Jennifer Ann Agutter (born 20 December 1952) is a British actress. She began her career as a child actress in 1964, appearing in ''
East of Sudan
''East of Sudan'' is a 1964 British adventure film directed by Nathan Juran and featuring Anthony Quayle, Sylvia Syms and Derek Fowlds.
The storyline is spliced with various sections of African wildlife. Much of this stock footage makes no s ...
'', ''
Star!'', and two adaptations of ''
The Railway Children
''The Railway Children'' is a children's book by Edith Nesbit, originally serialised in ''The London Magazine'' during 1905 and published in book form in the same year. It has been adapted for the screen several times, of which the 1970 fil ...
''—the
BBC's 1968 television serial and the
1970 film version. She also starred in the critically acclaimed film ''
Walkabout '' and the TV film ''
The Snow Goose'' (both 1971), for which she won an
Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama.
She relocated to the United States in 1974 to pursue a Hollywood career and subsequently appeared in
''Logan's Run'' (1976), ''
Amy'' (1981), ''
An American Werewolf in London'' (1981), and ''
Child's Play 2
''Child's Play 2'' is a 1990 American slasher film and the direct sequel to '' Child's Play'', written by Don Mancini and directed by John Lafia, one of the co-writers of the first film. It is the second installment in the ''Child's Play'' fran ...
'' (1990). During the same period, Agutter continued appearing in high-profile British films, such as ''
The Eagle Has Landed'' (1976), ''
Equus'' (1977) (for which she won a
BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Best Actress in a Supporting Role is a British Academy Film Award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding supporting performance in a film.
This award ...
), and ''
The Riddle of the Sands
''The Riddle of the Sands: A Record of Secret Service'' is a 1903 novel by Erskine Childers. The book, which enjoyed immense popularity in the years before World War I, is an early example of the espionage novel and was extremely influenti ...
'' (1979). In 1981, she co-starred in ''
The Survivor'', an Australian adaptation of the
James Herbert
James John Herbert, OBE (8 April 1943 – 20 March 2013) was an English horror writer. A full-time writer, he also designed his own book covers and publicity. His books have sold 54 million copies worldwide, and have been translated into 34 l ...
novel by that name, and was nominated for an
AACTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
The AACTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role is an award presented by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA), a non-profit organisation whose aim is to "identify, award, promote, and celebrate Australia's greatest ach ...
.
After returning to Britain in the early 1990s to pursue family life, Agutter shifted her focus to television, and in 2000, she appeared in a
television adaptation of ''The Railway Children'', this time taking on the role of the mother. She has continued to work steadily in British television drama, and since 2012 she has starred in the BBC's primetime ratings hit ''
Call the Midwife
''Call the Midwife'' is a BBC period drama series about a group of nurse midwives working in the East End of London in the late 1950s and 1960s. The principal cast of the show has included Jessica Raine, Miranda Hart, Helen George, Bryony Ha ...
''. She also made a return to Hollywood film-making in 2012, appearing in ''
The Avengers'', and reprising her role in ''
Captain America: The Winter Soldier'' (2014). In 2022, Agutter once again returned to the world of ''The Railway Children'' by reprising her role from the 1970 film 52 years later in a sequel, ''
The Railway Children Return
''The Railway Children Return'', known as ''Railway Children'' in the US, is a 2022 family drama film directed by Morgan Matthews and written by Danny Brocklehurst. It is a sequel to the 1970 film ''The Railway Children'', itself based on the E ...
''.
Agutter is married, and has one adult son. She supports several charitable causes, mostly ones related to
cystic fibrosis, a condition from which her niece suffers, and for her service to those causes was appointed
Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the
2012 Birthday Honours
The Birthday Honours List 2012 was released on 16 June 2012 in the United Kingdom. on 11 June 2012 in Australia on 4 June 2012 in New Zealand,[Taunton
Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...]
, Somerset, England. She is the daughter of Derek Agutter (an entertainments manager in the British Army) and Catherine, and was raised Roman Catholic. She has Irish ancestry on her mother's side. As a child, she lived in Singapore,
Dhekelia
Dhekelia Cantonment ( el, Φρουρά Δεκέλεια, tr, Dikelya Cantonment) is a military base in Akrotiri and Dhekelia, a British Overseas Territory on the island of Cyprus, administered as the Sovereign Base Areas. It is located in the ...
