Geraldine James
Geraldine James Maidenhead, Berkshire , England | |
---|---|
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1973–present |
Spouse |
Joseph Blatchley (m. 1986) |
Geraldine James OBE (born 6 July 1950) is an English actress.
Early life and family
James was born in Maidenhead, Berkshire, to parents both with backgrounds in the medical profession, her father a cardiologist, her mother a nurse. [1][2][3] She failed her 11 plus exam, and was educated at Downe House School in Newbury, Berkshire, where she was known as Gerry Thomas.[4] Embarrassed by her simple surname, James used the grander-sounding double-barrelled name of Vaughan-Thomas while at school.[5]
After graduating from the Drama Centre London in 1973, she began her career in repertory theatre. On 17 January 1977, she met her husband, Joseph Blatchley, at a party.[citation needed]
Acting
James has been nominated four times for the
Theatre director Peter Hall said that James ranks amongst the great English classical actresses.[6]
Credits
Film appearances
- The Dumb Waiter (1979) as Sally
- Bloody Kids (1980) as Ritchie's wife
- Sweet William (1980) as Pamela
- Gandhi (1982) as Mirabehn
- Freedom Fighter (1988) as Krista Donner
- The Tall Guy (1989) as Carmen
- The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (1989) as Mrs. Gertrude Brisket
- Prince of Shadows (1991) as Rebecca Osorio
- If Looks Could Kill – Teen Agent, (1991) as Vendetta Galante
- The Bridge (1992) as Mrs Todd
- Words Upon the Window Pane (1994) as Mrs. Henderson
- Moll Flanders (1996) as Edna
- The Man Who Knew Too Little (1997) as Dr. Ludmilla Kropotkin
- The Luzhin Defence (2000) as Vera
- Lover's Prayer (2001) as Mother
- An Angel for May (2002)
- Calendar Girls (2003) as Marie
- Northanger Abbey (2007) as the narrator
- Sherlock Holmes (2009) as Mrs Hudson
- Alice in Wonderland (2010) as Lady Ascot
- Made in Dagenham (2010) as Connie
- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) as Cecilia Vanger
- Arthur (2011) as Vivienne Bach
- Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011) as Mrs Hudson
- 45 Years (2015) as Lena
- Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016) as Lady Ascot
- Rogue One (2016) as Jaldine Gerams (Blue 3)
- Daphne (2017)
- Anne with an E (2017) as Marilla Cuthbert
- Megan Leavey (2017) as The Veterinarian
- Beast (2017)
- Downton Abbey (2019)[7] as Mary of Teck
- Benediction (2021)
Music appearances
- Human. :II: Nature. (2020)
Radio appearances
Date | Title | Role | Director | Station |
---|---|---|---|---|
21 February 2000 – 3 March 2000 | The Hours | Gaynor Macfarlane | Woman's Hour Drama
| |
21 March 2003 | Baldi : The Book Case
|
Maggie | Mark Lambert | BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play
|
19 April 2003 | Turtle Diary | Neaera | Gaynor Macfarlane | BBC Radio 4 Saturday Play
|
2005 | The Raj Quartet | Mildred Layton | Jeremy Mortimer | BBC Radio 4 |
Television appearances
- The Sweeney: Pay Off (1976) as Shirley Glass
- Dummy (1977) as Sandra X
- Shoestring (1979) Nine tenths of the law.
