Shirley Henderson (born 24 November 1965) is a Scottish actress. Her accolades include two Scottish BAFTAs, a VFCC Award and an

Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply The Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of West End Theatre Aw ...

, as well as

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

, BIFA, London Critics' Circle, Chlotrudis, Gotham, and

Canadian Screen Award The Canadian Screen Awards () are awards given for artistic and technical merit in the film industry recognizing excellence in Canadian film, English-language television, and digital media ( web series) productions. Given annually by the Academy ...

nominations. Henderson's film roles include Gail in '' Trainspotting'' (1996) and its 2017 sequel, Jude in the '' Bridget Jones'' films (2001–2025), and Moaning Myrtle in ''

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ''Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'' is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling. It is the second novel in the ''Harry Potter'' series. The plot follows Harry's second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry ...

'' (2002) and ''

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire ''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'' is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling. It is the fourth novel in the ''Harry Potter'' series. It follows Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, a wizard in his fourth year at Hogwar ...

'' (2005). Her other notable credits include '' Rob Roy'' (1995), '' Wonderland'' (1999), ''

Topsy-Turvy ''Topsy-Turvy'' is a 1999 British musical period drama film written and directed by Mike Leigh, starring Jim Broadbent as W. S. Gilbert and Allan Corduner as Sir Arthur Sullivan, along with Timothy Spall, Lesley Manville and Ron Cook. T ...

'' (1999), '' 24 Hour Party People'' (2002), ''

Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself ''Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself'' is a 2002 Danish-Scottish drama film directed by Lone Scherfig and starring Jamie Sives, Adrian Rawlins, Shirley Henderson, Lisa McKinlay, Mads Mikkelsen, and Julia Davis. Harbour and his suicidal brother ...

'' (2002), ''

Intermission An intermission, also known as an interval in British and Indian English, is a break between parts of a performance or production, such as for a play (theatre), theatrical play, opera, concert, or film screening. It should not be confused with ...

'' (2003), '' American Cousins'' (2003), '' Frozen'' (2005), ''

Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette (; ; Maria Antonia Josefa Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last List of French royal consorts, queen of France before the French Revolution and the establishment of the French First Republic. She was the ...

'' (2006), '' Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day'' (2008), '' Life During Wartime'' (2009), '' Meek's Cutoff'' (2010), ''

Anna Karenina ''Anna Karenina'' ( rus, Анна Каренина, p=ˈanːə kɐˈrʲenʲɪnə) is a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy, first published in book form in 1878. Tolstoy called it his first true novel. It was initially released in serial in ...

'' (2012), '' Filth'' (2013), ''

Okja ''Okja'' (, ) is a 2017 science-fantasy action-adventure film directed by Bong Joon Ho with a screenplay by Bong and Jon Ronson from a story by Bong. The film is about a teenage girl who raised a genetically modified "super pig" (the titular Ok ...

'' (2017), '' Never Steady, Never Still'' (2017), and '' Stan & Ollie'' (2018). Henderson starred as Isobel Sutherland in the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

series ''

Hamish Macbeth Hamish Macbeth is the police constable of the fictional Scottish Highlands, Scottish Highland town of Lochdubh, in a series of murder mystery novels created by M. C. Beaton (Marion Chesney). Considered by many to be a useless, lazy moocher, M ...

'' (1995–97) and played Frances Drummond in the BBC drama '' Happy Valley'' (2016). She was nominated for

RTS Awards The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...

for the BBC miniseries ''

The Way We Live Now ''The Way We Live Now'' is a satirical and political novel by Anthony Trollope, published in London in 1875 after first appearing in serialised form. It is one of the last significant Victorian novels to have been published in monthly parts. ...

'' (2001) and the ITV television film '' Dirty Filthy Love'' (2004), and received a

nomination for her portrayal of Claire Salter in the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

miniseries '' Southcliffe'' (2013). She won the 2018 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her role as Elizabeth in the original

Old Vic Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...

production of '' Girl from the North Country''.

Early life

Henderson was born on 24 November 1965 in

Forres Forres (; ) is a town and former royal burgh in the north of Scotland on the County of Moray, Moray coast, approximately northeast of Inverness and west of Elgin, Moray, Elgin. Forres has been a winner of the Scotland in Bloom award on several ...

Moray Moray ( ; or ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland. Its council is based in Elgin, the area' ...

, and grew up in Kincardine-on-Forth, on the north shore of the

Firth of Forth The Firth of Forth () is a firth in Scotland, an inlet of the North Sea that separates Fife to its north and Lothian to its south. Further inland, it becomes the estuary of the River Forth and several other rivers. Name ''Firth'' is a cognate ...

, in

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

. She attended Dunfermline High School. As a child, she began singing in local clubs, at charity events, holiday camps and even a boxing contest. At age 16, Henderson completed a one-year course at Adam Smith College, resulting in a National Certificate in Theatre Arts. At 17, she moved to London, where she spent three years at the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a music school, music and drama school located in the City of London, England. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz al ...

, graduating in 1986.

Career

Henderson's first television performance was in the leading role of Elizabeth Findlay in the 1987 ITV children's television drama '' Shadow of the Stone'', for which she was cast by Leonard White. Having appeared in theatrical productions in Scotland in 1986 and 1987, she was directed by Peter Hall at the

Royal National Theatre The National Theatre (NT), officially the Royal National Theatre and sometimes referred to in international contexts as the National Theatre of Great Britain, is a performing arts venue and associated theatre company located in London, England, ...

as Fanny Lock in ''Entertaining Strangers'' from October 1987 to March 1988, and as Perdita in ''

The Winter's Tale ''The Winter's Tale'' is a play by William Shakespeare originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, many modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some criti ...