(Cyprus) and
Kuala Lumpur
, anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera''
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia
, pushpin_map_caption =
, coordinates =
, sub ...
(
Malaya). She was discovered at
Elmhurst Ballet School
Elmhurst Ballet School is an independent school for professional classical ballet in the United Kingdom. It takes students aged 11–19 years who intend to pursue a career in professional classical ballet. Elmhurst provides a full academic day i ...
, a boarding school she attended from ages eight to sixteen,
when a casting agent was looking for a young English-speaking girl for a film. She did not get that part, but he recommended her to the producers of ''
East of Sudan
''East of Sudan'' is a 1964 British adventure film directed by Nathan Juran and featuring Anthony Quayle, Sylvia Syms and Derek Fowlds.
The storyline is spliced with various sections of African wildlife. Much of this stock footage makes no s ...
'' (1964).
Career
Television and film
Agutter became known to television audiences for her role in the twice-weekly BBC series ''
The Newcomers''. (She played Kirsty, the daughter of the new managing director of Eden Brothers, the fictional firm that is at the centre of the series.) Agutter could appear only during school holidays. At this stage of her career, she was listed in credits as “Jennifer”. In 1966, she portrayed a ballet pupil in Disney's film ''Ballerina''. In 1968, she was featured in the lavish big-budget
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
film musical ''Star!'' which featured
Julie Andrews as
Gertrude Lawrence
Gertrude Lawrence (4 July 1898 – 6 September 1952) was an English actress, singer, dancer and musical comedy performer known for her stage appearances in the West End of London and on Broadway in New York.
Early life
Lawrence was born Gertr ...
; Agutter played Lawrence's neglected daughter Pamela. Later, she played Roberta in a BBC adaptation of ''
The Railway Children
''The Railway Children'' is a children's book by Edith Nesbit, originally serialised in ''The London Magazine'' during 1905 and published in book form in the same year. It has been adapted for the screen several times, of which the 1970 fil ...
'' (1968) and in
Lionel Jeffries
Lionel Charles Jeffries (10 June 1926 – 19 February 2010) was an English actor, director, and screenwriter. He appeared primarily in films and received a Golden Globe Award nomination during his acting career.
Early life
Jeffries was born in ...
's
1970 film of the book. She followed this with a more serious role in the thriller ''
I Start Counting'' (1969). She also won an Emmy as supporting actress for her television role as Fritha in a British
television adaptation of ''The Snow Goose'' (1971).
Agutter then moved into adult roles, beginning with ''
Walkabout
Walkabout is a rite of passage in Australian Aboriginal society, during which males undergo a journey during adolescence, typically ages 10 to 16, and live in the wilderness for a period as long as six months to make the spiritual and traditiona ...
'' (1971), in which she played a teenage schoolgirl who is lost with her younger brother in the Australian
outback. She auditioned for the role in 1967, but funding problems delayed filming until 1969. The delay meant Agutter was 16 at the time of filming, which allowed the director to include nude scenes.
[ Nowra, L. (2003). ''Walkabout''. Sydney: ]Currency Press
Currency Press is a leading performing arts publisher and its oldest independent publisher still active. Their list includes plays and screenplays, professional handbooks, biographies, cultural histories, critical studies and reference works.
H ...
& Canberra: ScreenSound Australia, National Screen and Sound Archive, pp. 17–18; . Among them was a five-minute
skinny-dipping scene, which was cut from the original US release. She said at the 2005
Bradford Film Festival at the
National Media Museum
The National Science and Media Museum (formerly The National Museum of Photography, Film & Television, 1983–2006 and then the National Media Museum, 2006–2017), located in Bradford, West Yorkshire, is part of the national Science Museum G ...
that she was shocked by the film's explicitness, but remained on good terms with director
Nicolas Roeg
Nicolas Jack Roeg (; 15 August 1928 – 23 November 2018) was an English film director and cinematographer, best known for directing ''Performance'' (1970), '' Walkabout'' (1971), ''Don't Look Now'' (1973), '' The Man Who Fell to Earth'' (1976 ...
.
[''Jenny Agutter: A Charmed Career'', 2006. Directed by Tony Earnshaw. National Museum of Photography, Film & Television.]
