7 Facts About Brenda Blethyn

1. In May 2011, Brenda Blethyn made her debut in the title role in ITV's detective series, Vera as the North of England character Vera Stanhope based on the novels of Ann Cleeves.

2. In the film, for which Brenda Blethyn had to learn French, she portrays a mother waiting for news of her missing child after the London bombings of July 2005, striking up a friendship with a Muslim man, whose child has disappeared.

3. In early 2005, Brenda Blethyn appeared in the indie-drama On a Clear Day alongside Peter Mullan.

4. In 2002, Brenda Blethyn appeared with Christina Ricci in the dark comedy Pumpkin, a financial disaster.

5. In 2001 Brenda Blethyn signed on to star in her own CBS sitcom, The Seven Roses, in which she was to play the role of a widowed innkeeper and matriarch of an eccentric family.

6. In the same year, Brenda Blethyn starred in James Bogle's film adaption of Tim Winton's 1988 novel In the Winter Dark.

7. Born in Ramsgate, Kent, Brenda Blethyn was the youngest of nine children in a Roman Catholic, working-class family.