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Vera Drake
Background:
“I reached the point now where I have become as comfortable on a movie set as I
am on stage. Before, I was trying to figure it out, how much should I emote,
where should I stand? But now I know more about the camera and what goes into
the mix, technically. I’m much more comfortable doing film now.” Imelda Staunton
British actress of stage, film and television Imelda Staunton gained
appreciation and acclaim after starring in director Mike Leigh’s period drama,
Vera Drake (2004), where she was awarded a Venice Film Festival Award, a
European Film Award, a Toronto Film Critics Association Award, a National
Society of Film Critics Award, a BAFTA Award, a National Society of Film Critics
Award, as well as an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and SAG nominations. Before
that spectacular performance, she spent years in supporting roles and earned
considerably recognition with her roles in such films as Kenneth Branagh’s
Peter’s Friends (1992), Much Ado About Nothing (1993), Sense and Sensibility
(1995), Shakespeare in Love (1998, shared a Screen Actors Guild Award) and Rat
(2000). Her more recent and upcoming projects include Nanny McPhee (2005),
Freedom Writers (2007) and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007, as
Dolores Umbridge). On the small screen, in 2005, she appeared as Mrs. Mead in
several episodes of “Little Britain.”
As an applauded stage actress, Staunton has collected three Laurence Olivier
Theatre awards, two London Critics Circle Theatre (Drama Theatre) awards and
several award-nominations. Her most notable credits include “A Chorus of
Disapproval” (1985), “The Corn is Green” (1985) and “Into the Woods” (1990).
More recently, in 2007, she appeared in Frank McGuinness’ “There Came a Gypsy
Riding.”
5-foot Staunton has been married to fellow actor Jim Carter since 1985 and has a
daughter with him. In spite of their hectic schedule, in 2006, she proudly
declared that after 21 years of marriage, the perfectly-matched couple has only
been away from each other for three weeks. The same year, Staunton was awarded
the O.B.E (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in New Year’s Honors List
for her services to drama.
Irish Immigrants
Childhood and Family:
Daughter of Joe Staunton, a road-worker and laborer, and Bridie McNicholas, a
hairdresser, Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton was born on January 9,
1956, in London, England. Both of her parents are first-generation immigrants
from County Mayo, Ireland, where her mother hailed from Bohola and her father
from Ballyvary. She was educated at London’s La Sainte Union Convent and from
1974 to 1976, studied acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in
London, England. Upon graduating from RADA, she spent six years at the English
Repertory.
In 1985, Imelda married English actor Jim Carter (born in 1951). Together, they
welcomed a daughter named Bessie in 1993.
Potter’s Dolores Umbridge
Career:
RADA graduate Imelda Staunton began her career on stage and worked with the
National Theatre Company, where she enjoyed success by taking home a Laurence
Olivier Theatre and a London Critics Circle Theatre (Drama Theatre) award for
Best Supporting Actress for her fine work in Alan Ayckbourn’s “A Chorus of
Disapproval” (1985). Her performance in Emlyn Williams’ semi-autobiographical
play, “The Corn is Green” (1985), at the Old Vic Theatre cemented her status as
an accomplished stage performer when she once again was handed both the Laurence
Olivier Theatre Award and the London Critics Circle Theatre Award. Later, in
1987, she received an Oliver nomination for her starring turn in the Royal
Shakespeare Company’s production of “The Wizard of Oz,” which she followed by
playing Sonya in Michael Blakemore’s production of “Uncle Vanya” for the
Vaudeville Theatre, the next year.
Following an all-embracing career on stage, Staunton branched out into
television and film. She landed her first significant TV role as Nurse White in
the award-winning classic musical drama “The Singing Detective” (1986), written
by Dennis Potter and starring Michael Gambon, and had small roles in such
unremarkable movies as Comrades (1987) and They Never Slept (1990). She also
starred as Jane Hartman in Beeban Kidron’s comedy Antonia and Jane (1991).
However, Staunton fared better on stage as the Baker’s Wife in the original
London production of Stephen Sondheim’s “Into the Woods” (1990), from which she
eventually took home a Best Actress Olivier.
In 1992, the British thespian teamed up with Shakespearean actor-director
Kenneth Branagh for his ensemble drama Peter’s Friends. The actress’ part in the
movie launched her movie career, especially for her critically acclaimed comedic
performance. Led by the success, the two reunited in Branagh’s highly praised
movie Much Ado About Nothing, in 1993, where Staunton gained international
recognition for playing Margaret. She went on to give good impressions with her
parts in movies like Ang Lee’s Sense and Sensibility (1995, as the picky
Charlotte Palmer), adapted from a book by Jane Austen, Trevor Nunn’s adaptation
of Twelfth Night (1996, as the roguish housekeeper Maria), as well as the
Academy Award winner Shakespeare in Love (1998, as the tart-tongued nurse),
wherein she shared a Screen Actors Guild for Outstanding Performance by a Cast.
Meanwhile, she also acted in Richard Eyre’s musical production of “Guys and
Dolls” (1996) at the National Theatre, where she nabbed a Laurence Olivier
Theatre nomination for her starring role as Miss Adelaide, and in Sam Mendes’
production of “Habeas Corpus” (1996) at the Donmar Warehouse, opposite Jim
Broadbent and Brenda Blethyn. In 1999, the actress could be seen on the small
screen playing Mrs. Wilkins Micawber in the BBC/Masterpiece Theatre miniseries
“David Copperfield,” opposite Bob Hoskins as Mr. Wilkins Micawber.
A voice-over role as Bunty in the animated film Chicken Run and a courageous
costarring role as the title character’s wife, Conchita, in Rat, in which she
was nominated for a 2000 IFTA for Best Actress, were Staunton’s opening work in
the new millennium. She then took on the supporting role of the tough woman
detective in the BBC hit drama Murder (2002) and was cast in several British
films, including The Virgin of Liverpool (2003) and Stephen Fry’s Bright Young
Things (2003), before the applauded performer landed the title role of a
lifetime in Vera Drake (2004), a drama about a woman who unlawfully helps
desperate women induce miscarriages in 1950s England. Under the direction of
Mike Leigh, Staunton delivered her best performance to date and won a number of
awards for her outstanding efforts, including a BAFTA, a National Society of
Film Critics, a British Independent Film, a European Film, a Chicago Film
Critics Association, a Venice Film Festival, a Toronto Film Critics Association,
and a Los Angeles Film Critics Association for Best Actress. The role also
brought her many more nominations, most notably an Oscar, a Golden Globe and SAG
nominations.
Following the huge victory, Staunton found herself playing Mrs. Sucksby in the
made-for-TV film Fingersmith (2005), Mrs. Blatherwick in the Emma Thompson and
Colin Firth vehicle Nanny McPhee (2005), Naomi in 3 & 3 (2005) and Polly in the
TV version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2005). She also had a recurring role as
Mrs. Mead in the television series “Little Britain” (2005). In 2006, she was
cast as Barge Lady in Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows.
Recently, Staunton returned to the stage in Frank McGuinness’s “There Came a
Gypsy Riding.” She also found herself supporting Oscar recipient Hilary Swank in
Freedom Writers (2007), a drama directed by Richard LaGravenese. This July
(2007), the award-winning player will play Dolores Umbridge in the new Harry
Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
Awards:
