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 Leading Role Best Actress in a Leading 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 leading performance in a film. * From 1952 to ...

. Her other film appearances include ''

Emma Emma may refer to: * Emma (given name) Film * Emma (1932 film), ''Emma'' (1932 film), a comedy-drama film by Clarence Brown * Emma (1996 theatrical film), ''Emma'' (1996 theatrical film), a film starring Gwyneth Paltrow * Emma (1996 TV film), '' ...

'' (1996), '' Bend It Like Beckham'' (2002), '' Mona Lisa Smile'' (2003), '' Being Julia'' (2004) and ''

Infamous Infamous may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * ''Infamous'' (2006 film), an American drama film * ''Infamous'' (2020 film), an American crime thriller film * "Infamous", an episode of ''Lego Ninjago: Masters of Spinj ...

'' (2006). Stevenson has starred in numerous

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 ...

and National Theatre productions, including Olivier Award nominated roles in ''

Measure for Measure ''Measure for Measure'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604 and first performed in 1604, according to available records. It was published in the ''First Folio'' of 1623. The play's plot features its ...

'' (1984), '' Les Liaisons Dangereuses'' (1986), and '' Yerma'' (1987). For her role as Paulina in '' Death and the Maiden'' (1991–92), she won the 1992 Olivier Award for Best Actress. Her fifth Olivier nomination was for her work in the 2009 revival of '' Duet for One''. She has also received three nominations for the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress: for '' A Doll's House'' (1992), ''

The Politician's Wife ''The Politician's Wife'' is a British television political drama broadcast on Channel 4 in 1995, written by Paula Milne, and starring Trevor Eve and Juliet Stevenson. Milne returned to the same themes in her BBC 2 drama miniseries, ''The Pol ...

'' (1995) and ''

Accused Accused or The Accused may refer to: * A person suspected with committing a crime or offence; see Criminal charge ** Suspect, a known person suspected of committing a crime * The Accüsed, a 1980s Seattle crossover thrash band *''The Accused'', a ...

'' (2010). Other stage roles include '' The Heretic'' (2011) and '' Happy Days'' (2014).

Early life

Stevenson was born in Kelvedon, Essex, England, the daughter of Virginia Ruth (née Marshall), a teacher, and Michael Guy Stevenson, an army officer. Stevenson's father was assigned a new posting every two and a half years. When Stevenson was nine, she attended Berkshire's

Hurst Lodge School {{{Use British English, date=February 2023 {{coord, 51.388, -0.671, display=title {{Infobox school , name = Hurst Lodge School , image = , image_size = , motto = , established = 1945 , closed = , type = Independent , president = , head ...

, and she was later educated at the independent St Catherine's School in Bramley, near

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...

in Surrey, and at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). Stevenson was part of the 'new wave' of actors to emerge from the Academy. Others included Jonathan Pryce, Bruce Payne, Alan Rickman, Anton Lesser, Kenneth Branagh,

Imelda Staunton Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton (born 9 January 1956) is an English actress and singer. After training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Staunton began her career in repertory theatre in 1976 and appeared in various theatre produ ...

and

Fiona Shaw Fiona Shaw (born Fiona Mary Wilson; 10 July 1958) is an Irish film and theatre actress. She is known for her roles as Petunia Dursley in the ''Harry Potter'' film series (2001–2010), Marnie Stonebrook in the fourth season of the HBO serie ...

. This led to a stage career starting in 1978 with the

Career

Although she has gained fame through her television and film work and has often undertaken roles for BBC Radio, she is known as a stage actress. Significant stage roles include her performances as Isabella in ''

'', Madame de Tourvel in '' Les Liaisons Dangereuses'', Anna in the UK premiere of '' Burn This'' in 1990 and Paulina in '' Death and the Maiden'' at the Royal Court theatre and the West End (1991–92). For the last she was awarded the 1992 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress. In the 1987 TV film ''

Life Story Life story work is a social work intervention with children and adults designed to recognise their past, present, and future. It is prominently used with children who will be adopted, and older adults as part of reminiscence therapies. Life stor ...