Agutter moved to Hollywood at 21 and appeared in a number of films over the next decade, including ''
The Eagle Has Landed'' (1976), ''
Logan's Run
''Logan's Run'' is a science fiction novel by American writers William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson. Published in 1967, the novel depicts a dystopic Malthusianism future society in which both population and the consumption of resource ...
'' (1976), ''
Equus'' (1977), for which she won a
BAFTA as Best Supporting Actress), ''
An American Werewolf in London'' (1981), and an adaptation of the James Herbert novel ''
The Survivor'' (1981). Agutter has commented that the innocence of the characters she played in her early films, combined with the costumes and nudity in later adult roles such as ''Logan's Run'', ''Equus'', and ''An American Werewolf in London'', are "perfect fantasy fodder".
In 1990, Agutter returned to the UK to concentrate on family life and her focus shifted towards British television. During the 1990s, she was cast in an adaptation of
Jeffrey Archer
Jeffrey Howard Archer, Baron Archer of Weston-super-Mare (born 15 April 1940) is an English novelist, life peer, convicted criminal, and former politician. Before becoming an author, Archer was a Member of Parliament (1969–1974), but did not ...
's novel ''
Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less
''Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less'' was Jeffrey Archer's first novel, first published in 1976. It was said to have been inspired by Archer's real-life experience of near- bankruptcy.
Synopsis
Harvey Metcalfe, a Polish immigrant to the Unite ...
'' and as the scandalous Idina Hatton in the BBC miniseries ''
The Buccaneers'', inspired by
Edith Wharton's unfinished 1938 book, and made guest appearances in television series such as ''
Red Dwarf'' and
''Heartbeat''. In 2000, she starred in a third adaptation of ''The Railway Children'', produced by
Carlton TV
Carlton Television (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV franchise holder for London and the surrounding counties from 9.25am every Monday to 5.15pm every Friday. The company is now managed with London Weekend Tele ...
, this time playing the mother. Since then Agutter has had recurring roles in several television series including ''
Spooks'', ''
The Invisibles
''The Invisibles'' is a comic book series published by the Vertigo imprint of DC Comics from 1994 to 2000. It was created and scripted by Scottish writer Grant Morrison, and drawn by various artists throughout its publication.
The series loosely ...
'', ''
Monday Monday
''Monday Monday'' is an ITV, UTV comedy drama. It stars Fay Ripley, Jenny Agutter, Neil Stuke, Holly Aird, Morven Christie, Tom Ellis, and Miranda Hart.
It is set in the head office of a supermarket that has fallen on hard times and had t ...
'' and ''
The Alan Clark Diaries
''The Alan Clark Diaries'' is a 2004 BBC television serial dramatising the diaries of the controversial British Conservative politician Alan Clark. The six-episode series debuted on BBC Four on 15 January 2004, and was later repeated on BBC Two ...
''. In 2012 Agutter resumed her Hollywood career, appearing as a member of the World Security Council in the blockbuster film ''
The Avengers''; she reprised her role in ''
Captain America: The Winter Soldier'' (2014). Since 2012, Agutter has played Sister Julienne in the BBC television drama series ''
Call the Midwife
''Call the Midwife'' is a BBC period drama series about a group of nurse midwives working in the East End of London in the late 1950s and 1960s. The principal cast of the show has included Jessica Raine, Miranda Hart, Helen George, Bryony Ha ...
''.
Theatre
Agutter has appeared in numerous theatre productions since her stage debut in 1970, including stints at the
National Theatre in 1972–73, the title role in a derivation of ''
Hedda Gabler
''Hedda Gabler'' () is a play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The world premiere was staged on 31 January 1891 at the Residenztheater in Munich. Ibsen himself was in attendance, although he remained back-stage. The play has been ca ...
'' at the
Roundhouse in 1980 and with the
Royal Shakespeare Company in 1982–83, playing Alice in
Arden of Faversham
''Arden of Faversham'' (original spelling: ''Arden of Feversham'') is an Elizabethan play, entered into the Register of the Stationers Company on 3 April 1592, and printed later that same year by Edward White. It depicts the real-life murde ...
, Regan in
King Lear
''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare.
