Tamsin Greig on:  
[Wikipedia]  
[Google]  
[Amazon]
Tamsin Margaret Mary Greig (; born 12 July 1966) is an English actress, narrator and comedian. She played
Fran Katzenjammer
''Black Books'' is a BAFTA Award winning sitcom first broadcast on Channel 4 from 2000 to 2004. It revolves around the lives of three main characters: Bernard Black, played by Dylan Moran; Manny Bianco, played by Bill Bailey; and Fran Katzenja ...
in the
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
sitcom ''
Black Books
''Black Books'' is a British sitcom created by Dylan Moran and Graham Linehan, and written by Moran, Kevin Cecil, Andy Riley, Linehan and Arthur Mathews. It was broadcast on Channel 4, running for three series from 2000 to 2004. Starring Mo ...
'',
Dr Caroline Todd in the Channel 4 sitcom ''
Green Wing
''Green Wing'' is a British sitcom set in the fictional East Hampton Hospital. It was created by the same team behind the sketch show '' Smack the Pony'' – Channel 4 commissioner Caroline Leddy and producer Victoria Pile – and stars Mark H ...
'', Beverly Lincoln in British-American sitcom ''
Episodes
Episodes may refer to:
* Episode
An episode is a narrative unit within a larger dramatic work or documentary production, such as a series intended for radio, television or streaming consumption.
The noun ''episode'' is derived from the Greek ...
'' and Jackie Goodman in the Channel 4 sitcom ''
Friday Night Dinner
''Friday Night Dinner'' is a
British television sitcom written by Robert Popper and starring Tamsin Greig, Paul Ritter, Simon Bird, Tom Rosenthal, and Mark Heap. The comedy is focused on the regular dinner experience of the middle-class Bri ...
''. Other roles include Alice Chenery in
BBC One
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, p ...
's comedy-drama series ''
Love Soup
''Love Soup'' is a British television comedy drama produced by the BBC and first screened on BBC One in the autumn of 2005. It stars Tamsin Greig as Alice Chenery (a role written especially for her) and Michael Landes as Gil Raymond (Series 1 on ...
'',
Debbie Aldridge in
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' ...
's soap opera ''
The Archers
''The Archers'' is a BBC radio drama on BBC Radio 4, the corporation's main spoken-word channel. Broadcast since 1951, it was famously billed as "an everyday story of country folk" and is now promoted as "a contemporary drama in a rural sett ...
'', Miss Bates in the 2009 BBC version 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 ''
Emma'', and Beth Hardiment in the 2010 film version of ''
Tamara Drewe
''Tamara Drewe'' is a weekly comic strip serial by Posy Simmonds, which had a 13 month run in ''The Guardian''s Review section. The strip is based upon a modern reworking of Thomas Hardy's 1874 novel '' Far from the Madding Crowd''.
The stor ...
''. In 2020, Greig starred as Anne Trenchard in Julian Fellowes'
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
series ''
Belgravia
Belgravia () is a Districts of London, district in Central London, covering parts of the areas of both the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
Belgravia was known as the 'Five Fields' Tudor Period, during the ...
''.
Greig is also an acclaimed stage actress; she won a
Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress
The Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Play is an annual award presented by the Society of London Theatre in recognition of achievements in commercial London theatre. The awards were established as the Society of West End Theatre Awards ...
in 2007 for ''
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 ...
'', and was nominated again in 2011 and 2015 for her roles in ''
The Little Dog Laughed
''The Little Dog Laughed'' is a 2006 comedy play by Douglas Carter Beane.
The four characters are an actor, Mitchell, his acerbic agent Diane, a hustler named Alex, and Alex's girlfriend Ellen. When Mitchell and Alex become involved in a physica ...
'' and ''
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
''Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown'' ( es, Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios) is a 1988 Spanish black comedy film written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar, starring Carmen Maura and Antonio Banderas. The film brought Almodóvar to ...
''.
Early life
Greig was born in
Maidstone
Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the c ...
