Janet McTeer (born 5 August 1961
["Ms Janet McTeer, OBE"]
. ''Derbrett's People of Today''. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
[''Births, Marriages, & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005''; at ancestry.com]) is an English actress. She began her career training at the
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
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 Sen ...
before earning acclaim for playing diverse roles on stage and screen in both period pieces and modern dramas. She's received numerous accolades including a
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...
, a
Olivier Award
The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known a ...
, a
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
, and nominations for an
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
and
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...
. In 2008 she was appointed as an
Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) from
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
for her services to drama.
McTeer made her professional stage debut in 1984, and was nominated for the 1986
Olivier Award for Best Newcomer for ''The Grace of Mary Traverse''. She received the
Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress
The Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Play is an annual award presented by the Society of London Theatre in recognition of achievements in commercial London theatre. The awards were established as the Society of West End Theatre Awards ...
, and the
Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play
The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play is an honor presented at the Tony Awards, a ceremony established in 1947 as the Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre. The award is given to actresses for quality lead ...
for her performance in ''
A Doll's House
''A Doll's House'' ( Danish and nb, Et dukkehjem; also translated as ''A Doll House'') is a three-act play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It premiered at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 21 December 1879, having be ...
'' in 1997. For her roles on
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
, she received two other nominations for ''
Mary Stuart'' in 2009 and ''Bernhardt/Hamlet'' in 2019.
McTeer has also gained acclaim for her film roles, having received two
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
nominations, one for
Best Actress
Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress aw ...
for ''
Tumbleweeds
A tumbleweed is a kind of plant habit or structure.
Tumbleweed, tumble-weed or tumble weed may also refer to:
Films
* ''Tumbleweeds'' (1925 film), William S. Hart film
* ''Tumbling Tumbleweeds'' (1935 film), Gene Autry film
* ''Tumbleweed'' (1 ...
'' in 1997, and the other for
Best Supporting Actress for ''
Albert Nobbs
''Albert Nobbs'' is a 2011 drama film directed by Rodrigo GarcÃa and starring Glenn Close. The screenplay, by Close, John Banville and Gabriella Prekop, is based on the 1927 novella ''Albert Nobbs'' by George Moore.
The film received mixed ...
'' in 2011. Other roles include ''
Wuthering Heights
''Wuthering Heights'' is an 1847 novel by Emily Brontë, initially published under her pen name Ellis Bell. It concerns two families of the landed gentry living on the West Yorkshire moorland, moors, the Earnshaws and the Lintons, and their tur ...
'' (1992), ''
Carrington'' (1995), ''
Velvet Goldmine
''Velvet Goldmine'' is a 1998 musical drama film written and directed by Todd Haynes from a story by Haynes and James Lyons. It is set in Britain during the glam rock days of the early 1970s, and tells the story of fictional bisexual pop star ...
'' (1998), ''
Songcatcher
''Songcatcher'' is a 2000 drama film directed by Maggie Greenwald. It is about a musicologist researching and collecting Appalachian folk music in the mountains of western North Carolina. Although ''Songcatcher'' is a fictional film, it is loosely ...
'' (2000), ''
As You Like It
''As You Like It'' is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has b ...
'' (2006), ''
The Divergent Series
''The Divergent Series'' is a feature film series based on the '' Divergent'' novels by the American author Veronica Roth. Distributed by Summit Entertainment and Lionsgate Films, the series consists of three science fiction action films set i ...
'' (2015–2016), and ''
The Menu
''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...
'' (2022).
On television, she starred in the title role of
Lynda La Plante
Lynda La Plante, CBE (born Lynda Titchmarsh; 15 March 1943) is an English author, screenwriter and former actress, best known for writing the ''Prime Suspect'' television crime series.
Early life
Lynda La Plante was born Lynda Titchmarsh on ...
's ''The Governor'' (1995–1996), and received a
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...
nomination for her portrayal of
Clementine Churchill
Clementine Ogilvy Spencer Churchill, Baroness Spencer-Churchill, (; 1 April 1885 – 12 December 1977) was the wife of Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and a life peer in her own right. While legally the daughter o ...
in the
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
film ''
Into the Storm'' (2009). She's also known for her roles in ''
Damages
At common law, damages are a remedy in the form of a monetary award to be paid to a claimant as compensation for loss or injury. To warrant the award, the claimant must show that a breach of duty has caused foreseeable loss. To be recognised at ...
'' (2012), ''
The White Queen'' (2013), ''
The Honourable Woman
''The Honourable Woman'' is a 2014 British political spy thriller television miniseries in eight parts, directed and written by Hugo Blick for the BBC and SundanceTV. Featuring Maggie Gyllenhaal in the title role, it aired on BBC Two in the ...
'' (2014), ''
Jessica Jones'' (2018), ''
Sorry for Your Loss
''Sorry for Your Loss'' is an American drama series created by Kit Steinkellner that premiered on September 18, 2018 on Facebook Watch. The series follows a young widow and her family as they struggle to cope with the unexpected death of her husb ...
'' (2018-2019), and ''
Ozark
The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant porti ...
'' (2018-2020).
Early life
McTeer was born in
Wallsend
Wallsend is a town in North Tyneside, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne.
History Roman Wallsend
In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of Segedunum. This f ...
,
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...
, England, and spent her childhood in
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
. She attended the now defunct
Queen Anne Grammar School for Girls, and worked at the Old Starre Inn, at
York Minster
The Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, commonly known as York Minster, is the cathedral of York, North Yorkshire, England, and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe. The minster is the seat of the Arch ...
and at the city's
Theatre Royal. She performed locally with the Rowntree Players at Joseph Rowntree Theatre, then trained at the
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
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 Sen ...
, beginning a successful theatrical career with the
Royal Exchange Theatre
The Royal Exchange is a grade II listed building in Manchester, England. It is located in the city centre on the land bounded by St Ann's Square, Exchange Street, Market Street, Cross Street and Old Bank Street. The complex includes the Royal ...
after graduating.
Career
Early roles
McTeer's television work includes the
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. ...
...
. She made her screen debut in ''
. In 1991, she appeared in
award for best drama. She appeared in the 1992
''.
, who, at the time, was working on a screenplay about a single mother's cross-country wanderings with her pre-teenage daughter. He was determined that she star in the film. When prospective backers balked at her relative anonymity in the US, he produced the film himself. ''
nominations in the same category.
. She also starred in the dramatisation of Mary Webb's ''
''.
").