| Miranda Richardson | ||||||||||
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| Birth name | Miranda Jane Richardson | |||||||||
| Born | March 3 1958 Southport, Merseyside, England | |||||||||
| Years active | 1981 – present | |||||||||
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Miranda Jane Richardson (born 3 March 1958) is a BAFTA- and Golden Globe Award-winning English stage, film and television actress.
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Early life
Richardson was born in Southport, Merseyside, England, the daughter of Marian Georgina (née Townsend), a housewife, and William Alan Richardson, a marketing executive.[1] The second daughter in a middle-class family, she revealed a talent for acting from an early age. She had originally intended to study veterinary medicine, but her squeamishness made this impractical.
Career
Theatre
She enrolled at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, where she studied alongside Daniel Day-Lewis. In 1981, she made her stage debut in Moving at the Queen's Theatre in London. Before making a name for herself as a screen star, she enjoyed a hugely successful and extensive theatre career. Starting out with juvenile performances in Cinderella (the title role) and Lord Arthur Saville's Crime (as Sybil Merton) at the Southport Dramatic Club, the young thespian enrolled at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, making her stage debut in Moving at the Queen's Theatre, London. Soon afterwards, she appeared in reportory theatre, until she found recognition in the West End for a series of highly praised stage performances, ultimately receiving an Olivier Award nomination for her performance in A Lie of the Mind, and in 1996 being cited as 'the greatest actress of our time in any medium' by one critic after she appeared in Orlando at the Edinburgh Festival.
Film and television
In 1985, she made her big screen debut as platinum blonde nightclub hostess Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in the United Kingdom in Mike Newell's critically acclaimed biographical drama, Dance With A Stranger. Her performance won her much praise, and within a year she had been cast by Steven Spielberg to appear in his World War II drama Empire of the Sun (1987). Richardson is well known for her role as infantile Queen Elizabeth I, aka Queenie, in the British television comedy Blackadder II. Her portrayal of a troubled theatre-goer in Secret Friends (BBC 2 TV, 1990) was described as "a miniature tour de force... Miranda Richardson's finest hour, all in ten minutes" (The Sunday Times). Other television roles include the bitchy Pamela Flitton in A Dance to the Music of Time (1997), Miss Gilchrist in St. Ives (1998), Bettina the obsessive-compulsive interior decorator in Absolutely Fabulous, the sadistic Queen Elspeth in Hallmark's Snow White: The Fairest Of Them All (2001), and the emotionally repressed Queen Mary in The Lost Prince (2003). She has appeared in a number, of high profile supporting roles in the cinema, including Vanessa Bell in The Hours, Lady Van Tassel in Sleepy Hollow and Patsy Carpenter in The Evening Star. She has also won acclaim for her performances in The Crying Game and Enchanted April, for which she won a Golden Globe, beating a quartet of Hollywood heavyweights: Geena Davis, Whoopi Goldberg, Shirley MacLaine and Meryl Streep. Two Academy Award nominations (for Damage and Tom & Viv) have not altered the actress's modesty. She refuses to discuss her private life in interviews, and takes both leading and supporting roles in a variety of different genres. Her extensive film credits include stints in a number of critically acclaimed independent features, among them Robert Altman's Kansas City (1996), Robert Duvall's The Apostle (1997) and Richard E. Grant's Wah-Wah (2005). In 2002, Richardson performed a triple-role stint alongside Ralph Fiennes in David Cronenberg's acclaimed thriller Spider, a film that won her several international critics awards. More recently, Richardson appeared as Queen Rosalind of Denmark in the Julia Stiles vehicle The Prince and Me, and as the ballet mistress Madame Giry in the long-awaited film version of The Phantom Of The Opera, starring Gerard Butler and Emmy Rossum. She has also reprised her role as Queen Elizabeth in Blackadder for both a Christmas Special (Blackadder's Christmas Carol 1988), and a special edition for the Millennium (Blackadder: Back and Forth, 2000) which was originally screened at the Millennium Dome. In 2005 she appeared in the high profile role of Rita Skeeter, the toxic Daily Prophet journalist in Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire, and has since appeared in a number of critically acclaimed but low-profile feature films. In 2006 she appeared alongside Bill Nighy in Stephen Poliakoff's multi-Golden Globe winning BBC drama, Gideon's Daughter. Richardson participated in several conservational television shows including Final Chance to Save and Extinct in 2006. She returned to the big screen in November 2007, playing the role of Mrs. Claus in Fred Claus (2007) opposite Vince Vaughn and Paul Giamatti. In addition, she team up alongside Absolutely Fabulous star Jennifer Saunders in The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle a BBC sitcom scheduled for the end of the year.
