---
name: "Billie Whitelaw"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/billie-whitelaw"
fi1m_id: "billie-whitelaw"
imdb_id: "nm0925794"
tmdb_id: 8226
wikidata_id: "Q272613"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "6 June 1932"
died: "21 December 2014"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 4
average_fi1m_score: 80
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 4
updated: "2026-10-07T12:04:29.887256+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Billie Whitelaw

## Identity

Billie Whitelaw

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/billie-whitelaw
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** billie-whitelaw
- **IMDb ID:** nm0925794
- **TMDB ID:** 8226
- **Wikidata ID:** Q272613
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billie_Whitelaw, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q272613, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0925794/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/8226

Actor. Born 6 June 1932 in Coventry, Warwickshire, England, UK. Died 21 December 2014.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 6 June 1932, Coventry, Warwickshire, England, UK
- **Died:** 21 December 2014
- **Active:** 1972–2007
- **Also known as:** Билли Уайтлоу, Billie Honor Whitelaw
- **Average Fi1m score:** 80, as actor, over 4 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 80 (2), 1990s 74 (1), 2000s 84 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 80 to 72 across 4 titles
- **Score spread:** 2 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Lead roles:** 0 of 4 acting credits billed first or second
- **Genres:** Crime 2, Drama 2, Action 1, Adventure 1, Comedy 1, Family 1
- **Screen time:** 8 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $190m across 4 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billie_Whitelaw, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q272613, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0925794/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/8226

## Streaming the US now

- **Peacock:** [*Hot Fuzz*](https://film.one/film/hot-fuzz.md) (84), [*The Dark Crystal*](https://film.one/film/the-dark-crystal.md) (78)
- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Maurice*](https://film.one/film/maurice.md) (83)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Billie Whitelaw

> Billie Whitelaw could make a mother's affection disturbing without making it seem false. We value the conviction she brings to protective, formidable women, even when a screenplay asks her to explain too much.

In *The Krays* (1990), Billie Whitelaw's Violet treats indulging her dangerous sons as ordinary mothering. She does not need an outward threat to make that affection troubling. We were unsettled by her tenderness, because she made us understand how easily loyalty could excuse what these men did. Peter Medak's film is worth seeing for her, especially in the family scenes, where her authority exceeds that of the more openly threatening material.

Her early television and film work often cast her as gutsy working-class women. The collaboration with Samuel Beckett, which began in 1964 and lasted 25 years, demanded exact control of voice and body, often with scarcely any movement. In the stage work *Not I* (1972), he wrote her the role of Mouth, with only her mouth visible. The physical restrictions were severe, and the delivery had to be precise and without apparent feeling. That is worth remembering alongside the protective mothers and menacing women: she was also prepared to deny us the familiar signs of emotion.

Mrs Baylock, the nanny in *The Omen* (1976), belongs to the more directly menacing side of her screen work. The association with frightening women is understandable, but it leaves out the ordinary affection that makes Violet so troubling. Her final film appearance, as Joyce Cooper in *Hot Fuzz* (2007), was a comic turn; chilling was not the only useful thing she could be.

Even Whitelaw cannot solve the problems in Philip Ridley's screenplay for *The Krays*. Ridley gives Violet enough influence to make the family scenes matter, then places more explanatory weight on her possessiveness than it can bear. Whitelaw can make us believe in this mother; she cannot make mothering a sufficient explanation for her sons' violence. Martin Walsh's editing also leaves repeated evidence of the twins' closeness feeling longer than it needs to, despite the strength of those domestic scenes. Start with *The Krays*, provided a crime film in which the family scenes are the main attraction sounds like your sort of evening.

## Biography

Billie Whitelaw was an English actress. Born in Coventry in 1932, she began her career in the 1950s with stage and television work, later appearing in films including *Frenzy* (1972), *The Omen* (1976) as Mrs Baylock, *Maurice* (1987), *The Krays* (1990) as Violet Kray, and *Quills* (2000).

She maintained a close professional collaboration with playwright Samuel Beckett for 25 years, performing in and helping develop several of his works including *Not I*, *Footfalls* and *Happy Days*. Whitelaw died in 2014.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, theguardian.com.*

## On Fi1m (4)

- *Hot Fuzz* (2007), Fi1m 84, as Joyce Cooper — [page](https://film.one/film/hot-fuzz.md)
- *The Krays* (1990), Fi1m 74, as Violet Kray — [page](https://film.one/film/the-krays.md)
- *Maurice* (1987), Fi1m 83, as Mrs. Hall — [page](https://film.one/film/maurice.md)
- *The Dark Crystal* (1982), Fi1m 78, as Aughra (voice) — [page](https://film.one/film/the-dark-crystal.md)

