Miranda Richardson

Miranda Richardson
Richardson at the Metropolitan Opera's 2010 opening night of Das Rheingold
Born	Miranda Jane Richardson 3 March 1958 (1958-03-03) (age 53) Southport, Lancashire, England
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1981 – present

Miranda Jane Richardson (born 3 March 1958) is an English stage, film and television actor. She has been nominated for two Academy Awards, and has won two Golden Globes (with seven nominations) and a BAFTA (with seven nominations) during her career.

Early life

Richardson was born in Southport, Lancashire, to Marian Georgina (née Townsend), a housewife, and William Alan Richardson, a marketing executive.^[1] The second daughter of a middle class family, she revealed a talent for acting as a girl.

Career

Theatre

Richardson enrolled at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School,^[2] where she studied alongside Daniel Day-Lewis, having started out with juvenile performances in Cinderella and Lord Arthur Savile's Crime at the Southport Dramatic Club. Richardson enjoyed a successful and extensive theatre career, making her stage debut in Moving at the Queen's Theatre in 1981. Soon afterwards, she appeared in repertory theatre, until she found recognition in the West End for a series of stage performances, ultimately receiving an Olivier Award nomination for her performance in A Lie of the Mind,^[3] and in 1996, she is cited as "the greatest actress of our time in any medium" by one critic after she appeared in Orlando at the Edinburgh Festival. She returned to the London stage in May 2009 to play the lead role in Wallace Shawn's new play, Grasses of a Thousand Colours at the Royal Court Theatre.^[4]

Film and television

In 1985, Richardson made her film debut as Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in the United Kingdom, in Mike Newell's biographical drama, Dance With A Stranger. Within a year, she had been cast by Steven Spielberg to appear in his World War II drama, Empire of the Sun (1987).

Richardson at the world premiere of The Young Victoria, 2009.

Richardson is known for her role as an infantile Queen Elizabeth I, aka Queenie, in the British television comedy Blackadder II. She returned in guest roles in one episode each in Blackadder the Third and Blackadder Goes Forth. She returned to role from Blackadder for a Christmas special Blackadder's Christmas Carol and a special edition for the millennium Blackadder: Back and Forth. She appeared in TV series The Storyteller in episode "The Three Ravens" playing a witch.

Her portrayal of a troubled theatre-goer in Secret Friends (BBC 2, 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 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).

Richardson 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 also won acclaim for her performances in The Crying Game and Enchanted April, for which she won a Golden Globe. She received Academy Award nominations for her performances in Damage and Tom & Viv.^{[citation needed]}

Her film credits also include Robert Altman's Kansas City (1996), Robert Duvall's The Apostle (1997) and Richard E. Grant's Wah-Wah (2005). In 2002, she performed a triple-role alongside Ralph Fiennes in David Cronenberg's acclaimed thriller Spider, a film that won her several international critics awards.^[5]

Richardson also 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 Andrew Lloyd Webber musical The Phantom Of The Opera (2004), starring Gerard Butler and Emmy Rossum. In 2005, she appeared in the role of Rita Skeeter, the toxic Daily Prophet journalist in Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire. In 2006 she appeared alongside Bill Nighy in Stephen Poliakoff's multi-Golden Globe winning BBC drama, Gideon's Daughter. She played Mrs. Claus in the film Fred Claus (2007), co-starring Vince Vaughn and Paul Giamatti.

Richardson teamed up alongside Absolutely Fabulous star Jennifer Saunders in the BBC sitcom, The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle. She appeared as a guest on Nigel Slater's A Taste of my Life in which she cooked dishes including lamb tagine and huevos rancheros.^{[citation needed]}

It was announced in December 2008 that Richardson was cast in a leading role in original AMC pilot, Rubicon. She plays Katherine Rhumor, a New York socialite who finds herself drawn into the central intrigue of a think tank, after the death of her husband.^[6]

Additionally, she played Labour politician Barbara Castle in the British film Made in Dagenham.^[7]

Personal life

Richardson lives in West London with her two cats, Otis and Waldo, and her dogs Liv and Ivo. Her hobbies include drawing, walking, gardening, fashion, falconry, and music.^[8]

