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Dame Joanna Lamond Lumley (born 1 May 1946) is an English actress, presenter, former model, author, television producer, and activist. She has won two
BAFTA TV Awards
The BAFTA TV Awards, or British Academy Television Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the BAFTA. They have been awarded annually since 1955.
Background
The first-ever Awards, given in 1955, consisted of six categories. Until ...
for her role as
Patsy Stone
Patsy Stone is one of the two main characters from the British television sitcom ''Absolutely Fabulous'', portrayed by actress Joanna Lumley.
Background
Patsy was the last of a string of children born to an aging Bohemian mother in Paris, who g ...
in 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. ...
...
sitcom ''
Absolutely Fabulous
''Absolutely Fabulous'' (also known as ''Ab Fab'') is a British television sitcom based on the ''French and Saunders'' sketch, "Modern Mother and Daughter", created by Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders. The show was created and written by Saund ...
'' (1992–2012), and was nominated for the 2011
Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play
The Tony Award for Best Featured 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, to actresses for quality supporting roles in a Broadway play. Th ...
for 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 ...
revival of ''
La Bête''. In 2013, she received the Special Recognition Award at the
National Television Awards
The National Television Awards (often shortened to NTAs) is a British television awards ceremony, broadcast by the ITV network and initiated in 1995. The National Television Awards are the most prominent ceremony for which the results are vot ...
, and in 2017 she was honoured with the
BAFTA Fellowship
The BAFTA Fellowship, or the Academy Fellowship, is a lifetime achievement award presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) in recognition of "outstanding achievement in the art forms of the moving image". The award is t ...
award.
Lumley's other television credits include ''
The New Avengers'' (1976–1977), ''
Sapphire & Steel
''Sapphire & Steel'' is a British television supernatural sci-fi/fantasy series starring David McCallum as Steel and Joanna Lumley as Sapphire. Produced by ATV, it ran from 1979 to 1982 on the ITV network. The series was created by Peter J. ...
'' (1979–1982), ''
Sensitive Skin'' (2005–2007), ''
Jam & Jerusalem'' (2006–2008) and ''
Finding Alice'' (2021–present) as well as playing
Elaine Perkins in ''
Coronation Street'' in 1973. Her film appearances include ''
On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' (1969), ''
Trail of the Pink Panther
A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. T ...
'' (1982), ''
Shirley Valentine
''Shirley Valentine'' is a one-character play by Willy Russell. Taking the form of a monologue by a middle-aged, working class Liverpool housewife, it focuses on her life before and after a transforming holiday abroad.
Plot
Wondering what has ...
'' (1989), ''
James and the Giant Peach
''James and the Giant Peach'' is a popular children's novel written in 1961 by British author Roald Dahl. The first edition, published by Alfred Knopf, featured illustrations by Nancy Ekholm Burkert. There have been re-illustrated versions of ...
'' (1996), ''
Ella Enchanted
''Ella Enchanted'' is a Newbery Honor[Corpse Bride
''Corpse Bride'' (also known as ''Tim Burton's Corpse Bride'') is a 2005 stop-motion animated musical dark fantasy film directed by Mike Johnson and Tim Burton with a screenplay by John August, Caroline Thompson and Pamela Pettler based o ...](_blank)
'' (2005), ''
The Wolf of Wall Street'' (2013), and ''
Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie'' (2016).
She had roles in two episodes of ''
Are You Being Served?
''Are You Being Served?'' is a British sitcom created and written by executive producer David Croft (Croft also directed some episodes) and Jeremy Lloyd, with contributions from Michael Knowles and John Chapman, for the BBC. Set in London ...
'' written by
Jeremy Lloyd
John Jeremy Lloyd, OBE (22 July 1930 – 23 December 2014) was an English writer, screenwriter, author, poet and actor. He was the co-writer of several successful British sitcoms, including ''Are You Being Served?'' and Allo 'Allo!''.
Ear ...
, whom she had married and
divorce
Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...
d three years previously.
Lumley is an advocate and
human rights activist
A human rights defender or human rights activist is a person who, individually or with others, acts to promote or protect human rights. They can be journalists, environmentalists, whistleblowers, trade unionists, lawyers, teachers, housing cam ...
for
Survival International
Survival International is a human rights organisation formed in 1969, a London based charity that campaigns for the rights of indigenous and/or tribal peoples and uncontacted peoples.
The organisation's campaigns generally focus on tribal peo ...
and the
Gurkha Justice Campaign. She supports charities and
animal welfare groups, such as
Compassion in World Farming
Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) is a campaigning and lobbying animal welfare organisation. It campaigns against the live export of animals, certain methods of livestock slaughter, and all systems of factory farming. It has received celebr ...
and
Vegetarians' International Voice for Animals
Viva! is a British animal rights group, which focuses on promoting veganism. It was founded by Juliet Gellatley in 1994. Viva! carries out undercover investigations to expose the abuse of factory farmed animals and produces information on how ...
