38 Facts About Imelda Staunton

Dame Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton was born on 9 January 1956 and is an English actress and singer.

Imelda Staunton was Olivier-nominated for The Beggar's Opera, The Wizard of Oz, Uncle Vanya, Guys and Dolls, Entertaining Mr Sloane, Good People, and Follies.

On film, Imelda Staunton took early roles in films such as Peter's Friends, Much Ado About Nothing, Sense and Sensibility, and Shakespeare in Love.

Imelda Staunton won a BAFTA Award for playing the title role of a working-class woman in Vera Drake.

Imelda Staunton later gained notoriety for playing Dolores Umbridge in two of the Harry Potter films in 2007 and 2010.

Imelda Staunton acted in Nanny McPhee, Another Year, Pride, and Downton Abbey, and voiced roles in Chicken Run, Arthur Christmas, and Paddington.

Imelda Staunton received Primetime Emmy Award and British Academy Television Award nominations for her portrayals of Alma Hitchcock in the HBO television film The Girl and Queen Elizabeth II in the Netflix historical series The Crown.

Imelda Staunton took roles in Antonia and Jane, Citizen X, David Copperfield, My Family and Other Animals, Cranford, and Flesh and Blood.

Imelda Staunton was born in Archway, North London, the only child of Bridie, a hairdresser, and Joseph Imelda Staunton, a labourer.

When Imelda Staunton was in her teens, her parents separated, both later meeting new partners.

Imelda Staunton graduated from RADA in 1976, then spent six years in British repertory theatre, including a period at the Northcott Theatre, Exeter, where she had the title role in Shaw's Saint Joan.

Imelda Staunton then moved on to roles the National Theatre, including Lucy Lockit in The Beggar's Opera, which earned her Olivier Award nominations for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical and Most Promising Newcomer of the Year in Theatre.

Imelda Staunton appeared in two revivals of Guys and Dolls at the National Theatre; the first in 1982 in which she met her husband Jim Carter and the second in 1996 in which she played Miss Adelaide and was nominated for the Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical.

In 1985, Imelda Staunton won her first Laurence Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role for her work in both The Corn Is Green at The Old Vic and A Chorus of Disapproval at the National Theatre.

Imelda Staunton played Dorothy Gale in the Royal Shakespeare Company's 1987 revival of The Wizard of Oz at the Barbican Centre, which earned her another Olivier nomination for Best Actress in a Musical.

Imelda Staunton won her first Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for playing the Baker's Wife in the original London production of Into the Woods.

Imelda Staunton appeared in two productions at the Almeida Theatre, firstly in the premiere of Frank McGuinness's There Came a Gypsy Riding in 2007 and secondly in a revival of Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance in 2011.

Imelda Staunton won her second and third Olivier Awards for Best Actress in a Musical for the two productions in 2013 and 2016 respectively.

Imelda Staunton performed the role of Sally in the 2017 National Theatre revival of Stephen Sondheim's Follies, alongside Janie Dee as Phyllis, and Philip Quast as Ben.

Imelda Staunton's performance won her another Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical.

Imelda Staunton then appeared in the 1991 film Antonia and Jane, and in the 1992 film Peter's Friends.

Imelda Staunton shared a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Performance by a Cast in 1998 for Shakespeare in Love.

Imelda Staunton portrayed Dolores Umbridge in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, a performance described as "coming close to stealing the show".

Imelda Staunton was nominated in the "British Actress in a Supporting Role" category at the London Film Critics Circle Awards.

Imelda Staunton provided the voice of the Talking Flowers in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, and played one of the lead roles in the ghost film The Awakening in 2011.

An August 2018 announcement revealed that Imelda Staunton would be among the new cast to join the original actors in Downton Abbey which started principal photography at about the same time.

Imelda Staunton played the wife of Detective Burakov in the 1995 HBO movie, Citizen X, which recounted the pursuit and capture of Russian serial killer Andrei Chikatilo.

Imelda Staunton was a voice artist on Mole's Christmas.

Imelda Staunton had a guest role playing Mrs Mead in Little Britain in 2005, and in 2007 played the free-thinking gossip, Miss Pole, in Cranford, the five-part BBC series based on Mrs Gaskell's novels.

Imelda Staunton's performance saw her nominated for a BAFTA Television Award and a Primetime Emmy Award.

Imelda Staunton played the role of a schoolboy as the lead character in the five part : "The Skool Days of Nigel Molesworth" for BBC Radio 4.

Imelda Staunton has narrated unabridged audio-book versions of many of Julia Donaldson's children's books, including The Gruffalo, The Gruffalo's Child, Monkey Puzzle, The Snail and the Whale, Stick Man and Zog, as well as other children's books.

Imelda Staunton is a patron for the Milton Rooms, a new arts centre in Malton, North Yorkshire along with Bill Nighy, Jools Holland and Kathy Burke.

Imelda Staunton reprised her role as Dolores Umbridge for the Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry attraction opening at Universal Epic Universe in 2025.

Imelda Staunton and her husband, actor Jim Carter, have a daughter, Bessie, born in 1993.

Imelda Staunton endorsed the Labour Party in the 2024 United Kingdom general election.

Imelda Staunton has received numerous accolades including a BAFTA Award, four Olivier Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award in addition to nominations for an Academy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, and two Primetime Emmy Awards.

Imelda Staunton was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2006 New Year Honours, Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2016 New Year Honours and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2024 Birthday Honours, all for services to drama, and the last additionally for charity.