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 Order of the Phoenix (2007)
as Dolores Umbridge
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010)
as Dolores Umbridge
Alice in Wonderland (2010)
as Talking Flowers (voice)
Chicken Run (2000)
as Bunty (voice)
Maleficent (2014)
as Knotgrass
Sense and Sensibility (1995)
as Charlotte Jennings Palmer
Paddington 2 (2017)
as Aunt Lucy (voice)
Paddington in Peru (2024)
as Aunt Lucy (voice)
Freedom Writers (2007)
as Margaret Campbell
Nanny McPhee (2005)
as Mrs. Blatherwick
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019)
as Knotgrass
Paddington (2014)
as Aunt Lucy (voice)
The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! (2012)
as Queen Victoria (voice)
Arthur Christmas (2011)
as Mrs Santa (voice)
Downton Abbey (2019)
as Maud Bagshaw
Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022)
as Maud Bagshaw
Shakespeare in Love (1998)
as Nurse
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (2023)
as Bunty (voice)
The Awakening (2011)
as Maud Hill
Pride (2014)
as Hefina
Much Ado About Nothing (1993)
as Margaret
Another Year (2010)
as Janet
Taking Woodstock (2009)
as Sonia Teichberg
The Canterville Ghost (2023)
as Mrs Umney (voice)
Vera Drake (2004)
as Vera Drake
Citizen X (1995)
as Mrs. Burakov
Shadow Man (2006)
as Ambassador Cochran
Twelfth Night (1996)
as Maria
Amulet (2020)
as Sister Claire
& Sons (2026)
as Isabel
Finding Your Feet (2017)
as Sandra Abbott
The Girl (2012)
as Alma Reville Hitchcock
I'll Be There (2003)
as Dr. Bridget
Peter's Friends (1992)
as Mary Charleston
My Family and Other Animals (2005)
as Mother
Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends (2022)
as Self
The Gruffalo and Me: The Remarkable Julia Donaldson (2020)
as reader
Harry Potter: A History Of Magic (2017)
as Narrator
The Snow Queen (1995)
as Ivy / Angorra
Remember Me? (1997)
as Lorna
A Bunch of Amateurs (2008)
as Mary
The Far Traveller (2020)
as Narrator
Bright Young Things (2003)
as Lady Brown
Blackball (2003)
as Bridget
White Other (2010)
as Lynne McDermott
Testimony (2025)
as Narrator (voice)
Jack and the Beanstalk (1999)
as Dilly (voice)
The Wind in the Willows (2006)
as Barge Lady
How About You... (2007)
as Hazel Nightingale
National Theatre Live: Follies (2017)
as Sally Durant Plummer
London: The Modern Babylon (2012)
as Spoken Quotations (voice)
Don't Leave Me This Way (1993)
as Bridget Bennet
That Day We Sang (2014)
as Enid
Crush (2002)
as Janine
Deadly Advice (1994)
as Beth Greenwood
Antonia and Jane (1990)
as Jane Hartman
Victoria Wood with All the Trimmings (2000)
as Mrs. Cottisloe
The Englishman's Wife (1990)
as Stephanie
Three and Out (2008)
as Rosemary Cassidy
The Ugly Duckling (1997)
as Scruffy (voice)
Rat (2000)
as Conchita Flynn
National Theatre Live: Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (2017)
as Martha
The Virgin of Liverpool (2003)
as Sylvia Conlon
Adapting Austen (2009)
as Self
Roots (1992)
as Jenny Beales
Comrades (1987)
as Betsy Loveless
Victoria Wood - That Musical We Made (2014)
as Self
The Snow Queen's Revenge (1996)
as Elspeth / Rowena (voice)
Guilty Hearts (2007)
as Naomi
The Adventures of Toad (1996)
as Voice
National Theatre Live: Mrs. Warren's Profession (2025)
as Mrs Peggy Warren
The Magical World of Julia Donaldson (2020)
as Self - Readings
Jim Carter: Lonnie Donegan and Me (2016)
as Self
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2012)
as Mrs. Lovett
Where Have I Been All Your Life? (2007)
as Angela
Pride: The True Story (2015)
as Herself
Stephen Fry: 50 Not Out (2007)
as Self
The Adventures of Mole (1995)
as Voice
Ready (2002)
as Naomi
The Wind in the Willows (1995)
as Mother Squirrel
The Heat of the Day (1989)
as Louie
A Masculine Ending (1992)
as Bridget Bennet
Another Life (2001)
as Ethel Graydon
Bill Douglas: Intent on Getting the Image (2006)
as Herself
They Never Slept (1991)
as The Producer
Mole's Christmas (1994)
as (voices)
Victorian Britain on Film (2021)
as Narrator
Mouse and Mole at Christmas Time (2013)
as Shrew (voice)
Psychoville Halloween Special (2010)
as Grace Andrews
Sense and Sensibility: 25th Anniversary Reunion (2021)
as Self
Gypsy (2015)
as Rose
Clay (2008)
as Mary Doonan
Yellowbacks (1990)
as Cheryl Newman
West the Road (—)
Actor
A Confession As Told By ITV News (2019)
as Imelda Staunton - Self / Karen Edwards
Little Bird (2017)
as First Officer Simpkins
The Pen (1995)
Actor
Easy Money (1982)
as Mary Price