Amanda Root (born 1963) is an English stage and screen actress and a former voice actress for children's programmes. Root is known for her starring role in the 1995 BBC film adaptation of

Jane Austen Jane Austen (; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots of ...

's ''

Persuasion Persuasion or persuasion arts is an umbrella term for Social influence, influence. Persuasion can influence a person's Belief, beliefs, Attitude (psychology), attitudes, Intention, intentions, Motivation, motivations, or Behavior, behaviours. ...

'', her role in the British TV comedy ''

All About Me ''All About Me'' is a British television sitcom starring Jasper Carrott about a multicultural family living in Birmingham. It was broadcast on BBC One from 2002 to 2004. ''All About Me'' was created by Steven Knight, who also wrote two of the ea ...

'', as Miranda, alongside

Richard Lumsden Richard James Lumsden (born 24 June 1965) is an English actor, writer, composer and musician. He has made regular appearances on TV and film throughout his career. Notable series include Channel 4's Emmy-award winning ''Sugar Rush'', '' Is it ...

in 2004, and for voicing Sophie in ''

The BFG ''The BFG'' (short for ''The Big Friendly Giant'') is a 1982 children's book written by British novelist Roald Dahl and illustrated by Quentin Blake. It is an expansion of a short story from Dahl's 1975 book '' Danny, the Champion of the World ...

''. She trained for the stage at

Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art Webber may refer to: *Webber, Kansas, a US city *Webber Township, Jefferson County, Illinois, USA *Webber Township, Lake County, Michigan, USA *Webber International University, in Babson Park, Florida, USA *Webber (surname) Webber (/ˈwɛbər/) i ...

Life and career

Root was born in

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of London a ...

, Essex. She began her career at the

Leeds Playhouse Leeds Playhouse is a theatre in the city centre of Leeds, West Yorkshire. Having originally opened in 1970 in a different location in Leeds, it reopened as West Yorkshire Playhouse, on Quarry Hill, in March 1990. After a refurbishment in 2018-20 ...

in 1983 when she played Essie in

Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

's '' The Devil's Disciple''.

She was a remarkably complete actress even in her early twenties, when physically she looked little more than a child. With her dark soulful eyes she could command a stage, and the
Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...
saw her talent very early on.

She worked regularly with the RSC in

Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon (), commonly known as just Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is situated on the River Avon, north-we ...

and London from 1983 to 1991, including playing the role of Juliet to

Daniel Day-Lewis Sir Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis (born 29 April 1957) is an English retired actor. Often described as one of the preeminent actors of his generation, he received numerous accolades throughout his career which spanned over four decades, incl ...

's Romeo; a very young Lady Macbeth; Cressida to

Ralph Fiennes Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes ( ; born 22 December 1962) is an English actor, film producer, and director. A Shakespeare interpreter, he excelled onstage at the Royal National Theatre before having further success at the Royal Shak ...

's Troilus, and Rosaline to his Berowne. In 1995, she starred as Anne Elliot in ''

'', co-starring

Ciarán Hinds Ciarán Hinds (; born 9 February 1953) is an Irish actor. Born in Belfast, Hinds is known for a range of screen and stage roles. He has starred in feature films including '' The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover'' (1989), ''Persuasion'' (19 ...

and

John Woodvine John Woodvine (born 21 July 1929) is an English actor who has appeared in more than 70 theatre productions, as well as a similar number of television and film roles. Early life Woodvine was born in Tyne Dock, South Shields, Tyne & Wear, Englan ...

. The film (made for TV, then released in cinemas) was based on the

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

and was her first leading role in a film. She won rave reviews (and was nominated for a Tony Award) in October 2008 for her portrayal of the control freak Sarah in

The Old Vic The Old Vic is a 1,000-seat, nonprofit organization, not-for-profit producing house, producing theatre in Waterloo, London, Waterloo, London, England. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, and renamed in 1833 the Royal Victoria Th ...

