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
Kinky Boots (2005)
as Mel
Haunted (1995)
as Madame Brontski
Calendar Girls (2003)
as Cora
Effie Gray (2014)
as Anna
Mary Reilly (1996)
as Mary's Mother
East Is East (1999)
as Ella Khan
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (2023)
as Queenie
Don Quixote (2000)
as Housekeeper
Colour Me Kubrick (2005)
as Trolley Lady
Cass (2008)
as Doll
Separate Lies (2005)
as Maggie
The Martins (2001)
as Anthea
Oscar and Lucinda (1997)
as Betty Stratton
Carnage: Swallowing the Past (2017)
as Dr Yasmine Vondenburg
Loved Up (1995)
as Mum
West Is West (2010)
as Ella Khan
Spivs (2004)
as Auntie Vee
Alive and Kicking (1996)
as Doctor
Lounge Act (2000)
Actor
Paris by Night (1989)
as Janet Swanton
This Little Life (2003)
as Nurse Nina
A Village Affair (1995)
as Gwen
Let Him Have It (1991)
as Mrs. Miles
News Hounds (1990)
as Virginia Lyddon
Far from the Madding Crowd (1998)
as Maryann Money
Beautiful People (1999)
as Sister
Waiting for the Moon (1987)
as Gertrude Stein
National Theatre Live: People (2013)
as Iris
Careful How You Go (2018)
Actor
Spoonface Steinberg (1998)
as Mrs. Spud
The Life and Crimes of William Palmer (1998)
as Mary Thornton
A Small Dance (1991)
as Sandra Matkin
In The Cold Light Of Day (1994)
as Mrs. Loveless
Skallagrigg (1994)
as Susan
The English Harem (2005)
as Monica Pringle
Bare Roots (2026)
as Sue