# Miriam Margolyes

Miriam Margolyes (/ˈmɑːrɡəliːz/ MAR-gə-leez; born 18 May 1941) is a British and Australian actress. Known for her work as a character actor across film, television, and stage, she received the BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Mrs. Mingott in Martin Scorsese's The Age of Innocence (1993), and achieved international prominence with her portrayal of Professor Sprout in the Harry Potter film series (2001–2011). Margolyes was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2002 New Year Honours for Services to Drama.
After starting her career in theatre, Margolyes made the transition to film with a small part in the British comedy A Nice Girl Like Me (1969). Subsequent credits include Yentl (1983), Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Little Dorrit (1988), I Love You to Death (1990), Immortal Beloved (1994), Different for Girls, Romeo + Juliet (both 1996), Magnolia, End of Days (both 1999), Being Julia, and Ladies in Lavender (both 2004). She voiced roles in Babe (1995), James and the Giant Peach (1996), Mulan (1998), Happy Feet (2006), Flushed Away (2006), and Early Man (2018).
Margolyes appeared in the television films Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story (1987), Orpheus Descending (1990), Stalin (1992), Cold Comfort Farm (1995), and The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (2004). Her other credits include Blackadder (1983–1988), Vanity Fair, Supply & Demand (both 1998), and Doctor Who (2023), as well as the recurring roles of Prudence Stanley in the Australian drama series Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries (2012–2015), and Sister Mildred in the BBC1 drama series Call the Midwife (2018–2021).
On stage, Margolyes toured her one-woman show, Dickens' Women, between 1989 and 2012, which earned her an Olivier Award nomination; starred as Sue Mengers in the Australian premiere of I'll Eat You Last (2014); and originated the role of Madame Morrible in Wicked (West End, 2006; Broadway, 2008). Outside acting, she has fronted various travelogue series and written two memoirs: This Much is True (2021) and Oh Miriam! (2023).

## Early life and education

Margolyes was born in Oxford on 18 May 1941 into a Jewish family. She was the only child of Joseph Margolyes (1899–1995), a Scottish physician and general practitioner from the Gorbals area of Glasgow, and property-developer Ruth (née Sandeman; 1905–1974), daughter of a second-hand furniture dealer and auctioneer at Kirkdale, Liverpool, who later relocated to London. The maternal family surname changed from Sandeman to Walters before Margolyes' birth. Her maternal great-grandfather, Symeon Sandmann, was born in the Polish town of Margonin, then part of the Kingdom of Prussia, which Margolyes visited in 2013. Her paternal grandfather Philip Margolyes was born in the small Belarusian shtetl of Amdur, which at the time was in Grodno Governorate, Russian Empire.
Margolyes attended Oxford High School and Newnham College, Cambridge. There, in her 20s, she began acting and appeared in productions by the Cambridge Footlights. She represented Newnham College in the first series of University Challenge, where she may have been one of the first people to say "fuck" on British television; she claims to have used the word in frustration on the show in 1963. The word was "bleeped out" for transmission.