,
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
, the second of three sisters. Her father, Eric, worked as a colour chemist creating dyes, and her mother, Ann, was enthusiastic about amateur dramatics.
Her maternal grandfather was a
Polish Jew
The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Ashkenazi Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the lon ...
. The family moved to
Kilburn when she was three.
She went to Malorees Junior School, followed by
Camden School for Girls
The Camden School for Girls (CSG) is a comprehensive secondary school for girls, with a co-educational sixth form, in the London Borough of Camden in north London. It has about one thousand students of ages eleven to eighteen, and specialist- ...
later graduating with a
first-class BA in Drama and Theatre Arts from the
University of Birmingham
, mottoeng = Through efforts to heights
, established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...
in 1988.
After graduating, she worked at the
Family Planning Association
FPA (Family Planning Association) was a UK registered charity (number 250187) working to enable people to make informed choices about sex and to enjoy sexual health. It was the national affiliate for the International Planned Parenthood Federat ...
and continued doing
temporary work
Temporary work or temporary employment (also called gigs) refers to an employment situation where the working arrangement is limited to a certain period of time based on the needs of the employing organization. Temporary employees are sometimes ...
until 1996.
She also spent some time at a secretarial college.
[''Seriously funny''](_blank)
an interview with ''The Telegraph
''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include:
Australia
* ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...
'' with Tamsin Greig. Written by Jasper Rees, 29 July 2006. Retrieved 17 June 2007.
Career
Her professional acting career began in early 1990. Greig is known for both dramatic and comedic roles. Comedy roles can pose problems for Greig, who has problems with
corpsing
In theatre (especially in the illusionistic Western tradition), breaking character occurs when an actor ceases to maintain the illusion that they are identical with the character they are portraying. This is a more acceptable occurrence while in ...
.
Radio
Greig has had a long-running part as Debbie Aldridge in 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' ...
soap opera ''
The Archers
''The Archers'' is a BBC radio drama on BBC Radio 4, the corporation's main spoken-word channel. Broadcast since 1951, it was famously billed as "an everyday story of country folk" and is now promoted as "a contemporary drama in a rural sett ...
'' since 1991. As her other work increased, her appearances in the show decreased and her character Debbie spends most of her time living in Hungary.
[
Her other radio work includes narrating the Radio 4 comedy ''Warhorses of Letters'', and guest-starring in five episodes of the second series of the radio version of '' Absolute Power'', playing Charles Prentiss's former lover Gayle Shand, who now runs a rival firm.
]
Television
Greig appeared in a number of supporting parts, notably as Lamia in ''Neverwhere
''Neverwhere'' is an urban fantasy television miniseries by Neil Gaiman that first aired in 1996 on BBC 2. The series is set in "London Below", a magical realm coexisting with the more familiar London, referred to as "London Above". It was d ...
'' (1996) and The Mother in an episode of '' People Like Us'' (2000). Her first major role was Fran Katzenjammer
''Black Books'' is a BAFTA Award winning sitcom first broadcast on Channel 4 from 2000 to 2004. It revolves around the lives of three main characters: Bernard Black, played by Dylan Moran; Manny Bianco, played by Bill Bailey; and Fran Katzenja ...
in the sitcom ''Black Books
''Black Books'' is a British sitcom created by Dylan Moran and Graham Linehan, and written by Moran, Kevin Cecil, Andy Riley, Linehan and Arthur Mathews. It was broadcast on Channel 4, running for three series from 2000 to 2004. Starring Mo ...
'', which ran for three series from 2000. Fran was a friend of the main character, Bernard, and originally owned a gift shop called "Nifty Gifty" next door to his bookshop.
In 2004, she played constantly embarrassed surgical registrar Dr Caroline Todd, the lead character in the Channel 4 comedy drama series ''Green Wing
''Green Wing'' is a British sitcom set in the fictional East Hampton Hospital. It was created by the same team behind the sketch show '' Smack the Pony'' – Channel 4 commissioner Caroline Leddy and producer Victoria Pile – and stars Mark H ...
