Imelda Staunton
Known for Acting · 142 credits
- Born
- 1956-01-09 (age 70)
- Place of birth
- Archway, London, England, UK
- Also known as
- Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton
Biography
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.
Known For
TV Shows (45)
Midsomer Murders
1997
as Christine Cooper
Doctor Who
2005
as Interface (voice)
The Graham Norton Show
2007
as Self
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
2005
as Self
The Crown
2016
as Queen Elizabeth II
Golden Globe Awards
1944
as Self - Nominee
The One Show
2006
as Self
Natural World
1983
as Narrator
Tales from the Crypt
1989
as Sarah
Playhouse
1974
as Mary Price
Screen Two
1985
as The Producer
The Oscars
1953
as Self
Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg
2022
as Self
The Ruth Rendell Mysteries
1987
as Polly Flinders
Performance
1991
as Jenny Beales
Little Britain
2003
as Mrs. Mead
ScreenPlay
1986
as Jane Hartman / Stephanie
Lily's Driftwood Bay
2014
as Rowena Rabbit (voice)
Trying
2020
as Penny
Cranford
2007
as Miss Pole
A Bit of Fry & Laurie
1989
Psychoville
2009
as Grace Andrews
Big & Small
2008
as Twiba / Ruby (voice) / Twiba (voice)
ShakespeaRe-Told
2005
David Copperfield
1999
as Mrs. Micawber
The Michael Ball Show
2010
as Self
Fingersmith
2005
as Mrs. Sucksby
The Singing Detective
1986
as Staff Nurse White
Strange
2003
as Reverend Mary Truegood
A Confession
2019
as Karen Edwards
Cambridge Spies
2003
as The Queen
Frank Stubbs Promotes
1993
as Susan
Murder
2002
as DCI Billie Dory
Flesh and Blood
2020
as Mary Bennett
Look at the State We're In!
1995
as Councillor Johnson
Alan Bennett's Talking Heads
2020
as Irene Ruddock
If You See God, Tell Him
1993
as Muriel Spry
Ladies in Charge
1986
as Edith
Is It Legal?
1995
Up the Garden Path
1990
Thompson
1988
as Self
The Story of Musicals
2012
as Self – Narrator (voice)
Thirties in Colour: Countdown to War
2021
as Self - Narrator
Tommy & Tuppence
2026
as Aunt Ada
Live! Girls! Present Dogtown
2006
Movies (97)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
2010
as Dolores Umbridge
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
2007
as Dolores Umbridge
Alice in Wonderland
2010
as Talking Flowers (voice)
Maleficent
2014
as Knotgrass
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
2019
as Knotgrass
Chicken Run
2000
as Bunty (voice)
Paddington
2014
as Aunt Lucy (voice)
Paddington in Peru
2024
as Aunt Lucy (voice)
Paddington 2
2017
as Aunt Lucy (voice)
Nanny McPhee
2005
as Mrs. Blatherwick
Sense and Sensibility
1995
as Charlotte Jennings Palmer
Downton Abbey
2019
as Maud Bagshaw
Arthur Christmas
2011
as Mrs Santa (voice)
Freedom Writers
2007
as Margaret Campbell
Shakespeare in Love
1998
as Nurse
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget
2023
as Bunty (voice)
Downton Abbey: A New Era
2022
as Maud Bagshaw
The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!
