Fenella Woolgar | |
---|---|
Born | Fenella Woolgar 4 August 1969 Hillingdon, England |
Education | Durham University Royal Academy of Dramatic Art |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1999–present |
Spouse | Robert Harland (m. 2006) |
Children | 3 |
Website | fenellawoolgar |
Fenella Woolgar [1] (born 4 August 1969) is an English film, theatre, television and radio actress. She is known for her roles in films including Bright Young Things , Swallows and Amazons and Victoria and Abdul and for TV shows including Doctor Who , as crime novelist Agatha Christie, Inside Number 9 , Call the Midwife and The Buccaneers .
Woolgar was born in London. Her mother is of Irish descent and she has joint UK and Irish citizenship. Woolgar's early years were spent in New Canaan, Connecticut, USA. She was educated at Mayfield School, Durham University, and then Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). [1]
At university, along with acting she directed Murder in the Cathedral in Durham Cathedral and wrote and performed comedy in The Durham Revue.
Following Woolgar's graduation from RADA she worked in rep at The Royal Exchange, Manchester, York Theatre Royal, Sheffield Crucible and for the BBC in both television and radio.
She was cast as Agatha in Stephen Fry's film Bright Young Things for which she was nominated for a number of awards. She subsequently went on to work with Mike Leigh in Vera Drake and Mr. Turner , and Woody Allen in Scoop and You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger . Other notable films include Victoria and Abdul and Swallows and Amazons. [2]
Woolgar's recent TV work includes series 1 and 2 of The Buccaneers for Apple TV, The Deal for Bande Apart films and as Margaret Thatcher in The Reckoning for the BBC. She did two series as Alison Scotlock in Home Fires . She joined Call the Midwife as Sister Hilda for 4 series. She played Agatha Christie in Doctor Who . [3]
Woolgar has most recently worked in theatre at the Royal Court, the Donmar, the National Theatre, the Old Vic and in the West End. She worked with Conor McPherson in The Veil at the National Theatre. She won the Clarence Derwent Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Brian Friel’s adaptation of Hedda Gabler. She won the Sunday Times Culture Award for Stage Performance of the Year for playing Margaret Thatcher in Handbagged in the West End.
She is regularly heard on BBC radio and was nominated for Best Actress on the radio for An American Rose in which she played Rosemary Kennedy. Roles include Mrs Dalloway for BBC Radio 4 and Edith Wharton in both The Jinx Element and Ethan Frome . She starred in the titular role in BBC Radio 4 comedy Dot, written by Ed Harris. She has narrated many audiobooks and was nominated for Audio Book of the Year for Life after Life by Kate Atkinson. [4]
She also paints portraits in oils and won Celebrity Portrait Artist of the Year.
Woolgar has been nominated for several awards, including:
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2003 | Bright Young Things | Agatha | Nominated - Empire Award for Best Newcomer Nominated - London Film Critics' Circle Award for Supporting Actress of the Year Nominated - British Independent Film Award for Most Promising Newcomer Nominated - Evening Standard Film Awards Best Newcomer |
Stage Beauty | Aurelia Meresvale | ||
Vera Drake | Hester | ||
2004 | Wah-Wah | June Broughton | |
2006 | Scoop | Jane Cook | |
2007 | St Trinian's | Miss Cleaver | |
2009 | You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger | Jane | |
2011 | Cheerful Weather for the Wedding | Nancy Dakin | |
2013 | Mr. Turner | Elizabeth Eastlake | |
2016 | Swallows and Amazons | Miss Crummock | |
Whisky Galore! | Dolly | ||
2017 | Victoria & Abdul | Miss Phipps | |
2019 | Mr Jones | Miss Stephenson | |
Judy | Margaret Hamilton | ||
2024 | The Choral | Lady Horsfall |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2000 | Poirot | Ellis | Episode: "Lord Edgware Dies" |
2001 | People Like Us | Episode: "The Bank Manager" | |
The Way We Live Now | Lady Julia Monogram | Mini-Series | |
Mr Charity | Lady Sophie | Series Regular | |
2003 | Eroica | Princess Marie Lobkowitz | TV film |
2004 | He Knew He Was Right | Arabella French | Mini-series |
2006 | Mr. Loveday's Little Outing | Angela Moping | TV film |
2007 | Jekyll | Min | Series regular |
2008 | Freezing | Heidi | 1 episode |
Doctor Who | Agatha Christie | Episode: "The Unicorn and the Wasp" | |
2010 | Agatha Christie’s Poirot | Miss Whittaker | Episode: "Hallowe'en Party" |
2011 | Silk | Wendy Ford | TV series, 1 episode |
Case Histories | Amelia Land | Part 1 & 2 "Case Histories" | |
2013 | Spies of Warsaw | Lady Angela Hope | TV Mini-series, 4 episodes |
2015-2016 | Home Fires | Alison Scotlock | Series regular |
2016 | War & Peace | Catiche Kuragina | 3 episodes |
2017 | The Halcyon | Lady Ashworth | 1 episode |
Harlots | Lady Repton | 4 episodes | |
Quacks | Lady Campbell | 2 episodes | |
2018-2022 | Call the Midwife | Sister Hilda | Series regular |
2018 | Inside No. 9 | June | Episode: "And the Winner Is....." |
Midsomer Murders | Hazel Webster | Episode: "Till Death Do Us Part" | |
2019 | Plebs | Jocasta | Episode: "The Grumbrella" |
2020 | Unprecedented: Real Time Theatre from a State of Isolation | Tara | 1 episode |
2021 | Dalgliesh | Sister Mavis Gearing | 2 episodes: "Shroud for a Nightingale" |
2023 | The Reckoning | Margaret Thatcher | 1 episode |
2023-2024 | The Buccaneers | Lady Brightlingsea | Main role |
2024 | The Deal | Margaret Davies | Main role |
Includes:
Includes:
Dame Vanessa Redgrave is an English actress. Throughout her career spanning over six decades, she has garnered numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards and an Olivier Award, making her one of the few performers to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting. She has also received various honorary awards, including the BAFTA Fellowship Award, the Golden Lion Honorary Award, and an induction into the American Theatre Hall of Fame.
Pamela Ferris is a Welsh actress. She has starred in numerous British television series, including Connie (1985), The Darling Buds of May (1991–1993), Where the Heart Is (1997–2000), Rosemary & Thyme (2003–2006), and Call the Midwife (2012–2016). For her role as Peggy Snow in Where the Heart Is, Ferris was nominated three times for Most Popular Actress at the National Television Awards. Ferris is best known to younger audiences for her role as Miss Agatha Trunchbull in the film Matilda (1996).
Dame Sheila Cameron Hancock is an English actress, singer, and author. She has performed in both plays and musicals in London’s theatre scene, and her Broadway debut in Entertaining Mr. Sloane (1966) earned her a Tony Award nomination for Best Lead Actress in a Play.
Dame Eileen June Atkins, is an English actress. She has worked in the theatre, film, and television consistently since 1953. In 2008, she won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress and the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie for Cranford. She is also a three-time Olivier Award winner, winning Best Supporting Performance in 1988 and Best Actress for The Unexpected Man (1999) and Honour (2004). She was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1990 and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 2001.
Niamh Cusack is an Irish actress. Born to a family with deep roots in the performing arts, she has performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company and Royal National Theatre, and many others. Her most notable television role was as Dr. Kate Rowan in the UK series Heartbeat (1992–1995). Other TV and film credits include Always and Everyone (1999–2002), The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends (1992–1995), The Closer You Get (2000), Agatha Christie's Marple, Midsomer Murders (2008), A Touch of Frost (2010), In Love with Alma Cogan (2011), Testament of Youth (2014), Departure (2015), ChickLit, The Ghoul, The Virtues (2019), Death in Paradise (2021), and The Tower (2023). She has been nominated at IFTA for her performance in Too Good to be True (2003).
