Imelda Staunton
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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.
Known for
Credits
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010)
as Dolores Umbridge
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
as Dolores Umbridge
Alice in Wonderland (2010)
as Talking Flowers (voice)
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019)
as Knotgrass
Maleficent (2014)
as Knotgrass
Paddington in Peru (2024)
as Aunt Lucy (voice)
Chicken Run (2000)
as Bunty (voice)
Sense and Sensibility (1995)
as Charlotte Jennings Palmer
Paddington (2014)
as Aunt Lucy (voice)
Paddington 2 (2017)
as Aunt Lucy (voice)
Nanny McPhee (2005)
as Mrs. Blatherwick
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (2023)
as Bunty (voice)
Downton Abbey (2019)
as Maud Bagshaw
Arthur Christmas (2011)
as Mrs Santa (voice)
The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! (2012)
as Queen Victoria (voice)
Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022)
as Maud Bagshaw
Freedom Writers (2007)
as Margaret Campbell
Shakespeare in Love (1998)
as Nurse
Much Ado About Nothing (1993)
as Margaret
Citizen X (1995)
as Mrs. Burakov
The Canterville Ghost (2023)
as Mrs Umney (voice)
Pride (2014)
as Hefina
The Awakening (2011)
as Maud Hill
Vera Drake (2004)
as Vera Drake
Taking Woodstock (2009)
as Sonia Teichberg
Shadow Man (2006)
as Ambassador Cochran
& Sons (2026)
as Isabel
Amulet (2020)
as Sister Claire
Another Year (2010)
as Janet
Finding Your Feet (2017)
as Sandra Abbott
Peter's Friends (1992)
as Mary Charleston
Twelfth Night (1996)
as Maria
The Girl (2012)
as Alma Reville Hitchcock
Blackball (2003)
as Bridget
Bright Young Things (2003)
as Lady Brown
Remember Me? (1997)
as Lorna
How About You... (2007)
as Hazel Nightingale
The Snow Queen (1995)
as Ivy / Angorra
Victoria Wood with All the Trimmings (2000)
as Mrs. Cottisloe
Three and Out (2008)
as Rosemary Cassidy
Testimony (2025)
as Narrator (voice)
The Ugly Duckling (1997)
as Scruffy (voice)
The Wind in the Willows (2006)
as Barge Lady
West the Road (—)
Actor
I'll Be There (2003)
as Dr. Bridget
My Family and Other Animals (2005)
as Mother
London: The Modern Babylon (2012)
as Spoken Quotations (voice)
White Other (2010)
as Lynne McDermott
Guilty Hearts (2007)
as Naomi
Stephen Fry: 50 Not Out (2007)
as Self
Harry Potter: A History Of Magic (2017)
as Narrator
The Adventures of Toad (1996)
as Voice
A Bunch of Amateurs (2008)
as Mary
Crush (2002)
as Janine
Rat (2000)
as Conchita Flynn
Antonia and Jane (1990)
as Jane Hartman
The Virgin of Liverpool (2003)
as Sylvia Conlon
The Far Traveller (2020)
as Narrator
The Magical World of Julia Donaldson (2020)
as Self - Readings
The Gruffalo and Me: The Remarkable Julia Donaldson (2020)
as reader
Another Life (2001)
as Ethel Graydon
Where Have I Been All Your Life? (2007)
as Angela
A Masculine Ending (1992)
as Bridget Bennet
National Theatre Live: Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (2017)
as Martha
The Heat of the Day (1989)
as Louie
Jack and the Beanstalk (1999)
as Dilly (voice)
Deadly Advice (1994)
as Beth Greenwood
Roots (1992)
as Jenny Beales
National Theatre Live: Mrs. Warren's Profession (2025)
as Mrs Peggy Warren
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2012)
as Mrs. Lovett
Don't Leave Me This Way (1993)
as Bridget Bennet
Adapting Austen (2009)
as Self
That Day We Sang (2014)
as Enid
Clay (2008)
as Mary Doonan
The Snow Queen's Revenge (1996)
as Elspeth / Rowena (voice)
Comrades (1987)
as Betsy Loveless
National Theatre Live: Follies (2017)
as Sally Durant Plummer
Bill Douglas: Intent on Getting the Image (2006)
as Herself
Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends (2022)
as Self
Psychoville Halloween Special (2010)
as Grace Andrews
Gypsy (2015)
as Rose
Little Bird (2017)
as First Officer Simpkins
The Wind in the Willows (1995)
as Mother Squirrel
Pride: The True Story (2015)
as Herself
Easy Money (1982)
as Mary Price
The Adventures of Mole (1995)
as Voice
The Englishman's Wife (1990)
as Stephanie
Sense and Sensibility: 25th Anniversary Reunion (2021)
as Self
They Never Slept (1991)
as The Producer
Mouse and Mole at Christmas Time (2013)
as Shrew (voice)
Mole's Christmas (1994)
as (voices)
Yellowbacks (1990)
as Cheryl Newman
Jim Carter: Lonnie Donegan and Me (2016)
as Self
Victoria Wood - That Musical We Made (2014)
as Self
The Pen (1995)
Actor
Victorian Britain on Film (2021)
as Narrator
Ready (2002)
as Naomi
A Confession As Told By ITV News (2019)
as Imelda Staunton - Self / Karen Edwards