Josie Lawrence (born Wendy Lawrence; 6 June 1959) is an English actress and comedian. She is best known for her work with the
Comedy Store Players
The Comedy Store Players is a group of improvisational comedians who perform at The Comedy Store in London. The group first came into being in October 1985.
Members of the group have included:
*Dave Cohen
*Jeremy Hardy
* Kit Hollerbach
*Josie La ...
improvisational troupe, the television series ''
Whose Line Is It Anyway?
''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' is a short-form improvisational comedy show originating as a British radio programme, before moving to British television in 1988. Following the conclusion of the British run in 1999, ABC began airing an American ...
'' and as
Manda Best
Manda Best is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Josie Lawrence. Manda was introduced by executive producer Diederick Santer, and made her first appearance on 6 March 2009 and her last on 12 February 20 ...
in ''
EastEnders''.
Early life
Lawrence was born Wendy Lawrence on 6 June 1959 in
Old Hill
Old Hill is a small village in the metropolitan borough of Sandwell in the West Midlands, England, situated around north of Halesowen and south of Dudley. Initially a separate village it is now part of the much larger West Midlands conurba ...
,
Staffordshire. Her parents were Bert Lawrence and Kathleen Lawrence, née Griffin, who were married in 1948. She has older twin siblings, John and Janet, who are ten years her senior (1949). They were brought up in nearby
Cradley Heath
Cradley Heath is a town in the Rowley Regis area of the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, West Midlands, England approximately north-west of Halesowen, south of Dudley and west of central Birmingham. Cradley Heath is often confused with t ...
, where her father worked for
British Leyland
British Leyland was an automotive engineering and manufacturing conglomerate formed in the United Kingdom in 1968 as British Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd (BLMC), following the merger of Leyland Motors and British Motor Holdings. It was partl ...
and her mother as a
dinner lady
Lunch lady, in Canada and the US, is a term for a woman who cooks and serves food in a school cafeteria. The equivalent term in the United Kingdom is dinner lady. The role is also sometimes known as cafeteria lady. Sometimes, a lunch lady also p ...
. She knew she wanted to be an actress at the early age of 5, and by the time she was 16 she joined the Barlow Players in
Oldbury.
She studied at
Dartington College of Arts
Dartington College of Arts was a specialist arts college located at Dartington Hall in the south-west of England, offering courses at degree and postgraduate level together with an arts research programme. It existed for a period of almost 50 ...
from 1978 to 1981, receiving a Bachelor of Arts honours degree.
Career
Stage
Her first acting role was as a young boy in a production of ''
The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists
''The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists'' (1914) is a semi-autobiographical novel by Irish house painter and sign writer Robert Noonan, who wrote the book in his spare time under the pen name Robert Tressell. Published after Tressell's death f ...
'' at the
Half Moon Theatre
The Half Moon Theatre Company was formed in 1972 in a rented synagogue in Alie Street, Whitechapel, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. ''Half Moon Passage'' was the name of a nearby alley. The founders, Michael Irving and Maurice Colbourne ...
(in 2016 she became a patron of the theatre). During the 1980s, she was also involved in a play called ''Passionaria'' at the
Newcastle Playhouse
Northern Stage is a theatre and producing theatre company based in Newcastle upon Tyne. It is surrounded by Newcastle University's city centre campus on King's Walk, opposite the students' union building. It hosts various local, national and int ...
, starring
Denise Black
Denise Black (born 16 March 1958) is an English actress. She is best known for her roles in '' Coronation Street'' and ''Emmerdale'' and guest starring as ''Jessie Devlin'' Denny Blood's mother in '' ITV drama series '' Bad Girls''.
Early lif ...
and Kate McKenzie, and they later formed the jazz group Denise Black and the Kray Sisters.
[The Northern Echo](_blank)
16 June 2005
Her work in comedy began as a result of starring in a
Donmar Warehouse
The Donmar Warehouse is a 251-seat, not-for-profit theatre in Covent Garden, London, England. It first opened on 18 July 1977.
Sam Mendes, Michael Grandage and Josie Rourke have all served as artistic director, a post held since 2019 by Mi ...
play called ''Songs For Stray Cats'' and hearing the audience invited to supply lines and ideas for improvisers appearing in after-show cabaret.
