--- name: "Dawn French" canonical: "https://film.one/person/dawn-french" fi1m_id: "dawn-french" imdb_id: "nm0294067" tmdb_id: 5539 wikidata_id: "Q236309" roles: ["Actor","Writer"] born: "11 October 1957" reviewed_on_fi1m: 8 average_fi1m_score: 79 average_as: "actor" average_over: 8 updated: "2026-10-12T19:56:36.272966+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." --- # Dawn French ## Identity Dawn French - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/dawn-french - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** dawn-french - **IMDb ID:** nm0294067 - **TMDB ID:** 5539 - **Wikidata ID:** Q236309 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawn_French, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q236309, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0294067/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/5539 Actor and writer. Born 11 October 1957 in Holyhead, Wales, UK. ## Details - **Work:** Actor, Writer - **Born:** 11 October 1957, Holyhead, Wales, UK - **Active:** 1982–2017 - **Also known as:** 돈 프렌치, Dawn Roma French - **Frequently works with:** [Jennifer Saunders](https://film.one/person/jennifer-saunders.md), [Bob Spiers](https://film.one/person/bob-spiers.md) - **Average Fi1m score:** 79, as actor, over 8 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 82 (2), 1990s 80 (2), 2000s 84 (2), 2010s 70 (2) - **Score spread:** 6 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 0 under 60 - **Lead roles:** 2 of 3 acting credits billed first or second - **Genres:** Comedy 5, Family 2, Fantasy 2, Action & Adventure 1, Adventure 1, Animation 1 - **Screen time:** 5 hours of reviewed films - **Box office:** $976m across 2 films with figures - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawn_French, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q236309, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0294067/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/5539 ## Streaming the US now - **BritBox:** [*Absolutely Fabulous*](https://film.one/tv/absolutely-fabulous.md) (81), [*The Vicar of Dibley*](https://film.one/tv/the-vicar-of-dibley.md) (80), [*300 Years of French & Saunders*](https://film.one/film/300-years-of-french-and-saunders.md) (68) - **Disney+:** [*Coraline*](https://film.one/film/coraline.md) (85) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Dawn French > Dawn French plays liking people as a decision, taken on screen and visibly costing something. Beside Jennifer Saunders it made her the warmer half of a double act that has lasted thirty years; alone, it kept *The Vicar of Dibley* funny and kind for thirteen. Watch her in a studio with Jennifer Saunders. Saunders wants to get on with the sketch; French wants to talk about something else first, and the something else is usually where the laugh is. Put her on her own in *The Vicar of Dibley* and the same habit turns into patience. Geraldine Granger is surrounded by people who would try anyone, and French lets us see both the exasperation and the decision, made fresh each week, to stay friendly. Most comic actors play the joke. She plays the person who has chosen to put up with it. The partnership began at the Central School of Speech and Drama in 1977, went through the Comic Strip club and *The Comic Strip Presents...* (1982), and became *French and Saunders* in 1987: films everybody had seen, done slightly wrong, in costumes that cost too much, with a straight face. The original idea for *Absolutely Fabulous* (1992) was hers, though Saunders built the series. She went solo with *Murder Most Horrid* (1991), playing murderer, victim or both, and then *The Vicar of Dibley* (1994), which ran until 2007 and is the role she will be remembered for. Since then there has been voice work, the stage and novels. Dibley is where the case for her rests. Richard Curtis and Paul Mayhew-Archer wrote her a village and she kept turning up for it. She has said she wanted Geraldine to have an accent and a different look, and that Curtis told her to "wear Geraldine like a good-fitting jacket, bring her really close to you". He was right. We laughed, more than we expected to, at the work she puts into staying civil: the irritation is all over her face, so is the decision underneath it, and the gap between the two is the performance. It leaves room for other people, too. Emma Chambers is funniest beside her because nobody is hurrying her towards the joke. The usual complaint is that Dibley is bland next to the sharper sitcoms of its day, and that her solo work lost the edge of the alternative comedy she came from. Half of that is fair. The jokes do become familiar and the writing leans on our fondness for the villagers. But she is the reason the village never becomes contemptible. *Coraline* (2009) gives her and Saunders less to do than the casting promises; the film has moved on to its next oddity before it uses them. *300 Years of French & Saunders* (2017) is fonder and baggier, and some of its parodies feel like two people who have been told what is on television rather than having watched it. She is as quick as she ever was in it, and the closing *Poldark* sketch is as good as anything from their prime. The material was the problem, not her. A new sitcom, *Can You Keep a Secret?*, is due in 2026. We would like it to give her someone to be rude to. ## Biography Dawn French is a British actress, comedian and writer. Born in Holyhead, Wales, she trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, where she met Jennifer Saunders. She is best known for creating and starring in the BBC sketch series *French and Saunders* (1987–2007) with Saunders, and for playing Geraldine Granger in the sitcom *The Vicar of Dibley* (1994–2007). She created *Absolutely Fabulous* and appeared in it as Kathy. French has been nominated for seven BAFTA TV Awards and received a BAFTA Fellowship with Saunders in 2009. Her film roles include the Fat Lady in *Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban* (2004), Mrs Beaver in *The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe* (2005), and Miss Miriam Forcible in *Coraline* (2009). She later appeared in *Death on the Nile* (2022). *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, britannica.com.* ## On Fi1m (8) - *300 Years of French & Saunders* (2017), Fi1m 68, Actor — [page](https://film.one/film/300-years-of-french-and-saunders.md) - *The Wrong Mans* (2013), Fi1m 73, as Linda — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-wrong-mans.md) - *Coraline* (2009), Fi1m 85, as Miss Miriam Forcible / Other Forcible (voice) — [page](https://film.one/film/coraline.md) - *Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban* (2004), Fi1m 82, as The Fat Lady — [page](https://film.one/film/harry-potter-and-the-prisoner-of-azkaban.md) - *The Vicar of Dibley* (1994), Fi1m 80, as Revd Geraldine Granger — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-vicar-of-dibley.md) - *Absolutely Fabulous* (1992), Fi1m 81, as Kathy — [page](https://film.one/tv/absolutely-fabulous.md) - *The Storyteller* (1988), Fi1m 82, as Badsister 2 — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-storyteller.md) - *The Young Ones* (1982), Fi1m 82, as Easter Bunny — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-young-ones.md) ## Complete filmography (119) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Can You Keep a Secret?* (2026), series, as Debbie Fendon · Executive Producer - *Shaun Tan's Tales from Outer Suburbia* (2026), series, Actor - *BeddyByes* (2025), series, as Gramma Leeba - *The Nevermets* (2024), series, as Narrator - *Dawn French Is a Huge Twat* (2023), Writer - *The Magician's Elephant* (2023), as Sister Marie (voice) - *Red Riding Hood: After Ever After* (2022), as Twit - *Death on the Nile* (2022), as Bowers - *Roald & Beatrix: The Tail of the Curious Mouse* (2020), as Beatrix Potter - *A Baby Reindeer's First Christmas* (2020), as Narrator - *The Vicar of Dibley: In Lockdown* (2020), as Geraldine Granger - *Sackboy: A Big Adventure* (2020), as Scarlet - *The Trouble with Maggie Cole* (2020), series, as Maggie Cole - *Completely Bad News* (2019), as Tracy - *300 Years of French & Saunders* (2017), Actor — Fi1m 68, [page](https://film.one/film/300-years-of-french-and-saunders.md) - *Delicious* (2016), series, as Gina Benelli - *British Sitcom: 60 Years of Laughing at Ourselves* (2016), as Various Characters (archive footage) (uncredited) - *Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie* (2016), as Interviewer - *The Wrong Mans* (2013), series, as Linda — Fi1m 73, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-wrong-mans.md) - *Heading Out* (2013), series, as Frances - *Five Go to Rehab* (2012), as George - *30 Years of Comic Strip* (2012), Actor - *Gentlemen Prefer French & Saunders* (2011), Actor - *French & Saunders: The Ingenue Years* (2011), Actor - *Psychoville Halloween Special* (2010), as Joy Aston - *Roger & Val Have Just Got In* (2010), series, as Val Stevenson · Creator - *Victoria Wood: Seen on TV* (2009), Actor - *Psychoville* (2009), series, as Joy Aston - *Coraline* (2009), as Miss Miriam Forcible / Other Forcible (voice) — Fi1m 85, [page](https://film.one/film/coraline.md) - *French & Saunders: Still Alive* (2008), Writer - *Lark Rise to Candleford* (2008), series, as Caroline Arless - *A Bucket O' French and Saunders* (2007), series, as Creator - *Donizetti: La Fille du Régiment* (2007), as La Duchesse de Crackentorp - *Comedy Shuffle* (2007), series, Actor - *More Dawn French's Girls Who Do: Comedy* (2006), series, as Presenter · Creator - *Jam and Jerusalem* (2006), series, as Rosie Bales · Creator - *Love and Other Disasters* (2006), as Therapist - *Davina* (2006), series, Actor - *The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe* (2005), as Mrs. Beaver (voice) - *Comic Aid* (2005), Actor - *Agatha Christie's Marple* (2004), series, as Janet Erskine - *Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban* (2004), as The Fat Lady — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/harry-potter-and-the-prisoner-of-azkaban.md) - *Bosom Pals* (2004), series, Actor - *Wild West* (2002), series, as Mary Trewednack - *Dawn French's Girls Who Do Comedy* (2002), series, as Creator - *The Best of French & Saunders* (2002), as Various · Writer - *Pongwiffy* (2002), series, Actor - *Ted and Alice* (2002), series, Actor - *Absolutely Fabulous* (2001), Writer - *Happiness* (2001), series, as Dawn French - *French & Saunders - Live* (2000), as Various roles · Writer - *Maybe Baby* (2000), as Charlene - *The Nearly Complete and Utter History of Everything* (2000), series, Actor - *David Copperfield* (1999), series, as Mrs. Crupp - *Let Them Eat Cake* (1999), series, Actor - *Milk* (1999), as Virginia - *Four Men in a Car* (1998), as Stella - *Sex & Chocolate* (1997), as Bev Bodger - *Treasure Island* (1997), as Jim Hawkins - *The Adventures of Pinocchio* (1996), as Baker's Wife - *TFI Friday* (1996), series, Actor - *Look at the State We're In!* (1995), series, as Mrs Duvet - *How to Be Absolutely Fabulous* (1995), Writer - *French and Saunders' Christmas Carol* (1994), as Various Roles · Writer - *The Vicar of Dibley* (1994), series, as Revd Geraldine Granger — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-vicar-of-dibley.md) - *Harry Enfield and Chums* (1994), series, as Mrs Goggins - *Tender Loving Care* (1993), as Elaine Dobbs - *The Legends of Treasure Island* (1993), series, as Jim Hawkins (voice) - *The Legends of Treasure Island* (1993), as Jim Hawkins (voice) - *Space Virgins from Planet Sex* (1993), as Gaynor - *French & Saunders: At the Movies* (1993), Actor - *In Dreams* (1992), as Driving Instructor - *Absolutely Fabulous* (1992), series, as Kathy · Creator — Fi1m 81, [page](https://film.one/tv/absolutely-fabulous.md) - *Red Nose of Courage* (1992), as Glynis Kinnock - *Murder Most Horrid* (1991), series, as WPC Diane Softly, Maria, Judy Talent, Rita Proops / Rita Proops II, Bunty Breslaw, Miss Katie Hatcliffe / Mrs Sonya Redfern, Tina Mellish, Denise Cunningham, Maude Jenkins, Lily, Verity Hodge, Vicki, Sally Fairfax, Dr Kate Marshall, Daisy Talwinning, Linda Bryce, Wendy Hodge, The Grim Reaper, Lily W - *The Tale of Little Pig Robinson* (1990), as Porcas - *French & Saunders LIVE* (1990), Actor - *Spaghetti Hoops* (1990), as Francesca - *Oxford* (1990), as Caroline - *South Atlantic Raiders: Part 1* (1990), as Frances / Mrs. Shines - *South Atlantic Raiders: Part 2 Argie Bargie!* (1990), as Frances - *GLC: The Carnage Continues* (1990), as Cher as Joan Ruddock - *Screen One* (1989), series, as Elaine Dobbs - *Customer Service From Hell* (1989), Actor - *Employees From Hell* (1989), Actor - *Communicators From Hell* (1989), Actor - *Bosses From Hell* (1989), Actor - *Interviewers From Hell* (1989), Actor - *Colleagues From Hell* (1989), Actor - *French And Saunders - Christmas Special '88* (1988), Various Characters, Writer - *The Storyteller: Sapsorrow* (1988), as Badsister 2 - *The Storyteller* (1988), series, as Badsister 2 — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-storyteller.md) - *Mr Jolly Lives Next Door* (1988), as Mrs. Cooper - *More Bad News* (1988), as Rachel - *The Strike* (1988), as Verity/Old Lady/Celebrity - *Eat the Rich* (1987), as Debbie Draws - *French & Saunders* (1987), series, Various Characters, Writer, Creator - *The Silurian Disruption* (1987), as Silurian #1 · Writer - *Private Enterprise* (1986), as Nayler - *Consuela (or, The New Mrs Saunders)* (1986), as Consuela · Writer - *The Supergrass* (1985), as Andrea - *Girls On Top* (1985), series, as Amanda · Writer, Creator - *Happy Families* (1985), series, as Cook - *Slags* (1984), as Passion - *Eddie Monsoon - a Life?* (1984), as Veronica - *Gino: Full Story and Pics* (1984), as Fiona/Frances - *A Fistful of Travellers' Cheques* (1984), as Jackie - *Susie* (1984), as Susie - *Dirty Movie* (1984), as Monica - *Five Go Mad on Mescalin* (1983), as George - *Summer School* (1983), as Ursula · Writer - *Bad News* (1983), as Tracy - *The Beat Generation* (1983), as Eleanor - *War* (1983), as Hermine - *The Young Ones* (1982), series, as Christian Evangelist, Devil in Advert, Easter Bunny — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-young-ones.md) - *The Comic Strip Presents...* (1982), series, as George, Hermine, Eleanor, Tracy, Ursula, Monica, Susie, Jackie/First Nun, Fiona/Frances, Veronica, Passion, Consuela, Nayler, Verity/Old Lady/Celebrity, Rachel, Mrs. Cooper, Frances/Mrs. Shines, Frances, Joan, Caroline, Francesca · Writer - *Five Go Mad in Dorset* (1982), as George - *The Comic Strip* (1981), Writer - *Experiment IV*, as First Assistant ## Gallery - ![Dawn French at the "Make Poverty History" march (2005)](https://film.one/media/person/71337/gallery-2f9bf72d2776.jpg) Dawn French at the "Make Poverty History" march (2005) — Frank Blackwell, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bd/Dawn_French_1.jpg/1280px-Dawn_French_1.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Dawn French at the "Make Poverty History" march (2005)](https://film.one/media/person/71337/gallery-b1181ba33b73.jpg) Dawn French at the "Make Poverty History" march (2005) — Frank Blackwell, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Dawn_French_1_%28cropped%29.jpg/1280px-Dawn_French_1_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Dawn French at the "Make Poverty History" march (2005)](https://film.one/media/person/71337/gallery-bc4e61eeeaa2.jpg) Dawn French at the "Make Poverty History" march (2005) — Frank Blackwell, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a4/Dawn_French_2.jpg/1280px-Dawn_French_2.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Dawn French](https://film.one/media/person/71337/gallery-b78c6992480a.jpg) Dawn French — Frank Blackwell, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Dawn_French_4.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Dawn French](https://film.one/media/person/71337/gallery-8eb33135e3ea.jpg) Dawn French — Image via TMDB - ![Dawn French](https://film.one/media/person/71337/gallery-cd949603df41.jpg) Dawn French — Image via TMDB - ![Dawn French (left) and Olivia Graham (right) in Downing Street, London (2005)](https://film.one/media/person/71337/gallery-523786bb49c5.jpg) Dawn French (left) and Olivia Graham (right) in Downing Street, London (2005) — Frank Blackwell, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3b/Dawn_French_and_Revd_Olivia_Graham.jpg/1280px-Dawn_French_and_Revd_Olivia_Graham.jpg?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/dawn-french