## Career

With her versatile voice, Margolyes first gained recognition for her work as a voice artist. In the 1970s, she recorded a soft-porn audio called Sexy Sonia: Leaves from my Schoolgirl Notebook. In 1972 she played alongside Tony Robinson in the educational TV show Sam on Boffs' Island. She performed most of the supporting female characters in the dubbed Japanese action TV series Monkey. She also worked with the theatre company Gay Sweatshop and provided voiceovers in the Japanese TV series The Water Margin (credited as Mirium Margolyes).
In 1974, she appeared with Kenneth Williams and Ted Ray in the BBC Radio 2 comedy series The Betty Witherspoon Show.
Margolyes's first major role in a film was as Elephant Ethel in Stand Up, Virgin Soldiers (1977). In the 1980s, she made appearances in Blackadder opposite Rowan Atkinson: these roles include the Spanish Infanta in The Black Adder, Lady Whiteadder in Blackadder II and Queen Victoria in Blackadder's Christmas Carol. In 1986, she played a major supporting role in the BBC drama The Life and Loves of a She-Devil. She won the 1989 LA Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Flora Finching in the film Little Dorrit (1988). On American television, she headlined the short-lived 1992 CBS sitcom Frannie's Turn. In 1994, she won the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Mrs Mingott in Martin Scorsese's The Age of Innocence (1993).
Margolyes played the dental nurse to Steve Martin's dentist in the 1986 film Little Shop of Horrors. In her 2023 memoir Oh Miriam: Stories from an Extraordinary Life Margolyes said Martin was "undeniably brilliant, but horrid to me" during the film. Martin responded that "My memory is that we had a good communication as professional actors. But when it is implied that I harmed her or was in some way careless about doing the stunts, I have to object".
In 1989, Margolyes co-wrote and performed a one-woman show, Dickens' Women, in which she played 23 characters from Dickens' novels. In 2005 Margolyes hosted a ten-part BBC Four documentary, Dickens in America, which retraced Dickens's 1842 journey across the United States of America.
Margolyes played Aunt Sponge and voiced the Glow-Worm in James and the Giant Peach (1996). She played the Nurse in Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet (1996). She voiced the rabbit character in the animated commercials for Cadbury's Caramel bars and provided the voice of Fly the dog in the Australian-American family film Babe (1995).
She played Professor Sprout in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) and again in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011). In a 2011 interview on The Graham Norton Show, in regard to her Potter costars, Margolyes said that she got on well with Maggie Smith, but rather bluntly admitted that she "didn't like the one that died", referring to Richard Harris. In 2024, Margolyes enraged adult Harry Potter fans by stating, "I worry about Harry Potter fans because they should be over that by now. It was 25 years ago, and it’s for children." Harry Potter fans responded on X, one saying "Nobody has a right to try and shame people into not enjoying something they harmlessly enjoy." Louis Chilton wrote in The Independent that "Margolyes does have that right. Don’t we all? And what’s a bit of shame every now and then between friends?"
In 2004, Margolyes played the role of Peg Sellers, the mother of Peter Sellers, in the Golden Globe winning film The Life and Death of Peter Sellers.
Margolyes was one of the original cast of the London production of the musical Wicked opposite Idina Menzel in 2006, playing Madame Morrible, a role she played again on Broadway in 2008.
In 2009, she appeared in a new production of Endgame by Samuel Beckett at the Duchess Theatre in the West End.
Margolyes voiced the role of Mrs. Plithiver, a blind snake, in the 3D-animated-epic film Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (2010).
In 2011, Margolyes recorded a narrative for the album The Devil's Brides by klezmer musician-ethnographer Yale Strom.
Margolyes played recurring character Prudence Stanley in the Australian-based TV series Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries from 2012 to 2015.
In 2014, she voiced Nana in the Disney Junior animated series Nina Needs to Go!
In January 2016, Margolyes appeared in The Real Marigold Hotel, a travel documentary in which a group of eight celebrities travelled to India to see whether retirement would be more rewarding there than in the UK. The series was reprised for two Christmas Specials The Real Marigold On Tour, from Florida and Kyoto. She narrated the 2016 ITV documentary about Lady Colin Campbell entitled Lady C and the Castle.
In December 2017, Margolyes appeared in the second season of The Real Marigold On Tour to Chengdu and Havana. She appeared in the first episode of the third series, in which she travelled to St Petersburg with Bobby George, Sheila Ferguson and Stanley Johnson.
In January 2018, Margolyes hosted a three-part series for the BBC titled Miriam's Big American Adventure, highlighting the citizens of the United States and the issues facing the country. She voiced Queen Oofeefa in the film Early Man. Since 2018, Margolyes has portrayed Mother Mildred in the BBC One drama, Call The Midwife.
She played Miss Shepherd in a 2019 production of The Lady in the Van for the Melbourne Theatre Company in Melbourne in Australia.
In October 2021, she played Lillian opposite Helen Monks in the BBC Radio 4 sitcom Charlotte and Lillian, where she introduced her autobiography This Much Is True. On 5 November she appeared on BBC One's The Graham Norton Show, where she discussed the book, explaining that it was written only because she "was paid an enormous amount of money". On 16 September the book was published by Hachette Books.
In April 2022, Margolyes was the subject of the BBC documentary Miriam Margolyes: Up for Grabs in the Imagine... series, where she was interviewed by Alan Yentob.
She appeared on BBC Radio 4's The Museum of Curiosity in February 2023. Her hypothetical donation to this imaginary museum was "Charles Dickens and all his works". In November 2023 Margolyes appeared as the voice of The Meep in "The Star Beast", the first of three Doctor Who 60th anniversary specials.