. Lumley was made a
Dame (DBE) in the
2022 New Year Honours
The 2022 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrations ...
for services to drama, entertainment and charity.
Early life
Joanna Lamond Lumley was born on 1 May 1946 in
Srinagar,
Jammu and Kashmir, in the last days of
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
. Both sides of her family had generations of service to the Raj, with many relatives born there. She has an older sister, Aelene.
Her mother, Thyra Beatrice Rose (née Weir; 1920–2005), was English. Her grandfather
Lieutenant Colonel Leslie Weir (1883–1950) had been born in
Ghazipur
Ghazipur is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Ghazipur city is the administrative headquarters of the Ghazipur district, one of the four districts that form the Varanasi division of Uttar Pradesh.
The city of Ghazipur also constitu ...
and served as an army officer in
Kashmir; he was a close friend of the
13th Dalai Lama.
Her father,
Major James Rutherford Lumley (1917–1999), was born in
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...
(now part of Pakistan) with Scottish and English roots. He served as an officer in the
British Indian Army's
6th Queen Elizabeth's Own Gurkha Rifles
The 6th Queen Elizabeth's Own Gurkha Rifles was a rifle regiment of the British Indian Army, before being transferred to the British Army following India's independence. Originally raised in 1817 as part of the army of the British East India Compa ...
in
Burma during World War II, most notably at the
Battle of Mogaung
The Battle of Mogaung was a series of engagements that was fought in the Burma Campaign of World War II between 6 and 26 June 1944 at the Burmese town of Mogaung. In brutal fighting, the 77th 'Chindit' Brigade under Brigadier Michael Calvert, l ...
.
[Family detective: Joanna Lumley](_blank)
His life was saved by
Tul Bahadur Pun.
Joanna Lumley's parents married in 1941. She has early memories of living in the tropics.
The family went "home" on leave to England, travelling on the
HMT Empire Windrush
HMT ''Empire Windrush'', originally MV ''Monte Rosa'', was a passenger liner and cruise ship launched in Germany in 1930. She was owned and operated by the German shipping line in the 1930s under the name ''Monte Rosa''. During World War II she ...
. When her parents returned to Asia, she stayed, boarding at Mickledene School in
Rolvenden
Rolvenden is a village and civil parish in the Ashford District of Kent, England. The village is centred on the A28 Ashford to Hastings road, south-west of Tenterden.
The settlement of Rolvenden Layne, south of Rolvenden, is also part of th ...
, Kent. She was eight years old, which she later described as “paralysingly young". From 11 to 17 she attended
St Mary's Convent School on the Ridge, run by
Community of the Holy Family
The Community of the Holy Family (CHF) is an Anglican religious order of nuns, originally founded in the Church of England, but now active in Italy and the United States.
History In England
In origin, the community was formed of well educated you ...
:
[Miss Hortin-Smith by Joanna Lumley , Tes News](_blank)
accessdate: 1 July 2020
:"I especially loved my second boarding school, an Anglo-Catholic convent in the hills behind Hastings. The nuns wore blue stockings and were brainy and lovely. There were 70 boarders and I was happy as a clam."
She attended the
Lucie Clayton Finishing School in London, after being turned down by 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 Senat ...
at the age of 16.
Career
Lumley spent three years as a photographic model, notably for
Brian Duffy, who photographed her with her son, born in 1967. That year she also appeared on the
BBC2 programme ''The Impresarios: For Appearance's Sake''. She also worked as a house model for
Jean Muir
Jean Elizabeth Muir ( ; 17 July 1928 – 28 May 1995) was a British fashion designer.
Early life and career
Jean Muir was born in London, the daughter of Cyril Muir, a draper's floor superintendent, and his wife, Phyllis Coy. Her father ...
. Over forty years later, she participated in another photoshoot – again with her son – for Duffy as part of a retrospective of the photographer's work.
Lumley appeared in an early episode of the ''
Bruce Forsyth
Sir Bruce Joseph Forsyth-Johnson (22 February 1928 – 18 August 2017) was a British entertainer and presenter whose career spanned more than 70 years. Forsyth came to national attention from the late 1950s through the ITV series '' Sunday Nig ...
Show'' in 1966. She appeared in a British television advertisement for Nimble Bread first screened in 1969.
Lumley did not receive any formal training at drama school. Her acting career began in 1969 with a small, uncredited role in the film ''
Some Girls Do'', and as a
Bond girl
A Bond girl is a character who is a love interest or female companion of James Bond in a novel, film or video game. Bond girls occasionally have names that are double entendres or puns, such as Pussy Galore, Plenty O'Toole, Xenia Onatopp, o ...
in ''
On Her Majesty's Secret Service'', in which she had two lines as the English girl among the villainous
Ernst Stavro Blofeld
Ernst Stavro Blofeld is a character (arts), fictional character and villain from the James Bond series of novels and films, created by Ian Fleming. A criminal mastermind with aspirations of world domination, he is the archenemy of the Secret In ...
