Imogen Stubbs (born 20 February 1961) is an English actress and writer. Her first leading part was in '' Privileged'' (1982), followed by ''

A Summer Story ''A Summer Story'' is a British drama film released in 1988, directed by Piers Haggard, based on John Galsworthy’s 1916 short story "The Apple Tree", with a script by Penelope Mortimer. It stars James Wilby, Imogen Stubbs, and Susannah Yo ...

'' (1988). Her first play, ''

We Happy Few ''We Happy Few'' is an action-adventure survival horror video game developed by Compulsion Games and published by Gearbox Publishing. In 2016, an early access version was released for Microsoft Windows, with the full game seeing wide release ...

'', was produced in 2004. In 2008 she joined ''

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wi ...

'' as a contributing editor and writer of fiction.

Early life

Imogen Stubbs was born in

Rothbury Rothbury is a market town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, on the River Coquet. It is northwest of Morpeth and of Newcastle upon Tyne. At the 2001 Census, it had a population of 2,107. Rothbury emerged as an important town be ...

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

, lived briefly in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

, Hampshire, where her father was a naval officer, and then moved with her parents to London, where they lived on a vintage river barge on the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

. She was educated at Cavendish Primary School, then at two independent schools:

St Paul's Girls' School St Paul's Girls' School is an independent day school for girls, aged 11 to 18, located in Brook Green, Hammersmith, in West London, England. History St Paul's Girls' School was founded by the Worshipful Company of Mercers in 1904, using part o ...

and

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

, where Stubbs was one of the girls in the mixed

sixth form In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-l ...

, and

Exeter College, Oxford Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the fourth-oldest college of the un ...

, gaining a First Class degree. Her acting career started at Oxford, where she played Irina in a student production of '' Three Sisters'' at the

Oxford Playhouse Oxford Playhouse is a theatre designed by Edward Maufe and F.G.M. Chancellor. It is situated in Beaumont Street, Oxford, opposite the Ashmolean Museum. History The Playhouse was founded as ''The Red Barn'' at 12 Woodstock Road, North Oxfor ...

. After graduating, she enrolled at

RADA The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Se ...

, and while there had her first professional work, playing

Sally Bowles Sally Bowles () is a fictional character created by English-American novelist Christopher Isherwood and based upon 19-year-old cabaret singer Jean Ross. The character debuted in Isherwood's 1937 novella ''Sally Bowles'' published by Hogarth Press ...

in ''

Cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...

'' at the

Wolsey Theatre The New Wolsey Theatre is an award-winning producing theatre with a café & bar in Ipswich, Suffolk. It is a midsized regional theatre, having a seating capacity of 400. History It replaced The Arts Theatre, the town's much loved and respecte ...

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

. In 1982 she also appeared in her first film, '' Privileged''. Stubbs graduated from RADA in the same class as

Jane Horrocks Barbara Jane Horrocks (born 18 January 1964) is a British actress. She portrayed the roles of Bubble and Katy Grin in the BBC sitcom ''Absolutely Fabulous''. She was nominated for the 1993 Olivier Award for Best Actress for the title role in th ...

and

Iain Glen Iain Alan Sutherland Glen (born 24 June 1961) is a Scottish actor. Glen is best known for his roles as Dr. Alexander Isaacs/Tyrant in three films of the ''Resident Evil'' film series (2004–2016) and as Ser Jorah Mormont in the HBO fantasy t ...

, and later became an Associate Member of RADA.

Career

In the 1980s Stubbs achieved success on stage with 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 ...

, notably as Desdemona in ''

Othello ''Othello'' (full title: ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'') is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, probably in 1603, set in the contemporary Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cypru ...

'', which was directed by

Trevor Nunn Sir Trevor Robert Nunn (born 14 January 1940) is a British theatre director. He has been the Artistic Director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and, currently, the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. He has directed dramas f ...

. Other stage work includes '' Saint Joan'' at the Strand Theatre and ''

Heartbreak House ''Heartbreak House: A Fantasia in the Russian Manner on English Themes'' is a play written by George Bernard Shaw, first published in 1919 and first played at the Garrick Theatre in November 1920. According to A. C. Ward, the work argues that "cul ...

