About

Known credits:
69
Birthday:
1946-02-20
Place of birth:
Ramsgate, Kent, England, UK
Website:
N/A

Brenda Blethyn

Overview

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.

Known for

Acting
2021 Charlotte Actor Grossmama (voice) 59
Average
2020 Kate & Koji Actor Kate 68
Fair
2018 Raymond Briggs: Snowmen, Bogeymen and Milkmen Actor Narrator N/A
N/A
2016 Ethel & Ernest Actor Ethel Briggs (voice) 61
Fair
2014 Two Men in Town Actor Emily Smith 58
Average
2013 Mary and Martha Actor Martha 59
Average
2011 My Angel Actor Headmistress 58
Average
2011 The Many Faces of... Michael Caine Actor N/A
N/A
2011 Vera Actor DCI Vera Stanhope 72
Good
2010 The Calling Actor Sister Ignatious N/A
N/A
2009 Tigger & Pooh and a Musical Too Actor Mama Heffalump (voice) 59
Average
2009 London River Actor Elisabeth 59
Average
2009 Dead Man Running Actor Mother 58
Average
2007 War and Peace Actor Márja Dmitrijewna Achrosímowa 67
Fair
2007 Clubland Actor Jean 58
Average
2007 Atonement Actor Grace Turner 74
Good
2006 Mysterious Creatures Actor Wendy Ainscow 59
Average
2005 Pride & Prejudice Actor Mrs. Bennet 79
Good
2005 On a Clear Day Actor Joan 59
Average
2005 Pooh's Heffalump Movie Actor Mama Heffalump (voice) 63
Fair
2004 Beyond the Sea Actor Polly Cassotto 59
Average
2004 A Way of Life Actor Annette 59
Average
2004 Piccadilly Jim Actor Nesta Pett 59
Average
2004 Belonging Actor Jess Copplestone 59
Average
2003 Between The Sheets Actor Hazel Delany 70
Good
2003 Blizzard Actor Aunt Millie 59
Average
2003 The Sleeping Dictionary Actor Aggie 60
Fair
2002 Undertaking Betty Actor Betty Rhys-Jones 59
Average
2002 Sonny Actor Jewel 58
Average
2002 Pumpkin Actor Judy Romanoff 58
Average
2002 The Yellow Bird Actor Mrs. Louise Tutwiler N/A
N/A
2001 Daddy and Them Actor Julia Montgomery 58
Average
2001 On the Nose Actor Mrs. Delaney 58
Average
2001 Lovely & Amazing Actor Jane Marks 59
Average
2001 Anne Frank: The Whole Story Actor Auguste Rottgen-van Pels 72
Good
2000 RKO 281 Actor Louella Parsons 59
Average
2000 Saving Grace Actor Grace Trevethyn 61
Fair
1998 Little Voice Actor Mari Hoff 60
Fair
1998 In the Winter Dark Actor Ida Stubbs 58
Average
1998 Girls' Night Actor Dawn Wilkinson 59
Average
1998 Music from Another Room Actor Grace Swan 58
Average
1998 Night Train Actor Alice Mooney 59
Average
1998 Inside the Golden Statue Actor Self 59
Average
1997 Remember Me? Actor 58
Average
1996 Secrets & Lies Actor Cynthia Rose Purley 68
Fair
1994 Outside Edge Actor 70
Good
1993 The Buddha of Suburbia Actor Margaret Amir 68
Fair
1993 The Bullion Boys Actor Gwen N/A
N/A
1992 A River Runs Through It Actor Mrs. Maclean 66
Fair
1991 All Good Things Actor Shirley Frame N/A
N/A
1990 The Witches Actor Mrs Jenkins 66
Fair
1989 Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story Actor Ticki Tocquet 68
Fair
1989 The Shawl Actor Miss A N/A
N/A
1989 The Labours of Erica Actor N/A
N/A
1987 Claws Actor Sylvia N/A
N/A
1985 The Mysteries Actor Mary Magdalene / Mary N/A
N/A
1984 Chance in a Million Actor Alison Little 69
Fair
1983 Floating Off Actor Janice N/A
N/A
1983 Henry VI Part 1 Actor Joan La Pucelle 59
Average
1982 King Lear Actor Cordelia 59
Average
1982 Mike Leigh: Making Plays Actor Self N/A
N/A
1981 Say No to Strangers Actor 59
Average
1980 Grown-Ups Actor Gloria 59
Average
1980 Bedroom Farce Actor Kate N/A
N/A
1980 The Imitation Game Actor 59
Average
Fools Actor N/A
N/A
King of the Teds Actor Nina N/A
N/A
Strawberry Fields Forever Actor Grannie Nellie N/A
N/A

Writing
2007 Clubland Writing Writer 58
Average