Brenda Blethyn
Brenda Anne Blethyn is an English actress who has worked in theatre, television, and film. Blethyn has received two Academy Award nominations, two SAG Award nominations, two Emmy Award nominations and three Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one. In addition, she has won a BAFTA, an Empire Award and a Golden Lion, and has earned a Theater World Award and both a Critics' Circle Theatre Award and a Laurence Olivier Award nomination for her theatrical work. Born into a working class home in Ramsgate, Kent, Blethyn pursued an administrative career until her early 30s before enrolling in the Guildford School of Acting after the dissolution of her marriage in 1973. She subsequently joined the Royal National Theatre and received credits for her performances in Troilus and Cressida (1976) and Mysteries (1979). In 1981, Blethyn earned her first critical acclaim for Steaming. In 1980, Blethyn made her television debut in Mike Leigh's film Grown-Ups; then, after a modest number of guest spots in several productions, in the mid-1980s she garnered leading roles in the short-living sitcoms Chance in a Million and The Labours of Erica. Having followed her big screen debut with smaller supporting roles in films such as The Witches (1990) and A River Runs Through It (1992), she made her real cinema breakthrough with her role in the 1996 dramedy Secrets & Lies, for which she received rave reviews. Blethyn has since appeared in an eclectic range of films, including independent comedies such as Saving Grace (2000), Plots with a View (2002) and Clubland (2007), music-themed films like Little Voice (1998) and Beyond the Sea (2004) and big-budget dramas such as Pride & Prejudice (2005) and Atonement (2007). In addition, Blethyn has appeared in television productions including The Buddha of Suburbia (1993), Anne Frank: The Whole Story (2001), Belonging (2004) and War and Peace (2007). Her most recent leading role in TV drama is the title role in Vera (2011), playing Detective Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope. Description above from the Wikipedia article Brenda Blethyn, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Filmography
Dragonfly
as Elsie
Dragonfly
as Elsie
Vera, Farewell Pet
as Herself / Vera
Vera, Farewell Pet
as Herself / Vera
Charlotte
as Grossmama (voice)
Charlotte
as Grossmama (voice)
Raymond Briggs: Snowmen, Bogeymen and Milkmen
as Narrator
Raymond Briggs: Snowmen, Bogeymen and Milkmen
as Narrator
Ethel & Ernest
as Ethel Briggs (voice)
Ethel & Ernest
as Ethel Briggs (voice)
Two Men in Town
as Emily Smith
Two Men in Town
as Emily Smith
My Angel
as Headmistress
My Angel
as Headmistress
The Many Faces of... Michael Caine
The Many Faces of... Michael Caine
The Calling
as Sister Ignatious
The Calling
as Sister Ignatious
My Friends Tigger & Pooh: Super Duper Super Sleuths
as Mama Heffalump (voice)
My Friends Tigger & Pooh: Super Duper Super Sleuths
as Mama Heffalump (voice)
Tigger & Pooh and a Musical Too
as Mama Heffalump (voice)
Tigger & Pooh and a Musical Too
as Mama Heffalump (voice)
London River
as Elisabeth
London River
as Elisabeth
Dead Man Running
as Mother
Dead Man Running
as Mother
Atonement
as Grace Turner
Atonement
as Grace Turner
Mysterious Creatures
as Wendy Ainscow
Mysterious Creatures
as Wendy Ainscow
Pride & Prejudice
as Mrs. Bennet
Pride & Prejudice
as Mrs. Bennet
On a Clear Day
as Joan
On a Clear Day
as Joan
Pooh's Heffalump Movie
as Mama Heffalump (voice)
Pooh's Heffalump Movie
as Mama Heffalump (voice)
Beyond the Sea
as Polly Cassotto
Beyond the Sea
as Polly Cassotto
The Best of So Graham Norton
as Self (archive footage)
The Best of So Graham Norton
as Self (archive footage)
Blizzard
as Aunt Millie
Blizzard
as Aunt Millie
The Wild Thornberrys Movie
as Mrs. Fairgood (voice)
The Wild Thornberrys Movie
as Mrs. Fairgood (voice)
Undertaking Betty
as Betty Rhys-Jones
Undertaking Betty
as Betty Rhys-Jones
Sonny
as Jewel
Sonny
as Jewel
Lovely & Amazing
as Jane Marks
Lovely & Amazing
as Jane Marks
Pumpkin
as Judy Romanoff
Pumpkin
as Judy Romanoff
The Yellow Bird
as Mrs. Louise Tutwiler
The Yellow Bird
as Mrs. Louise Tutwiler
On the Nose
as Mrs. Delaney
On the Nose
as Mrs. Delaney
Girls' Night
as Dawn Wilkinson
Girls' Night
as Dawn Wilkinson
Inside the Golden Statue
as Self
Inside the Golden Statue
as Self
A River Runs Through It
as Mrs. Maclean
A River Runs Through It
as Mrs. Maclean
The Witches
as Mrs Jenkins
The Witches
as Mrs Jenkins
The Shawl
as Miss A
The Shawl
as Miss A
The Storyteller: A Story Short
as The Storyteller's Wife
The Storyteller: A Story Short
as The Storyteller's Wife
Say No to Strangers
as Policewoman
Say No to Strangers
as Policewoman
Strawberry Fields Forever
as Grannie Nellie
Strawberry Fields Forever
as Grannie Nellie