Imelda Staunton
Known for: Acting
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.
Filmography
Series
Midsomer Murders
Christine Cooper
1997
Series
Doctor Who
Interface (voice)
2005
Series
The Graham Norton Show
Self
2007
Series
The Crown
Queen Elizabeth II
2016
Series
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
Self
2005
Series
Golden Globe Awards
Self - Nominee
1944
Series
The One Show
Self
2006
Series
Natural World
Narrator
1983
Series
Tales from the Crypt
Sarah
1989
Film
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
Dolores Umbridge
2010
Series
Screen Two
The Producer
1985
Series
Playhouse
Mary Price
1974
Film
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Dolores Umbridge
2007
Series
The Oscars
Self
1953
Film
Alice in Wonderland
Talking Flowers (voice)
2010
Film
Maleficent
Knotgrass
2014
Series
Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg
Self
2022
Series
The Ruth Rendell Mysteries
Polly Flinders
1987
Series
ScreenPlay
Jane Hartman
1986
Series
ScreenPlay
Stephanie
1986
Series
Performance
Jenny Beales
1991
Series
Little Britain
Mrs. Mead
2003
Film
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
Knotgrass
2019
Series
Trying
Penny
2020
Series
Lily's Driftwood Bay
Rowena Rabbit (voice)
2014
Film
Paddington
Aunt Lucy (voice)
2014
Film
Chicken Run
Bunty (voice)
2000
Film
Paddington 2
Aunt Lucy (voice)
2017
Film
Nanny McPhee
Mrs. Blatherwick
2005
Film
Paddington in Peru
Aunt Lucy (voice)
2024
Series
Cranford
Miss Pole
2007
Film
Sense and Sensibility
Charlotte Jennings Palmer
1995
Film
Shakespeare in Love
Nurse
1998
Film
Freedom Writers
Margaret Campbell
2007
Series
A Bit of Fry & Laurie
1989
Series
Psychoville
Grace Andrews
2009
Film
Downton Abbey
Maud Bagshaw
2019
Film
Arthur Christmas
Mrs Santa (voice)
2011
Series
Big & Small
Twiba / Ruby (voice)
2008
Series
Big & Small
Twiba (voice)
2008
Series
David Copperfield
Mrs. Micawber
1999
Series
ShakespeaRe-Told
2005
Film
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget
Bunty (voice)
2023
Series
A Confession
Karen Edwards
2019
Film
Downton Abbey: A New Era
Maud Bagshaw
2022
Series
Fingersmith
Mrs. Sucksby
2005
Film
Much Ado About Nothing
Margaret
1993
Film
The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!
Queen Victoria (voice)
2012
Series
Frank Stubbs Promotes
Susan
1993
The Michael Ball Show
Self
2010
Series
Is It Legal?
1995
Series
Strange
Reverend Mary Truegood
2003
Series
The Singing Detective
Staff Nurse White
1986
Film
Pride
Hefina
2014
Series
Cambridge Spies
The Queen
2003
Film
Twelfth Night
Maria
1996
Look at the State We're In!