She starred as the title character in the 1993 Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith production of the musical ''Moll Flanders''.
From 1994–96, Lawrence played Katharine in the
Royal Shakespeare Company production of ''
The Taming of the Shrew
''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken ...
'' in both
Stratford-upon-Avon and London, for which she received a Dame
Peggy Ashcroft
Dame Edith Margaret Emily Ashcroft (22 December 1907 – 14 June 1991), known professionally as Peggy Ashcroft, was an English actress whose career spanned more than 60 years.
Born to a comfortable middle-class family, Ashcroft was deter ...
award for Best Actress.
She also appeared in ''
Faust
Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540).
The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroa ...
'' and ''
The Cherry Orchard
''The Cherry Orchard'' (russian: Вишнёвый сад, translit=Vishnyovyi sad) is the last play by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. Written in 1903, it was first published by '' Znaniye'' (Book Two, 1904), and came out as a separate editio ...
'' and starred as
Benedick
''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' ( W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. 1387 The play ...
in an all-female production of ''
Much Ado About Nothing
''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' ( W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. 1387 The play ...
'' at
Shakespeare's Globe
Shakespeare's Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse for which William Shakespeare wrote his plays, in the London Borough of Southwark, on the south bank of the River Thames. The original theatre was built in ...
, having played Beatrice previously at Manchester's
Royal Exchange. She made her West End theatre debut in 2001 taking over the lead role of Anna in the stage musical ''
The King and I
''The King and I'' is the fifth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on Margaret Landon's novel '' Anna and the King of Siam'' (1944), which is in turn derived from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, governess to the chil ...
'', replacing
Elaine Paige
Elaine Jill Paige (née Bickerstaff; born 5 March 1948) is an English singer and actress, best known for her work in musical theatre. Raised in Barnet, Hertfordshire, Paige attended the Aida Foster Theatre School, making her first professiona ...
. In 2005, she appeared 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 ...
,
Julie Walters
Dame Julia Mary Walters (born 22 February 1950), known professionally as Julie Walters, is an English actress. She is the recipient of four British Academy Television Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, two International Emmy Awards, a B ...
and
Celia Imrie
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'' f ...
in the cult West End production of Wood's ''
Acorn Antiques: The Musical''.
In 2008, Lawrence took the lead role in
Tom Stoppard
Sir Tom Stoppard (born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and politi ...
's ''
Hapgood'' at the
Birmingham Repertory Theatre
Birmingham Repertory Theatre, commonly called Birmingham Rep or just The Rep, is a producing theatre based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England. Founded by Barry Jackson, it is the longest-established of Britain's building-based theatre ...
and later at the
West Yorkshire Playhouse in which she was a secret spymaster given the task of exposing a traitor who is leaking vital information to the Russians. In the same year, she co-directed ''The Time Step'', a comedy about fantasies and talent contests, with
Linda Marlowe
Linda Virginia Marlowe (née Bathurst, born 26 July 1940) is an Australian-born British film, theatre, and television actress. She is noted for her association with Steven Berkoff, performing in many of his theatrical works, creating a one-woman ...
at the
Edinburgh Festival
__NOTOC__
This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland.
The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Fe ...
.
Lawrence appeared as Madame Ranevskaya in a new version of
Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...
's ''
The Cherry Orchard
''The Cherry Orchard'' (russian: Вишнёвый сад, translit=Vishnyovyi sad) is the last play by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. Written in 1903, it was first published by '' Znaniye'' (Book Two, 1904), and came out as a separate editio ...
'', translated by
Tom Stoppard
Sir Tom Stoppard (born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and politi ...
, at the
Birmingham Repertory Theatre
Birmingham Repertory Theatre, commonly called Birmingham Rep or just The Rep, is a producing theatre based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England. Founded by Barry Jackson, it is the longest-established of Britain's building-based theatre ...
in autumn 2010.
Film and television
Lawrence came to public attention as a regular guest on the
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
improvisational comedy series ''
Whose Line Is It Anyway?