'', Stevenson played the part of scientist

Rosalind Franklin Rosalind Elsie Franklin (25 July 192016 April 1958) was a British chemist and X-ray crystallographer whose work was central to the understanding of the molecular structures of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), RNA (ribonucleic acid), viruses, co ...

, for which she won a Cable Ace award. She played the leading role in the Anthony Minghella film '' Truly, Madly, Deeply'' (1991) and her roles in ''The Secret Rapture'' (1993), ''

'' (1996), '' Bend It Like Beckham'' (2002) and '' Mona Lisa Smile'' (2003). She has more recently starred in ''Pierrepoint'' (2006), ''

'' (2006) as Diana Vreeland and '' Breaking and Entering'' (2006) as Rosemary, the therapist. In 2003, she played the mother of an autistic child in the television film ''

Hear the Silence ''Hear the Silence'' is a 2003 semi-fictional TV drama based around the discredited idea of a potential link between the MMR vaccine and autism. By then, a contentious issue, the supposed connection originated in a paper by Andrew Wakefield publ ...

'', a film promoting the now debunked claims of Andrew Wakefield that the

MMR vaccine The MMR vaccine is a vaccine against measles, mumps, and rubella (German measles), abbreviated as ''MMR''. The first dose is generally given to children around 9 months to 15 months of age, with a second dose at 15 months to 6 years of age, ...

was responsible for autism in children. The film makers and Stevenson were criticised as Wakefield's professionalism was already seriously in doubt. Juliet Stevenson 2011

In 2009, she starred in ITV's ''

A Place of Execution ''A Place of Execution'' is a crime novel by Val McDermid, first published in 1999. The novel won the ''Los Angeles Times'' Book Prize, the 2001 Dilys Award, was shortlisted for both the Gold Dagger and the Edgar Award, and was chosen by ''The ...

''. The role won her the Best Actress Dagger at the 2009

Crime Thriller Awards The Crime Thriller Awards is a British awards ceremony dedicated to crime thriller fiction. The inaugural event was held on 3 October 2008 at the Grosvenor Hotel, hosted by comedian and ''Jonathan Creek'' actor Alan Davies. It was televised on ...

. She performs as a book reader, and has recorded all of

Jane Austen Jane Austen (; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots of ...

's novels as unabridged audiobooks, as well as a number of other novels, such as '' Lady Windermere's Fan'', '' Hedda Gabler'', ''Stories from Shakespeare'', and '' To the Lighthouse''. She received lifetime achievement prize at Women in Film And TV awards.

Personal life

Stevenson married her long-time partner, British anthropologist Hugh Brody, in 2021. They have two children. She is an

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

but considers herself a spiritual and superstitious person. In 1992 she appeared in a political broadcast for the Labour Party. In 2008 she campaigned on behalf of refugee women with a reading of "Motherland" at the

Young Vic The Young Vic Theatre is a performing arts venue located on The Cut, near the South Bank, in the London Borough of Lambeth. The Young Vic was established by Frank Dunlop in 1970. Kwame Kwei-Armah has been Artistic Director since February 201 ...

. She is patron of the UK registered charity ''LAM Action'', which provides support, information and encouragement to patients with Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) and their families, and raises funds to advance research into LAM. Stevenson is an Amnesty Ambassador and patron of the refugee charit
Young Roots.
On 12 September 2016, Stevenson, as well as

Cate Blanchett Catherine Elise Blanchett (; born 14 May 1969) is an Australian actor. Regarded as one of the finest performers of her generation, she is known for her versatile work across independent films, blockbusters, and the stage. She has received nu ...

, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Peter Capaldi,

Douglas Booth Douglas John Booth (born 9 July 1992) is an English actor and musician. He first came to public attention following his performance as Boy George in the BBC Two film ''Worried About the Boy'' (2010). He also starred in the BBC adaptations of ' ...