''. Her performance won her "Best Comedy Performance" in the 2005 Royal Television Society Awards. She also appeared as Caroline in an appearance at ''The Secret Policeman's Ball
''The Secret Policeman's Ball'' is a series of benefit shows staged initially in the United Kingdom to raise funds for the human rights organisation Amnesty International. The shows started in 1976 featuring popular British comedians but lat ...
''.
She starred 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. ...
...
comedy drama series ''
Love Soup
''Love Soup'' is a British television comedy drama produced by the BBC and first screened on BBC One in the autumn of 2005. It stars Tamsin Greig as Alice Chenery (a role written especially for her) and Michael Landes as Gil Raymond (Series 1 on ...
'' (2005), as Alice Chenery, a lovelorn woman working on a department store perfume counter, in a role specifically written for her by
David Renwick
David Peter Renwick (; born 4 September 1951) is an English author, television writer, actor, director and executive producer, best known for creation of the sitcom ''One Foot in the Grave'' and the mystery series ''Jonathan Creek''. He was awar ...
, whom she met in 2003 when she appeared in an episode of ''
Jonathan Creek
''Jonathan Creek'' is a long-running British mystery crime drama series produced by the BBC and written by David Renwick. It stars Alan Davies as the titular character, who works as a creative consultant to a stage magician while also solvi ...
''. In May 2005 she also appeared as a nurse in an episode of the BBC series ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
'', entitled "
The Long Game
"The Long Game" is the seventh episode of the first series of the British science fiction television programme '' Doctor Who'' that was first broadcast on 7 May 2005 on BBC One. It was written by executive producer Russell T Davies and directed ...
".
Greig appeared in the role of
Edith Frank
Edith Frank (; 16 January 1900 – 6 January 1945) was the mother of Holocaust diarist Anne Frank, and her older sister Margot. After the family were discovered in hiding in Amsterdam during the Nazi occupation, she was transported to Auschwitz- ...
in the BBC's January 2009 production of ''
The Diary of Anne Frank
''The Diary of a Young Girl'', also known as ''The Diary of Anne Frank'', is a book of the writings from the Dutch-language diary kept by Anne Frank while she was in hiding for two years with her family during the Nazi occupation of the Netherl ...
''. Also in 2009, she appeared as Miss Bates in the BBC serial ''
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
Emma''. In 2010, she played
Sacharissa Cripslock in the two part mini-series ''
Terry Pratchett's Going Postal
''Terry Pratchett's Going Postal'' is a two-part television film adaptation of ''Going Postal'' by Terry Pratchett, adapted by Richard Kurti and Bev Doyle and produced by The Mob, which was first broadcast on Sky1, and in high definition on S ...
''.
In 2011, she starred in the BBC/
Showtime
Showtime or Show Time may refer to:
Film
* ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film
* ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur
Television Networks and channels
* Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...
sitcom ''
Episodes
Episodes may refer to:
* Episode
An episode is a narrative unit within a larger dramatic work or documentary production, such as a series intended for radio, television or streaming consumption.
The noun ''episode'' is derived from the Greek ...
'', alongside
Matt LeBlanc
Matthew Steven LeBlanc (; born July 25, 1967) is an American actor. He garnered global recognition with his portrayal of Joey Tribbiani in the NBC sitcom ''Friends'' and in its spin-off series, ''Joey''. For his work on ''Friends'', LeBlanc r ...
and ''Green Wing'' co-star
Stephen Mangan
Stephen James Mangan (born 16 May 1968) is an English actor, comedian, presenter and writer. He has played Guy Secretan in ''Green Wing'', Dan Moody in '' I'm Alan Partridge'', Seán Lincoln in ''Episodes'', Bigwig in ''Watership Down'', Postma ...
. Greig and Mangan play a husband-and-wife writing duo who travel to America to work on an adaptation of their successful series. Greig also stars in the Channel 4 sitcom, ''
Friday Night Dinner
''Friday Night Dinner'' is a
British television sitcom written by Robert Popper and starring Tamsin Greig, Paul Ritter, Simon Bird, Tom Rosenthal, and Mark Heap. The comedy is focused on the regular dinner experience of the middle-class Bri ...