## Complete filmography (104)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *I, Of Whom I Know Nothing* (2014), Actor
- *Hot Fuzz* (2007), as Joyce Cooper — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/hot-fuzz.md)
- *Judge John Deed* (2001), series, Actor
- *A Dinner of Herbs* (2000), series, as Kate Makepeace
- *Quills* (2000), as Madame LeClerc
- *The Last of the Blonde Bombshells* (2000), as Evelyn
- *The Lost Son* (1999), as Mrs. Spitz
- *Shooting the Past* (1999), series, as Veronica
- *Wife of Bath* (1998), as Wife of Bath (voice)
- *Merlin* (1998), series, as Ambrosia
- *Born to Run* (1997), series, as Lili Flitch
- *Samuel Beckett: As the Story Was Told* (1996), as interviewee
- *Jane Eyre* (1996), as Grace Poole
- *Deadly Advice* (1994), as Kate Webster
- *Skallagrigg* (1994), as Margaret
- *The Entertainer* (1993), as Phoebe Rice
- *Freddie As F.R.O.7.* (1992), as Messina (voice)
- *Firm Friends* (1992), series, as Rose Gutteridge
- *The Cloning of Joanna May* (1992), series, as Mavis
- *Duel of Hearts* (1992), as Dorcas
- *Performance* (1991), series, as Phoebe Rice
- *A Murder of Quality* (1991), as Mad Janie
- *Morrissey - Hulmerist* (1991), as Cast - Everyday is Like Sunday
- *Lorna Doone* (1990), as Sarah Ridd
- *The Krays* (1990), as Violet Kray — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/the-krays.md)
- *The Fifteen Streets* (1989), as Beatrice Llewellyn
- *The Picnic* (1989), as Margie
- *The Dressmaker* (1988), as Margo
- *Joyriders* (1988), as Tammi O'Moore
- *The Secret Garden* (1987), as Mrs. Medlock
- *Maurice* (1987), as Mrs. Hall — Fi1m 83, [page](https://film.one/film/maurice.md)
- *Imaginary Friends* (1987), series, as Elsie Novar
- *Shadey* (1985), as Doctor Cloud
- *Screen Two* (1985), series, as Margie
- *Murder Elite* (1985), as Margaret Baker
- *Camille* (1984), as Prudence Duvorney
- *The Chain* (1984), as Mrs. Andreos
- *Slayground* (1984), as Madge
- *Making Samuel Beckett's 'Rockaby'* (1983), as The Actress
- *Jamaica Inn* (1983), as Aunt Patience
- *Jamaica Inn* (1983), series, as Aunt Patience
- *The Dark Crystal* (1982), as Aughra (voice) — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/film/the-dark-crystal.md)
- *An Unsuitable Job for a Woman* (1982), as Elizabeth Leaming
- *Tangiers* (1982), as Louise
- *Last Summer's Child* (1981), as Rose Marriott
- *Private Schulz* (1981), series, as Bertha Freyer
- *Rockaby* (1981), as W
- *A Tale of Two Cities* (1980), as Madame Therese Defarge
- *Happy Days* (1979), as Winnie
- *Leopard in the Snow* (1979), as Isabel James
- *The Water Babies* (1978), as Mrs. Doasyouwouldbedoneby / Old Crone / Mrs. Tripp / Woman in Black / Water Babies 'Gate Keeper'
- *Thomas Hardy: A Haunted Man* (1978), as Emma Hardy
- *Supernatural* (1977), series, as Countess Ilona
- *Ghost Trio* (1977), Actor
- *The Omen* (1976), as Mrs. Baylock
- *Space: 1999* (1975), series, as Zamara
- *Ten from the Twenties* (1975), series, as Eulalia 'Lally' Burnes
- *Playhouse* (1974), series, as Rose Marriott
- *Napoleon and Love* (1974), series, as Josephine Bonaparte
- *Not I* (1973), as Auditor/Mouth
- *Night Watch* (1973), as Sarah Cooke
- *Wessex Tales* (1973), series, as Rhoda
- *Follow the Yellow Brick Road* (1972), as Judy Black
- *Night Duty* (1972), as Wendy
- *The Sextet* (1972), series, as Megan, Wendy, Eileen Firebrace, Judy Black, Dora, Katherine, Valerie Goodis, Stella Ramsdale
- *Frenzy* (1972), as Hetty Porter
- *Poet Game* (1972), as Jeanne Saunders
- *Eagle in a Cage* (1972), as Madame Bertrand
- *Gumshoe* (1971), as Ellen Ginley
- *Brown Skin Gal, Stay Home and Mind Bay-Bee* (1971), as Ruth
- *Leo the Last* (1970), as Margaret
- *Wicked Women* (1970), series, as Madeleine Jury
- *Start the Revolution Without Me* (1970), as Queen Marie
- *The Adding Machine* (1969), as Daisy Devore
- *Twisted Nerve* (1968), as Joan Harper
- *Charlie Bubbles* (1968), as Lottie
- *The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde* (1968), as Gwyn Thomas
- *Sir Arthur Conan Doyle* (1967), series, as Mrs. Janetta O'James
- *Thirty-Minute Theatre* (1965), series, as Greta
- *Knock on Any Door* (1965), series, as Queenie Swann
- *The Comedy Man* (1964), as Judy
- *Festival* (1963), series, as Marguerite Gautier
- *Espionage* (1963), series, as Doreen McBride
- *The Devil's Agent* (1962), as Piroska Maslov
- *Stryker of the Yard* (1961), series, Actor
- *Mr. Topaze* (1961), as Ernestine
- *No Love for Johnnie* (1961), as Mary
- *Payroll* (1961), as Jackie Parker
- *Lena, O My Lena* (1960), as Lena
- *Make Mine Mink* (1960), as Lily
- *Hell Is a City* (1960), as Chloe Hawkins
- *The Flesh and the Fiends* (1960), as Mary Patterson
- *Bobbikins* (1959), as Lydia Simmons
- *Breakout* (1959), as Rose Munro
- *Carve Her Name with Pride* (1958), as Winnie
- *Small Hotel* (1957), as Caroline Mallet
- *Miracle in Soho* (1957), as Maggie
- *Armchair Theatre* (1956), series, as Agnes Mawson, Gloria, Marlene Watts, Lena, Nancy Harper, Francesca, Ruth
- *The Adventures of Robin Hood* (1955), series, as Brenda
- *Room in the House* (1955), as Margaret
- *Mr. Arkadin* (1955), as Raina Arkadin (voice) (uncredited)
- *The Sleeping Tiger* (1954), as Receptionist at Pearce & Mann
- *The Fake* (1953), as Waitress
- *Hallmark Hall of Fame* (1951), series, as Prudence, Mrs. Medlock

