Imelda Staunton
Biography
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
Dolores Umbridge
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Margaret Campbell
Freedom Writers
Nurse
Shakespeare in Love
Charlotte Jennings Palmer
Sense and Sensibility
Vera Drake
Vera Drake
Mrs. Blatherwick
Nanny McPhee
Bunty (voice)
Chicken Run
Mary Charleston
Peter's Friends
Margaret
Much Ado About Nothing
Talking Flowers (voice)
Alice in Wonderland
Sonia Teichberg
Taking Woodstock
Narrator
Guðríður víðförla
Dolores Umbridge
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
Ambassador Cochran
Shadow Man
Hazel Nightingale
How About You...
Barge Lady
The Wind in the Willows
Rosemary Cassidy
Three and Out
Bridget
Blackball
Janet
Another Year
Maria
Twelfth Night
Mother
My Family and Other Animals
Jenny Beales
Roots
Janine
Crush
Dr. Bridget
I'll Be There
Mary
A Bunch of Amateurs
Cheryl Newman
Yellowbacks
Naomi
Guilty Hearts
Bunty (voice)
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget
Mrs Santa (voice)
Arthur Christmas
Queen Victoria (voice)
The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!
Ethel Graydon
Another Life
Jane Hartman
Antonia and Jane
Aunt Lucy (voice)
Paddington in Peru
Maud Hill
The Awakening
Knotgrass
Maleficent
Maud Bagshaw
Downton Abbey: A New Era
Herself
Bill Douglas: Intent on Getting the Image
Alma Reville Hitchcock
The Girl
Conchita Flynn
Rat
Beth Greenwood
Deadly Advice
Hefina
Pride
The Producer
They Never Slept
Stephanie
The Englishman's Wife
Lorna
Remember Me?
Grace Andrews
Psychoville Halloween Special
Mrs Umney (voice)
The Canterville Ghost
Aunt Lucy (voice)
Paddington
Enid
That Day We Sang
Imelda Staunton - Self / Karen Edwards
A Confession As Told By ITV News
Self
Jim Carter: Lonnie Donegan and Me
Self
Stephen Fry: 50 Not Out
Self
Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends
Lady Brown
Bright Young Things
Shrew (voice)
Mouse and Mole at Christmas Time
Mrs. Cottisloe
Victoria Wood with All the Trimmings
Rose
Gypsy
Sylvia Conlon
The Virgin of Liverpool
Bridget Bennet
Don't Leave Me This Way
(voices)
Mole's Christmas
Mrs. Burakov
Citizen X
Bridget Bennet
A Masculine Ending
Spoken Quotations (voice)
London: The Modern Babylon
Sandra Abbott
Finding Your Feet
Scruffy (voice)
The Ugly Duckling
Betsy Loveless
Comrades
Aunt Lucy (voice)
Paddington 2
Victoria Wood - That Musical We Made
Martha
National Theatre Live: Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Mary Doonan
Clay
Narrator
Harry Potter: A History Of Magic
Sally Durant Plummer
National Theatre Live: Follies
Maud Bagshaw
Downton Abbey
Voice
The Adventures of Mole
Mary Price
Easy Money
Knotgrass
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
First Officer Simpkins
Little Bird
Lynne McDermott
White Other
Louie
The Heat of the Day
Sister Claire
Amulet
Ivy / Angorra
The Snow Queen
Mrs. Lovett
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Voice
The Adventures of Toad
reader
The Gruffalo and Me: The Remarkable Julia Donaldson
Naomi
Ready
The Pen
Self - Readings
The Magical World of Julia Donaldson
Isabel
& Sons
Narrator
Victorian Britain on Film
Elspeth / Rowena (voice)
The Snow Queen's Revenge
Mother Squirrel
The Wind in the Willows
Dilly (voice)
Jack and the Beanstalk
Mrs Peggy Warren
National Theatre Live: Mrs. Warren's Profession
Self
Adapting Austen
Self
Sense and Sensibility: 25th Anniversary Reunion
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
94
Gender
Female
Birthday
1956-01-09
Place of Birth
Archway, London, England, UK
Also Known As
Ιμέλντα Στόντον