''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' is a short-form improvisational comedy show originating as a British radio programme, before moving to British television in 1988. Following the conclusion of the British run in 1999, ABC began airing an American ...
'' at its launch in 1988. Lawrence's speciality on ''Whose Line'' was her ability to improvise songs on the spot. She was the first female performer to perform regularly and featured on the show until 1997, which was the final UK series to be made in London. She also performed in two episodes of the American edition of the show in 1999.
In 1991, she had her own short-lived comedy series ''Josie'', also on Channel 4. The next year she starred in ''
Enchanted April'' a British remake of
the 1935 film based on
Elizabeth von Arnim
Elizabeth von Arnim (31 August 1866 – 9 February 1941), born Mary Annette Beauchamp, was an English novelist. Born in Australia, she married a German aristocrat, and her earliest works are set in Germany. Her first marriage made her Countess v ...
's novel. Her other television work includes the comedy series ''
Not with a Bang
''Not with a Bang'' was a short-lived British television sitcom produced by LWT for ITV in 1990. It ran for seven episodes, each 30 minutes long. The show was a dark science fiction comedy, focusing on the end of the human race on Earth. The ...
'' and ''
Downwardly Mobile'', and she is remembered for her performances as Maggie Costello in the cricketing comedy drama ''
Outside Edge
''Outside Edge'' is a play written by Richard Harris about a village cricket team trying to win a game of cricket whilst sorting out their various marital problems.
Plot
Roger is having trouble getting a team together for the afternoons fixtu ...
'' alongside
Timothy Spall
Timothy Leonard Spall (born 27 February 1957) is an English actor and presenter. He became a household name in the UK after appearing as Barry Spencer Taylor in the 1983 ITV comedy-drama series '' Auf Wiedersehen, Pet''.
Spall performed in '' ...
and
Brenda Blethyn, for which she was awarded the Spectacle Wearer of the Year award in 1993. She went on to perform in ''Sealed with a Loving Kiss'' and ''Lunch in the Park'' as part of the ''
Paul Merton in Galton and Simpson's...'' series on 16 February 1996 and 21 October 1997. She appeared in the 1999 made-for-television film ''
The Flint Street Nativity
''The Flint Street Nativity'' is a 1999 British television comedy film directed by Marcus Mortimer, written by Tim Firth, and starring Frank Skinner, Neil Morrissey, Jane Horrocks, John Thomson, Stephen Tompkinson, Mark Addy, Ralf Little, Ju ...
'' as both Debbie Bennett and Debbie's mother. In 2000, she played Camilla in ''A Many Splintered Thing''. Between 1999 and 2001, she was the voice of "Duck" in the children's television show ''
Dog and Duck''.
In 2006, she starred alongside
Peter Davison in ''
The Complete Guide to Parenting'' as Phoebe Huntley. She has also appeared in the
BBC 1
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
drama series ''
Robin Hood
Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is dep ...
'' and as Mrs Jiniwin in the 2007 ITV adaptation of ''
The Old Curiosity Shop
''The Old Curiosity Shop'' is one of two novels (the other being ''Barnaby Rudge'') which Charles Dickens published along with short stories in his weekly serial ''Master Humphrey's Clock'', from 1840 to 1841. It was so popular that New York r ...
''. She appeared in an episode of the 2007
E4 teen comedy/drama ''
Skins'', playing Liz Jenkins, estranged mother of
Sid Jenkins, a role which she reprised in the second series.
Lawrence was in ''
EastEnders'' from March 2009 to February 2010. She played
Amanda Best, an old flame of
Minty Peterson
Rick "Minty" Peterson is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Cliff Parisi. He made his first appearance on 11 March 2002. In his initial appearances, he was credited with the name "Rick". His nickname was giv ...
.
She was featured with
Meera Syal
Meera Syal FRSL (born Feroza Syal; 27 June 1961) is a English comedian, writer, playwright, singer, journalist and actress. She rose to prominence as one of the team that created '' Goodness Gracious Me'' and portraying Sanjeev's grandmother, ...
in a celebrity special of ''
Who Wants to be a Millionaire?
''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' (often informally called ''Millionaire'') is an international television game show franchise of British origin, created by David Briggs, Mike Whitehill and Steven Knight. In its format, currently owned and l ...