Trivia
- She also reads the Horrid Henry series on cassette and CD.
- Has also written for various periodicals, including Amercian Film (December 1987), New York Times (August 16, 1985), and Premiere (December 1987/March 1995).
Personal life
She currently lives in London, but she also has a Somerset retreat, with her two cats, two dogs and an axolotl.
Theatre roles
- Savage Amusement (Hazel) - Derby and Dukes Theatre, Lancaster
- Stags and Hens (Linda) - Derby and Dukes Theatre, Lancaster
- All My Sons (Ann) - Derby and Dukes Theatre, Lancaster
- Sisterly Feelings (Brenda) - Derby and Dukes Theatre, Lancaster
- Ten Times Table (Phillipa) - Manchester Library Theatre, Manchester
- Whose Life Is It Anyway? (Kay Sadler) - Manchester Library Theatre, Manchester
- Play It Again, Sam (Linda Christie) - Manchester Library Theatre, Manchester
- Tom Jones (Sophie Western) - Manchester Library Theatre, Manchester
- Educating Rita (Rita)
- Moving (Jane Gladwin) - Queen's Theatre (1980/1)
- The Table of the Two Horseman (Katie Wyld) - Bristol Theatre Royal (9 March 1983/2 April 1983)
- Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Honey) - Bristol Theatre Royal (6 April 1983/30 April 1983)
- The Maids (Madame) - Bristol New Vic (27 September 1983/22 October 1983)
- Insignificance (The Actress) - Bristol New Vic (25 October 1983/19 December 1983)
- Life of Einstein - Dukes Playhouse, Lancaster (1984)
- Edmond (Glenna) - Newcastle (1985)
- A Lie of the Mind (Beth) - Royal Court Theatre (1987)
- The Changeling (Beatrice-Joanna) - (Lyttleton) National Theatre, West End (1988)
- Mountain Language (Young Woman) - (Lyttleton) National Theatre, West End (1988)
- Etta Jenks (Etta Jenks) - Royal Court Theatre, West End (1990)
- The Designated Mourner (Judy) - Royal National Theatre, West End (1996)
- Orlando (Orlando) - 50th Edinburgh International Festival (11/21 August 1996)
- Aunt Dan and Lemon (Aunt Dan) - Almeida Theatre, Islington, London (5 May/5 June 1999)
- The Play What I Wrote (Herself) - Wyndhams Theatre, West End (30 Jan 2002, 5 May 2002, 2 Jan 2003)
- Comic Aid 2005 - (Herself - Asia Tsunami Aid) - Carling Apollo, West End (22 Feb 2005)
- One Knight Only - (Herself - Asia Tsunami Aid) - Theatre Royal, Haymarket, West End (March 20, 2005)
Filmography
- Dance with a Stranger (1985) Ruth Ellis
- Underworld (1985) Oriel
- The Innocent (1985) Mary Turner
- Blackadder II (1985) (TV) Queenie
- After Pilkington (1986) Penny
- The Death of the Heart (1986) Daphne Heccomb
- Blackadder the Third (1987) Amy Hardwood [episode Amy and Amiability]
- Eat the Rich (1987) DHSS Blonde
- Empire of the Sun (1987) Mrs. Victor
- Ball Trap on the Cote Sauvage (1989) Early Bird
- Blackadder Goes Forth (1989) Nurse Mary [episode General Hospital)
- The Mad Monkey (1989) Marilyn
- Secret Friends (1990) (TV) Olivia
- The Bachelor (1990) Frederica
- The Fool (1990) Columbine/Rosalind/Ophelia
- Twisted Obsession (1990) Marilyn
- Old Times (1990) Anna