's "Angels of Death". Lumley went on to have a brief but memorable role as
Elaine Perkins in ''
Coronation Street'', in which her character turned down
Ken Barlow
Ken Barlow is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street'', played by William Roache. He was created by Tony Warren as one of ''Coronation Street''s original characters and December 2020 marked Ken's 60th anni ...
's offer of marriage, as well as roles in other popular television series such as ''
Are You Being Served?
''Are You Being Served?'' is a British sitcom created and written by executive producer David Croft (Croft also directed some episodes) and Jeremy Lloyd, with contributions from Michael Knowles and John Chapman, for the BBC. Set in London ...
'', ''
Steptoe and Son
''Steptoe and Son'' is a British sitcom written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson about a father-and-son rag-and-bone business in 26a Oil Drum Lane, a fictional street in Shepherd's Bush, London. Four series were broadcast by the BBC in black and w ...
'' and ''
The Protectors
''The Protectors'' is a British television series, an action thriller created by Gerry Anderson. It was Anderson's second TV series to exclusively use live actors as opposed to marionettes (following ''UFO''), and his second to be firmly set in ...
''. In 1973, she made another big screen appearance as Jessica Van Helsing in ''
The Satanic Rites of Dracula
''The Satanic Rites of Dracula'' is a 1973 British horror film directed by Alan Gibson and produced by Hammer Film Productions. It is the eighth film in Hammer's ''Dracula'' series, and the seventh and final one to feature Christopher Lee as Dr ...
'', the last Hammer Dracula film to star
Christopher Lee. She also had a role in the comedy film ''
Don't Just Lie There, Say Something!
''Don't Just Lie There, Say Something!'' is a 1974 British political themed-comedy film based on the popular "Whitehall farce" written by Michael Pertwee, who also wrote the screenplay.
In the film, a government minister and his best friend co-s ...
'' (1974) alongside
Leslie Phillips
Leslie Samuel Phillips (20 April 1924 – 7 November 2022) was an English actor, director, producer and author. He achieved prominence in the 1950s, playing smooth, upper-class comic roles utilising his "Ding dong" and "Hello" catchphrases. ...
and
Joan Sims
Irene Joan Marion Sims (9 May 1930 – 27 June 2001) was an English actress, best remembered for her roles in the ''Carry On'' franchise, appearing in 24 of the films (the most for any actress).
On television, she is known for playing Gran i ...
.
She has worked with
Tim Burton
Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and animator. He is known for his gothic fantasy and horror films such as '' Beetlejuice'' (1988), '' Edward Scissorhands'' (1990), '' The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (1993 ...
on two film projects, in ''
James and the Giant Peach
''James and the Giant Peach'' is a popular children's novel written in 1961 by British author Roald Dahl. The first edition, published by Alfred Knopf, featured illustrations by Nancy Ekholm Burkert. There have been re-illustrated versions of ...
'' (1996) and ''
Corpse Bride
''Corpse Bride'' (also known as ''Tim Burton's Corpse Bride'') is a 2005 stop-motion animated musical dark fantasy film directed by Mike Johnson and Tim Burton with a screenplay by John August, Caroline Thompson and Pamela Pettler based o ...
'' (2005). She has also appeared alongside
Hugh Laurie
James Hugh Calum Laurie (; born 11 June 1959) is an English actor, comedian, writer, and musician. He first gained recognition for his work as one half of the comedy double act Fry and Laurie with Stephen Fry. The two men acted together in ...
in the British romantic comedy ''
Maybe Baby
Viktoriya Vladimirovna Lysyuk (; born 27 September 1995), known professionally as MAYBE BABY (), is a Belarusian pop singer and rap artist based in Russia.
Early life
Victoria Lysyuk was born in the city of Zhabinka in the Brest Region of Belar ...
'' (2000) and alongside
Anne Hathaway
Anne Jacqueline Hathaway (born November 12, 1982) is an American actress. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award, she was among the world's highest-paid actresses in 2 ...
in ''
Ella Enchanted
''Ella Enchanted'' is a Newbery Honor[Agatha Christie's Marple
''Agatha Christie's Marple'' (or simply ''Marple'') is a British ITV television programme loosely based on the books and short stories by British crime novelist Agatha Christie. The title character was played by Geraldine McEwan from the firs ...](_blank)
'', in the episodes; 'The Body in the Library' (2004) & 'The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side' (2009). In 2010, she appeared in a 4-episode guest arc on 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. ...
...
drama, ''