Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton (born January 9, 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.
Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton (born January 9, 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.
Staunton has performed in a variety of plays and musicals in London throughout her career, winning four Laurence Olivier Awards; three for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for her roles in the musicals Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd, and Gypsy, and one for Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Play for her work in both A Chorus of Disapproval and The Corn is Green. Her other stage appearances include The Beggar's Opera, The Wizard of Oz, Uncle Vanya, Guys and Dolls, Entertaining Mr Sloane, and Good People. She has been nominated for 13 Olivier Awards.
On film, Staunton starred in Antonia and Jane; in several supporting roles in Kenneth Branagh's comedy Peter's Friends, his adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing; Ang Lee's adaptation of Sense and Sensibility; and the costume romantic comedy Shakespeare in Love. She drew critical acclaim for her performance in the title role in Mike Leigh's Vera Drake, for which she won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role and the Venice Film Festival Volpi Cup for Best Actress, in addition to being nominated for Best Actress by the Academy Awards, the Golden Globe Awards and the Screen Actors Guild Awards. She later gained a wider audience for her portrayal as Dolores Umbridge in the Harry Potter films The Order of the Phoenix and The Deathly Hallows - Part 1. She continued supporting roles in Nanny McPhee, reunited with Leigh in Another Year, and the film continuation of Downton Abbey. She portrayed human rights activist Hefina Headon in the historical film Pride, and starred in the British comedy Finding Your Feet. She also provided voice acting roles for the films Chicken Run, Arthur Christmas, and Paddington.
On television, Staunton starred in the sitcoms Up the Garden Path and Is it Legal?. Her performance in My Family and Other Animals earned her a nomination for the International Emmy Award for Best Actress, while her roles in Return to Cranford and The Girl earned her BAFTA TV Award nominations for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. For the latter, she was also nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie. She portrayed Queen Elizabeth II in the final two seasons of The Crown.
External links
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/nm0001767
Wikipedia: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q234798
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Filmography (Movies)
Testimony
Character:Narrator (voice)
Release Date:21/11/2025
National Theatre Live: Mrs. Warren's Profession
Character:Mrs Peggy Warren
Release Date:23/10/2025
& Sons
Character:Isabel
Release Date:07/09/2025
Paddington in Peru
Character:Aunt Lucy (voice)
Release Date:08/11/2024
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget
Character:Bunty (voice)
Release Date:08/12/2023
The Canterville Ghost
Character:Mrs Umney (voice)
Release Date:22/09/2023
Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends
Character:Self
Release Date:03/05/2022
Downton Abbey: A New Era
Character:Maud Bagshaw
Release Date:27/04/2022
Victorian Britain on Film
Character:Narrator
Release Date:20/11/2021
Sense and Sensibility: 25th Anniversary Reunion
Character:Self
Release Date:12/10/2021
The Gruffalo and Me: The Remarkable Julia Donaldson
Character:reader
Release Date:25/12/2020
The Magical World of Julia Donaldson
Character:Self - Readings
Release Date:23/12/2020
Amulet
Character:Sister Claire
Release Date:24/07/2020
The Far Traveller
Character:Narrator
Release Date:18/03/2020
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
Character:Knotgrass
Release Date:16/10/2019
A Confession As Told By ITV News
Character:Imelda Staunton - Self / Karen Edwards
Release Date:07/10/2019
Downton Abbey
Character:Maud Bagshaw
Release Date:12/09/2019
Finding Your Feet
Character:Sandra Abbott
Release Date:26/12/2017
National Theatre Live: Follies
Character:Sally Durant Plummer
Release Date:16/11/2017
Paddington 2
Character:Aunt Lucy (voice)
Release Date:09/11/2017
Harry Potter: A History Of Magic
Character:Narrator
Release Date:28/10/2017
National Theatre Live: Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Character:Martha
Release Date:18/05/2017
Little Bird
Character:First Officer Simpkins
Release Date:22/04/2017
Jim Carter: Lonnie Donegan and Me
Character:Self
Release Date:17/05/2016
Gypsy
Character:Rose
Release Date:27/12/2015
That Day We Sang
Character:Enid
Release Date:26/12/2014
Victoria Wood - That Musical We Made
Character:Self
Release Date:26/12/2014
Paddington
Character:Aunt Lucy (voice)
Release Date:24/11/2014
Pride
Character:Hefina
Release Date:12/09/2014
Maleficent
Character:Knotgrass
Release Date:28/05/2014
Mouse and Mole at Christmas Time
Character:Shrew (voice)
Release Date:16/12/2013
The Girl
Character:Alma Reville Hitchcock
Release Date:22/10/2012
London: The Modern Babylon
Character:Spoken Quotations (voice)
Release Date:03/08/2012
The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!
Character:Queen Victoria (voice)
Release Date:12/03/2012
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Character:Mrs. Lovett
Release Date:10/03/2012
Arthur Christmas
Character:Mrs Santa (voice)
Release Date:10/11/2011
The Awakening
Character:Maud Hill
Release Date:17/08/2011
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
Character:Dolores Umbridge
Release Date:17/11/2010
White Other
Character:Lynne McDermott
Release Date:13/11/2010
Another Year
Character:Janet
Release Date:05/11/2010
Psychoville Halloween Special
Character:Grace Andrews
Release Date:31/10/2010
Alice in Wonderland
Character:Talking Flowers (voice)
Release Date:03/03/2010
Taking Woodstock
Character:Sonia Teichberg
Release Date:26/08/2009
Adapting Austen
Character:Self
Release Date:17/03/2009
A Bunch of Amateurs
Character:Mary
Release Date:17/11/2008
Three and Out
Character:Rosemary Cassidy
Release Date:25/04/2008
Clay
Character:Mary Doonan
Release Date:30/03/2008
How About You...