2012
as Queen Victoria (voice)
Much Ado About Nothing
1993
as Margaret
Pride
2014
as Hefina
Citizen X
1995
as Mrs. Burakov
The Awakening
2011
as Maud Hill
Crush
2002
as Janine
The Canterville Ghost
2023
as Mrs Umney (voice)
Twelfth Night
1996
as Maria
Taking Woodstock
2009
as Sonia Teichberg
Vera Drake
2004
as Vera Drake
Another Year
2010
as Janet
Bright Young Things
2003
as Lady Brown
& Sons
2025
as Isabel
Peter's Friends
1992
as Mary Charleston
Shadow Man
2006
as Ambassador Cochran
The Girl
2012
as Alma Reville Hitchcock
Finding Your Feet
2017
as Sandra Abbott
Three and Out
2008
as Rosemary Cassidy
The Wind in the Willows
2006
as Barge Lady
A Masculine Ending
1992
as Bridget Bennet
Comrades
1987
as Betsy Loveless
Blackball
2003
as Bridget
Amulet
2020
as Sister Claire
National Theatre Live: Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
2017
as Martha
The Virgin of Liverpool
2003
as Sylvia Conlon
Harry Potter: A History Of Magic
2017
as Narrator
The Snow Queen's Revenge
1996
as Elspeth / Rowena (voice)
Yellowbacks
1990
as Cheryl Newman
Testimony
2025
as Narrator (voice)
Rat
2000
as Conchita Flynn
The Ugly Duckling
1997
as Scruffy (voice)
Another Life
2001
as Ethel Graydon
Stephen Fry: 50 Not Out
2007
as Self
Don't Leave Me This Way
1993
as Bridget Bennet
The Adventures of Mole
1995
as Voice
A Bunch of Amateurs
2008
as Mary
My Family and Other Animals
2005
as Mother
The Snow Queen
1995
as Ivy / Angorra
How About You...
2007
as Hazel Nightingale
Guilty Hearts
2007
as Naomi
Victoria Wood with All the Trimmings
2000
as Mrs. Cottisloe
National Theatre Live: Follies
2017
as Sally Durant Plummer
Sense and Sensibility: 25th Anniversary Reunion
2021
as Self
London: The Modern Babylon
2012
as Spoken Quotations (voice)
The Gruffalo and Me: The Remarkable Julia Donaldson
2020
as reader
Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends
2022
as Self
I'll Be There
2003
as Dr. Bridget
Antonia and Jane
1990
as Jane Hartman
Remember Me?
1997
as Lorna
That Day We Sang
2014
as Enid
Jack and the Beanstalk
1999
as Dilly (voice)
Psychoville Halloween Special
2010
as Grace Andrews
Bill Douglas: Intent on Getting the Image
2006
as Herself
Clay
2008
as Mary Doonan
White Other
2010
as Lynne McDermott
Ready
2002
as Naomi
Roots
1992
as Jenny Beales
The Adventures of Toad
1996
as Voice
Deadly Advice
1994
as Beth Greenwood
The Heat of the Day
1989
as Louie
Victoria Wood - That Musical We Made
2014
as Self
Victorian Britain on Film
2021
as Narrator
They Never Slept
1991
as The Producer
The Wind in the Willows
1995
as Mother Squirrel
Mole's Christmas
1994
as (voices)
The Englishman's Wife
1990
as Stephanie
Gypsy
2015
as Rose
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
2012
as Mrs. Lovett
The Magical World of Julia Donaldson
2020
as Self - Readings
West the Road
Where Have I Been All Your Life?
2007
as Angela
Mouse and Mole at Christmas Time
2013
as Shrew (voice)
Easy Money
1982
as Mary Price
Jim Carter: Lonnie Donegan and Me
2016
as Self
National Theatre Live: Mrs. Warren's Profession
2025
as Mrs Peggy Warren
Adapting Austen
2009
as Self
The Pen
1995
Little Bird
2017
as First Officer Simpkins
The Far Traveller
2020
as Narrator
A Confession As Told By ITV News
2019
as Imelda Staunton - Self / Karen Edwards
About Imelda Staunton
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 Perf… With 142 credits spanning from 1944 to 2026, Imelda Staunton has appeared in 97 films and 45 TV shows.
Fans searching for Imelda Staunton movies, Imelda Staunton filmography, or the latest projects starring Imelda Staunton can stream many of these titles on Bowood.TV, free and in HD, with no subscription required.
Most Popular Imelda Staunton Movies
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010) — as Dolores Umbridge
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) — as Dolores Umbridge
- Alice in Wonderland (2010) — as Talking Flowers (voice)
- Maleficent (2014) — as Knotgrass
- Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019) — as Knotgrass
Where to Watch Imelda Staunton Films
Most Imelda Staunton movies and series are available to stream on Bowood.TV in full HD, completely free and without signup. Browse the complete filmography above to jump directly to any title. For more films and the latest web series featuring Imelda Staunton, check our movies catalogue and browse page.