Juliet Stevenson
English actress (born 1956)
Juliet Stevenson
Born Juliet Anne Virginia Stevenson
(1956-10-30 ) 30 October 1956 (age 68) Alma mater Royal Academy of Dramatic Art Occupation Actress Years active 1978–present Spouse
Children 2
Juliet Anne Virginia Stevenson , CBE (born 30 October 1956) is an English actress of stage and screen. She is known for her role in the film Truly, Madly, Deeply (1991), for which she was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role . Her other film appearances include Emma (1996), Bend It Like Beckham (2002), Mona Lisa Smile (2003), Being Julia (2004), Infamous (2006), The Enfield Haunting (2015), Wolf (2023), and Reawakening (2024).
In theatre, she has starred in numerous Royal Shakespeare Company and National Theatre productions, including Olivier Award nominated roles in Measure for Measure (1984), Les Liaisons Dangereuses (1986), and Yerma (1987). For her role as Paulina in Death and the Maiden (1991–92), she won the 1992 Olivier Award for Best Actress . Her fifth Olivier nomination was for her work in the 2009 revival of Duet for One . She has also received three nominations for the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress : for A Doll's House (1992), The Politician's Wife (1995) and Accused (2010). Other stage roles include The Heretic (2011) and Happy Days (2014).
Early life
Stevenson was born in Kelvedon , Essex, England, the daughter of Virginia Ruth (née Marshall), a teacher, and Michael Guy Stevenson, an army officer.[citation needed ] Stevenson's father was assigned a new posting every two and a half years.[ 1] When Stevenson was nine, she attended Berkshire's Hurst Lodge School in Ascot ,[ 2] and she was later educated at the independent St Catherine's School in Bramley, near Guildford , Surrey, and at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA).[ 3] Stevenson was part of the 'new wave' of actors to emerge from the Academy.[citation needed ] Others included Jonathan Pryce , Bruce Payne , Alan Rickman , Anton Lesser , Kenneth Branagh , Imelda Staunton and Fiona Shaw .[citation needed ] She started her stage career in 1978 with the Royal Shakespeare Company .[citation needed ]
Career
Although she has gained fame through her television and film work and has often undertaken roles for BBC Radio , she is known as a stage actress. Significant stage roles include her performances as Isabella in Measure for Measure , Madame de Tourvel in Les Liaisons Dangereuses , Anna in the UK premiere of Burn This in 1990 and Paulina in Death and the Maiden at the Royal Court theatre and the West End (1991–92). For the last she was awarded the 1992 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress .[ 4]
In the 1987 TV film Life Story , Stevenson played the part of scientist Rosalind Franklin , for which she won a Cable Ace award.[ 5] She played the leading role in the Anthony Minghella film Truly, Madly, Deeply (1991) and her roles in The Secret Rapture (1993), Emma (1996), Bend It Like Beckham (2002) and Mona Lisa Smile (2003). She has more recently starred in Pierrepoint (2006), Infamous (2006) as Diana Vreeland and Breaking and Entering (2006) as Rosemary, the therapist. In 2003, she played the mother of an autistic child in the television film Hear the Silence , a film promoting the now debunked claims of Andrew Wakefield that the MMR vaccine was responsible for autism in children.[ 6] The film makers and Stevenson were criticised as Wakefield's professionalism was already seriously in doubt.[ 6] [ 7]
Stevenson speaking at the 2011 Latitude Festival.
In 2009, she starred in ITV's A Place of Execution . The role won her the Best Actress Dagger at the 2009 Crime Thriller Awards .[ 8] She performs as a book reader, and has recorded all of Jane Austen 's novels as unabridged audiobooks, as well as a number of other novels, such as Lady Windermere's Fan , Hedda Gabler , Stories from Shakespeare , and To the Lighthouse . She received lifetime achievement prize at Women in Film And TV awards.[ 9]
In 2024, she played Mary, the mother of a returning missing child in the British psychological thriller film Reawakening , alongside Erin Doherty and Jared Harris .[ 10]
Personal life
Stevenson married her long-time partner, British anthropologist Hugh Brody , in 2021. They have a daughter and a son and live in Suffolk , but she also has an apartment in New York .[ 11] [ 12]
She is an atheist but considers herself a spiritual and superstitious person.[ 13] [ 14]
In 1992 she appeared in a political broadcast for the Labour Party .[ 15] [ 16]
In 2008 she campaigned on behalf of refugee women[ 17] with a reading of "Motherland" at the Young Vic . She is patron of the UK registered charity LAM Action , which provides support, information and encouragement to patients with Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) and their families, and raises funds to advance research into LAM.[ 18] Stevenson is an Amnesty Ambassador.[ 19] She is patron of two charities: Young Roots, a charity for young refugees; and Antenatal Results and Choices,[ 20] which supports parents who have had a diagnosis of fetal anomaly.
On 12 September 2016, Stevenson, as well as Cate Blanchett , Chiwetel Ejiofor , Peter Capaldi , Douglas Booth , Neil Gaiman , Keira Knightley , Jesse Eisenberg , Kit Harington and Stanley Tucci , featured in a video from the United Nations' refugee agency UNHCR to help raise awareness of the global refugee crisis. The video, titled "What They Took With Them", has the actors reading a poem written by Jenifer Toksvig and inspired by primary accounts of refugees, and is part of UNHCR's #WithRefugees campaign, which also includes a petition to governments to expand asylum to provide further shelter, integrating job opportunities and education.[ 21] [ 22]
Stevenson's friends and frequent collaborators include director Robert Icke ,[ 23] [ 24] [ 25] comedian and feminist broadcaster Deborah Frances-White ,[ 26] [ 27] poet Aviva Dautch [ 28] [ 29] [ 30] and concert pianist Lucy Parham .[ 31] [ 32]
Stevenson is also a painter and has talked about how her art has helped her through difficult moments such as the COVID-19 lockdown and the death of her stepson.[ 33]
Filmography
Film
Television
Theatre
Year
Title
Role
Notes
1978
The Tempest
Spirit
Royal Shakespeare Company
1978
Antony and Cleopatra
Iras / Octavia
Royal Shakespeare Company
1978
Measure for Measure
Whore / Nun
Royal Shakespeare Company
1978
The Churchill Play
Caroline Thompson
1978
Hippolytus
Aphrodite / Artemis
1978
Lovers and Kings
1978
The Taming of the Shrew
Widow / Curtis
1978
The White Guard
Yeliena
1978
Once in a Lifetime
Miss Chasen
1980
Henry IV
Lady Percy
Royal Shakespeare Company
1981
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Hippolyta / Titania
1981
The Witch of Edmonton
Susan
Royal Shakespeare Company
1981
Money
Clara Douglas
1983
Other Worlds
Emma / Betsy
Royal Court Theatre, London
1984
Measure for Measure
Isabella
Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford Theatre
1984
Breaking the Silence
Polya
Royal Shakespeare Company, The Pit Theatre, London
1985
Troilus and Cressida
Cressida
Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford Theatre
1985
As You Like It
Rosalind
Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford Theatre
1986
Les Liaisons dangereuses
Madame de Tourvel
Royal Shakespeare Company, The Pit Theatre
1987
Yerma
Yerma
National Theatre, London
1988–90
The Trackers of Oxyrhynchus
Kyllene
Theatre of Delphi/National Theatre, London
1989
Hedda Gabler
Hedda
National Theatre, London
1989
On the Verge
Fanny
Sadler's Wells Theatre, London
1990
Burn This
Anna
Hampstead Theatre, London
1991–92
Death and the Maiden
Paulina
Theatre Upstairs, Duke of York Theatre, London
1993
Scenes from an Execution
Galactia
Mark Taper Forum, Los Angeles
1995
The Duchess of Malfi
Greenwich Theatre/Wyndham's Theatre , London
1997
The Caucasian Chalk Circle
Royal National Theatre, London
1999
Private Lives
Amanda
The National Theatre
2000
The Country
Royal Court Theatre
2003
A Little Night Music
Desirée Armfeldt
New York City Opera
2004
We Happy Few
Gielgud Theatre, London
2005
The Alice Trilogy
Royal Court Theatre
2006
The Seagull
Irina Arkadina
The National Theatre
2009
Duet for One
London
2011
The Heretic
Royal Court Theatre
2014–15
Happy Days
Winnie
Young Vic
2016–18
Mary Stuart
Mary Stuart/Elizabeth I
Almeida Theatre & Duke of York's Theatre
2017
Hamlet
Gertrude
Almeida Theatre & Harold Pinter Theatre
2019, 2020, 2022, 2023
The Doctor
Professor Ruth Wolff
Almeida Theatre Adelaide Festival UK Tour & Duke of York's Theatre Park Avenue Armory , New York
Audio recordings
A partial list of Stevenson's audio recordings:
Man and Superman , BBC Audiobooks, 1998 (Broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1996). Production featured Juliet Stevenson, Ralph Fiennes and Judi Dench . It also included an interview with the director, Peter Hall
Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats , Penguin Audiobooks, 1997
The Plague Tales , BDD, c. 1997
Hamlet by William Shakespeare , BBC Radio Collection, 1999 (with Michael Sheen )
When Love Speaks (2002, EMI Classics ) – "Sonnet 128 " ("How oft, when thou, my music ...")