## Personal life

Margolyes spent many years living for long periods in Australia, and became an Australian citizen on Australia Day 2013, while retaining her British citizenship.
She is a lesbian, and referred to herself as a "dyke" live on national television and in front of Australian prime minister Julia Gillard in 2013. Since 1968, she has been in a relationship with Heather Sutherland, an Australian retired professor of Indonesian studies. As of 2012 they were dividing their time between homes in London and Kent in England, Robertson, New South Wales in Australia, and Montisi in Italy. In November 2023, Margolyes revealed on The Graham Norton Show that she and Sutherland had never lived together, but she wanted to do so as they were now both old and did not have much time left. She had been living in London and Sutherland in Amsterdam for a while.

### Charities

Margolyes is a patron of My Death My Decision, an organisation in the UK which seeks a more compassionate approach to dying, including the legal right to a medically assisted death, if that is a person's persistent wish.
Margolyes is a supporter of Sense (the National Deafblind and Rubella Association) and was the host at the first Sense Creative Writing Awards, held at the Charles Dickens Museum in London in December 2006, where she read a number of works written by talented deafblind people.
She is also a campaigner for the respite care charity Crossroads.

### Political views

Margolyes' political activism started at university. "I came from a very middle-class Jewish background, always Tory-voting", she later said. However, in the 1970s, she joined the Workers Revolutionary Party with other actors and Equity members such as Vanessa Redgrave, Frances de la Tour, and Tom Kempinski.
Margolyes is a member of the Labour Party and is registered to vote in Vauxhall. In August 2015, she was a signatory to a letter criticising The Jewish Chronicle's reporting of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn's alleged associations with antisemites. In November 2019, she endorsed the Labour Party in the UK general election because of their policies on the National Health Service. Later in the month, along with other public figures, she signed a letter supporting Corbyn and describing him as a "beacon of hope in the struggle against emergent far-right nationalism, xenophobia, and racism in much of the democratic world".
Margolyes was very critical of the British Government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic. She considered it "a public scandal" and "a disgrace". With the Prime Minister hospitalised suffering from COVID-19, Margolyes said "I had difficulty not wanting Boris Johnson to die."
In a 2022 interview with Radio Times, Margolyes came to the defence of J. K. Rowling, commenting that "There is a spectrum and people can be anywhere along that. There isn't one answer to all these trans questions". In November 2023, Margolyes said during another appearance on The Graham Norton Show that her position had changed after a discussion with Zoe Terakes, a trans Australian actor, and that she no longer believed that grammar was paramount over making someone happy by using their preferred pronouns.
On 15 October 2022, after being interviewed by Justin Webb about the recently deceased Robbie Coltrane on BBC Radio 4's Today, she commented to the presenters that she had never expected to be in a seat that had just been vacated by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt. She said, live on air, "When I saw him there I just said, 'You've got a hell of a job, the best of luck', and what I really wanted to say was 'Fuck you, you bastard!'"
She is a signatory of Jews for Justice for Palestinians. Margolyes said, "What I want to try to do is to get Jewish people to understand what's really going on, and they don't want to hear it. If you speak to most Jews and say, 'Can Israel ever be in the wrong?' they say, 'No. Our duty as Jews is to support Israel whatever happens.' And I don't believe that. It is our duty as human beings to report the truth as we see it."
On 6 April 2024, a video by Margolyes was published by The Jewish Council of Australia criticising the Israeli government on its ongoing invasion of the Gaza Strip and calling on Jews to "shout, beg, scream" for a ceasefire. In her 2.5 minute video she said:
   ... I have never been so ashamed of Israel as I am at this moment. To me, it seems as if Hitler has won. He's changed us Jews from being compassionate and caring and do unto others as you would have them do unto you into this vicious genocidal nationalist nation, pursuing and killing women and children. Of course, I condemn the Hamas action, of course I do. But what we are doing, Jewish people over in Israel, is shocking, embarrassing and wicked and I cannot understand why all Jewish people, particularly members of synagogues, do not want immediately to stop what is going on. And in the name of humanity, I call upon all Jews to shout, beg, scream for a ceasefire. ...

### Controversies

During a 2022 appearance on This Morning, Margolyes responded to one caller to "lose weight", telling another "not to mix with other cripples".

