
Linda Bassett
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Linda Bassett was born in the Kentish village of Pluckley - location for the television series The Darling Buds of May (1991). She was brought up in Pimlico, South London, by her typist mother and police officer father. She became interested in acting as a child when she was frequently taken to see plays in London, most notably at the Old Vic, the famous classical theater. On leaving school, Linda went to work at the Old Vic as an usherette and catering manager, before going to read English at Leeds University. However, she dropped out after a year and became involved in a local drama group which put on plays in community-based locations, such as schools. She regards this as her theatrical schooling, having had no formal training. She made her London stage debut at the age of 32 in 1982 and, in 1991, joined the Royal Shakespeare Company. Although she was a well-regarded stage performer, it was the 1999 film version of the play East Is East (1999) (in which she had been an original stage cast member) which brought her to a larger audience and, throughout the 2000s, she has been a familiar face in a variety of films and television series. In the late 1980s, she returned to live in Pluckley.
Known for
Credits

The Reader (2008)
as Ms. Brenner

The Hours (2002)
as Nelly Boxall

Calendar Girls (2003)
as Cora

Kinky Boots (2005)
as Mel

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (2023)
as Queenie

Effie Gray (2014)
as Anna

Mary Reilly (1996)
as Mary's Mother

Haunted (1995)
as Madame Brontski

Cass (2008)
as Doll

Don Quixote (2000)
as Housekeeper

East Is East (1999)
as Ella Khan

Separate Lies (2005)
as Maggie

Oscar and Lucinda (1997)
as Betty Stratton

Colour Me Kubrick (2005)
as Trolley Lady

Spivs (2004)
as Auntie Vee

Let Him Have It (1991)
as Mrs. Miles

The Martins (2001)
as Anthea

A Village Affair (1995)
as Gwen

Carnage: Swallowing the Past (2017)
as Dr Yasmine Vondenburg

Paris by Night (1989)
as Janet Swanton
Lounge Act (2000)
Actor

Far from the Madding Crowd (1998)
as Maryann Money

Waiting for the Moon (1987)
as Gertrude Stein

West Is West (2010)
as Ella Khan

Alive and Kicking (1996)
as Doctor

This Little Life (2003)
as Nurse Nina

Loved Up (1995)
as Mum

Careful How You Go (2018)
Actor

The Life and Crimes of William Palmer (1998)
as Mary Thornton

Beautiful People (1999)
as Sister

Bare Roots (2026)
as Sue

A Small Dance (1991)
as Sandra Matkin

News Hounds (1990)
as Virginia Lyddon

Spoonface Steinberg (1998)
as Mrs. Spud

Skallagrigg (1994)
as Susan

National Theatre Live: People (2013)
as Iris

In The Cold Light Of Day (1994)
as Mrs. Loveless
The English Harem (2005)
as Monica Pringle





