# Imelda Staunton

Dame Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton (born 9 January 1956) 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 United Kingdom. Over her career, she has received several awards including a British Academy Film Award, and four Laurence Olivier Awards as well as nominations for an Academy Award, three British Academy Television Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and three Emmy Awards.
Known for her many roles on the West End stage, Staunton has received thirteen 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 three wins for Best Actress in a Musical for her roles in the musicals Into the Woods (1991), Sweeney Todd (2013), and Gypsy (2016). She was also 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 a wider audience for her role as Dolores Umbridge in the Harry Potter films The Order of the Phoenix (2007) and The Deathly Hallows - Part 1 (2010). She also acted in Nanny McPhee, Another Year (2010), Pride (2014), and Downton Abbey (2019), and provided 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). 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. They lived over Staunton's mother's salon. Her parents were immigrants from County Mayo, Ireland; her father from Ballyvary and her mother from Bohola. 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. When Staunton was in her teens, her parents separated, both later meeting new partners.
As a pupil at La Sainte Union Catholic School, 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. 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, she was accepted into the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) at age 18.

## Acting career
### Theatre

Staunton graduated from RADA in 1976, 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. 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 and the second in 1996 in which she played Miss Adelaide and was nominated for the Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical.
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. She also played Dorothy Gale in the Royal Shakespeare Company's 1987 revival of The Wizard of Oz at the Barbican Centre, which earned her another Olivier nomination for Best Actress in a Musical. 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).
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.
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. Both productions transferred to London for critically and commercially acclaimed runs. Staunton won her second and third Olivier Awards for Best Actress in a Musical for the two productions in 2013 and 2016 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. 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. The show was broadcast through the National Theatre Live initiative on 16 November 2017.
In summer 2024, Staunton played the role of Dolly Gallagher Levi in a revival of the musical Hello, Dolly! at the London Palladium.

### Film

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) Twelfth Night (1996), Chicken Run (2000), Another Life (2001), Bright Young Things (2003), Nanny McPhee (2005), Freedom Writers (2007) and How About You (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 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.
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 1 in 2010.
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. 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.
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.

### Television work

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). 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. In 2011, she played Grace Andrews in the second series of Psychoville.
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.
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. 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. 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. Staunton's performance in the fifth season earned her nominations for a Golden Globe Award and BAFTA Television Award. Her performance in the sixth season earned her nominations for another Golden Globe Award and Primetime Emmy Award.

### Radio

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.

### Other work

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 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 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. They live in West Hampstead.
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.
Staunton endorsed the Labour Party in the 2024 United Kingdom general election.

## Acting credits
### Film

| Year | Title | Role(s) | Notes |
| 1986 | Comrades | Betsy Loveless | |
| 1992 | Peter's Friends | Mary Charleston | |
| 1993 | Much Ado About Nothing | Margaret | |
| 1994 | Deadly Advice | Beth Greenwood | |
| 1995 | The Snow Queen | Ivy / Angorra | Voice; Direct-to-video |
| 1995 | Sense and Sensibility | Charlotte Palmer | |
| 1996 | Twelfth Night | Maria | |
| 1996 | The Snow Queen's Revenge | Elspeth / Rowena | Voice; Direct-to-video |
| 1997 | Remember Me? | Lorna | |
| 1997 | The Ugly Duckling | Scruffy | Voice; Direct-to-video |
| 1998 | Shakespeare in Love | Nurse | |
| 1999 | Jack & the Beanstalk | Dilly | Voice; Direct-to-video |
| 2000 | Chicken Run | Bunty | Voice |
| 2000 | Rat | Conchita Flynn | |
| 2001 | Another Life | Ethel Graydon | |
| 2001 | Crush | Janine | |
| 2002 | The Strange Case of Penny Allison | Penny Allison / Alison Ayling | Short; Direct-to-video |
| 2002 | Ready | Naomi | Short |
| 2003 | The Virgin of Liverpool | Sophie Conlon | |
| 2003 | Bright Young Things | Lady Brown | |
| 2003 | I'll Be There | Dr. Bridget | |
| 2003 | Blackball | Bridget | |
| 2004 | Vera Drake | Vera Drake | |
| 2005 | Nanny McPhee | Mrs. Blatherwick | |
| 2006 | Shadow Man | Ambassador Cochran | Direct-to-video |
| 2007 | Freedom Writers | Margaret Campbell | |
| 2007 | Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix | Dolores Umbridge | |
| 2007 | How About You | Hazel Nightingale | |
| 2008 | Three and Out | Rosemary Cassidy | |
| 2008 | A Bunch of Amateurs | Mary | |
| 2009 | Taking Woodstock | Sonia Teichberg | |
| 2010 | Alice in Wonderland | Tall Flower Faces | Voice |
| 2010 | Another Year | Janet | |
| 2010 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 | Dolores Umbridge | |
| 2011 | The Awakening | Maud Hill | |
| 2011 | Arthur Christmas | Mrs. Santa | Voice |
| 2012 | The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! | Queen Victoria | Voice |
| 2014 | Pride | Hefina Headon | |
| 2014 | Maleficent | Knotgrass | |
| 2014 | Paddington | Aunt Lucy | Voice |
| 2017 | Little Bird | First Officer Simpkins | Short |
| 2017 | Finding Your Feet | Sandra Abbott | |
| 2017 | Paddington 2 | Aunt Lucy | Voice |
| 2019 | Downton Abbey | Lady Maud Bagshaw | |
| 2019 | Maleficent: Mistress of Evil | Knotgrass | |
| 2020 | Amulet | Sister Claire | |
| 2022 | Downton Abbey: A New Era | Lady Maud Bagshaw | |
| 2023 | The Canterville Ghost | Mrs. Umney | Voice |
| 2023 | Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget | Bunty | Voice |
| 2024 | Paddington in Peru | Aunt Lucy | Voice |