## In popular culture

Author and comedian David Walliams says he used Margolyes as a model for the title character in his children's book Awful Auntie after an argument with her during a stage production, though he stressed that he has nothing against her and is a fan of her work.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1969 | A Nice Girl Like Me | Pensione 'Mama' | |
| 1974 | On the Game | Narrator | Uncredited |
| 1975 | Rime of the Ancient Mariner | Dorothy Wordsworth | |
| 1977 | Stand Up, Virgin Soldiers | Elephant Ethel | |
| 1977 | Confessions from a Holiday Camp | Blackbird | Uncredited voice role |
| 1977 | The Battle of Billy's Pond | Tour Guide | |
| 1978 | On a Paving Stone Mounted | Performer | |
| 1980 | The Apple | Landlady | |
| 1980 | The Awakening | Dr Kadira | |
| 1981 | Reds | Woman writing in notebook | Uncredited role |
| 1982 | Crystal Gazing | Newsreader | |
| 1983 | Yentl | Sarah | |
| 1983 | Scrubbers | Jones | |
| 1984 | Electric Dreams | Ticket girl | |
| 1985 | The Good Father | Jane Powell | |
| 1985 | Morons from Outer Space | Doctor Wallace | |
| 1986 | Little Shop of Horrors | Dental Nurse | |
| 1987 | Body Contact | Mrs. Zulu | |
| 1988 | Little Dorrit | Flora Finching | |
| 1990 | The Fool | Mrs Bowring | |
| 1990 | Pacific Heights | Realtor | |
| 1990 | I Love You to Death | Mrs Boca | |
| 1991 | The Butcher's Wife | Gina | |
| 1991 | Dead Again | Lady | Uncredited role |
| 1992 | As You Like It | Audrey | |
| 1993 | The Age of Innocence | Mrs. Mingott | |
| 1993 | Ed and His Dead Mother | Mabel Chilton | |
| 1994 | Immortal Beloved | Nanette Streicherová | |
| 1995 | Balto | Grandma Rosy | |
| 1995 | Babe | Fly the Female Sheepdog | Voice role |
| 1996 | Different for Girls | Pamela | |
| 1996 | Romeo + Juliet | The Nurse | |
| 1996 | James and the Giant Peach | Aunt Sponge/Glowworm | Voice role |
| 1998 | Mulan | The Matchmaker | Voice role |
| 1998 | Babe: Pig in the City | Fly the Female Sheepdog | Voice role; cameo |
| 1998 | The First Snow of Winter | Sean the duck | Voice role |
| 1998 | Left Luggage | Mrs Goldman | Voice role |
| 1998 | Candy | Gisella | |
| 1999 | Magnolia | Faye Barringer | Uncredited role |
| 1999 | End of Days | Mabel | |
| 1999 | Dreaming of Joseph Lees | Signora Caldoni | |
| 1999 | Sunshine | Rose Sonnenschein | |
| 2000 | House! | Beth | |
| 2001 | Not Afraid, Not Afraid | Performer | |
| 2001 | Cats & Dogs | Sophie the Castle Maid | |
| 2002 | Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets | Professor Pomona Sprout | |
| 2002 | Plots with a View | Thelma & Selma | |
| 2002 | Alone | Caseworker | |
| 2004 | Being Julia | Dolly de Vries | |
| 2004 | Ladies in Lavender | Dorcas | |
| 2004 | Modigliani | Gertrude Stein | |
| 2004 | End of the Line | Bag Lady | Short film |
| 2004 | Chasing Liberty | Maria | |
| 2006 | Happy Feet | Mrs. Astrakhan | Voice role |
| 2006 | Flushed Away | Rita's Grandma | Voice role |
| 2007 | The Dukes | Aunt Vee | |
| 2008 | How To Lose Friends and Alienate People | Mrs Kowalski | |
| 2009 | A Closed Book | Mrs. Kilbride | |
| 2010 | Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole | Mrs Plithiver | Voice role |
| 2011 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 | Professor Pomona Sprout | |
| 2012 | Sir Billi | Baroness Chantal McToff | Voice role |
| 2012 | The Wedding Video | Patricia | |
| 2012 | The Guilt Trip | Anita | |
| 2014 | The Legend of Longwood | Lady Thyrza | |
| 2014 | Maya the Bee | The Queen | Voice role |
| 2017 | The Little Vampire 3D | Wulftrud | Voice role |
| 2017 | The Man Who Invented Christmas | Mrs. Fisk | |
| 2018 | Early Man | Queen Oofeefa | Voice role |
| 2019 | H Is for Happiness | Miss Bamford | |
| 2020 | Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears | Prudence Stanley | |
| 2023 | My Happy Ending | Judy | |
| 2023 | Pored tebe | Vera | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1965 | Theatre 625 | Rita | Episode: "Enter Solly Gold" |
| 1967 | Crossroads | Mrs. Perkins | 3 episodes |
| 1967 | ITV Play of the Week | Heidi | Episode: "The English Climate" |
| 1967 | Boy Meets Girl | Maria | Episode: "Flight of the Kingfisher" |
| 1968 | Dixon of Dock Green | Anna | Episode: "An Ordinary Man" |
| 1969 | Thirty-Minute Theatre | Voice | Episode: "The Boat to Addis Ababa" |
| 1969 | ITV Playhouse | Kathie | Episode: "The Ha Ha" |
| 1972 | A Place in the Sun | Maid | Episode: "Achilles Heel" |
| 1972 | Jackanory Playhouse | The Witch | Episode: "The Wily Wizard and the Wicked Witch" |
| 1972–1973 | Words and Pictures | Various Voices | 20 episodes |
| 1973 | Doctor in Charge | Doris | Episode: "Men without Women" |