Judy Catherine Claire Parfitt is an English theatre, film, and television actress. She made her film debut in the 1950s, followed by a supporting role in the BBC television serial David Copperfield (1966). She also appeared as Queen Gertrude in Tony Richardson's 1969 film adaptation of Hamlet.
Mary Wimbush was an English actress whose career spanned sixty years.
Rosalind Marie Elliott was an English actress. Her career spanned 70 years on stage, screen, and television. Her film appearances include Blue Murder at St Trinian's (1957), Carry On Nurse (1959), Carry On Teacher (1959), Tom Jones (1963), and About a Boy (2002). Among her TV roles were playing Beryl in the BBC sitcom Gimme Gimme Gimme (1999–2001) and Cynthia Goodman in Friday Night Dinner.
Kay Adshead is a poet, playwright, theatremaker, actress and producer.
Malcolm Sinclair is a British stage and television actor and former President of Trade Union, Equity 2010–18 when he stood down after 4 terms and was replaced by Maureen Beattie. He played Assistant Chief Constable Freddy Fisher in the television series Pie in the Sky from 1994 to 1997.
Lolita Chakrabarti is a British actress and writer.
Lyndsey Marshal is an English actress best known for her performance in The Hours, as the recurring character Cleopatra on HBO's Rome, and as Lady Sarah Hill in BBC period drama Garrow's Law.
Linda Bassett is an English actress. Her television credits include Victoria Wood's dinnerladies (1999), Lark Rise to Candleford (2008–11), Grandma's House (2010–12) and Call the Midwife (2015–present).
Oluwunmi Mosaku is a Nigerian-born British actress. She is known for her roles as Joy in the BBC Two miniseries Moses Jones (2009) and Holly Lawson in the ITV series Vera (2011–2012). She won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Gloria Taylor in the TV film Damilola, Our Loved Boy (2016). In 2019, she starred in the fifth series of Luther. In 2020, she starred as Ruby Baptiste in HBO's Lovecraft Country, and starting in 2021, starred as Hunter B-15 in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) television series Loki, and reprised the role in the 2024 film Deadpool & Wolverine.
Marion Bailey is an English actress. She is best known for her work with her partner, filmmaker Mike Leigh, including the films Meantime (1983), All or Nothing (2002), Vera Drake (2004), Mr. Turner (2014), for which she was nominated Supporting Actress of the Year by the London Film Critics' Circle, and Peterloo (2018). In 2019 and 2020, she portrayed Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in the third and fourth seasons of The Crown on Netflix, for which she won a Screen Actors Guild award winner for best ensemble in 2020 and 2021.
Rachel Pickup is a British theatre, television and film actress. Her first major role was as Kaye Bentley in the 10-part BBC TV series No Bananas, with Alison Steadman and Tom Bell. She has since appeared in many British and American TV shows and has worked extensively in theatre, playing most of the major Shakespearean heroines. She played Portia in The Merchant Of Venice at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London, opposite Jonathan Pryce.
Phoebe Fox is an English actress, who was nominated for Olivier and Evening Standard awards for work in theatre. She has appeared in the Black Mirror episode "The Entire History of You" (2011), The Woman in Black: Angel of Death (2015), The Hollow Crown: Wars of the Roses (2016), and The Great (2020–2023).
Jessica Raine is an English actress. She is best known for her roles as Jenny Lee in the television series Call the Midwife (2012–2014) and Verity Lambert in the television film An Adventure in Space and Time (2013). Raine portrayed Catherine Parr in Becoming Elizabeth, a historical drama featuring Elizabeth I as a teenager.
Handbagged is a play by the British playwright Moira Buffini, examining the relationship between Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and Margaret Thatcher, the British prime minister from 1979 to 1990.
Joanne Mitchell is an English film, stage and TV actress. In 2011 she co-founded Mitchell Brunt Films with husband and Emmerdale colleague Dominic Brunt and has worked as producer/writer on several of the company's films.