Brenda Blethyn
Born
February 20, 1946 (79 years old)
Known For
Acting
Place of Birth
Ramsgate, Kent, England, UK
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.
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Known For

Ethel & Ernest
Ethel Briggs (voice)
2016

Two Men in Town
Emily Smith
2014

Mary and Martha
Martha
2013

My Angel
Headmistress
2011
The Many Faces of... Michael Caine
2011

The Calling
Sister Ignatious
2010

Tigger & Pooh and a Musical Too
Mama Heffalump (voice)
2009

London River
Elisabeth
2009

Dead Man Running
Mother
2009

Clubland
Jean
2007

Atonement
Grace Turner
2007

Mysterious Creatures
Wendy Ainscow
2006

Pride & Prejudice
Mrs. Bennet
2005

On a Clear Day
Joan
2005

Pooh's Heffalump Movie
Mama Heffalump (voice)
2005

Beyond the Sea
Polly Cassotto
2004

Belonging
Jess Copplestone
2004

The Sleeping Dictionary
Aggie
2003

Undertaking Betty
Betty Rhys-Jones
2002

Sonny
Jewel
2002

Lovely & Amazing
Jane Marks
2002

Pumpkin
Judy Romanoff
2002

The Yellow Bird
Mrs. Louise Tutwiler
2002

On the Nose
Mrs. Delaney
2001

RKO 281
Louella Parsons
2000

Saving Grace
Grace Trevethyn
2000

Little Voice
Mari Hoff
1998

In the Winter Dark
Ida Stubbs
1998
Girls' Night
Dawn Wilkinson
1998

Music from Another Room
Grace Swan
1998

Inside the Golden Statue
Self
1998

Night Train
Alice Mooney
1998

Remember Me?
1997

Secrets & Lies
Cynthia Rose Purley
1996

The Bullion Boys
Gwen
1993

A River Runs Through It
Mrs. Maclean
1992

The Witches
Mrs Jenkins
1990

The Shawl
Miss A
1989

Claws
Sylvia
1987

Floating Off
Janice
1983

Henry VI Part 1
Joan La Pucelle
1983

Mike Leigh: Making Plays
Self
1982
Say No to Strangers
Policewoman
1981

Grown-Ups
Gloria
1980
Bedroom Farce
Kate
1980

The Imitation Game
1980
Fools

Dragonfly
Elsie
2025

Charlotte
Grossmama (voice)
2022

Kate & Koji
Kate · (12 episodes)
2020

Raymond Briggs: Snowmen, Bogeymen and Milkmen
Narrator
2018

Vera
DCI Vera Stanhope · (56 episodes)
2011

War and Peace
Márja Dmitrijewna Achrosímowa · (4 episodes)
2007

The Graham Norton Show
Self · (1 episode)
2007

The One Show
Self - Guest · (2 episodes)
2006

The New Adventures of Old Christine
Angela Kimble · (1 episode)
2006

A Way of Life
Annette
2004

Piccadilly Jim
Nesta Pett
2004

Between The Sheets
Hazel Delany · (6 episodes)
2003

Blizzard
Aunt Millie
2003

V Graham Norton
Self · (1 episode)
2002

Daddy and Them
Julia Montgomery
2001

Anne Frank: The Whole Story
Auguste Rottgen-van Pels · (2 episodes)
2001

So Graham Norton
Self - Guest · (1 episode)
1998

The Frank Skinner Show
Self · (2 episodes)
1995

Outside Edge
(22 episodes)
1994

The Buddha of Suburbia
Margaret Amir · (4 episodes)
1993

Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story
Ticki Tocquet · (6 episodes)
1989
The Labours of Erica
(12 episodes)
1989
Who Dares Wins
Various · (8 episodes)
1984

King Lear
Cordelia
1982

Strawberry Fields Forever
Grannie Nellie

King of the Teds
Nina

Bob the Builder: The Knights of Fix-A-Lot
Dr. Florence Mountfitchet (voice)
2003

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Linnie Malcolm · (1 episode)
1999

GMTV
Self · (1 episode)
1993

Maigret
(1 episode)
1992

All Good Things
Shirley Frame · (6 episodes)
1991

This Morning
Self · (1 episode)
1988

The Storyteller
Storyteller's Wife · (1 episode)
1988

The Play on One
Miss A · (1 episode)
1988

The Mysteries
Mary Magdalene / Mary · (3 episodes)
1985

Chance in a Million
Alison Little · (18 episodes)
1984

Dalgliesh
Angela Foley · (6 episodes)
1983

Yes Minister
(1 episode)
1980

Tales of the Unexpected
Carol Hutchins · (1 episode)
1979

The BBC Television Shakespeare
Cordelia · (1 episode)
1978

The BBC Television Shakespeare
Joan La Pucelle · (1 episode)
1978

Rumpole of the Bailey
(1 episode)
1975

Playhouse
Gloria · (1 episode)
1974

The Oscars
Self · (2 episodes)
1953

Golden Globe Awards
Self - Nominee · (1 episode)
1944

Golden Globe Awards
Self - Presenter · (1 episode)
1944
A Woman of Substance
Emma Harle · (8 episodes)