| 1974 | World of Laughter | Various parts | 6 episodes |
| 1974 | Fall of Eagles | Anna Vyrubova | Episode: "Tell the King the Sky is Falling" |
| 1975 | The Girls of Slender Means | Jane Wright | 3 episodes |
| 1976 | Christmas Box | Mrs. Kaplan | Television film |
| 1976 | Angels | June Morris | 2 episodes |
| 1976 | Kizzy | Mrs. Doe | 2 episodes |
| 1976 | The Glittering Prizes | Olive Wise | TV serial |
| 1976 | The Water Margin | Voice | English dub of Japanese series |
| 1976, 1982 | Crown Court | Marilyn Munro; Mrs. King | 2 episodes |
| 1977 | Play for Today | Veronica | Episode: "The Thin Edge of the Wedge" |
| 1977 | Spasms | Rose Finn | Television film |
| 1978 | Monkey | Voice | English dub of Japanese series Saiyûki 52 episodes |
| 1980 | The Lost Tribe | Queenie | TV serial |
| 1980 | Tales of the Unexpected | Mary Burge | Episode: "Fat Chance" |
| 1981 | Take a Letter, Mr. Jones | Maria | 6 episodes |
| 1981 | A Kick Up the Eighties | Various roles | 3 episodes |
| 1981 | The History Man | Melissa Tordoroff | 3 episodes |
| 1983 | The Black Adder | Infanta Maria Escalosa of Spain | Episode: "The Queen of Spain's Beard" |
| 1984 | Freud | Baroness | TV serial |
| 1985 | Oliver Twist | Mrs. Corney | TV serial |
| 1985 | Honour, Profit and Pleasure | Elephant and Castle | Television film |
| 1986 | The Life and Loves of a She-Devil | Nurse Hopkins | 2 episodes |
| 1986 | Blackadder II | Lady Whiteadder | Episode: "Beer" |
| 1986 | A Little Princess | Miss Amelia | 6 episodes |
| 1986 | Scotch and Wry | Various | Television film |
| 1987 | Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story | Elsa Maxwell | Television film |
| 1988 | Blackadder's Christmas Carol | Queen Victoria | Television Special |
| 1988 | Mr Majeika | Wilhelmina Worlock | 2 episodes |
| 1989 | Murderers Among Us | Mrs. Rajzman | Television film |
| 1990 | Orpheus Descending | Vee Talbot | Television film |
| 1990 | The Finding | Poll | Television film |
| 1990 | Screen Two | Nellie | Episode: "Old Flames" |
| 1991 | Tonight at 8.30 | Mrs. Wadhurst | 2 episodes |
| 1992 | Stalin | Nadezhda Krupskaya | Television film |
| 1992 | Frannie's Turn | Frannie Escobar | 6 episodes |
| 1993 | The Comic Strip Presents... | Mother | Episode: "Demonella" |
| 1994 | Just William | Miss Polliter | Episode: "William's Busy Day" |
| 1994 | Moonacre | Old Elspeth | 6 episodes |
| 1995 | Cold Comfort Farm | Mrs. Beetle | Television film |
| 1997 | The IMAX Nutcracker | Sugar Plum | Short film |
| 1997 | The Phoenix and the Carpet | Cook | BBC TV serial |
| 1997 | The Place of Lions | Miss Cole | Television film |
| 1998 | Vanity Fair | Miss Crawley | TV serial |
| 1998 | The First Snow of Winter | Sean McDuck | Voice; UK version |
| 1998 | Supply & Demand | Chief Superintendent Edna Colley | TV serial |
| 1998, 2001 | Rugrats | Shirley Finster | Voice; 3 episodes |
| 2000 | Dharma & Greg | Chloe | Episode: "Midwife Crisis" |
| 2004 | Agatha Christie's Marple | Mrs. Price-Ridley | Episode: The Murder at the Vicarage |
| 2004 | The Life and Death of Peter Sellers | Peg Sellers | Television film, HBO |
| 2005 | Wallis & Edward | Bessie Merryman | Television film |
| 2005 | Inconceivable | Malva | Episode: "Balls in Your Court" |
| 2006 | Jam & Jerusalem | Mrs. Midge | Season 2, Episode 6 |
| 2008 | Kingdom | Henny | Episode 2.04 |
| 2009 | The Sarah Jane Adventures | Leef Slitheen-Blathereen | Voice; 2 episodes |
| 2010 | Tinga Tinga Tales | Giraffe and Squirrel | Voice; Recurring Role |
| 2010 | Merlin | Grunhilda | Episode: "The Changeling" |
| 2011 | Doc Martin | Shirley | Episode: Born with a Shotgun |
| 2012–2015 | Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries | Prudence Elizabeth Stanley | 12 episodes |
| 2013 | Hebburn | Millie | Christmas special |
| 2014 | Nina Needs to Go! | Nana Sheila | Voice; 15 episodes |
| 2014 | Trollied | Rose | Series 4 |
| 2016 | Plebs | Iona | Episode: "The Cupid" |
| 2016–2017 | Bottersnikes and Gumbles | Weathersnike | 3 episodes |
| 2016–2018 | Rake | Huntley-Brown | 3 episodes |
| 2017 | Bucket | Mim | 4 episodes |
| 2017 | Family Guy | Right Eyeball | Voice; Episode: "Emmy-Winning Episode" |
| 2018–2021 | Call the Midwife | Sister Mildred/Mother Mildred | 7 episodes |
| 2019 | 101 Dalmatian Street | Bessie | Voice; Episode: "A Summer to Remember" |
| 2020 | The Windsors | Queen Victoria | Episode: #3.1 |
| 2021 | Apple & Onion | Queen Victoria Sponge | Voice; Episode: "For Queen and Country" |
| 2022 | Dog Squad | Sylvie | Voice; 3 episodes |
| 2023 | Doctor Who | The Meep | Voice; "The Star Beast" |
| 2023 | Hilda | Astrid | Voice; 4 episodes |
| 2023 | Mog's Christmas | Aunt | Voice |

