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)