- The History Man (1981) as Barbara Kirk
- I Remember Nelson (1982) as Emma Hamilton
- The Jewel in the Crown (1984) as Sarah Layton
- Blott on the Landscape (1985) as Lady Maud Lynchwood
- Echoes (1988) as Angela O'Hara
- Inspector Morse: Who Killed Harry Field (1991) as Helen Field
- A Doll's House (1992) as Kristine Linde
- Band of Gold (1995–1997) as Rose Garrety
- Kavanagh QC (1995–1999) as Eleanor Harker QC
- Rebecca (1997) as Beatrice
- Little Britain as Mother of Harvey Pincher (cameo)
- The Sins (2000) as Gloria Green
- State of Play (2003) as Yvonne Shaps
- Hex (2004) as Lilith Hughes
- He Knew He Was Right (2004) as Lady Rowley
- Agatha Christie's Poirot – After the Funeral, (2005) as Helen Abernethie
- The Amazing Mrs Pritchard (2006) as Hilary Rees-Benson
- A Harlot's Progress (2006)
- Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire (2006) as Cornelia
- The Last Enemy (2008) as Barbara Turney
- Heist(2008) as Joanna
- Midsomer Murders (2010) Series 13, episode 8, "Fit for Murder" as Miranda Bedford
- Thirteen Steps Down (2012) as Gwendolyn
- Utopia (2013) as Milner
- Black Work (2015) as Chief Constable Carolyn Jarecki
- The Five (2016) as Julia Wells
- Anne with an E (2017–2019) as Marilla Cuthbert (adaptation of Anne of Green Gables)
- Back to Life (2019-2021) as Caroline Matteson
- The Beast Must Die (2021) as Joy
- Silo (2023) as Mayor Ruth Jahns
- This Town (2024) as Marie[8]
- Dope Girls (TBA)[9]
Theatre appearances
- Portia opposite
- Hedda Gabler at the Royal Exchange, Manchester in 1993.
- Rosalind in As You Like It, at the RSC, Stratford-upon-Avon, in 2023.
Awards
Year | Nominated work | Award | Category | Result | Refs |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1977 | Dummy | BAFTA TV Award
|
Best Actress | Nominated | [12] |
1984 | The Jewel in the Crown | BAFTA TV Award | Best Actress | Nominated | |
1989 | She's Been Away | Venice Film Festival | Volpi Cup for Best Actress
|
Won | [13][14] |
1990 | The Merchant of Venice | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Actress in a Play | Won | |
1990 | The Merchant of Venice | Tony Award
|
Best Actress in a Play | Nominated | |
1995 | Band of Gold | BAFTA TV Award | Best Actress | Nominated | |
2000 | The Sins | BAFTA TV Award | Best Actress | Nominated | |
2017 | Anne with an E | Canadian Screen Awards | Best Supporting Actress, Drama | Nominated | |
2018 | Won | [15] |
Honours
- James was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2003 Queen's Birthday Honours.[citation needed]
References
- ^ "Geraldine James Biography (1950-)". www.filmreference.com.
- ^ "Geraldine James: A talent to surprise". The Independent. 7 April 2004.
- ^ "Desert Island Discs - Geraldine James - BBC Sounds". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
- ^ "Desert Island Discs - Geraldine James - BBC Sounds". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
- ^ "Desert Island Discs - Geraldine James - BBC Sounds". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
- ^ "Geraldine James" (17 December 2001) Woman's Hour, Radio 4, BBC
- ^ McNary, Dave (30 August 2018). "Imelda Staunton, Geraldine James Join 'Downton Abbey' Movie".
- ^ "Michelle Dockery, Nicholas Pinnock and David Dawson announced for This Town, Steven Knight's original new drama series for the BBC". bbc.co.uk/mediacentre. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
- ^ Cordero, Rosy; Whittock, Jesse; Goldbart, Max (15 November 2023). "'Dope Girls': Julianne Nicholson & Eliza Scanlen To Lead BBC Drama About Female Crime Boss In Soho; Filming Underway". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
- ^ "Hoffman as Shylock: London Critics Cool" (3 June 1989) New York Times
- ^ "'Merchant' role is jewel in James' crown" (29 Jan 1990) USA TODAY
- BAFTA
- ^ "Miss Geraldine James, OBE". Debrett's. Archived from the original on 21 January 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
- ^ "Triumph in Venice" (16 Sep 1989) The Guardian
- ^ "Anne with an E, Cardinal win big at Canadian Screen Awards". CBC. 28 March 2019. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
External links
- Geraldine James at IMDb
- Geraldine James at the Internet Broadway Database
- Geraldine James at the BFI's Screenonline
- "The Jewel That is James" – Interview by Jeremy Taylor for bmi Voyager October 2007
- Q&A with Geraldine James in the Guardian