### Video games

| Year | Title | Role(s) | Ref(s) |
| 2021 | Wallace & Gromit: The Big Fix Up | BERYL | |
| 2023 | Wallace & Gromit in The Grand Getaway | BERYL | |

### Non-fiction television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2005 | Dickens in America | Herself | 10 episodes |
| 2016 | The Real Marigold Hotel | Herself | BBC TV documentary series |
| 2018 | Miriam's Big American Adventure | Herself | BBC TV documentary series |
| 2019 | Miriam's Dead Good Adventure | Herself | BBC TV documentary series |
| 2020 | Miriam's Big Fat Adventure | Herself | BBC TV documentary series |
| 2020 | Miriam Margolyes: Almost Australian | Herself | ABC TV documentary series |
| 2021, 2022 | Miriam and Alan: Lost in Scotland | Herself | C4 TV documentary series |
| 2022 | Miriam Margolyes: Up for Grabs | Herself | An Alan Yentob imagine... documentary for BBC TV |
| 2022 | Miriam Margolyes Australia Unmasked | Herself | ABC TV documentary series |
| 2022 | Miriam's Dickensian Christmas | Herself | C4 TV documentary |
| 2023 | Irish Road Trip with Miriam Margolyes | Herself | SBS TV documentary series |
| 2024 | Impossibly Australian | Herself | ABC TV documentary series |
| 2024 | Miriam Margolyes: A New Australian Adventure | Herself | BBC TV documentary series |
Notes
* The Thief and the Cobbler (1993) – the voice of the Maiden from Mombasa (original version only; the character was not heard at all in the re-edited versions and another actor was never available in all the re-edited versions)
* The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (2004) – Peg Sellers – note this film was shown in cinemas in the UK, Ireland, and Australia – it aired on cable television on the HBO network in the US.