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (2004 BBC Radio 3 )
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield, Unabridged, Orion audiobook (2006)
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen . Unabridged, Naxos audiobook, 7 CDs (2006)
Persuasion by Jane Austen . Unabridged, Naxos audiobook, 7 CDs (2007)
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen . Unabridged, Naxos audiobook, 14 CDs (2007)
Emma by Jane Austen . Unabridged, Naxos audiobook, 13 CDs (2007)
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen , Naxos audiobook, Unabridged (2007)
Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon . Abridged, CSA Word Classic, 4 CDs (2007)
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë
I, Coriander by Sally Gardner,
The King's General by Daphne du Maurier
An Unequal Marriage by Emma Tennant
From Shakespeare with Love by William Shakespeare . David Tennant (narrator), Juliet Stevenson (narrator), Anton Lesser (narrator), Alex Jennings (Narrator)
Rebecca, Frenchman's Creek & My Cousin Rachel (Daphne du Maurier Collection) by Daphne du Maurier. Juliet Stevenson (narrator), Daniel Massey (narrator), Michael Maloney (narrator)
A Room with a View by E.M. Forster
The London Tapes by Juliet Stevenson
Ancient and Modern by Sue Gee (2004)
Alentejo Blue by Monica Ali , abridged (2006)
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell , unabridged. (2009)
Middlemarch by George Eliot. Unabridged. Naxos Audiobooks (2011).
Goldfish Girl by Peter Souter (2011)
Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers (2012)[ 38]
The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert (2013)
The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing (2010)
The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters . Unabridged (2014)
Apple Tree Yard by Louise Doughty, unabridged (2014)
Belgravia by Julian Fellowes, (2016)[ 39]
A Room of One's Own by Virginia Wolf (2011)
Miss Marple’s Final Cases by Agatha Christie (2022)
Stevenson's speaking voice is heard in the historical symposium which opens and closes the production of The Handmaid's Tale at English National Opera in 2024.[ 40]
Honours
In the 1999 Queens Birthday Honours , Stevenson was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).
She is a patron of the London International Festival of Theatre .[ 41]
Awards and nominations
Film
Television
Theatre
References
^ "My Secret Life: Juliet Stevenson" . Independent.co.uk . 10 January 2009. Archived from the original on 25 February 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2017 .
^ Sierz, Aleks (7 November 2005). "Why Juliet Dreads the Boards" . The Daily Telegraph . UK. Archived from the original on 13 November 2012. Retrieved 22 March 2012 .
^ According to Who's Who on Television (1982 edition)
^ [1] Archived 11 June 2009 at archive.today
^ Awards for Juliet Stevenson at IMDb
^ a b "Juliet Stevenson: 'I would love a completely different life?' " . The Daily Telegraph . 18 February 2008. Archived from the original on 1 April 2013. Retrieved 26 April 2013 .
^ Aaronovitch, David (14 December 2003). "A travesty of truth" . The Guardian . Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2014 .
^ Flood, Alison (22 October 2009). "British readers vote Harlan Coben their favourite crime writer" . London: guardian.co.uk (Guardian News & Media). Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 28 October 2009 .
^ "Juliet Stevenson receives lifetime achievement prize at Women in Film And TV awards" . Sky News. Archived from the original on 8 December 2018. Retrieved 7 December 2018 .
^ "Reawakening" . westendfilms.com . 2023. Retrieved 5 April 2024 .
^ Howell, Madeleine (8 August 2022). "Juliet Stevenson: 'Alan Rickman was never easy – but brilliant people never are' " . The Telegraph (interview). Retrieved 25 November 2022 .
^ Dugan, Emily (22 May 2011). "Juliet Stevenson: 'I'd much rather live a useful life than be rich' " . Independent . London. Retrieved 10 March 2022 .
^ Dodd, Celia (14 March 2008). "Actress Juliet Stevenson reveals that her toughest role is being an older mother" . The Times . Archived from the original on 21 November 2008. Retrieved 7 May 2010 .
^ Sign Up (25 July 2008). "National Secular Society – Coming out as atheist – Billy Connolly, Juliet Stevenson and Peter O'Toole" . Secularism.org.uk. Archived from the original on 13 February 2012. Retrieved 22 March 2012 .
^ "Transcript of Labour Party video" . Psr.keele.ac.uk. 5 May 2011. Archived from the original on 25 September 2006. Retrieved 22 March 2012 .
^ Labour Party video on YouTube [dead link ]
^ "Juliet Stevenson: 'I would love a completely different life?' " . The Daily Telegraph . London. 18 February 2008. Archived from the original on 1 April 2013. Retrieved 2 April 2018 .
^ "LAM Action" . Archived from the original on 26 January 2018. Retrieved 26 January 2018 .
^ "Juliet Stevenson: Amnesty Ambassador" . www.amnesty.org.uk . Archived from the original on 19 May 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021 .
^ "ARC News December 2023 by ARCantenatal - Issuu" . 13 December 2023.