- Die Kinder (1990) (TV) Sidonie Reiger
- The Crying Game (1992) Jude O'Hara
- Damage (1992) Ingrid Fleming
- Enchanted April (1992) Rose Arbuthnot
- Century (1993) Clara
- The Line, the Cross and the Curve (1993) Mysterious woman
- Absolutely Fabulous (1994) Bettina [episode New Best Friend]
- Tom & Viv (1994) Vivienne Haigh-Wood
- Fatherland (1994) Charlie Maguire
- The Night and the Moment (1994) Julie
- The Evening Star (1996) Patsy Carpenter
- Kansas City (1996) Carolyn Stilton
- The Designated Mourner (1997) Judy
- Saint-Ex (1997) Consuelo
- The Apostle (1997) Toosie
- St. Ives (1998) Miss Gilchrist
- Merlin (1998) Queen Mab/The Lady of the Lake
- Alice in Wonderland (1999) Queen of Hearts/Society Woman
- The Big Brass Ring (1999) Dinah Pellarin
- Sleepy Hollow (1999) Lady Mary Van Tassel/Crone
- Blackadder: Back & Forth (1999) Queen Elizabeth the First/Queenie
- Get Carter (2000) Gloria Carter
- Chicken Run (2000) Mrs Tweedy
- Snow White: Fairest of Them All (2001) Elspeth/Queen
- The Hours (2002) Vanessa Bell
- Spider (2002) Yvonne/Mrs. Cleg
- The Lost Prince (2003) (TV) Queen Mary
- The Rage In Placid Lake (2003) Sylvia Lake
- The Prince and Me (2004) Queen Rosalind
- Churchill: The Hollywood Years (2004) Eva Braun
- The Phantom of the Opera (2004) Madame Giry
- Absolutely Fabulous Bettina [episode White Box]
- Midsummer Dream (2005) Queen Titania (voice)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) Rita Skeeter
- Gideon's Daughter (2006) [TV] Stella
- Merlin's Apprentice (2006) [TV] Lady of the Lake
- Wah-Wah (2006) Lauren Compton
- Provoked (2006) Veronica Scott
- Paris, je t'aime (2006) The Wife (segment: Bastille)
- Fred Claus (2007) Mrs. Annette Claus
- Southland Tales (2007) Nana Mae Van Adler-Frost
- Spinning Into Butter (2007) Catherine Kenney
- The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle (2007) Helena
- The Young Victoria (2008) Duchess of Kent
Awards and nominations
Academy Award
BAFTA Award
- Nominated: Best Actress, After Pilkington (1988) (TV)
- Nominated: Best Supporting Actress, The Crying Game (1993)
- Won: Best Supporting Actress, Damage (1993)
- Nominated: Best Actress, Tom & Viv (1994)
- Nominated: Best Actress, A Dance to the Music of Time (1998) (TV)
- Nominated: Best Actress, The Lost Prince (2004) (TV)
Golden Globe Award
- Nominated: Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture, Damage (1993)
- Won: Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical/Comedy, Enchanted April (1993)
- Nominated: Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama, Tom & Viv (1995)
- Won: Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV, Fatherland (1995)
- Nominated: Best Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV, Merlin (1999)
- Nominated: Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV, The Big Brass Ring (2000)
- Nominated: Best Actress in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television, The Lost Prince (2005)
References
External links