### Television

| Year(s) | Title | Role(s) | Notes | Ref(s) |
| 1982 | Playhouse | Mary Price | Episode: "Easy Money" | |
| 1986 | Ladies in Charge | Edith | Episode: "Double Act" | |
| 1986 | The Singing Detective | Staff Nurse White | Miniseries; 5 episodes | |
| 1988 | Thompson | Various roles | Miniseries; 6 episodes | |
| 1989 | The Ruth Rendell Mysteries | Polly Flinders | 3 episodes | |
| 1990–1993 | Up the Garden Path | Izzy Comyn | Main role; 18 episodes | |
| 1990 | ScreenPlay | Jane Hartman Stephanie | Episode: "Antonia and Jane" Episode: "The Englishman's Wife" | [99] [100] |
| 1990 | The Play on One | Cheryl Newman | Episode: "Yellowbacks" | |
| 1990 | Masterpiece | Louie | Episode: "The Heat of the Day" | |
| 1991 | Screen Two | The Producer | Episode: "They Never Slept" | |
| 1992 | A Masculine Ending | Bridget Bennet | Television film | |
| 1992 | Performance | Jenny Beales | Episode: "Roots" | |
| 1993 | Don't Leave Me This Way | Bridget Bennet | Television film | |
| 1993 | If You See God, Tell Him | Muriel Spry | Miniseries; 4 episodes | |
| 1994 | Woodcock | Edna | Television film | |
| 1994 | Frank Stubbs Promotes | Susan | Episode: "Charity" | |
| 1994 | Mole's Christmas | Various roles | Voice; Television film | |
| 1995 | Citizen X | Mrs. Burakov | Television film | |
| 1995 | Look at the State We're In! | Councillor Johnson | Miniseries; Episode: "Local Government" | |
| 1995–1998 | Is It Legal? | Stella Phelps | Main role; 21 episodes | |
| 1995 | The Adventures of Mole | Various roles | Voice; Television film | |
| 1996 | The Adventures of Toad | Various roles | Voice; Television film | |
| 1996 | Tales from the Crypt | Sarah Nevin | Episode: "About Face" | |
| 1998–2000 | The Canterbury Tales | The Prioress | Miniseries; 3 episodes | [112] [113] |
| 1999 | Midsomer Murders | Christine Cooper | Episode: "Dead Man's Eleven" | |
| 1999 | David Copperfield | Emma Micawber | Two-part television special | |
| 2002 | Murder | DCI Billie Dory | Miniseries; 4 episodes | |
| 2003 | Let's Write a Story | Mrs. Twit | Docuseries; Episode: "Humour" | [116] [117] |
| 2003 | Cambridge Spies | Queen Elizabeth | Miniseries; Episodes 2 and 4 | |
| 2003 | Strange | Reverend Mary Truegood | Miniseries; Episode: "Incubus" | |
| 2005 | Fingersmith | Mrs. Sucksby | 3 episodes | |
| 2005 | ShakespeaRe-Told | Polly Moon | Episode: "A Midsummer Night's Dream" | |
| 2005 | Little Britain | Mrs. Mead | Series 3, episode 6 | |
| 2005 | My Family and Other Animals | Louisa Durrell | Television film | |
| 2006 | Dogtown | Gwen Gregson | Miniseries; Episode 4 | |
| 2006 | The Wind in the Willows | Barge Lady | Television film | |
| 2007 | Where Have I Been All Your Life? | Angela | Television short | |
| 2007 | Cranford | Miss Octavia Pole | Miniseries; 5 episodes | |
| 2008 | Clay | Mary Doonan | Television film | |
| 2008 | Coming Up | Mother | Episode: "Lickle Bill Um" | |
| 2008 | Big & Small | Ruby / Twiba | Voice; 12 episodes | |
| 2009 | Return to Cranford | Miss Octavia Pole | Episodes: "August 1844", "October 1844" | |
| 2010–2011 | Psychoville | Grace Andrews | Guest role (Halloween special) main role (series 2); 7 episodes | [129] [130] |
| 2010 | White Other | Lynne McDermott | Television short | |
| 2011 | Doctor Who | The Interface | Voice; Episode: "The Girl Who Waited" | |
| 2012 | The Girl | Alma Reville Hitchcock | Television film | |
| 2013 | Mouse and Mole at Christmas Time | Various roles | Voice; Television film | |
| 2014 | That Day We Sang | Enid | Television film | |
| 2019 | A Confession | Karen Edwards | Miniseries; 6 episodes | |
| 2020 | Flesh and Blood | Mary | Miniseries; 4 episodes | |
| 2020 | Talking Heads | Irene Ruddock | Episode: "A Lady of Letters" | |
| 2020–2021 | Trying | Penny | 8 episodes | |
| 2022–2023 | The Crown | Queen Elizabeth II | Main role (Seasons 5–6); 20 episodes | |
| 2023 | Brassic | Aunt Edie | Episode: "A Very Brassic Christmas" | |

