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