Geraldine James
Acting
- Born:
- 1950-07-06
- Place of birth:
- Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, UK
Biography
Geraldine James, OBE (born 6 July 1950), is an English film, television, and stage actress. Born in Maidenhead, Berkshire, she trained at the Drama Centre London and began her professional acting career in the 1970s. She gained recognition for her performances in the television drama Dummy (1977) and the miniseries The Jewel in the Crown (1984). Her performance alongside Peggy Ashcroft in She’s Been Away (1989) earned her the Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival. Her film credits include Gandhi (1982), Calendar Girls (2003), Sherlock Holmes (2009), Alice in Wonderland (2010), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011), and 45 Years (2015). She portrayed Mrs. Hudson in Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes films and Queen Mary in Downton Abbey (2019) and Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022). James is also known for her television roles in Band of Gold (1995), Utopia (2013-2014), Anne with an E (2017-2019), and Silo (2023). Her portrayal of Marilla Cuthbert in Anne with an E brought her widespread international recognition. Throughout her career, she has received four BAFTA Television Award nominations and has performed extensively in theater, including a Broadway production of The Merchant of Venice opposite Dustin Hoffman. She was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2003 for her services to drama.
Known For
Filmography
The Cage
Run Away
Creditors
Tank Boy
Dope Girls
This Town
Eiffel Tower: Building the Impossible
The Trap
Silo
Benediction
The Beast Must Die
A Very Royal Christmas: Sandringham Secrets
Downton Abbey
Back to Life
Beast
Megan Leavey
Anne with an E
Daphne
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Alice Through the Looking Glass
The Five
Black Work
45 Years
Hidden India
Robot Overlords
Richard Attenborough: A Life in Film
Uncle
Legacy
Diana
Dr. Easy
The Genius of Marie Curie: The Woman Who Lit up the World
Utopia
13 Steps Down
13 Steps Down
The Farmer's Wife
Playhouse Presents
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
Celebrity Antiques Road Trip
Planet of the Apemen: Battle for Earth
Arthur
Made in Dagenham
The Michael Ball Show
Drama Trails
Alice in Wonderland
Sherlock Holmes
Caught in a Trap
Little Britain USA
The Last Enemy
Phoo Action
City of Vice
Fairy Tales
Heist
Ocean Voyagers
Northanger Abbey
The Time of Your Life
The Time of Your Life
The 50 Greatest Television Dramas
A Harlot's Progress
The Amazing Mrs Pritchard
Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire
Jane Hall
Hex
The Fever
He Knew He Was Right
Little Britain
Calendar Girls
Hearts of Gold
State of Play
The Hound of the Baskervilles
White Teeth
White Teeth
Hans Christian Andersen: My Life as a Fairytale
An Angel for May
Crime and Punishment
Taliesin Jones
Tom & Thomas
An Angel For May
All Forgotten
The Sins
The Luzhin Defence
Seesaw
The Man Who Knew Too Little
Drovers' Gold
Midsomer Murders
Rebecca
Moll Flanders
Over Here
Band of Gold
Kavanagh Q.C.
Doggin' Around
Words Upon the Window Pane
The Healer
No Worries
A Doll's House
Losing Track
The Bridge
Prince of Shadows
Stanley and the Women
Performance
Ex
In Suspicious Circumstances
If Looks Could Kill
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase
Screen One
She's Been Away
The Tall Guy
Agatha Christie's Poirot
Echoes
Wall of Tyranny
Inspector Morse
Time and the Conways
Blott on the Landscape
Blott on the Landscape
The Jewel in the Crown
Natural World
Mr. Attenborough and Mr. Gandhi
Gandhi
Chains
I Remember Nelson
The History Man
Sweet William
Bloody Kids
Hesther for Example
Shoestring
The Dumb Waiter
Love Among the Artists
General Studies
Who's Who
An Audience with...
Dummy
The Sweeney
Playhouse
Crown Court
Play for Today
Now & Then
A Visit to Grandpa’s