Lady Marcia Mary Josephine Fitzalan-Howard (born 10 March 1953), known as Marsha Fitzalan, is an English actress.

Personal life

Born in 1953, Marcia FitzAlan-Howard was the third daughter of Major Miles Fitzalan-Howard, 17th Duke of Norfolk and his wife Anne Constable-Maxwell. She was named after her mother's great-grandmother Marcia Vavasour and educated at the Convent of the Sacred Heart, Woldingham,

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

. In 1975, her father became

Duke of Norfolk Duke of Norfolk is a title in the peerage of England. The seat of the Duke of Norfolk is Arundel Castle in Sussex, although the title refers to the county of Norfolk. The current duke is Edward Fitzalan-Howard, 18th Duke of Norfolk. The dukes ...

, due to the death of a second cousin whose children were all daughters, and she became Lady Marcia. FitzAlan has been married twice. Her first marriage was to English actor

Patrick Ryecart Patrick Geoffrey Ryecart (born 9 May 1952) is an English actor. Early life and career Ryecart was born in Warwick, Warwickshire. His first West End appearance was in Bernard Shaw's ''Candida (play), Candida'' at the Albery Theatre, playing t ...

on 4 July 1977. The couple met at drama school, The Webber Douglas Academy, and had three children: Mariella Celia (born 1982), Jemima Carrie (born 1984), and Frederick William Hamlet (born 1987). The two elder children are both married. Fitzalan and Ryecart divorced in 1995. In June 2007, FitzAlan married her second husband, Nicholas George. She was a sister-in-law of

Sir David Frost Sir David Paradine Frost (7 April 1939 – 31 August 2013) was a British television host, journalist, comedian and writer. He rose to prominence during the satire boom in the United Kingdom when he was chosen to host the satirical programme ' ...

, his widow being her elder sister, Lady Carina FitzAlan-Howard. Her brother is the current Duke of Norfolk and Premier Peer of England; another sister, Lady Tessa, married the 5th Earl of Balfour and is the mother of Lady Kinvara Balfour, an English playwright.

Career

She trained at the

Webber Douglas Academy Webber may refer to: *Webber, Kansas, a US city *Webber Township, Jefferson County, Illinois, USA *Webber Township, Lake County, Michigan, USA *Webber International University, in Babson Park, Florida, USA *Webber (surname) Webber (/ˈwɛbər/) i ...

.Hayward 1996, p. 89 Fitzalan had a varied career in television and film, her outstanding performance being Sarah B'Stard in the television comedy satire ''

The New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...

''. Other television roles included appearances in '' Upstairs, Downstairs'', '' Shelley'', ''

Nancy Astor Nancy Witcher Langhorne Astor, Viscountess Astor, (19 May 1879 – 2 May 1964) was an American-born British politician who was the first woman seated as a Member of Parliament (MP), serving from 1919 to 1945. Astor's first husband was America ...

'', '' The Professionals'', ''

Brush Strokes ''Brush Strokes'' is a British television sitcom, broadcast on BBC television from 1986 to 1991. Written by Esmonde and Larbey and set in south London, it depicted the (mostly) amorous adventures of a wisecracking house painter, Jacko (Karl H ...

'', '' Goldeneye: The Secret Life of Ian Fleming'', '' Spymaker: The Secret Life of Ian Fleming'', ''

Murder Most Horrid ''Murder Most Horrid'' is a British black comedy anthology series starring Dawn French. It was broadcast on BBC Two for four series runs, in 1991, 1994, 1996 and 1999. Created by Paul Smith, who also co-created ''Colin's Sandwich'' (with Terry ...

'', ''

Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British crime drama television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the '' Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series (created by Caroline Graham), and broadcast on two channels of I ...

'', '' Under the Hammer'' and '' Poirot: Evil Under the Sun. The Booze Cruise with Martin Clunes, Winter Solstice.'' Films include ''

Being Julia ''Being Julia'' is a 2004 comedy-drama film directed by István Szabó and starring Annette Bening and Jeremy Irons. The screenplay by Ronald Harwood is based on the novel ''Theatre'' (1937) by W. Somerset Maugham. The original film score was comp ...

'' with

Annette Bening Annette Carol Bening (born May 29, 1958) is an American actress. She has received various accolades throughout her career spanning over four decades, including a British Academy Film Award and two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominati ...

, '' Importance of Being Earnest'' and '' An Ideal Husband'' with

Rupert Everett Rupert James Hector Everett (; born 29 May 1959) is an English actor, director and producer. Everett first came to public attention in 1981 when he was cast in Julian Mitchell's play and subsequent film '' Another Country'' (1984) as a gay pupi ...

. She has stood in for

the Queen In the English-speaking world, The Queen most commonly refers to: * Elizabeth II (1926–2022), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death The Queen may also refer to: * Camilla, Queen Consort (born 1947), ...

during rehearsals of the State Opening of Parliament.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzalan, Marsha 1953 births Living people Daughters of British dukes English film actresses English television actresses

Marsha Fitzalan Lady Marcia Mary Josephine Fitzalan-Howard (born 10 March 1953), known as Marsha Fitzalan, is an English actress. Personal life Born in 1953, Marcia FitzAlan-Howard was the third daughter of Major Miles Fitzalan-Howard, 17th Duke of Norfolk an ...

People educated at Woldingham School Actors from Bonn Alumni of the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses