IMELDA STAUNTON
Name: Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton
Born: 9 January 1956 London, England
Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton (born 9 January 1956) is an
English actress best known for her performances in the British comedy television
series Up the Garden Path and the films Harry Potter and the Order of the
Phoenix and Vera Drake. For the latter, in which she played the title character,
she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress.
Staunton was born in Archway, North London to Bridie (née McNicholas), a
hairdresser, and Joseph Staunton, a road-worker and labourer. Both of her
parents are first-generation Catholic immigrants from County Mayo, Ireland, with
her father coming from Ballyvary and her mother from Bohola. She attended La
Sainte Union Convent School, an all girls catholic school on the edge of
Hampstead Heath, from years 7 to 11. Staunton is married to the English actor
Jim Carter and they have a daughter, Bessie, born 1993.
Staunton trained for the stage at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, then spent
six years in English repertory, including a period at the Northcott Theatre,
Exeter where she had the title role in Shaw's Saint Joan (1979), before moving
back to London.
She was awarded the O.B.E. (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the
2006 New Year's Honours List for her services to drama.
One of her first films was an appearance in the 1992 movie Peter's Friends.
Other early roles include performances in Much Ado About Nothing (1993), Deadly
Advice (1993),Sense and Sensibility (1995) Twelfth Night (1996) , Chicken Run (2000),
Another Life (2001) and Bright Young Things (2003).
Staunton shared a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Performance by a Cast in
1998 for Shakespeare in Love. In 2004, she received the Best Actress honours at
the European Film Awards, the BAFTAs, and the Venice Film Festival for her
performance of the title role in Mike Leigh's Vera Drake, which also won Best
Picture. For the same role, she received Best Actress nominations for the 2005
Golden Globes and Academy Awards.
Staunton portrayed Dolores Umbridge in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
(2007). The Guardian described her as the "perfect choice for the part" and "one
of the film's greatest pleasures," "coming close to stealing the show." Moreover,
Staunton is also expected to return to the role of Dolores Umbridge in the film
adaption of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in 2010. She was nominated
in the "British Actress in a Supporting Role" category at the London Film
Critics Circle Awards.
Staunton has stated that her first job was a play by Goldoni. Her most recent
stage appearance was in the premiere of Frank McGuinness's There Came a Gypsy
Riding at the Almeida in 2007.
She is a three-time recipient of the Olivier Award, Britain's highest theatre
honour, for roles in A Chorus of Disapproval (1985), The Corn Is Green (1985),
and Into the Woods (1991), and was nominated for her performance as Miss
Adelaide in the 1996 revival of Guys and Dolls at the National Theatre.
Name: Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton
Born: 9 January 1956 London, England
Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton (born 9 January 1956) is an
English actress best known for her performances in the British comedy television
series Up the Garden Path and the films Harry Potter and the Order of the
Phoenix and Vera Drake. For the latter, in which she played the title character,
she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress.
Staunton was born in Archway, North London to Bridie (née McNicholas), a
hairdresser, and Joseph Staunton, a road-worker and labourer. Both of her
parents are first-generation Catholic immigrants from County Mayo, Ireland, with
her father coming from Ballyvary and her mother from Bohola. She attended La
Sainte Union Convent School, an all girls catholic school on the edge of
Hampstead Heath, from years 7 to 11. Staunton is married to the English actor
Jim Carter and they have a daughter, Bessie, born 1993.
Staunton trained for the stage at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, then spent
six years in English repertory, including a period at the Northcott Theatre,
Exeter where she had the title role in Shaw's Saint Joan (1979), before moving
back to London.
She was awarded the O.B.E. (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the
2006 New Year's Honours List for her services to drama.
One of her first films was an appearance in the 1992 movie Peter's Friends.
Other early roles include performances in Much Ado About Nothing (1993), Deadly
Advice (1993),Sense and Sensibility (1995) Twelfth Night (1996) , Chicken Run (2000),
Another Life (2001) and Bright Young Things (2003).
Staunton shared a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Performance by a Cast in
1998 for Shakespeare in Love. In 2004, she received the Best Actress honours at
the European Film Awards, the BAFTAs, and the Venice Film Festival for her
performance of the title role in Mike Leigh's Vera Drake, which also won Best
Picture. For the same role, she received Best Actress nominations for the 2005
Golden Globes and Academy Awards.
Staunton portrayed Dolores Umbridge in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
(2007). The Guardian described her as the "perfect choice for the part" and "one
of the film's greatest pleasures," "coming close to stealing the show." Moreover,
Staunton is also expected to return to the role of Dolores Umbridge in the film
adaption of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in 2010. She was nominated
in the "British Actress in a Supporting Role" category at the London Film
Critics Circle Awards.
Staunton has stated that her first job was a play by Goldoni. Her most recent
stage appearance was in the premiere of Frank McGuinness's There Came a Gypsy
Riding at the Almeida in 2007.
She is a three-time recipient of the Olivier Award, Britain's highest theatre
honour, for roles in A Chorus of Disapproval (1985), The Corn Is Green (1985),
and Into the Woods (1991), and was nominated for her performance as Miss
Adelaide in the 1996 revival of Guys and Dolls at the National Theatre.