Dawn French

{{Infobox comedian
| name          = Dawn French
| image         = Dawn French 4.jpg
| imagesize     = 200px
| caption       = French at the 2005 Make Poverty History march.
| birth_name    = Dawn Roma French
| birth_date    = 
| birth_place   = Holyhead, Wales, UK
| nationality   = British
| medium        = Actress, writer, comedienne
| genre         =
| subject       =
| notable_work  = Various in French & SaundersThe Reverend Boadicea Geraldine Granger in The Vicar of DibleyVarious in Murder Most Horrid
| influences    = John Cleese
| active        = 1981–present
| spouse        =  (divorced); One adopted daughter: Billie
| module = {{Infobox comedian awards
  |child=yes
  | baftaawards = Fellowship with Jennifer Saunders }}
}}

Dawn French (born 11 October 1957) is a British comedian and actress. 

French studied acting at the London Central School of Speech and Drama, and met Jennifer Saunders there in 1977. French and Saunders became famous when they appeared on a comedy series called The Comic Strip. They wrote the famous comedy series French & Saunders which was first on BBC TV in 1987. She has been nominated for seven BAFTA Awards and also won a Fellowship BAFTA along with Saunders.

French is also well known for appearing as Geraldine Granger in British sitcom The Vicar of Dibley. In her career in movie, French played "The Fat Lady" picture in the movie Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and voiced the beaver in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

French is known for her larger figure. She tries to promote the idea that "big" can be beautiful. As a result, she has her own line of clothes, Sixteen47.  The name is from the statistic that 47% of British females are at least a size 16. The clothes are made to look good on larger women.

Credits
TelevisionThe Comic Strip (1982)Five Go Mad in Dorset (1982)Five Go Mad on Mescaline (1983)The Young Ones (1982–1984)Girls On Top (1985–1986)Happy Families (1985)Kate Bush – Experiment IV (Video)(1986)French and Saunders (1987–2007)Murder Most Horrid (1991–1999)Absolutely Fabulous (1992)The Legends of Treasure Island (1993–1995)The Vicar of Dibley (1994–2007) Geraldine GrangerSex & Chocolate (1997)Let Them Eat Cake (1999)Ted and Alice (2002)Wild West (2002–2004)Marple: Sleeping Murder (2005)Jam and Jerusalem (2006, 2008, 2009)Dawn French's Girls Who Do Comedy (2006)Little Britain Abroad (2006)Marple (2006)High Table (2007)The Meaning of Life (2007)Dawn French's Boys Who Do Comedy (2007)Lark Rise to Candleford (2008 & 2011)Psychoville (2009–2011)The Paul O'Grady Show (2009) [Guest Host]Alan Carr: Chatty Man (2009)Roger & Val Have Just Got In (2010 – present)Paul O'Grady Live (2010)

TheatreMe and Mamie O'RourkeWhen I Was a Girl I Used to Scream and ShoutAll Souls' Night, Lyric TheatreSwan Lake (1996)Then Again (1997)Side By Side (1997)A Midsummer Night's Dream (2001)My Brilliant Divorce (2003)Smaller (2005)La fille du régiment (2007)Still Alive (2008–2009) the last comedy sketch show done by French and Saunders

MoviesEat the Rich (1987)The Adventures of Pinocchio (1996)David Copperfield (1999)Maybe Baby (2000)Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) The Fat LadyThe Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) Mrs Beaver (Voice)Love and Other Disasters (2006)Coraline (2009) Miss Miriam Forcible/Other Forcible (Voice) Animals United (2010) Angie (Voice)

Awards and recognition
French and Saunders won the Golden Rose of Montreux award in 2002 and in 2003. She was listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy. In a 2006 poll French was named as the most admired female celebrity amongst women in Britain. 

BAFTA Awards
1989 – Nominated – BAFTA TV Award for Best Light Entertainment Performance in French and Saunders1991  – Nominated – BAFTA TV Award for Best Light Entertainment Performance in French and Saunders1998 – Nominated – BAFTA TV Award for Best Comedy Performance in The Vicar of Dibley2000 – Nominated – BAFTA TV Award for Best Comedy Performance in The Vicar of Dibley2001 – Nominated – BAFTA TV Award for Best Comedy Performance in The Vicar of Dibley2007 – Nominated – BAFTA TV Award for Best Comedy Performance in The Vicar of Dibley2009 – Won – BAFTA Fellowship – awarded with Jennifer Saunders
2011 – Nominated – BAFTA Best Female Performance In A Comedy Role in  Roger and Val Have Just Got In British Comedy Awards
1997 – Won – British Comedy Award for Best TV Comedy Actress in The Vicar of Dibley1998 – Nominated – British Comedy Award for Best TV Comedy Actress in The Vicar of Dibley2011 - Nominated - British Comedy Awards for Best TV Comedy Actress in Psychoville 

National Television Awards
1998 – Nominated – National Television Award for Most Popular Comedy Performer in The Vicar of Dibley2000 – Nominated – National Television Award for Most Popular Comedy Performer in The Vicar of Dibley2002 – Nominated – National Television Award for Most Popular Comedy Performance in Ted and Alice2003 – Nominated – National Television Award for Most Popular Comedy Performance in Wild WestOther
1991 – Won – Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award for TV- Light Entertainment in French and Saunders''
2001 – Along with Jennifer Saunders, declined an OBE.
2002 – Won – Rose d'Or Light Entertainment Festival Award shared with Jennifer Saunders

References

Other websites
 
 
 Biography at the Museum of Broadcast Communications 
 French and Saunders

English comedians
English movie actors
English stage actors
English television actors
1957 births
Living people