Character:Hazel Nightingale
Release Date:16/11/2007
Where Have I Been All Your Life?
Character:Angela
Release Date:16/11/2007
Stephen Fry: 50 Not Out
Character:Self
Release Date:11/08/2007
Guilty Hearts
Character:Naomi
Release Date:30/07/2007
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Character:Dolores Umbridge
Release Date:08/07/2007
Freedom Writers
Character:Margaret Campbell
Release Date:05/01/2007
The Wind in the Willows
Character:Barge Lady
Release Date:18/12/2006
Shadow Man
Character:Ambassador Cochran
Release Date:05/09/2006
Bill Douglas: Intent on Getting the Image
Character:Herself
Release Date:18/06/2006
My Family and Other Animals
Character:Mother
Release Date:27/12/2005
Nanny McPhee
Character:Mrs. Blatherwick
Release Date:21/10/2005
Vera Drake
Character:Vera Drake
Release Date:22/10/2004
Bright Young Things
Character:Lady Brown
Release Date:03/10/2003
I'll Be There
Character:Dr. Bridget
Release Date:13/06/2003
Blackball
Character:Bridget
Release Date:18/05/2003
The Virgin of Liverpool
Character:Sylvia Conlon
Release Date:15/03/2003
Crush
Character:Janine
Release Date:07/06/2002
Ready
Character:Naomi
Release Date:01/01/2002
Another Life
Character:Ethel Graydon
Release Date:15/06/2001
Victoria Wood with All the Trimmings
Character:Mrs. Cottisloe
Release Date:25/12/2000
Rat
Character:Conchita Flynn
Release Date:06/10/2000
Chicken Run
Character:Bunty (voice)
Release Date:23/06/2000
Jack and the Beanstalk
Character:Dilly (voice)
Release Date:11/10/1999
Shakespeare in Love
Character:Nurse
Release Date:11/12/1998
The Ugly Duckling
Character:Scruffy (voice)
Release Date:04/09/1997
Remember Me?
Character:Lorna
Release Date:02/01/1997
Twelfth Night
Character:Maria
Release Date:25/10/1996
The Adventures of Toad
Character:Voice
Release Date:30/07/1996
The Snow Queen's Revenge
Character:Elspeth / Rowena (voice)
Release Date:01/01/1996
The Wind in the Willows
Character:Mother Squirrel
Release Date:25/12/1995
The Adventures of Mole
Character:Voice
Release Date:24/12/1995
Sense and Sensibility
Character:Charlotte Jennings Palmer
Release Date:13/12/1995
The Pen
Character:
Release Date:25/08/1995
Citizen X
Character:Mrs. Burakov
Release Date:25/02/1995
The Snow Queen
Character:Ivy / Angorra
Release Date:01/01/1995
Mole's Christmas
Character:(voices)
Release Date:25/12/1994
Deadly Advice
Character:Beth Greenwood
Release Date:29/04/1994
Don't Leave Me This Way
Character:Bridget Bennet
Release Date:30/05/1993
Much Ado About Nothing
Character:Margaret
Release Date:07/05/1993
Roots
Character:Jenny Beales
Release Date:28/11/1992
Peter's Friends
Character:Mary Charleston
Release Date:18/09/1992
A Masculine Ending
Character:Bridget Bennet
Release Date:12/04/1992
They Never Slept
Character:The Producer
Release Date:20/01/1991
Yellowbacks
Character:Cheryl Newman
Release Date:30/08/1990
Antonia and Jane
Character:Jane Hartman
Release Date:18/07/1990
The Englishman's Wife
Character:Stephanie
Release Date:08/01/1990
The Heat of the Day
Character:Louie
Release Date:09/06/1989
Comrades
Character:Betsy Loveless
Release Date:23/08/1987
Easy Money
Character:Mary Price
Release Date:28/05/1982
Television Appearances
Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg
Character:Self
Alan Bennett's Talking Heads
Character:Irene Ruddock
Trying
Character:Penny
Flesh and Blood
Character:Mary Bennett
A Confession
Character:Karen Edwards
The Crown
Character:Queen Elizabeth II
Lily's Driftwood Bay
Character:Rowena Rabbit (voice)
The Story of Musicals
Character:Self – Narrator (voice)
The Michael Ball Show
Character:Self
Psychoville
Character:
Big & Small
Character:
Cranford
Character:Miss Pole
The Graham Norton Show
Character:Self
Live! Girls! Present Dogtown
Character:
The One Show
Character:Self
ShakespeaRe-Told
Character:
Fingersmith
Character:Mrs. Sucksby
Doctor Who
Character:Interface (voice)
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
Character:Self
Little Britain
Character:Mrs. Mead
Strange
Character:Reverend Mary Truegood
Cambridge Spies
Character:The Queen
Murder
Character:DCI Billie Dory
David Copperfield
Character:Mrs. Micawber
Midsomer Murders
Character:Christine Cooper
Is It Legal?
Character:
Look at the State We're In!
Character:Councillor Johnson
If You See God, Tell Him
Character:Muriel Spry
Frank Stubbs Promotes
Character:Susan
Performance
Character:Jenny Beales
Up the Garden Path
Character:
Tales from the Crypt
Character:Sarah
A Bit of Fry & Laurie
Character:
Thompson
Character:Self
The Play on One
Character:Cheryl Newman
The Ruth Rendell Mysteries
Character:Polly Flinders
The Singing Detective
Character:Staff Nurse White
Ladies in Charge
Character:
Ladies in Charge
Character:Edith
Screen Two
Character:The Producer
Natural World
Character:Narrator
Playhouse
Character:Mary Price
The Oscars
Character:Self
Golden Globe Awards
Character:Self - Nominee
Images