### Theatre

| Year | Title | Role | Venue |
| 1970 | Fiddler on the Roof | Matchmaker | UK Tour |
| 1972 | Threepenny Opera | Nelly | Piccadilly Theatre, London |
| 1974 | Canterbury Tales | Wife of Bath | Bristol Old Vic |
| 1975 | Kennedy's Children | Performer | Arts Theatre, London |
| 1976 | The White Devil | Zanche the Moor | Old Vic Theatre, London |
| 1978 | Cloud Nine | Performer | Joint Stock/Royal Court Tour |
| 1979 | Flaming Bodies | Psychiatrist | ICA |
| 1984 | 84 Charing Cross Road | Helen Hanff | Colchester |
| 1985–87 | Gertrude Stein and a Companion | Gertrude Stein | Edinburgh Festival Hampstead Theatre Australian Tour |
| 1986 | Man Equals Man | Widow Begbick | Almeida Theatre, London |
| 1988 | Orpheus Descending | Vee Talbot | Theatre Royal Haymarket, London |
| 1989–91 | Dickens' Women | Performer | Edinburgh Festival Hampstead Theatre Duke of York's Theatre, London |
| 1993 | She Stoops to Conquer | Mrs. Hardcastle | Queen's Theatre, London |
| 1995 | The Killing of Sister George | June Buckridge | Ambassadors Theatre, London |
| 1999 | The Cherry Orchard | Madame Ranevskaya | Theatre Royal, York |
| 2001 | Romeo and Juliet | Nurse | Ahmanson Theater, Los Angeles |
| 2001 | The Vagina Monologues | Performer | Arts Theatre, London |
| 2003 | The Way of the World | Lady Wishfort | Sydney Theatre Company |
| 2004 | Blithe Spirit | Madame Arcati | Melbourne Theatre Company |
| 2006 | The Importance of Being Earnest | Miss Prism | Ahmanson Theater, Los Angeles Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York |
| 2006 | Wicked | Madame Morrible | Apollo Victoria Theatre, London |
| 2008 | Wicked | Madame Morrible | George Gershwin Theater, New York |
| 2009 | Realism | Performer | Melbourne Theatre Company |
| 2009 | Endgame | Nell | Duchess Theatre, London |
| 2010 | Me and My Girl | The Duchess | Crucible Theatre, Sheffield |
| 2011 | A Day in the Death of Joe Egg | Grace | Citizens' Theatre, Glasgow |
| 2012 | Dickens' Women | Performer | World Tour |
| 2014 | Neighbourhood Watch | Ana | Adelaide State Theatre |
| 2014 | I'll Eat You Last | Sue Mengers | Melbourne Theatre Company |
| 2015 | The Importance of Being Miriam | Performer | Australian Tour |
| 2017 | Madame Rubinstein | Helena Rubinstein | Park Theatre, London |
| 2019 | The Lady in the Van | Miss Shepherd | Melbourne Theatre Company |
| 2019 | Sydney & The Old Girl | Nell Stock | Park Theatre, London |
| 2024 | White Rabbit Red Rabbit | Performer | @sohoplace, London |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 1989 | Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle | Supporting Actress | Little Dorrit | Won |
| 1991 | Laurence Olivier Award | Best Actress in a Musical | Dickens' Women | Nominated |
| 1993 | Sony Radio Award | Best Actress On Radio | The Queen and I | Won |
| 1994 | British Academy Film Award | Best Supporting Actress | The Age of Innocence | Won |
| 1997 | The Talkies Performer of the Year | — | Oliver Twist | Won |
| 2001 | Audiofile's Earphones Award | — | A Christmas Carol | Won |
| 2007 | Theatregoer's Choice Award | Best Supporting Actress in a Musical | Wicked | Won |
| 2010 | Theatregoer's Choice Award | Best Supporting Actress in a Play | Endgame | Won |
| 2018 | Audiofile's Earphones Award | — | Bleak House | Won |
Margolyes was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2002 New Year Honours for Services to Drama.