It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane ...
and Fontanelle in
Lear
Lear or Leir may refer to:
Acronyms
* Liga de Escritores y Artistas Revolucionarios, a Mexican association of revolutionary artists and writers
* Low Energy Ion Ring, an ion pre-accelerator of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN
** Low Energy Antipr ...
. In 1987–88, Agutter played the role of Pat Green in the
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 ...
production of the
Hugh Whitemore
Hugh John Whitemore (16 June 1936 – 17 July 2018) was an English playwright and screenwriter.
Biography
Whitemore studied for the stage at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where he was taught by Peter Barkworth, then on the staff at RADA ...
play ''
Breaking the Code
''Breaking the Code'' is a 1986 play by Hugh Whitemore about British mathematician Alan Turing, who was a key player in the breaking of the German Enigma code at Bletchley Park during World War II and a pioneer of computer science. The play th ...
'', about computer pioneer
Alan Turing
Alan Mathison Turing (; 23 June 1912 – 7 June 1954) was an English mathematician, computer scientist, logician, cryptanalyst, philosopher, and theoretical biologist. Turing was highly influential in the development of theoretical co ...
.
[Jenny Agutter website: Biography](_blank)
. Retrieved 5 August 2013. In 1995 she was in an RSC production of ''
Love's Labour's Lost'' staged in Tokyo.
She is also a patron of the
Shakespeare Schools Festival
Please note: Shakespeare Schools Festival became Shakespeare Schools Foundation in 2016. The Festival is the charity's flagship project.
The Shakespeare Schools Festival is the world's largest youth drama festival. Schools who participate perfor ...
, a charity that enables school children in the UK to perform Shakespeare in professional theatres.
Audio
In 2008, she also guest-starred in the ''
Doctor Who''
audio drama
Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...
''
The Bride of Peladon'' and played an outlawed scientist in ''
The Minister of Chance The Minister of Chance is a fantasy drama series written and produced by Dan Freeman of Radio Static. The Minister of Chance first appeared in Doctor Who webcast ''Death Comes to Time'', played by Stephen Fry. The series won the 2013 Parsec Award fo ...
''. She has appeared as a guest star character ("Fiona Templeton") in the Radio 4 comedy ''
Ed Reardon's Week
''Ed Reardon's Week'' is a sitcom on BBC Radio 4 recorded semi-naturalistically in the style of a radio drama. It concerns the story of a curmudgeonly middle-aged writer described in the show's publicity material as an "author, pipesmoker, consu ...
''.
Music
Agutter appears on the 1990
Prefab Sprout
Prefab Sprout are an English pop band from Witton Gilbert, County Durham who rose to fame during the 1980s. Formed in 1978 by brothers Paddy and Martin McAloon and joined by vocalist, guitarist and keyboard player Wendy Smith in 1982, they re ...
song "Wild Horses", speaking the words "I want to have you".
Personal life
At a 1989 arts festival in
Bath, Somerset, Agutter met Johan Tham, a Swedish hotelier
who was a director of
Cliveden Hotel in Buckinghamshire. They married in August 1990, and their son Jonathan was born on 25 December 1990.
Agutter lives in London, but has a keen interest in
Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
and once owned a second home there on the
Trelowarren Estate, in one of the parishes on
the Lizard peninsula.
She was appointed an
Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the
2012 Birthday Honours
The Birthday Honours List 2012 was released on 16 June 2012 in the United Kingdom. on 11 June 2012 in Australia on 4 June 2012 in New Zealand,[Cystic Fibrosis Trust
The Cystic Fibrosis Trust (stylised as Cystic Fibros''is''), is a UK-based national charity founded in 1964, dealing with all aspects of cystic fibrosis (CF). It funds research to treat and cure CF and aims to ensure appropriate clinical care and ...]
, of which she is a patron (she is also a carrier of the genetic mutation).
Politics
In August 2014, Agutter was also one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to ''The Guardian'' expressing their hope that Scotland would vote to remain part of the United Kingdom in September 2014's
referendum on that issue.
Filmography
Film
Television
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
*
Jenny Agutterat the
TCM Movie Database
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of At ...
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Agutter, Jenny
Living people
1952 births
20th-century English actresses
21st-century English actresses
Actresses from Somerset
Best Supporting Actress BAFTA Award winners
English child actresses
English film actresses
English stage actresses
English television actresses
People educated at the Elmhurst School for Dance
People from Taunton
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Primetime Emmy Award winners
English people of Irish descent