Theatre roles

• Savage Amusement (Hazel) - Derby Playhouse, Lancaster
• Stags and Hens (Linda) - Derby Playhouse, Lancaster
• All My Sons (Ann) - Derby Playhouse, Lancaster
• Sisterly Feelings (Brenda) - Derby Playhouse, Lancaster
• Ten Times Table (Phillipa) - Library Theatre, Manchester
• Whose Life Is It Anyway? (Kay Sadler) - Library Theatre, Manchester
• Play It Again, Sam (Linda Christie) - Library Theatre, Manchester
• Tom Jones (Sophie Western) - Library Theatre, Manchester
• Educating Rita (Rita) - Haymarket Theatre, Leicester
• 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, West End (1987)
• The Changeling (Beatrice-Joanna) - (Lyttelton) National Theatre, West End (1988)
• Mountain Language (Young Woman) - (Lyttelton) 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) - Wyndham's Theatre, West End (30 January 2002, 5 May 2002, 2 January 2003)
• Comic Aid 2005 - (Herself - Asia Tsunami Aid) - Carling Apollo, West End (22 February 2005)
• One Knight Only - (Herself - Asia Tsunami Aid) - Theatre Royal, Haymarket, West End (20 March 2005)
• Grasses of a thousand colours (Cerise) - Royal Court Theatre (May 2009)

Filmography

Richardson at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival

Year	Film	Role	Other notes
1984	A Woman of Substance	Paula McGill Amory	TV
1985	Dance with a Stranger	Ruth Ellis	Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actress Variety Club Award
	Underworld	Oriel
	The Innocent	Mary Turner
	After Pilkington	Penny	Nominated — BAFTA Television Award for Best Actress
1986	Blackadder II	Queen Elizabeth I ("Queenie")	TV
	The Death of the Heart	Daphne Heccomb
1987	Blackadder the Third	Amy Hardwood	TV Episode: Amy and Amiability
	Eat the Rich	DHSS Blonde
	Empire of the Sun	Mrs. Victor
	Sweet as You Are	Julia Perry	TV Royal Television Society Award for Best Performance - Female
1988	Blackadder's Christmas Carol	Queen Elizabeth I/ Queen Asphyxia XIX	TV
1989	Ball Trap on the Cote Sauvage	Early Bird
	Blackadder Goes Forth	Nurse Mary Fletcher-Brown	TV Episode: General Hospital
	The Mad Monkey	Marilyn
1990	Secret Friends	Olivia	TV
	The Bachelor	Frederica
	The Fool	Columbine / Rosalind / Ophelia
	Twisted Obsession	Marilyn
	Old Times	Anna
	Die Kinder	Sidonie Reiger	TV
1992	The Crying Game	Jude O'Hara	New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress also for Damage and Enchanted April Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
	Damage	Ingrid Fleming	BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role London Critics Circle Film Award for Best British Actress New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress also for The Crying Game and Enchanted April Nominated — Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture
	Enchanted April	Rose Arbuthnot	Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress also for The Crying Game and Damage
1993	Century	Clara
	The Line, the Cross and the Curve	Mysterious woman
1994	Absolutely Fabulous	Bettina	TV
	Tom & Viv	Vivienne Haigh-Wood	National Board of Review Award for Best Actress Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actress Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
	Fatherland	Charlie Maguire	Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film
	The Night and the Moment	Julie
1996	The Evening Star	Patsy Carpenter	Society of Texas Film Critics Award for Best Supproting Actress also for Kansas City Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture
	Kansas City	Carolyn Stilton	Society of Texas Film Critics Award for Best Supproting Actress also for The Evening Star
1997	The Designated Mourner	Judy
	Saint-Ex	Consuelo
	The Apostle	Toosie	Nominated — Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female
	A Dance to the Music of Time	Pamela Flitton	TV Nominated — BAFTA Television Award for Best Actress Nominated — Royal Television Society Award for Best Performance - Female
1998	St. Ives	Miss Gilchrist
	The Scold's Bridle	Dr Sarah Blakeney
	Merlin	Queen Mab / The Lady of the Lake	Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film
1999	Alice in Wonderland	Queen of Hearts / Society Woman
	The Big Brass Ring	Dinah Pellarin	Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film
	Sleepy Hollow	Lady Mary Van Tassel / Crone	Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Supporting Actress - Horror Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress
	Blackadder: Back & Forth	Queen Elizabeth I / Queenie
	The King and I	Anna Leonowens	Voice Only Nominated — London Critics Circle Film Award for Best British Actress
2000	Get Carter	Gloria Carter
	Chicken Run	Mrs. Tweedy	Voice Only
	The Miracle Maker	Mary Magdalene	Voice Only
2001	Snow White: Fairest of Them All	Elspeth / Queen
2002	The Hours	Vanessa Bell	Nominated — Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
	Spider	Yvonne / Mrs. Cleg	San Francisco Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress Sant Jordi Award for Best Foreign Actress Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated — Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated — Chlotrudis Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated — London Critics Circle Film Award for Best British Actress Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture
2003	The Lost Prince	Queen Mary	TV Nominated — BAFTA Television Award for Best Actress Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television
	The Rage In Placid Lake	Sylvia Lake	Nominated — Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role Nominated — Film Critics Circle of Australia Award for Best Supporting Actor - Female
	Falling Angels	Mary Field
2004	The Prince and Me	Queen Rosalind
	Churchill: The Hollywood Years	Eva Braun
	The Phantom of the Opera	Madame Giry
	Absolutely Fabulous	Bettina "White Box"	TV
2005	Midsummer Dream	Queen Titania	Voice Only
	Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire	Rita Skeeter
2006	Gideon's Daughter	Stella	TV Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film
	Merlin's Apprentice	Lady of the Lake	TV
	Wah-Wah	Lauren Compton
	Provoked	Veronica Scott
	Paris, je t'aime‎	The Wife	Segment: Bastille
2007	Puffball	Mabs Tucker
	Fred Claus	Mrs. Annette Claus
	Southland Tales	Nana Mae Van Adler-Frost
	Spinning Into Butter	Catherine Kenney
	The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle	Helena	TV
2009	The Young Victoria	Duchess of Kent
2010	Made in Dagenham	Barbara Castle	Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
	Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1	Rita Skeeter
	Rubicon	Katherine Rhumor	TV
2012	Parade's End		TV

