Celia Diana Savile Imrie (born 15 July 1952
) is an English actress and author. She was described in 2003 as one of the most successful British actresses of recent decades. She is best known for her film roles, including the ''
Bridget Jones'' film series, ''
Calendar Girls'' (2003), ''
Nanny McPhee'' (2005), ''
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel'' (2011), ''
The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel'' (2015), The English dub of ''
The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales...'' (2017), ''
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again'' (2018) and ''
Malevolent
Malevolence may refer to:
* Evil
* Hostility
* Malice (law)
* Sadism, the experience of feeling pleasure from the pain of others.
Other uses
* Malevolence (band), an English hardcore punk band from Sheffield
* ''Malevolence'' (film), a 2003 fi ...
'' (2018) and, for the FX TV series ''
Better Things'' (2016-2022).
In the United Kingdom she is known for her work with
Victoria Wood
Victoria Wood (19 May 1953 – 20 April 2016) was an English comedian, actress, lyricist, singer, composer, pianist, screenwriter, producer and director.
Wood wrote and starred in dozens of sketches, plays, musicals, films and sitcoms over se ...
, including ''
Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV'' (1985–1987), the sitcom ''
dinnerladies'' (1998–2000) and ''
Acorn Antiques: The Musical!'', for which she won the 2006
Early life
Imrie was born on 15 July 1952 in
Guildford
Guildford ()
is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...
,
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...
, the fourth of five children of Diana Elizabeth Blois (née Cator) and David Andrew Imrie, a
radiologist
Radiology ( ) is the medical discipline that uses medical imaging to diagnose diseases and guide their treatment, within the bodies of humans and other animals. It began with radiography (which is why its name has a root referring to radiati ...
. Her father was from
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...
, Scotland. Imrie is the ten-times-great granddaughter of the infamous
Frances Carr, Countess of Somerset. Imrie was educated at
Guildford High School
Guildford High School is an independent day school for girls that was founded in 1888. Approximately 1,000 girls between ages 4 to 18 attend the school from Guildford and its surrounding towns and villages. The school comprises a Junior School ...
, an independent school for girls in her home town of Guildford, followed by the
Guildford School of Acting.
Career
Film
Imrie's film credits include ''
Nanny McPhee'', ''
Hilary and Jackie'' (playing
Iris du Pré), and the 1997 film ''
The Borrowers'', in which she played Homily Clock. Other films include ''
Bridget Jones's Diary'', ''
Calendar Girls'', ''
Highlander
Highlander may refer to:
Regional cultures
* Gorals (lit. ''Highlanders''), a culture in southern Poland and northern Slovakia
* Hill people, who live in hills and mountains
* Merina people, an ethnic group from the central plateau of Madagasca ...
'', and as Fighter Pilot Bravo 5 in ''
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace
''Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace'' is a 1999 American Epic film, epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It stars Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, Ahmed Best, Ian McDiarmid, Anthony Dan ...
''. In 2007 she appeared in ''
St Trinian's''.
Television
Imrie's television credits include ''
Bergerac'',''
The Nightmare Man'', ''
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit
''Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit'' is a novel by Jeanette Winterson published in 1985 by Pandora Press. It is a coming-of-age story about a lesbian girl who grows up in an English Pentecostal community. Key themes of the book include transitio ...
'', ''
Casualty'', ''
Absolutely Fabulous'', ''
The Darling Buds of May'' and ''
Upstairs, Downstairs''.
In the 2000 miniseries of ''
Gormenghast Gormenghast may refer to:
* ''Gormenghast'' (series), a trilogy of novels by Mervyn Peake
** ''Gormenghast'' (novel), second in the series
* ''Gormenghast'' (opera), an opera based on the books
* ''Gormenghast'' (TV serial), a BBC adaptatio ...
'', she played Lady Gertrude. She also appeared in the 2005
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. ...
...
'', where she played the role of a teacher taking an unruly party of pupils on a day-trip to
. She starred alongside
. Her part in ''After You've Gone'' has, whilst being critically acclaimed, been described as "criminally squandered". In 2013, she guest-starred in the BBC's ''
". In May 2016, she made her US television debut in the DC action-adventure series ''
''. Since September 2016 she has starred as Phyllis in the FX series ''
''. In December 2021, Imrie narrated the
...