'' that aired on 31 January 2009. She has appeared as a guest on the panel show games ''
QI'' and ''
Never Mind the Buzzcocks
''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' is a British comedy panel game show with a pop music theme. It has aired on Sky Max since September 2021, having originally aired between November 1996 and January 2015 on BBC Two. The original series was first hos ...
''.
In 2010, Lawrence appeared in series 25, episode 3 of ''
Casualty
Casualty may refer to:
*Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster
**Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare
* The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...
'' named "The Chaos Theory". Lawrence played Mrs Janet Haines, head teacher of a school where sixteen children were admitted to the emergency department having taken LSD. Also in 2010, she played the part of Sandra, Tony's agent, in
the 2010 British feature film version of
Tony Hawks
Antony Gordon Hawksworth, MBE (born February 27, 1960), known professionally as Tony Hawks, is a British comedian and author.
Early life
Born in Brighton, Sussex, Hawks was educated at Brighton, Hove and Sussex Grammar School and Bright ...
' best selling book ''Round Ireland with a Fridge'' that was released in September 2010 and was released on DVD in November 2010.
In 2012, she appeared in ''
Doctors
Doctor or The Doctor may refer to:
Personal titles
* Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree
* A medical practitioner, including:
** Physician
** Surgeon
** Dentist
** Veterinary physician
** Optometrist
*Other roles
** ...
'' alongside
Louise Jameson
Louise Jameson (born 20 April 1951) is an English actress with a wide variety of television and theatre credits. Her roles on television have included playing Leela in ''Doctor Who'' (1977–1978), Anne Reynolds in ''The Omega Factor'' (1979), ...
who has also appeared in ''EastEnders''. Lawrence played Cathy Dayman, and Jameson played Shirley Carter. Also in 2012, she appeared on one episode of the US improv series, ''
Trust Us With Your Life'', similar to ''Whose Line is it Anyway?'', but never made it to air.
Lawrence provided the voice of "The Brain" in the 2015 BBC Two quiz show ''Beat The Brain''.
In 2016, she played Barbara, a synthetic marriage counsellor in series 2 of the Channel 4 television series ''
Humans
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...
''.
In 2018, she played the lover of a married man portrayed by former "Whose Line" castmate
John Sessions
John Marshall (11 January 1953 – 2 November 2020), better known by the stage name John Sessions, was a British actor and comedian. He was known for comedy improvisation in television shows such as ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'', as a panellist o ...
in the feature film ''
Finding Your Feet
''Finding Your Feet'' is a 2017 British romantic comedy film directed by Richard Loncraine and written by Nick Moorcroft and Meg Leonard. The film stars Imelda Staunton, Timothy Spall, Celia Imrie, Joanna Lumley and David Hayman, and was release ...
''.
In 2019, she played Agnes Nutter is the Amazon Prime series ''
Good Omens
''Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch'' is a 1990 novel written as a collaboration between the English authors Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman.
The book is a comedy about the birth of the son of Satan and the c ...
''.
In 2020, she appeared in the BBC television series ''
Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators'' episode 3.5 "Thy Fury Spent" as Dr Helen Middleton.
Radio
Lawrence starred in three series of the improvised comedy series ''
The Masterson Inheritance'' from 1993 to 1995 on
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
alongside
Paul Merton
Paul James Martin (born 9 July 1957), known under the stage name Paul Merton, is an English writer, actor, comedian and radio and television presenter.
Known for his improvisation skill, Merton's humour is rooted in deadpan, surreal and somet ...
,
Phelim McDermott
Phelim McDermott (born 21 August 1963) is an English actor and stage director. He has directed plays and operas in Britain, Germany, Spain, the United States, and Australia. McDermott was a co-founder of the Improbable theatre in 1996.
Career
McD ...
,
Caroline Quentin,
Lee Simpson
Lee Simpson is a British actor and comedian best known as a member of the improvisational group The Comedy Store Players.
He has appeared in a number of roles, including in the sitcom ''Drop the Dead Donkey'' and the films ''Paper Mask'' and ''N ...
and
Jim Sweeney. Each episode comprised a different time period, and the plots were improvised based on suggestions from the studio audience. One unaired episode was produced and narrated by Lawrence, but it was released on the internet by Jim Sweeney on his official site.