's revival of

Alan Ayckbourn Sir Alan Ayckbourn (born 12 April 1939) is a prolific British playwright and director. He has written and produced as of 2021, more than eighty full-length plays in Scarborough and London and was, between 1972 and 2009, the artistic director of ...

's interlinked trilogy ''

The Norman Conquests ''The Norman Conquests'' is a trilogy of plays written in 1973 by Alan Ayckbourn. Each of the plays depicts the same six characters over the same weekend in a different part of a house. ''Table Manners'' is set in the dining room, ''Living Toget ...

'', directed in the round by

Matthew Warchus Matthew Warchus (born 24 October 1966) is a British theatre director, filmmaker, lyricist, and playwright. He has been the Artistic Director of London's The Old Vic since September 2015. Personal life Warchus is married to American actress Lau ...

Audio

She was the voice of Sophie in the animated film of

Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short-story writer, poet, screenwriter, and wartime fighter ace of Norwegian descent. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. Dahl has be ...

's ''

'' (1989). She portrayed Joan la Pucelle in the

Arkangel Shakespeare ''The Complete Arkangel Shakespeare'' is a notable series of audio-drama presentations of 38 of William Shakespeare's 39 plays. Description ''The Complete Arkangel Shakespeare'' is a notable series of audio drama presentations of 38 of ...

's 2000 production of ''

Henry VI, Part 1 ''Henry VI, Part 1'', often referred to as ''1 Henry VI'', is a history play by William Shakespeare—possibly in collaboration with Christopher Marlowe and Thomas Nashe—believed to have been written in 1591. It is set during the lifetime ...

''. In 2006, Root undertook the task of recording an unabridged audiobook of

Charlotte Brontë Charlotte Brontë (, commonly ; 21 April 1816 – 31 March 1855) was an English novelist and poet, the eldest of the three Brontë sisters who survived into adulthood and whose novels became classics of English literature. She enlisted i ...

's ''

Jane Eyre ''Jane Eyre'' ( ; originally published as ''Jane Eyre: An Autobiography'') is a novel by the English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published under her pen name "Currer Bell" on 19 October 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. of London. The first ...

''. Published by

Naxos Naxos (; el, Νάξος, ) is a Greek island and the largest of the Cyclades. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture. The island is famous as a source of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until modern times was one of the best abr ...

it has a running time of 20 hours 30 minutes, spread across 17 audio CDs: . She had previously recorded an abridged 3-hour reading of Jane Austen's ''Persuasion'', published by Hodder & Stoughton Audiobooks in July 2004: . In November 2007 for

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

she played in the ''

Woman's Hour ''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC Light Programme, BBC Radio 2, and later BBC Radio 4. It has been on the air since 1946. History Created by Norman Collins and originally presented by A ...

'' Drama serial adaptation of F. Tennyson Jesse's novel ''A Pin to See the Peep Show'', and on 2 December 2007 was heard in

Arnold Wesker Sir Arnold Wesker (24 May 1932 – 12 April 2016) was an English dramatist. He was the author of 50 plays, four volumes of short stories, two volumes of essays, much journalism and a book on the subject, a children's book, some poetry, and oth ...

's 75-minute radio play ''The Rocking Horse'', commissioned by the

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is an international broadcasting, international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government through the Foreign Secretary, Foreign Secretary's o ...

to celebrate its 75th anniversary. As part of the BBC Radio 4 ''Hopes and Desires'' season, she played Lindsey, an incurable romantic who yearns to meet a modern-day Heathcliff, in

Nick Warburton Nick Warburton (born 1947) is a British screenwriter and playwright. He has written stage plays, television and radio scripts for series including ''Doctors'', ''Holby City'' and ''EastEnders''. Career Warburton was a primary school teacher fo ...

's 30-minute comedy ''Catching Heathcliff'', broadcast at 11 pm on 15 January 2008. She was the voice of Fanny in the 2-cassette 1997

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

Life and career

Audio

Theatre

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links