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gr ...

, Keira Knightley, Jesse Eisenberg, Kit Harington and Stanley Tucci, featured in a video from the United Nations' refugee agency UNHCR to help raise awareness of the global refugee crisis. The video, titled "What They Took With Them", has the actors reading a poem written by Jenifer Toksvig and inspired by primary accounts of refugees, and is part of UNHCR's #WithRefugees campaign, which also includes a petition to governments to expand asylum to provide further shelter, integrating job opportunities and education. Stevenson's friends and frequent collaborators include director

Robert Icke Robert Icke (; born 29 November 1986) is an English writer and theatre director. He has been referred to as the "great hope of British theatre." He is best known for his play ''The Doctor'', and his modern adaptations of classic texts, includ ...

, comedian and feminist broadcaster Deborah Frances-White, poet

Aviva Dautch Aviva Dautch (born 5 May 1978) is a British poet, academic, curator and magazine publisher, who is of Eastern European Jewish ancestry. Work She has been writer in residence at the British Museum, the Jewish Museum London and thSeparated Child ...

and concert pianist

Lucy Parham Lucy Parham (born 1966) is a British concert pianist and academic. She is a professor at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama. In 1984 she won Piano Class BBC Young Musician. Biography Parham grew up in Guildford, Surrey. She was educated at ...

. Stevenson is also a painter, and has talked about how her art has helped her through difficult moments such as lockdown and the death of her stepson.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Audio recordings

A partial list of Stevenson's audio recordings: * '' Man and Superman'', BBC Audiobooks, 1998 (Broadcast on BBC-4 in 1996). Production featured Juliet Stevenson, Ralph Fiennes and Judi Dench. It also included an interview with the director, Sir Peter Hall * Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, Penguin Audiobooks, 1997 * The Plague Tales, BDD, c. 1997 * Hamlet by William Shakespeare, BBC Radio Collection, 1999 (with Michael Sheen) * ''

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) – "

Sonnet 128 Sonnet 128 is one of William Shakespeare's sonnets. Synopsis Sonnet 128 is comparable to the sonnet in ''Romeo and Juliet'' in which Romeo pleads for a first kiss. Like that pilgrim/saint tête-à-tête, this sonnet is set in a public musical ce ...

" ("How oft, when thou, my music...") * ''The Thirteenth Tale'' by Diane Setterfield, Unabridged, Orion audiobook (2006) * Northanger Abbey by

. Unabridged, Naxos audiobook, 7 CDs (2006) * ''Persuasion by

. Unabridged, Naxos audiobook, 7 CDs (2007) * ''Mansfield Park'' by

. Unabridged, Naxos audiobook, 14 CDs (2007) * ''Emma'' by

. Unabridged, Naxos audiobook, 13 CDs (2007) * Sense and Sensibility by

, Naxos audiobook, Unabridged (2007) *

Lady Audley's Secret ''Lady Audley's Secret'' is a sensation novel by Mary Elizabeth Braddon published in 1862. John Sutherland. "Lady Audley's Secret" in ''The Stanford Companion to Victorian Fiction'', 1989. It was Braddon's most successful and well-known novel. C ...

Mary Elizabeth Braddon Mary Elizabeth Braddon (4 October 1835 – 4 February 1915) was an English popular novelist of the Victorian era. She is best known for her 1862 sensation novel ''Lady Audley's Secret'', which has also been dramatised and filmed several times. ...