'' from April to November 1988. In 1990, she played the title role in ''

Eurydice Eurydice (; Ancient Greek: Εὐρυδίκη 'wide justice', classical pronunciation: ) was a character in Greek mythology and the wife of Orpheus, whom Orpheus tried to bring back from the dead with his enchanting music. Etymology Several ...

'' at the Chichester Festival, and also appeared on television in ''

Wish Me Luck ''Wish Me Luck'' is a British television drama about the exploits of civilian women who became undercover agents in Occupied France during the Second World War. The series was made by London Weekend Television for the ITV network between 17 Ja ...

'' and ''

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 ...

''. She landed the key role of Isobel in the popular BBC series ''

'' in 1995. Henderson then moved into films, playing Morag in '' Rob Roy'' (1995) and Spud's girlfriend Gail in

Danny Boyle Daniel Francis Boyle (born 20 October 1956) is an English director and producer. He is known for his work on the films ''Shallow Grave (1994 film), Shallow Grave'' (1994), ''Trainspotting (film), Trainspotting'' (1996) and its sequel ''T2 Tra ...

's '' Trainspotting'' (1996). She continued her work in the theatre, including many productions at the National Theatre in London. The next year, she appeared in

Mike Leigh Mike Leigh (born 20 February 1943) is an English screenwriter, producer, director and former actor with a film, theatre, and television career spanning more than 60 years. His accolades include prizes at the Cannes Film Festival, the Berlin In ...

's ''

'', in which she demonstrated her singing skills, and

Michael Winterbottom Michael Winterbottom (born 29 March 1961) is an English film director. He began his career working in British television before moving into features. Three of his films—''Welcome to Sarajevo'', ''Wonderland (1999 film), Wonderland'' and ''24 ...

's '' Wonderland''. Henderson played Jude in three '' Bridget Jones'' films and Moaning Myrtle in ''

'' (2002) and ''

'' (2005). She co-starred in the British film '' Close Your Eyes'' (2002) along with

Goran Višnjić Goran Višnjić ( ; born 9 September 1972) is a Croatian actor. He is best known for his roles as Dr. Luka Kovač in '' ER'' and Garcia Flynn in '' Timeless'', both NBC television series. For ''ER'', he and the cast were nominated for two Scre ...

and

Miranda Otto Miranda Otto (born 16 December 1967) is an Australian actress. She is the daughter of actors Barry Otto, Barry and Lindsay Otto and the paternal half-sister of actress Gracie Otto. Otto began her acting career in 1986 at age 18 and appeared in a ...

and played French princess Sophie-Philippine in

Sofia Coppola Sofia Carmina Coppola ( , ; born May 14, 1971) is an American filmmaker and former actress. She has List of awards and nominations received by Sofia Coppola, won an Academy Awards, Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, a Golden Lion, and a Can ...

's ''

'' (2006). She played the school matron in Nick Moore's 2008 film '' Wild Child''. Small-screen appearances have included playing Marie Melmotte in ''

'' (2001);

Catherine of Braganza Catherine of Braganza (; 25 November 1638 – 31 December 1705) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England, List of Scottish royal consorts, Scotland and Ireland during her marriage to Charles II of England, King Charles II, which la ...

in '' Charles II: The Power and The Passion'' (2003); Charlotte in '' Dirty Filthy Love'' (2004); Ursula Blake in the ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' episode " Love & Monsters" (2006); Emmeline Fox in ''

The Crimson Petal and the White ''The Crimson Petal and the White'' is a 2002 novel by Michel Faber set in Victorian era, Victorian England. The title is from an 1847 poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson entitled "Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal", the opening line of which is "Now slee ...

'' (2011); DS Angela Young in '' Death in Paradise'' (2011); and Meg Hawkins in ''

Treasure Island ''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure a ...

'' (2012). She played Karen, the lead role, opposite

John Simm John Ronald Simm (born 10 July 1970) is an English actor, director, and musician. He is best known for playing Sam Tyler in ''Life on Mars'', the Master in ''Doctor Who,'' and DS Roy Grace in ''Grace.'' His other television credits include '' ...

's ''Everyday'' and Meme Kartosov in ''Anna Karenina''. In 2022,

HBO Max Max (known in other countries as, and soon to be reverted globally to HBO Max) is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. It is a proprietary unit of Warner Bros. Discovery Streaming on behalf of Home Box Of ...

announced that Henderson would star in '' Dune: Prophecy'' as Tula Harkonnen. However, in early 2023, director Johan Renck and Henderson were reported to have exited the production due to a "creative shift" and production delays. In 2023 Henderson was awarded an Outstanding Contribution by BAFTA Scotland for her contribution to Scottish Film and TV.

Theatre

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
Shirley Henderson
at Hamilton Hodell Talent Management {{DEFAULTSORT:Henderson, Shirley 1965 births Living people 20th-century Scottish actresses 21st-century Scottish actresses Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama People from Kincardine, Fife People from Moray Scottish film actresses Scottish radio actresses Scottish Shakespearean actresses Scottish stage actresses Scottish television actresses Scottish voice actresses People educated at Dunfermline High School Actresses from Fife