The
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
series ''The Lawrence Sweeney Mix'' aired from 27 February to 20 March 2007 and was described as "Josie Lawrence and Jim Sweeney create improvised sketches from audience suggestions". Series 2 began airing on 29 January 2008.
She has starred in three other
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
comedy series: the science fiction comedy ''
Married
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
'' in 1996 and the dark comedy series ''
Vent
Vent or vents may refer to:
Science and technology Biology
*Vent, the cloaca region of an animal
* Vent DNA polymerase, a thermostable DNA polymerase
Geology
*Hydrothermal vent, a fissure in a planet's surface from which geothermally heated wate ...
'' in 2006 as well as appearing in a ''
Galton and Simpson
Ray Galton OBE (17 July 1930 – 5 October 2018) and Alan Simpson OBE (27 November 1929 – 8 February 2017) were English comedy scriptwriters whose partnership lasted over 50 years. They met in 1948 whilst recuperating from tuberculosis ...
Radio Playhouse'' 50th Anniversary recording of ''Clicquot et Fils'' alongside
Richard Griffiths and
Roger Lloyd-Pack
Roger Anthony Lloyd-Pack (8 February 1944 – 16 January 2014) was an English actor. He is best known for playing Trigger in ''Only Fools and Horses'' from 1981 to 2003, and Owen Newitt in '' The Vicar of Dibley'' from 1994 to 2007. He later st ...
that originally aired on 29 December 1998.
She played the role of 'Amanda' in the comedy series ''
Reluctant Persuaders'' on BBC Radio 4.
Lawrence made her debut appearance in the long-running BBC Radio 4 show ''
Just a Minute'' on 7 January 2008 and returned again in the following series.
In December 2014, Lawrence played the role of Agnes Nutter in an adaptation of
Terry Pratchett
Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English humourist, satirist, and author of fantasy novels, especially comical works. He is best known for his '' Discworld'' series of 41 novels.
Pratchett's first no ...
and
Neil Gaiman's book ''
Good Omens
''Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch'' is a 1990 novel written as a collaboration between the English authors Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman.
The book is a comedy about the birth of the son of Satan and the c ...
'' for BBC Radio 4. In 2019, she reprised the role for the Amazon/BBC television production of the book.
Audio books
Lawrence has lent her voice to several
audiobook
An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements.
Spoken audio has been available in sc ...
s, the majority of which were books for children. She has recorded several of the books in
Roger Hargreaves
Charles Roger Hargreaves (9 May 1935 – 11 September 1988) was an English author and illustrator of children's books. He created the ''Mr. Men'' series, ''Little Miss'' series and ''Timbuctoo'' series, intended for young readers. The simple and ...
' ''
Little Miss
"Little Miss" is a song written and recorded by the American country music duo Sugarland. It was released in November 2010 as the second single from the album '' The Incredible Machine''. Before the album's release, the song charted on the ''B ...
'' series, namely,
Bossy,
Giggles,
Trouble
Trouble may refer to:
Film and television
* ''Trouble'' (1922 film), an American silent comedy-drama film directed by Albert Austin
* ''Trouble'' (1933 film), a British comedy film
* ''Trouble'' (1977 film), a Soviet drama film
* ''Trouble'' ...
,
Tiny,
Sunshine,
Naughty,
Somersault
A somersault (also ''flip'', ''heli'', and in gymnastics ''salto'') is an acrobatic exercise in which a person's body rotates 360° around a horizontal axis with the feet passing over the head. A somersault can be performed forwards, backwards ...
and
Neat
Neat may refer to:
* Neat (bartending), a single, unmixed liquor served in a rocks glass
* Neat, an old term for horned oxen
* Neat Records, a British record label
* Neuroevolution of augmenting topologies (NEAT), a genetic algorithm (GA) for t ...
and four of
Jacqueline Wilson
Dame Jacqueline Wilson (née Aitken; born 17 December 1945) is an English novelist known for her popular children's literature. Her novels have been notable for featuring realistic topics such as adoption and divorce without alienating her lar ...
