Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton (born January 9, 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 productions in the United Kingdom. Staunton has performed in a variety of plays and musicals in London throughout her career, winning four Laurence Olivier Awards; three for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for her roles in the musicals Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd, and Gypsy, and one for Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Play for her work in both A Chorus of Disapproval and The Corn is Green. Her other stage appearances include The Beggar's Opera, The Wizard of Oz, Uncle Vanya, Guys and Dolls, Entertaining Mr Sloane, and Good People. She has been nominated for 13 Olivier Awards. On film, Staunton starred in Antonia and Jane; in several supporting roles in Kenneth Branagh's comedy Peter's Friends, his adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing; Ang Lee's adaptation of Sense and Sensibility; and the costume romantic comedy Shakespeare in Love. She drew critical acclaim for her performance in the title role in Mike Leigh's Vera Drake, for which she won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role and the Venice Film Festival Volpi Cup for Best Actress, in addition to being nominated for Best Actress by the Academy Awards, the Golden Globe Awards and the Screen Actors Guild Awards. She later gained a wider audience for her portrayal as Dolores Umbridge in the Harry Potter films The Order of the Phoenix and The Deathly Hallows - Part 1. She continued supporting roles in Nanny McPhee, reunited with Leigh in Another Year, and the film continuation of Downton Abbey. She portrayed human rights activist Hefina Headon in the historical film Pride, and starred in the British comedy Finding Your Feet. She also provided voice acting roles for the films Chicken Run, Arthur Christmas, and Paddington. On television, Staunton starred in the sitcoms Up the Garden Path and Is it Legal?. Her performance in My Family and Other Animals earned her a nomination for the International Emmy Award for Best Actress, while her roles in Return to Cranford and The Girl earned her BAFTA TV Award nominations for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. For the latter, she was also nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie. She portrayed Queen Elizabeth II in the final two seasons of The Crown.
96 movies · 45 shows
Testimony
2025·0.0
National Theatre Live: Mrs. Warren's Profession
2025·0.0
Paddington in Peru
2024·6.8
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget
2023·6.9
The Canterville Ghost
2023·6.7
Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends
2022·8.0
Downton Abbey: A New Era
2022·7.2
Victorian Britain on Film
2021·8.0
Sense and Sensibility: 25th Anniversary Reunion
2021·0.0
The Gruffalo and Me: The Remarkable Julia Donaldson
2020·10.0
The Magical World of Julia Donaldson
2020·6.0
Amulet
2020·5.2
The Far Traveller
2020·7.5
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
2019·7.3
A Confession As Told By ITV News
2019·0.0
Downton Abbey
2019·7.1
Finding Your Feet
2017·7.0
National Theatre Live: Follies
2017·8.0
Paddington 2
2017·7.5
Harry Potter: A History Of Magic
2017·7.3
National Theatre Live: Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
2017·6.2
Little Bird
2017·9.0
Jim Carter: Lonnie Donegan and Me
2016·0.0
Gypsy
2015·7.8
Pride: The True Story
2015·0.0
That Day We Sang
2014·6.8
Victoria Wood - That Musical We Made
2014·0.0
Paddington
2014·7.1
Pride
2014·7.7
Maleficent
2014·7.1
Mouse and Mole at Christmas Time
2013·6.0
The Girl
2012·6.1
London: The Modern Babylon
2012·6.4
The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!
2012·6.5
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
2012·0.0
Arthur Christmas
2011·6.8
The Awakening
2011·6.4
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
2010·7.7
White Other
2010·6.0
Another Year
2010·7.0
Psychoville Halloween Special
2010·0.0
Alice in Wonderland
2010·6.6
Taking Woodstock
2009·6.2
Adapting Austen
2009·0.0
A Bunch of Amateurs
2008·5.7
Three and Out
2008·5.5
Clay
2008·5.2
How About You...
2007·6.3
Where Have I Been All Your Life?
2007·0.0
Stephen Fry: 50 Not Out
2007·0.0
Guilty Hearts
2007·5.8
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
2007·7.7
Freedom Writers
2007·7.9
The Wind in the Willows
2006·5.8
Shadow Man
2006·4.3
Bill Douglas: Intent on Getting the Image
2006·8.8
My Family and Other Animals
2005·6.4
Nanny McPhee
2005·6.7
Vera Drake
2004·7.2
Bright Young Things
2003·6.3
I'll Be There
2003·5.4
Blackball
2003·5.2
The Virgin of Liverpool
2003·3.5
Crush
2002·5.6
Ready
2002·10.0
Another Life
2001·5.7
Victoria Wood with All the Trimmings
2000·7.0
Rat
2000·6.0
Chicken Run
2000·6.8
Jack and the Beanstalk
1999·6.8
Shakespeare in Love
1998·6.8
The Ugly Duckling
1997·5.7
Remember Me?
1997·6.5
Twelfth Night
1996·7.0
The Adventures of Toad
1996·0.0
The Snow Queen's Revenge
1996·5.7
The Wind in the Willows
1995·6.0
The Adventures of Mole
1995·7.5
Sense and Sensibility
1995·7.4
The Pen
1995·0.0
Citizen X
1995·7.2
The Snow Queen
1995·6.5
Mole's Christmas
1994·5.4
Deadly Advice
1994·4.7
Don't Leave Me This Way
1993·7.3
Much Ado About Nothing
1993·6.9
Roots
1992·0.0
Peter's Friends
1992·6.6
A Masculine Ending
1992·8.0
They Never Slept
1991·0.0
Yellowbacks
1990·8.0
Antonia and Jane
1990·5.4
The Englishman's Wife
1990·0.0
The Heat of the Day
1989·8.0
Comrades
1987·6.9
Easy Money
1982·0.0