'', as Jackie Goodman, the mother of a North London Jewish family.
She played Beth in the 2012 BBC series ''
White Heat
''White Heat'' is a 1949 American film noir directed by Raoul Walsh and starring James Cagney, Virginia Mayo, Edmond O'Brien, Margaret Wycherly and Steve Cochran. Written by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts (writer), Ben Roberts, ''White Heat'' is base ...
''.
She is also the lead in ''
The Guilty'' in the three-part series on
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
in 2013, playing DCI Maggie Brand who investigates the death of a young child who went missing five years previously.
In 2014, she played Sally in the ''
Inside No. 9
''Inside No. 9'' is a British black comedy anthology television programme that first aired in 2014. It is written by Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton and produced by the BBC. Each 30-minute episode is a self-contained story with new chara ...
'' episode "
Last Gasp
Last Gasp or The Last Gasp may refer to
* Last Gasp (publisher)
* ''Last Gasp'' (''Inside No. 9''), a TV episode
* '' The Last Gasp'', a 2007 album by Impaled
* ''The Last Gasp'' (novel)
* "Last Gasp" (song)
{{dab ...
".
In 2015 the fourth season of ''
Episodes
Episodes may refer to:
* Episode
An episode is a narrative unit within a larger dramatic work or documentary production, such as a series intended for radio, television or streaming consumption.
The noun ''episode'' is derived from the Greek ...
'' was aired, and in 2016 a seven-episode fifth season, still starring Greig alongside
Stephen Mangan
Stephen James Mangan (born 16 May 1968) is an English actor, comedian, presenter and writer. He has played Guy Secretan in ''Green Wing'', Dan Moody in '' I'm Alan Partridge'', Seán Lincoln in ''Episodes'', Bigwig in ''Watership Down'', Postma ...
and
Matt LeBlanc
Matthew Steven LeBlanc (; born July 25, 1967) is an American actor. He garnered global recognition with his portrayal of Joey Tribbiani in the NBC sitcom ''Friends'' and in its spin-off series, ''Joey''. For his work on ''Friends'', LeBlanc r ...
, was filmed in London.
In October 2018 it was confirmed that Greig would narrate ''
The Secret Life of the Zoo
''The Secret Life of the Zoo'' is a British documentary programme produced by Blast! Films on behalf of Channel 4. The series is filmed on location at Chester Zoo in the North West of England, and focuses on the behaviour of the animals at the z ...
'', taking over from
Olivia Colman
Sarah Caroline Sinclair ( Colman; born 30 January 1974), known professionally as Olivia Colman, is an English actress. Known for her comedic and dramatic roles in film and television, she has received various accolades, including an Academy A ...
.
Greig has received three
BAFTA nominations for her TV work. She was nominated for
Best Comedy Performance for ''
Green Wing
''Green Wing'' is a British sitcom set in the fictional East Hampton Hospital. It was created by the same team behind the sketch show '' Smack the Pony'' – Channel 4 commissioner Caroline Leddy and producer Victoria Pile – and stars Mark H ...
'' in 2005, and for
Best Female Comedy Performance for ''
Friday Night Dinner
''Friday Night Dinner'' is a
British television sitcom written by Robert Popper and starring Tamsin Greig, Paul Ritter, Simon Bird, Tom Rosenthal, and Mark Heap. The comedy is focused on the regular dinner experience of the middle-class Bri ...
'' in 2012 and ''
Episodes
Episodes may refer to:
* Episode
An episode is a narrative unit within a larger dramatic work or documentary production, such as a series intended for radio, television or streaming consumption.
The noun ''episode'' is derived from the Greek ...
'' in 2015.
Theatre
During 2006 and early 2007, Greig played
Beatrice in a much acclaimed 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 ...
'' for which she won a
Laurence Olivier Award, and Constance in ''
King John'', as part of the
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 ...