### Theatre

| Year(s) | Title | Role(s) | Theatre(s) | Notes | Ref(s) |
| 1982–1983 | Guys and Dolls | Mimi (Hot Box Girl) Miss Adelaide | Royal National Theatre | | |
| 1982–1983 | The Beggar's Opera | Molly Brazen / Lucy Lockit | Royal National Theatre | | |
| 1982–1983 | Schweyk in the Second World War | Anna | Royal National Theatre | | |
| 1984 | A Mad World, My Masters | Janet Claughton | Theatre Royal Stratford East | | |
| 1984 | Us Good Girls | Paulette | Soho Theatre | | |
| 1985 | The Corn Is Green | Bessie Watty | The Old Vic | | |
| 1985–1986 | A Chorus of Disapproval | Hannah Llewellyn | Royal National Theatre | | |
| 1987 | Venus and Adonis | Venus | Barbican Centre | | |
| 1987 | The Fair Maid of the West | Bess Bridges | Mermaid Theatre | | |
| 1987 | They Shoot Horses, Don't They? | Gloria Beatty | Mermaid Theatre | | |
| 1987–1988 | The Wizard of Oz | Dorothy Gale | Barbican Centre | | |
| 1988 | Uncle Vanya | Sonya | Vaudeville Theatre | | |
| 1989 | The Lady and the Clarinet | Luba | King's Head Theatre | | |
| 1990–1991 | Into the Woods | The Baker's Wife | Phoenix Theatre | | |
| 1991 | Bold Girls | Cassie | Hampstead Theatre | | |
| 1994 | On Borrowed Time | — | Southwark Playhouse | Producer and director | |
| 1994–1995 | Slavs! | Bonfila | Hampstead Theatre | | |
| 1996 | Habeas Corpus | Mrs. Swabb | Donmar Warehouse | | |
| 1996–1997 | Guys and Dolls | Miss Adelaide | Royal National Theatre | | |
| 1998 | Divas at the Donmar | — | Donmar Warehouse | Solo cabaret season | |
| 2000–2001 | Life x 3 | Ines | Royal National Theatre The Old Vic | | [162] [163] |
| 2004 | Calico | Nora Barnacle | Duke of York's Theatre | | |
| 2007 | There Came a Gypsy Riding | Margaret | Almeida Theatre | | |
| 2007 | Follies in Concert | Hattie Walker | London Palladium | Benefit concert | |
| 2009 | Entertaining Mr Sloane | Kath | Trafalgar Theatre | | |
| 2011 | A Delicate Balance | Claire | Almeida Theatre | | |
| 2012 | Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street | Mrs. Lovett | Adelphi Theatre | | |
| 2013 | Circle Mirror Transformation | Marty | Royal Court Theatre | | |
| 2014 | Good People | Margie Walsh | Hampstead Theatre Noël Coward Theatre | | [171] [172] |
| 2015 | Gypsy | Momma Rose | Savoy Theatre | | |
| 2017 | Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? | Martha | Harold Pinter Theatre | | |
| 2017–2018 | Follies | Sally Durant Plummer | Royal National Theatre | | |
| 2020 | Talking Heads | Irene Ruddock | Bridge Theatre | Segment: "A Lady of Letters" | |
| 2024 | Hello, Dolly! | Dolly Gallagher Levi | London Palladium | | |
| 2025 | Mrs. Warren's Profession † | Kitty Warren | Garrick Theatre | | |
Key :
| † | Denotes plays that have not yet premiered |

### Other

| Year | Title | Role | Ref(s) |
| 2025 | Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry | Dolores Umbridge | |

## Awards and honours

Staunton has received numerous accolades including a BAFTA Award, four 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.

## 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.