^ "2016 Stories – #WithRefugees" . Archived from the original on 19 September 2016. Retrieved 14 September 2016 .
^ "What They Took With Them – #WithRefugees" . 7 September 2016. Archived from the original on 19 September 2016. Retrieved 14 September 2016 .
^ "The Doctor review – Robert Icke offers brilliant diagnosis of modern ills" . The Guardian . 21 August 2019. Archived from the original on 19 May 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021 .
^ Galton, Bridget (21 June 2017). "Juliet Stevenson: 'I thought I'd be bored but I love playing Gertrude' " . Islington Gazette . Archived from the original on 19 May 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021 .
^ "Mary Stuart" . Almeida Theatre . Archived from the original on 19 May 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021 .
^ "The Guilty Feminist: 105. Mothers and Daughters with Juliet Stevenson and Rosalind Brody" . guiltyfeminist.libsyn.com . Archived from the original on 19 May 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021 .
^ "The Secret Policeman's Tour" . www.amnesty.org.uk . Archived from the original on 19 May 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021 .
^ "BBC Radio 4 – We Sigh for Houses" . BBC . Archived from the original on 19 May 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021 .
^ "JR July 2020 Issue Launch" . Jewish Renaissance . 26 July 2020. Archived from the original on 19 May 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021 .
^ "Literary Reflections – Deborah Freeman" . www.deborahfreeman.co.uk . Archived from the original on 19 May 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021 .
^ "Lucy Parham with Juliet Stevenson: I, Clara" . mysite . Archived from the original on 19 May 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021 .
^ "Juliet Stevenson" . Lucy Parham . Archived from the original on 19 May 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021 .
^ Mallinson, Mathilda (21 April 2021). " 'When I paint, all the voices in my head go still': Juliet Stevenson on how art got her through lockdown" . The Guardian . Archived from the original on 19 May 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021 .
^ "Who Dealt? at IMDB" . IMDb . Archived from the original on 8 February 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2019 .
^ Lardner, Ring (1929). "Who Dealt?". Round Up: The Stories of Ring W. Lardner . Charles Scribner's Sons .
^ "BBC releases first look imagery for new crime thriller series Wolf" . bbc.co.uk/mediacentre . Retrieved 16 February 2023 .
^ "King & Conqueror - further casting announced as filming begins on new period drama for BBC" . bbc.co.uk/mediacentre . Retrieved 22 March 2024 .
^ "Mary Poppins" . BBC. Archived from the original on 8 February 2021. Retrieved 30 December 2020 .
^ Julian Fellowes's Belgravia . 27 June 2017. ISBN 9781478940371 . Archived from the original on 9 August 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2018 .
^ Shapiro, Yehuda. Report on The Handmaid's Tale, London, February 2024. Opera , April 2024, Vol.75 No.4, p524-525.
^ "Meet The Team" Archived 11 September 2016 at the Wayback Machine , LIFT . Retrieved 9 August 2016.
^ a b c d "BAFTA Awards search Juliet Stevenson" . BAFTA site . Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2014 .
^ "Outstanding Narrator Nominees / Winners 2019" . Television Academy . Archived from the original on 5 November 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2021 .
^ "Just announced! Full list of 2019 Critics' Circle Awards winners and production photos | Critics' Circle Theatre Awards" . 11 February 2020. Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 18 January 2021 .
^ "Olivier Winners 1984" . Olivier Awards . Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 18 January 2021 .
^ "Olivier Winners 1986" . Olivier Awards . Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 18 January 2021 .
^ "Olivier Winners 1987" . Olivier Awards . Archived from the original on 27 November 2020. Retrieved 18 January 2021 .
^ "Olivier winners 1992" . Olivier Awards . Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2014 .
^ agencies, Staff and (9 November 2009). "Royal Court theatre celebrates 11 Evening Standard award nominations thanks to the success of Enron and Jerusalem" . The Guardian . Archived from the original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2021 .
^ "Winners of Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2009" . www.standard.co.uk . 10 April 2012. Archived from the original on 20 April 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2021 .
^ "Olivier Awards Winners 2010 -Official London Theatre" . Olivier Awards . Archived from the original on 27 November 2020. Retrieved 18 January 2021 .
^ Paskett, Zoe (25 November 2019). "The 2019 Evening Standard Theatre Awards winners in full" . standard.co.uk . Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 18 January 2021 .
^ "2019 Results | Critics' Circle Theatre Awards" . 11 February 2020. Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2020 .
^ "Olivier Awards 2020 with Mastercard – Theatre's Biggest Night" . Olivier Awards . Archived from the original on 3 March 2020. Retrieved 18 January 2021 .
External links
Awards for Juliet Stevenson
1976–1984 and 1988
1985 onwards (except 1988)
International National Artists People Other