's books, ''
Secrets
Secrecy is the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups who do not have the "need to know", perhaps while sharing it with other individuals. That which is kept hidden is known as the secret.
Secrecy is often controvers ...
'', ''
The Illustrated Mum
''The Illustrated Mum'' is a children's novel by English author Jacqueline Wilson, first published by Transworld in 1999 with drawings by Nick Sharratt. Set in London, the first person narrative by a young girl, Dolphin, features her manic depre ...
'', ''
Bad Girls'' and ''
The Bed and Breakfast Star
''The Bed and Breakfast Star'' is a children's novel by British author Jacqueline Wilson.
Plot
''The Bed and Breakfast Star'' is about a girl called Elsa, who is the narrator of the story. She has a sunny disposition and loves to tell jokes, e ...
''. She has also recorded books fro
Emma Thomsons ''
Felicity Wishes
Felicity Wishes is a British children's book series created, written, illustrated and privately owned by the Character Brand CreatoEmma Thomson Books include over 140 story books, activity books, picture books and annuals. The popularity of the boo ...
'',
Eric Hill
Eric Hill (7 September 1927 – 6 June 2014) was an English author and illustrator of children's picture books. He was best known for his puppy character named Spot. His works have been widely praised for their contributions to child literacy ...
's ''
Spot the Dog
Spot is a fictional puppy created by Eric Hill, an English author and illustrator of children's picture books. The success of Hill's books about Spot led to other media productions, including television and home video titles, music albums, and ...
'' and
Tony Bradman
Tony Bradman (born 22 January 1954) is an English writer of children's books and short speculative fiction best known for the '' Dilly the Dinosaur'' book series. He is the author of more than 50 books for young people published by multiple hous ...
's ''Dilly the Dinosaur'', as well as
Philip Ridley
Philip Ridley (born 1957 in East London) is an English storyteller working in a wide range of artistic media.
As a visual artist he has been cited as a contemporary of the 'Young British Artists', and had his artwork exhibited internationally. ...
's ''Mercedes Ice'' and
Julia Donaldson
Julia Donaldson (born Julia Catherine Shields; born ) is an English writer and playwright, and the 2011–2013 Children's Laureate. She is best known for her popular rhyming stories for children, especially those illustrated by Axel Scheffler, ...
and
Axel Scheffler
Axel Scheffler (born ) is a German illustrator and animator based in London. He is best known for his cartoon-like pictures for children's books, in particular ''The Gruffalo'' and ''The Gruffalo's Child'', written by Julia Donaldson. He has ...
's ''
Room on the Broom'' as well as the 2005 ''
Muffin The Mule
Muffin the Mule is a puppet character in a British 1946-1955 television programme for children. The puppet had been made in 1933 for Hogarth Puppets. The original TV programmes featuring the animal character himself were presented by Annette ...
'' story books for a grand
CD release.
For adults, Lawrence has recorded
audiocassette
The Compact Cassette or Musicassette (MC), also commonly called the tape cassette, cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is an analog magnetic tape recording format for audio recording and playback. Invented by Lou Otten ...
s of
Rosie Thomas's ''Sun at Midnight'',
Lynne Truss
Lynne Truss (born 31 May 1955) is an English author, journalist, novelist, and radio broadcaster and dramatist. She is arguably best known for her championing of correctness and aesthetics in the English language, which is the subject of her ...
's ''
Going Loco
Lynne Truss (born 31 May 1955) is an English author, journalist, novelist, and radio broadcasting, radio broadcaster and radio drama, dramatist. She is arguably best known for her championing of correctness and aesthetics in the English langua ...
'' and
Daphne du Maurier
Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning, (; 13 May 1907 – 19 April 1989) was an English novelist, biographer and playwright. Her parents were actor-manager Sir Gerald du Maurier and his wife, actress Muriel Beaumont. Her grandfather was Geo ...
's ''
Jamaica Inn
The Jamaica Inn is a traditional inn on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall in the UK, which was built as a coaching inn in 1750, and has a historical association with smuggling. Located just off the A30, near the middle of the moor close to the hamlet ...
''.