. Abridged, CSA Word Classic, 4 CDs (2007) * ''The Tenant of Wildfell Hall'' by Anne Brontë, * ''I, Coriander'', by Sally Gardner, * ''The King's General'', by Daphne du Maurier, * ''An Unequal Marriage'', by Emma Tennant, * ''From Shakespeare with Love'', by William Shakespeare, David Tennant (Narrator), Juliet Stevenson (Narrator), Anton Lesser (Narrator), Alex Jennings (Narrator) * Daphne du Maurier Collection: ''Rebecca, Frenchman's Creek'' & ''My Cousin Rachel'' by Daphne du Maurier, Juliet Stevenson (Narrator), Daniel Massey (Narrator), Michael Maloney (Narrator) * ''A Room with a View'' by E.M. Forster * ''The London Tapes'' by Juliet Stevenson * '' Ancient and Modern'' by

Sue Gee Sue Gee (born 1947) is a British novelist. She is published by Headline Review and by Salt. ''The Hours of the Night'' was the controversial winner of the Romantic Novelists' Association Awards, Romantic Novel of the Year award in 1997. ''Th ...

(2004) * ''Alentejo Blue'' by Monica Ali, abridged (2006) *

North and South North and South may refer to: Literature * ''North and South'' (Gaskell novel), an 1854 novel by Elizabeth Gaskell * ''North and South'' (trilogy), a series of novels by John Jakes (1982–1987) ** ''North and South'' (Jakes novel), first novel ...

Elizabeth Gaskell Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell (''née'' Stevenson; 29 September 1810 – 12 November 1865), often referred to as Mrs Gaskell, was an English novelist, biographer and short story writer. Her novels offer a detailed portrait of the lives of many st ...

, unabridged. (2009) * ''Middlemarch'' by George Eliot. Unabridged. Naxos Audiobooks (2011). * ''Goldfish Girl'' by

Peter Souter Peter Souter (born 1962) is a British writer. He is the chairman and chief creative officer of TBWA London and former executive creative director of Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO. He has written for film, television, theatre, and radio, including the sc ...

(2011). * ''

Mary Poppins It may refer to: * ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fantasy novels that introduced the character. * Mary Poppins (character), the nanny with magical powers. * ''Mary Poppins'' (film), a 1964 Disney film sta ...

'' by

P. L. Travers Pamela Lyndon Travers (; born Helen Lyndon Goff; 9 August 1899 – 23 April 1996) was an Australian-British writer who spent most of her career in England. She is best known for the ''Mary Poppins'' series of books, which feature the eponymous ...

(2012) * ''

The Signature of All Things ''The Signature of All Things'' is a novel by Elizabeth Gilbert. It was originally published in 2013 and longlisted for the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction. Overview The story follows Alma Whittaker, daughter of a Botany, botanical explorer, ...

'' by Elizabeth Gilbert (2013). * The Golden Notebook by

Doris Lessing Doris May Lessing (; 22 October 1919 – 17 November 2013) was a British-Zimbabwean novelist. She was born to British parents in Iran, where she lived until 1925. Her family then moved to Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), where she remain ...

(2010) * ''The Paying Guests'' by Sarah Waters. Unabridged (2014) * ''Apple Tree Yard'' by Louise Doughty, unabridged (2014) * ''Belgravia'' by Julian Fellowes, (2016) A Room of One's Own by Virginia Wolf - 1929

Honours

In the 1999 Queens Birthday Honours, Stevenson was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). She is a patron of the

London International Festival of Theatre The London International Festival of Theatre (LIFT) is a biennial festival of theatre, performance and cultural events. The organisation also supports year-round activity in London. The organisation was founded by Rose Fenton and Lucy Neal, ...

."Meet The Team"
, ''LIFT''. Retrieved 9 August 2016.

Awards and nominations

Film

Television

Theatre

References

External links

Juliet Stevenson
at the British Film Institute *
Juliet Stevenson: The Power of Story Telling
in '' The Guardian'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Stevenson, Juliet AACTA Award winners Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art Audiobook narrators Commanders of the Order of the British Empire English atheists English film actresses English radio actresses English stage actresses English television actresses English voice actresses Laurence Olivier Award winners People from Kelvedon Royal Shakespeare Company members English Shakespearean actresses 1956 births Living people People educated at Hurst Lodge School People educated at St Catherine's School, Bramley 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses Actresses from Essex