Hannah Waddingham
Hannah Waddingham (born 28 July 1974) is a British actress and singer, known for starring in "Ted Lasso" and various West End shows. She is particularly known for her performances in the original West End production of "Spamalot", the 2010 Regent's Park revival of "Into the Woods", and "The Wizard of Oz" (as the Wicked Witch of the West). She has received three Olivier Award nominations for her work. In 2015, she joined the cast of the fifth season of the HBO series "Game of Thrones" as Septa Unella, as well as appearing as an ensemble member  in the 2012 film adaptation of "Les Misérables" and 2018 British psychological thriller "Winter Ridge " in a primary role. Since 2020, Waddingham has played the role of Rebecca Welton in the Apple TV+ comedy series "Ted Lasso", for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series and the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2021 and 2022. Early life and education. Waddingham was born in Wandsworth in London. Her mother, Melodie Kelly, was an opera singer, as were both her maternal grandparents. Her mother joined the  English National Opera when Waddingham was eight years old, and she grew up around the theatre. Waddingham is a graduate of the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts. She has a four octave vocal range. She started out in dinner theatre, performing in the interactive comedy "Joni and Gina's Wedding". Career. Stage career. Waddingham has been a stage actress on both London's West End and New York's Broadway. She performed as Starbird in "Space Family Robinson" (Julian & Stephen Butler, 2002); and Suzanne Valadon in "Lautrec". Waddingham portrayed the Lady of the Lake in "Spamalot" both in the  London production and then on Broadway. She received an Olivier Award nomination for the role. She received outstanding reviews for her portrayal of Desirée Armfeldt in Trevor Nunn's revival of "A Little Night Music", including being described by one critic as the "Joanna Lumley of musical theatre". Waddingham subsequently received a further Olivier Award nomination in 2010 for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance in "Night Music". In mid-2010, Waddingham played the Witch in the production of "Into the Woods" at London's Open Air Theatre. She originated the role of The Wicked Witch of the West  in the West End production of "The Wizard of Oz", which opened on 1 March 2011 at the London Palladium and was the first to perform the new Webber and Rice song "Red Shoes Blues". She left the production on 4 September 2011. Waddingham won the whatsonstage.com Theatergoers Choice Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical for her performance. In 2012, Waddingham starred in Chichester Festival Theatre's revival of "Kiss Me, Kate". The show transferred to the Old Vic Theatre on London's South Bank in November 2012. Screen career. Waddingham had a small role in the 2012  film "Les Misérables". In 2014, she starred on the ITV comedy "Benidorm". Waddingham portrayed the "Shame Nun", Septa Unella, in season 5 and 6 of "Game of Thrones". She started filming nine weeks after giving birth to her daughter, and did her own stunts for a scene in which she is waterboarded. She was given the role's iconic "shame bell" as a parting gift. She also has a recurring role on the Netflix series "Sex Education" as Jackson's overbearing mother, Sophia Marchetti. Since 2020, Waddingham has portrayed Rebecca Welton, the owner of AFC Richmond on the Apple TV+  series "Ted Lasso". The show has been praised for its "refreshing" portrayal of supportive female friendship between Rebecca and Juno Temple's character Keeley. Waddingham does her own singing in the season one episode "Make Rebecca Great Again" and the season two episodes "Carol of the Bells" and "No Weddings and a Funeral". In 2021, she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series and the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for the role. Waddingham will portray Lady Bellaston in the ITV drama miniseries "Tom Jones", based on  Henry Fielding's 1749 novel. She has also been cast in Disney's forthcoming sequel "Hocus Pocus 2". Recordings. Billed simply as Hannah, Waddingham placed "Our Kind of Love" in the UK Singles Chart in October 2000, where it peaked at No. 41. She later sang the role of Starbird on the soundtrack recording of "Space Family Robinson" (composers: Julian Butler; Stephen Butler), released by Pop! Records in May 2002 to coincide with the stage production (also featuring Waddingham as Starbird) which ran for three weeks at London's Pleasance Theatre in May 2002. She played the role of Christine  in the Andrew Lloyd Webber and Ben Elton musical The Beautiful Game in London’s West End and sings the role in the cast recording. Personal life. Waddingham is a single mother to a daughter, Kitty, who has an autoimmune disease, Henoch–Schönlein purpura. She keeps her Emmy award in her daughter's bedroom to remind her that "mummy will only ever be away when it's for a really, blooming good reason."