Video games
She appeared on the 1992-1993 series of ''
GamesMaster'', playing ''
Mad Dog McCree
''Mad Dog McCree'' is the first live-action laserdisc video game released by American Laser Games. It originally appeared as an arcade game in 1990.
The game gained considerable attention for its live-action video style, bearing similarities t ...
'' winning her challenge.
Charity
In 2003, Lawrence spent eight months walking across China, Cuba, Peru and Tanzania for Breakthrough Breast Cancer and helped to raise over £550,000.
She had to wear a knee brace throughout the trek because of damage to her anterior cruciate ligament.
In 2005, she climbed
Mount Kilimanjaro for
Sunfield, a school for children with autism and complex learning needs, of which she is a patron. On 21 April 2008, she hosted a VIP-night performance of Hapgood at
The Birmingham Rep in aid of Sunfield and raised a further £3,500 for the charity. In 2009, Lawrence raised £25,000 for Sunfield by appearing on ''
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' (often informally called ''Millionaire'') is an international television game show franchise of British origin, created by David Briggs, Mike Whitehill and Steven Knight. In its format, currently owned and l ...
'' with
Meera Syal
Meera Syal FRSL (born Feroza Syal; 27 June 1961) is a English comedian, writer, playwright, singer, journalist and actress. She rose to prominence as one of the team that created '' Goodness Gracious Me'' and portraying Sanjeev's grandmother, ...
.
Lawrence and
Shane Richie
Shane Patrick Paul Roche (born 11 March 1964), known as Shane Richie, is a British actor, comedian, television presenter and singer. Following initial success as a stage and screen performer, he became best known for his portrayal of the charac ...
participated in the final leg of the celebrity ''
Around the World in 80 Days
''Around the World in Eighty Days'' (french: link=no, Le tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours) is an adventure novel by the French writer Jules Verne, first published in French in 1872. In the story, Phileas Fogg of London and his newly employe ...
'' challenge to raise money for
Children in Need 2009
''Children in Need 2009'' was a campaign held in the United Kingdom to raise money for Children in Need. It culminated in a live broadcast on BBC One and ITV1 which began on the evening of Friday 20 November and ran through to the morning of Sat ...
. They travelled from
Memphis
Memphis most commonly refers to:
* Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt
* Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city
Memphis may also refer to:
Places United States
* Memphis, Alabama
* Memphis, Florida
* Memphis, Indiana
* Memp ...
to
Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington is a port city in and the county seat of New Hanover County in coastal southeastern North Carolina, United States.
With a population of 115,451 at the 2020 census, it is the eighth most populous city in the state. Wilmington is t ...
and then to London over 15 days.
Honours and personal life
Lawrence is single. In an interview with
Jim Sweeney, she said of being asked why she is unmarried, "It's always the same: 'You're 41 and not married and no kids.' God, I'm so bored with it." She resides in
Hackney, London.
She has two cats, a long-haired ginger (Aynuk) and a black-and-white (Ayli), named after the
Black Country characters
Aynuk and Ayli, who feature prominently in jokes about Black Country dialect. As a guest on ''
QI'' she named
David Attenborough "her God".
In 1994, Lawrence was awarded an honorary doctorate by Dartington College of Arts,
and she has since been awarded two more, an honorary doctorate of letters from the
University of Wolverhampton
The University of Wolverhampton is a public university located on four campuses across the West Midlands, Shropshire and Staffordshire in England. The roots of the university lie in the Wolverhampton Tradesmen's and Mechanics' Institute founde ...
in 2004 and in 2006 a doctorate by
Aston University
Aston University (abbreviated as ''Aston''. for post-nominals) is a public research university situated in the city centre of Birmingham, England. Aston began as the Birmingham Municipal Technical School in 1895, evolving into the UK's first ...
for "services to the entertainment industry."
Filmography
Appearances
References
External links
*
Josie Lawrenceo
Stages of Half Moon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawrence, Josie
1959 births
Living people
20th-century English actresses
21st-century English actresses
Audiobook narrators
English film actresses
English stage actresses
English television actresses
English voice actresses
English women comedians
People from Oldbury, West Midlands
Royal Shakespeare Company members