's ''The Complete Works'' season. Whilst the win itself was a surprise, her acceptance speech was received very well as being highly entertaining, claiming that she was so excited that she had wet her dress. The speech was apparently completely improvised. Backstage, when told not to tell her mother about her wetting her dress, she told the host that her mum was dead before dedicating her award to her "dead mum". She also won the
Critics' Circle Theatre Award
The Critics' Circle Theatre Awards, originally called ''Drama'' Theatre Awards up to 1990, are British theatrical awards presented annually for the closing year's theatrical achievements. The winners, from theatre throughout the United Kingdom, ar ...
for "Best Shakespearean Performance" in ''Much Ado About Nothing'', becoming the first woman to win the award, and was nominated for "The FRANCO'S Best Actress in a Play" in the Whatsonstage Theatregoers' Choice Awards.
At the
Gielgud Theatre
The Gielgud Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, at the corner of Rupert Street, in the City of Westminster, London. The house currently has 986 seats on three levels.
The theatre was designed by W. G. R. Sprague and ...
in March 2008, she co-starred with
Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes ( ; born 22 December 1962) is an English actor, film producer, and director. A Shakespeare interpreter, he excelled onstage at the Royal National Theatre before having further success at the Royal Shak ...
,
and
Ken Stott
Kenneth Campbell Stott (born 19 October 1954) is a Scottish stage, television and film actor who won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in 1995 in the play '' Broken Glass'' at Royal National Theatre. He portrayed th ...
in the UK premiere of
Yasmina Reza
Yasmina Reza (born 1 May 1959) is a French playwright, actress, novelist and screenwriter best known for her plays Art and ''God of Carnage''. Many of her brief satiric plays have reflected on contemporary middle-class issues. The 2011 blac ...
's ''
The God of Carnage'' (''Le Dieu du carnage'') translated by
Christopher Hampton and directed by
Matthew Warchus
Matthew Warchus (born 24 October 1966) is a British theatre director, filmmaker, lyricist, and playwright. He has been the Artistic Director of London's The Old Vic since September 2015.
Personal life
Warchus is married to American actress La ...
.
The play won the
Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy
The Laurence Olivier Award for Best Entertainment or Comedy Play is an annual award presented by the Society of London Theatre in recognition of achievements in commercial London theatre. The awards were established as the Society of West End The ...
in 2009. In 2008, she co-starred in the surreal sci-fi film ''
Captain Eager and the Mark of Voth
''Captain Eager and the Mark of Voth'' is a 2008 science-fiction/comedy film directed by Simon DaVision, starring James Vaughan, Tamsin Greig, Mark Heap and Richard Leaf. The film parodies classic B-movies through its deliberately nonsensical, ...
''.
In November 2008, she made her
National Theatre debut in ''
Gethsemane
Gethsemane () is a garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem where, according to the four Gospels of the New Testament, Jesus underwent the agony in the garden and was arrested before his crucifixion. It is a place of great resona ...
'', a new play by
David Hare which toured the UK.
Greig was starring in ''
The Little Dog Laughed
''The Little Dog Laughed'' is a 2006 comedy play by Douglas Carter Beane.
The four characters are an actor, Mitchell, his acerbic agent Diane, a hustler named Alex, and Alex's girlfriend Ellen. When Mitchell and Alex become involved in a physica ...
'' by
Douglas Carter Beane
Douglas Carter Beane is an American playwright and screenwriter. Born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and raised in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, Beane now lives in New York. His works include the screenplay of ''To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! J ...
at the
Garrick Theatre
The Garrick Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, named after the stage actor David Garrick. It opened in 1889 with ''The Profligate'', a play by Arthur Wing Pinero, and another Pinero play ...
in London, which did run a limited season until 10 April 2010. She starred alongside
Rupert Friend
Rupert William Anthony Friend (born 9 October 1981) is an English actor. He first gained recognition for his roles in '' The Libertine'' (2004) and '' Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont'' (2005), both of which won him awards for best newcomer. He port ...
