Biography
Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton is an English actress and singer. After training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, she began her career in repertory theatre in 1976 and has appeared in numerous stage productions in the West End and across the United Kingdom.
On stage she has won five Laurence Olivier Awards, including one for Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Play for A Chorus of Disapproval and The Corn Is Green (1985) and four for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for Into the Woods (1991), Sweeney Todd (2013), Gypsy (2016) and Hello, Dolly! (2025). She has received fourteen Olivier nominations in total.
Her film roles include the title character in Vera Drake (2004), for which she won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role and was nominated for an Academy Award, Dolores Umbridge in the Harry Potter films, Knotgrass in the Maleficent films, and the voice of Aunt Lucy in the Paddington films (2014, 2017, 2024) and Bunty in the Chicken Run films (2000, 2023). She portrayed Queen Elizabeth II in the final two seasons of The Crown.