Awards and nominations

Academy Award

• Nominated (1993): Best Supporting Actress, Damage
• Nominated (1995): Best Actress, Tom & Viv

BAFTA Award

• Nominated (1988): Best Actress, After Pilkington (TV)
• Nominated (1993): Best Supporting Actress, The Crying Game
• Won (1993): Best Supporting Actress, Damage
• Nominated (1994): Best Actress, Tom & Viv
• Nominated (1998): Best Actress, A Dance to the Music of Time (TV)
• Nominated (2004): Best Actress, The Lost Prince (TV)
• Nominated (2011): Best Supporting Actress, Made in Dagenham

Golden Globe Award

• Won (1993): Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical/Comedy, Enchanted April
• Nominated (1993): Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture, Damage
• Nominated (1995): Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama, Tom & Viv
• Won (1995): Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV, Fatherland
• Nominated (1999): Best Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV, Merlin
• Nominated (2000): Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV, The Big Brass Ring
• Nominated (2005): Best Actress in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television, The Lost Prince

Laurence Olivier Award

• Nominated (1988): Best Actress, A Lie of the Mind

Notes

1. ^ "Miranda Richardson Biography (1958-)". Filmreference.com. 3 March 1958. http://www.filmreference.com/film/79/Miranda-Richardson.html. Retrieved 3 May 2010. 
2. ^ Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Past Graduates^{[dead link]}
3. ^ "The Society of London Theatre, Olivier Winners 1987". Officiallondontheatre.co.uk. http://www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk/olivier_awards/view/item98522/. Retrieved 3 May 2010. 
4. ^ "Royal Court Theatre website". Royalcourttheatre.com. http://www.royalcourttheatre.com/textonly/productions_play_detail_future.asp?PlayID=542. Retrieved 3 May 2010. 
5. ^ Awards for Spider at the Internet Movie Database
6. ^ "Hollywood Reporter article". Hollywood Reporter. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i5a49077a0f8280a0cdca918a8d359cf4. Retrieved 3 May 2010. ^{[dead link]}
7. ^ Singh, Anita (16 May 2009). "Sally Hawkins to star in strike film We Want Sex". Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/cannes-film-festival/5335785/Sally-Hawkins-to-star-in-strike-film-We-Want-Sex.html. Retrieved 7 March 2010. 
8. ^ Clive Sarney. "Miranda Richardson Biography". Miranda-richardson.com. http://www.miranda-richardson.com/mrbiog.html. Retrieved 7 March 2010. 

External links

• Miranda Richardson at the Internet Movie Database
• Miranda Richardson at AllRovi
• Miranda Richardson at the TCM Movie Database

Persondata
Name	Richardson, Miranda
Alternative names	Richardson, Miranda Jane
Short description	Actress
Date of birth	3 March 1958
Place of birth	Southport, Merseyside, England
Date of death
Place of death