,
Gemma Arterton
Gemma Christina Arterton (born 2 February 1986) is an English actress and producer. After her stage debut in Shakespeare's ''Love's Labour's Lost'' at the Globe Theatre (2007), Arterton made her feature film debut in the comedy '' St Trinian's'' ...
and
Harry Lloyd
Harry Charles Salusbury Lloyd (born 17 November 1983) is an English actor. His performance in the Channel 4 miniseries '' The Fear'' (2012) earned him a British Academy Television Award nomination. He gained prominence through his roles as Wil ...
, and the play was directed by
Jamie Lloyd
Jamie Lloyd is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists of the ''Halloween'' franchise. Introduced in '' Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers'' as the series' new protagonist after Jamie Lee Curtis declined to return as Laurie ...
. She won the 2011 WhatsOnStage Theatregoers Choice Award for Best Supporting Actress in a play for her portrayal. Her performance as Diane in ''The Little Dog Laughed'' garnered her a second Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress. In October 2011 she was Hilary, the central character, in ''Jumpy'' at the
Royal Court
A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word "court" may also be appl ...
, London., which later transferred to the
Duke of York's Theatre
The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster, London. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre until her death in 1935. Designed by th ...
in the West End. In March 2013 she played Varia in ''
Longing
Longing may refer to: Music
* ''Longing'' (Bell Witch album) (2012)
* ''Longing'' (Dusty Springfield album), an unreleased 1974 album
* "Longing" (song), a 1994 song by X Japan
* "Longing", a song by Gackt from '' Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantas ...
'', a new play by
William Boyd based on two short stories by
Chekov, at the
Hampstead Theatre
Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in South Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. Roxana Silbert has been the artistic director since ...
. Greig previously performed in ''Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown'' at the Playhouse Theatre, London, until May 2015. In March 2015, she received a nomination for the
Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical
The Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical is an annual award presented by the Society of London Theatre in recognition of achievements in commercial London theatre. The awards were established as the Society of West End Theatre Awa ...
.
In October 2016, she returned to the
Hampstead Theatre
Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in South Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. Roxana Silbert has been the artistic director since ...
to play Empty in ''
'' by
Tony Kushner
Anthony Robert Kushner (born July 16, 1956) is an American author, playwright, and screenwriter. Lauded for his work on stage he's most known for his seminal work ''Angels in America'' which earned a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award. At the turn ...
. In February 2017 she returned to the
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. I ...
to play
Malvolia in a new production of ''
Twelfth Night
''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vio ...
'' at the Olivier Theatre. As a
Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
constituency agent spanning a period of 27 years, she gave a "polished...magnificent" performance in
James Graham ''
Labour of Love
''Labour of Love'' is the fourth studio album by British reggae band UB40, and their first album of cover versions. Released in the UK on 12 September 1983, the album is best known for containing the song " Red Red Wine", a worldwide number-one ...
'' at the
Noël Coward Theatre
The Noël Coward Theatre, formerly known as the Albery Theatre, is a West End theatre in St. Martin's Lane in the City of Westminster, London. It opened on 12 March 1903 as the New Theatre and was built by Sir Charles Wyndham behind Wyndham's ...
, London, in October 2017.
Film
Greig made a
cameo appearance
A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly eit ...
in the 2004 comedy ''
Shaun of the Dead
''Shaun of the Dead'' is a 2004 zombie comedy film directed by Edgar Wright and written by Wright and Simon Pegg. Pegg stars as Shaun, a downtrodden salesman in London who is caught in a zombie apocalypse with his friend Ed ( Nick Frost). The ...
''. She starred with
Richard E. Grant in the 2009 film ''
Cuckoo
Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae family, the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes . The cuckoo family includes the common or European cuckoo, roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals and anis. The coucals and anis are sometimes separ ...
'', and with
Roger Allam
Roger William Allam (born 26 October 1953) is a British actor, who has performed on stage, in film, on television and radio.
