upon-Avon |
| 1983 | Twelfth Night | Viola | Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon |
| 1983 | The Comedy of Errors | Adriana | Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon |
| 1984 | Mother Courage and her Children | Kattrin | Barbican Centre |
| 1986 | Loot | Fay | Manhattan Theatre Club Music Box Theatre, New York City |
| 1986 | The Bay at Nice and Wrecked Eggs | Sophia/Grace | Royal National Theatre |
| 1988 | Mrs Klein | Paula | Royal National Theatre Apollo Theatre |
| 1989 | Othello | Emilia | The Other Place, Stratford-upon-Avon The Young Vic |
| 1990 | The Crucible | Elizabeth Proctor | Royal National Theatre |
| 1993 | The Last Yankee | Patricia Hamilton | The Young Vic |
| 1994 | Dead Funny | Eleanor | Hampstead Theatre Vaudeville Theatre |
| 1995 | The Glass Menagerie | Amanda Wingfield | Donmar Warehouse Comedy Theatre |
| 1996 | Sylvia | Sylvia | Apollo Theatre |
| 1997–1999 | Electra | Electra | Minerva Theatre Donmar Warehouse McCarter Theatre, Princeton Ethel Barrymore Theatre, New York City |
| 1998 | The Old Neighbourhood | Jolly | Duke of York's Theatre |
| 1999 | Battle Royal | Queen Caroline | Royal National Theatre |
| 2001 | Boston Marriage | Anna | Donmar Warehouse Ambassadors Theatre |
| 2003 | His Girl Friday | Hildy Johnson | Royal National Theatre |
| 2006 | Awake and Sing! | Bessie | Belasco Theatre, New York City |
| 2007 | The Rose Tattoo | Serafina del Rose | Royal National Theatre |
| 2007 | Much Ado About Nothing | Beatrice | Royal National Theatre |
| 2010 | All My Sons | Kate Keller | Apollo Theatre |
| 2011 | The Cherry Orchard | Madame Ranevskaya | Royal National Theatre |
| 2013 | Passion Play | Eleanor | Duke of York's Theatre |
| 2014–2015 | Stevie | Stevie | Minerva Theatre Hampstead Theatre |
| 2015 | All On Her Own and Harlequinade | Rosemary/Dame Maud Gosport | Garrick Theatre |
| 2016 | Elegy | Lorna | Donmar Warehouse |
| 2018 | The Birthday Party | Meg | Harold Pinter Theatre |
| 2019 | Two Ladies | Helene | Bridge Theatre |
| 2021 | Constellations | Marianne | Vaudeville Theatre |
| 2023 | Pictures From Home | Jean | Studio 54, New York City |

## Awards and nominations

* For her stage work, Wanamaker has been nominated four times for the United States' most prestigious theatre award the Tony and nine times for the most prestigious British theatre award the Olivier, winning two.
* For her screen work, Wanamaker has received three BAFTA nominations.
Year given is year of ceremony.
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 1979 | Olivier Award | Actress of the Year in a Revival | Once in a Lifetime | Won |
| 1981 | Tony Award | Best Featured in a Play | Piaf! | Nominated |
| 1981 | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play | Piaf! | Nominated |
| 1984 | Olivier Award | Actress of the Year in a Revival | Twelfth Night | Nominated |
| 1984 | Olivier Award | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | The Time of Your Life | Nominated |
| 1985 | Olivier Award | Best Performance in a Supporting Role | Mother Courage | Nominated |
| 1986 | Tony Award | Best Featured Actress in a Play | Loot | Nominated |
| 1986 | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play | Loot | Nominated |
| 1989/90 | Olivier Award | Best Performance in a Supporting Role | Othello | Nominated |
| 1991 | Olivier Award | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | The Crucible | Nominated |
| 1992 | BAFTA TV Award | Best Actress | Prime Suspect | Nominated |
| 1993 | BAFTA TV Award | Best Actress | Love Hurts | Nominated |
| 1996 | Olivier Award | Best Actress | The Glass Menagerie | Nominated |
| 1998 | BAFTA Film Award | Best Supporting Actress | Wilde | Nominated |
| 1998 | Olivier Award | Best Actress | Electra | Won |
| 1999 | Tony Award | Best Actress in a Play | Electra | Nominated |
| 1999 | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Actress in a Play | Electra | Nominated |
| 2002 | Olivier Award | Best Actress | Boston Marriage | Nominated |
| 2006 | Tony Award | Best Featured Actress in a Play | Awake and Sing! | Nominated |
* In 2006, Wanamaker and the rest of the cast of Awake and Sing! won a special Drama Desk award for Outstanding Ensemble Performance.