## Gallery

- ![Billie Whitelaw](https://film.one/media/person/77670/gallery-06161e351063.jpg) Billie Whitelaw — Trailer for "Start the Revolution Without Me" (1970) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7pAZrOKQq4, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Billie-whitelaw_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![English actress Billie Whitelaw (1970)](https://film.one/media/person/77670/gallery-b9d196aebaea.jpg) English actress Billie Whitelaw (1970) — Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Billie_Whitelaw.jpg/1280px-Billie_Whitelaw.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Billie Whitelaw and Hugh Griffith in trailer for "Start the Revolution Without Me" (1970) (2015)](https://film.one/media/person/77670/gallery-ae23b76bcfea.jpg) Billie Whitelaw and Hugh Griffith in trailer for "Start the Revolution Without Me" (1970) (2015) — Trailer for "Start the Revolution Without Me" (1970) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7pAZrOKQq4, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/14/Billie_Whitelaw_%26_Hugh_Griffith_%281970%29.jpg/1280px-Billie_Whitelaw_%26_Hugh_Griffith_%281970%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Gregory Peck and Billie Whitelaw in the American-British supernatural horror film The Omen (1976). See also film still. No copyright notice.](https://film.one/media/person/77670/gallery-49e9231015b0.jpg) Gregory Peck and Billie Whitelaw in the American-British supernatural horror film The Omen (1976). See also film still. No copyright notice. — Unknown authorUnknown author, distributed by: 20th Century Fox, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9e/Peck_Whitelaw_The_Omen_press_still.jpg/1280px-Peck_Whitelaw_The_Omen_press_still.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Billie Whitelaw](https://film.one/media/person/77670/gallery-0b8a466ec5eb.jpg) Billie Whitelaw — Image via TMDB
- ![Billie Whitelaw](https://film.one/media/person/77670/gallery-2cf84f1220dc.jpg) Billie Whitelaw — Image via TMDB
- ![Billie Whitelaw](https://film.one/media/person/77670/gallery-8393b7bd8ec3.jpg) Billie Whitelaw — Image via TMDB
- ![Coventry Walk of Fame - Billie Whitelaw (2012)](https://film.one/media/person/77670/gallery-69aa3b9dc3c2.jpg) Coventry Walk of Fame - Billie Whitelaw (2012) — Andy Mabbett, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ac/WTC_Andy_Mabbett_Coventry_Walk_of_Fame_-_Billie_Whitelaw.jpeg/1280px-WTC_Andy_Mabbett_Coventry_Walk_of_Fame_-_Billie_Whitelaw.jpeg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/billie-whitelaw