He played Inspector Javert in the original London production of the stage musical '' Les Misérables'', First Officer ...
and
Gemma Arterton
Gemma Christina Arterton (born 2 February 1986) is an English actress and producer. After her stage debut in Shakespeare's ''Love's Labour's Lost'' at the Globe Theatre (2007), Arterton made her feature film debut in the comedy '' St Trinian's'' ...
in ''
Tamara Drewe
''Tamara Drewe'' is a weekly comic strip serial by Posy Simmonds, which had a 13 month run in ''The Guardian''s Review section. The strip is based upon a modern reworking of Thomas Hardy's 1874 novel '' Far from the Madding Crowd''.
The stor ...
'' (2010). The latter role earned Greig a
British Independent Film Awards
The British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) is an organisation that celebrates, supports and promotes British independent cinema and filmmaking talent in United Kingdom. Nominations for the annual awards ceremony are announced in early November, ...
nomination for Best Supporting Actress. She co-starred in 2015's comedy-drama ''
The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
''The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel'' is a 2015 comedy-drama film directed by John Madden and written by Ol Parker. It is the sequel to the 2011 sleeper hit film ''The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel'' and features an ensemble cast consisting o ...
'' and in the 2016 release of ''Breaking the Bank'', opposite
Kelsey Grammer
Allen Kelsey Grammer (born February 21, 1955) is an American actor and producer. He gained notoriety and acclaim for his role as psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'' (1984-1993) and its spin-off ''Frasier'' (1993-2004), ...
.
Personal life
Greig lives in a flat in
Kensal Green, having moved back to the area in 1996 to be with her dying father. She became a
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
at this time, despite being brought up as 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 ...
.
Greig is also a vegetarian.
Since 1997 she has been married to actor
Richard Leaf
Richard Leaf (born 1 January 1967) is an English actor.
He has had several small parts in television and stage productions. Leaf met actress Tamsin Greig at a wrap party after Neil Gaiman's 1996 miniseries ''Neverwhere'' finished recording. Th ...
, whom she met at a
wrap party
Wrap, as used in the phrase "That's a wrap" has been used by directors since the early days of the film industry to signal the end of filming. Since the 1920s, filmmakers have been using this phrase when principal photography is concluded and the ...
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 ...
's 1996 miniseries ''
Neverwhere
''Neverwhere'' is an urban fantasy television miniseries by Neil Gaiman that first aired in 1996 on BBC 2. The series is set in "London Below", a magical realm coexisting with the more familiar London, referred to as "London Above". It was d ...
'',
and has three children.
She is a supporter of the
National Health Service
The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...
, giving her backing to a rally organised by pro-NHS protest group
NHS Together. She also supports more practical teaching of
Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
in British schools, supporting the
RSC
RSC may refer to:
Arts
* Royal Shakespeare Company, a British theatre company
* Reduced Shakespeare Company, a touring American acting troupe
* Richmondshire Subscription Concerts, a music society in Richmond, North Yorkshire, England
* Rock Ste ...
's "Stand Up For Shakespeare" manifesto. Greig was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' opposing
Scottish independence in the run-up to the 2014
referendum on that issue.
Filmography
Film
Television
Theatre
Audio
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
*
tv.com Tamsin Greig biography.
Tamsin Greig – Drama FacesBiography of Tamsin Greig on the BBC Drama Faces website.
Ms Tamsin Greigat
Debrett's ''People of Today''
39 Winter 2012 , Arete Magazine Extensive interview with Tamsin Greig by Craig Raine and Nina Raine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greig, Tamsin
1966 births
Living people
People from Maidstone
Alumni of the University of Birmingham
English Christians
Converts to Christianity from atheism or agnosticism
Critics' Circle Theatre Award winners
English radio actresses
English soap opera actresses
English stage actresses
English television actresses
Laurence Olivier Award winners
People educated at Camden School for Girls
People from Camden Town
Royal Shakespeare Company members
English Shakespearean actresses
English people of Scottish descent
English people of Polish-Jewish descent
20th-century English actresses
21st-century English actresses
British comedy actresses
English film actresses
Actresses from Kent