Councillor Johnson
1995
Film
Taking Woodstock
Sonia Teichberg
2009
Film
Citizen X
Mrs. Burakov
1995
Film
The Awakening
Maud Hill
2011
Series
Murder
DCI Billie Dory
2002
Film
Vera Drake
Vera Drake
2004
Series
Ladies in Charge
Edith
1986
Series
Alan Bennett's Talking Heads
Irene Ruddock
2020
Film
Crush
Janine
2002
Series
The Story of Musicals
Self – Narrator (voice)
2012
Film
Bright Young Things
Lady Brown
2003
Series
Flesh and Blood
Mary Bennett
2020
Film
The Canterville Ghost
Mrs Umney (voice)
2023
Thompson
Self
1988
Film
Finding Your Feet
Sandra Abbott
2017
Film
Another Year
Janet
2010
Film
& Sons
Isabel
2025
Series
If You See God, Tell Him
Muriel Spry
1993
Film
Peter's Friends
Mary Charleston
1992
Film
Shadow Man
Ambassador Cochran
2006
Film
The Girl
Alma Reville Hitchcock
2012
Up the Garden Path
1990
Film
Blackball
Bridget
2003
Film
Comrades
Betsy Loveless
1987
Film
Rat
Conchita Flynn
2000
Film
The Wind in the Willows
Barge Lady
2006
Film
Another Life
Ethel Graydon
2001
Film
A Bunch of Amateurs
Mary
2008
Film
Guilty Hearts
Naomi
2007
Film
Testimony
Narrator (voice)
2025
Film
A Masculine Ending
Bridget Bennet
1992
Film
Amulet
Sister Claire
2020
Film
Three and Out
Rosemary Cassidy
2008
Film
Harry Potter: A History Of Magic
Narrator
2017
Film
National Theatre Live: Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Martha
2017
Film
My Family and Other Animals
Mother
2005
Film
Don't Leave Me This Way
Bridget Bennet
1993
Film
The Snow Queen's Revenge
Elspeth / Rowena (voice)
1996
Film
The Ugly Duckling
Scruffy (voice)
1997
Film
Yellowbacks
Cheryl Newman
1990
Film
The Adventures of Toad
Voice
1996
Film
The Snow Queen
Ivy / Angorra
1995
Film
How About You...
Hazel Nightingale
2007
Film
Antonia and Jane
Jane Hartman
1990
Film
Stephen Fry: 50 Not Out
Self
2007
Series
Thirties in Colour: Countdown to War
Self - Narrator
2021
Tommy & Tuppence
Aunt Ada
2026
Film
I'll Be There
Dr. Bridget
2003
Film
Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends
Self
2022
Film
Remember Me?
Lorna
1997
Film
National Theatre Live: Follies
Sally Durant Plummer
2017
Film
The Adventures of Mole
Voice
1995
Live! Girls! Present Dogtown
2006
Film
White Other
Lynne McDermott
2010
Film
London: The Modern Babylon
Spoken Quotations (voice)
2012
The Gruffalo and Me: The Remarkable Julia Donaldson
reader
2020
Film
The Virgin of Liverpool
Sylvia Conlon
2003
Film
The Englishman's Wife
Stephanie
1990
Sense and Sensibility: 25th Anniversary Reunion
Self
2021
Film
Clay
Mary Doonan
2008
Film
That Day We Sang
Enid
2014
Film
Roots
Jenny Beales
1992
Film
The Heat of the Day
Louie
1989
Film
Deadly Advice
Beth Greenwood
1994
Film
Gypsy
Rose
2015
Film
Jack and the Beanstalk
Dilly (voice)
1999
Film
Victoria Wood with All the Trimmings
Mrs. Cottisloe
2000
Film
Psychoville Halloween Special
Grace Andrews
2010
Film
Victorian Britain on Film
Narrator
2021
West the Road
Film
They Never Slept
The Producer
1991
Film
Bill Douglas: Intent on Getting the Image
Herself
2006
Victoria Wood - That Musical We Made
Self
2014
Film
Mole's Christmas
(voices)
1994
Ready
Naomi
2002
Film
The Wind in the Willows
Mother Squirrel
1995
A Confession As Told By ITV News
Imelda Staunton - Self / Karen Edwards
2019
Film
Mouse and Mole at Christmas Time
Shrew (voice)
2013
Film
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Mrs. Lovett
2012
The Magical World of Julia Donaldson
Self - Readings
2020
Adapting Austen
Self
2009
Film
Jim Carter: Lonnie Donegan and Me
Self
2016
Film
National Theatre Live: Mrs. Warren's Profession
Mrs Peggy Warren
2025
Film
Little Bird
First Officer Simpkins
2017
Film
The Far Traveller
Narrator
2020
Film
Easy Money
Mary Price
1982
Film
Where Have I Been All Your Life?
Angela
2007
The Pen
1995