'' at the

Haymarket Haymarket may refer to: Places Australia * Haymarket, New South Wales, area of Sydney, Australia Germany * Heumarkt (KVB), transport interchange in Cologne on the site of the Heumarkt (literally: hay market) Russia * Sennaya Square (''Hay Squ ...

, and in 1997 she played in a London production of ''

A Streetcar Named Desire ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' is a play written by Tennessee Williams and first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947. The play dramatizes the experiences of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who, after encountering a series of pers ...

''. In 1988, Stubbs was a notable Ursula Brangwen in a BBC serialization of ''

The Rainbow ''The Rainbow'' is a novel by British author D. H. Lawrence, first published by Methuen & Co. in 1915. It follows three generations of the Brangwen family living in Nottinghamshire, focusing particularly on the individual's struggle to growth ...

'', and in 1993 and 1994 had the title role in ''

Anna Lee Anna Lee, MBE (born Joan Boniface Winnifrith; 2 January 1913 – 14 May 2004) was a British actress, labelled by studios "The British Bombshell". Early life Anna Lee was born Joan Boniface Winnifrith in Ightham, (pronounced 'Item'), Kent, the ...

''. She played Lucy Steele in ''

Sense and Sensibility ''Sense and Sensibility'' is a novel by Jane Austen, published in 1811. It was published anonymously; ''By A Lady'' appears on the title page where the author's name might have been. It tells the story of the Dashwood sisters, Elinor (age 19) a ...

'' (1995). In July 2004, Stubbs's play ''

'', directed by Trevor Nunn and starring

Juliet Stevenson Juliet Anne Virginia Stevenson, (born 30 October 1956) is an English actor of stage and screen. She is known for her role in the film ''Truly, Madly, Deeply'' (1991), for which she was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leadi ...

and

Marcia Warren Marcia Warren (born 26 November 1942) is an English stage, film and television actress. On stage, she appeared in ''Blithe Spirit'' as Madame Arcati and '' The Sea'' (2008) at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. She is currently appearing in Netflix' ...

, opened at the

Gielgud Theatre The Gielgud Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, at the corner of Rupert Street, in the City of Westminster, London. The house currently has 986 seats on three levels. The theatre was designed by W. G. R. Sprague and ...

, London, after a try-out in

Malvern Malvern or Malverne may refer to: Places Australia * Malvern, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide * Malvern, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne * City of Malvern, a former local government area near Melbourne * Electoral district of Malvern, an e ...

. In September 2008 ''

'' announced that she had joined the magazine as a contributing editor and writer of adventure stories.

Personal life

In 1994, Stubbs married

. The couple have two children: a son and a daughter,

Ellie Nunn Ellie Nunn (born 1991) is an English actress. She is the daughter of director Sir Trevor Nunn and actress Imogen Stubbs. She was educated at Cambridge University. She has appeared in stage productions including the off-West End musical '' Despe ...

, who is also an actress. In April 2011, Stubbs announced that she and her husband were separating.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Other projects and contributions

*''

When Love Speaks ''When Love Speaks'' is a compilation album that features interpretations of William Shakespeare's sonnets – some spoken, some set to music – and excerpts from his plays by famous actors and musicians, released under EMI Classics in April ...

'' (2002,

EMI Classics EMI Classics was a record label founded by Thorn EMI in 1990 to reduce the need to create country-specific packaging and catalogues for internationally distributed classical music releases. After Thorn EMI demerged in 1996, its recorded musi ...

) –

Shakespeare's William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

" Sonnet 21" ("So it is not with me as with that Muse")

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stubbs, Imogen 1961 births Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art English dramatists and playwrights English film actresses English stage actresses English television actresses Living people Actresses from London People educated at St Paul's Girls' School People educated at Westminster School, London Royal Shakespeare Company members English Shakespearean actresses Writers from London Actresses from Newcastle upon Tyne English women dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses People from Rothbury Actors from Northumberland Actresses from Northumberland English voice actresses Wives of knights