--- name: "Virginia McKenna" canonical: "https://film.one/person/virginia-mckenna" fi1m_id: "virginia-mckenna" imdb_id: "nm0571441" tmdb_id: 77165 wikidata_id: "Q269872" roles: ["Actor"] born: "7 June 1931" reviewed_on_fi1m: 1 average_as: "actor" average_over: 1 updated: "2026-09-27T09:28:16.674493+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." --- # Virginia McKenna ## Identity Virginia McKenna - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/virginia-mckenna - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** virginia-mckenna - **IMDb ID:** nm0571441 - **TMDB ID:** 77165 - **Wikidata ID:** Q269872 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_McKenna, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q269872, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0571441/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/77165 Actor. Born 7 June 1931 in London, England, UK. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 7 June 1931, London, England, UK - **Also known as:** Virginia Anne McKenna - **BAFTA Television Awards:** 1 BAFTA (1 won · 1 nominated) - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_McKenna, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q269872, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0571441/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/77165 ## Streaming the US now - **Peacock:** [*Sliding Doors*](https://film.one/film/sliding-doors.md) (63) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Biography Virginia McKenna is a British stage and screen actress. Born on 7 June 1931 in London, she trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama and began her career with the Dundee Repertory Theatre. She is known for her roles in *The Cruel Sea* (1953), *A Town Like Alice* (1956), for which she won a BAFTA, *Carve Her Name with Pride* (1958), *Born Free* (1966), *Ring of Bright Water* (1969) and *Waterloo* (1970). She also appeared as James' Mother in *Sliding Doors* (1998) and provided a voice in *Ethel & Ernest* (2016). McKenna has worked extensively in theatre, winning a Laurence Olivier Award for *The King and I* (1979). With her husband, actor Bill Travers, she co-founded the Born Free Foundation and has been recognised with an OBE and later a DBE for services to wildlife conservation and the arts. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, themoviedb.org.* ## On Fi1m (1) - *Sliding Doors* (1998), Fi1m 63, as James' Mother — [page](https://film.one/film/sliding-doors.md) ## Complete filmography (64) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Wings* (2020), as Dora - *Widow's Walk* (2019), as Myrtle - *Ethel & Ernest* (2016), as Lady of the House (voice) - *Golden Years* (2016), as Martha - *Leona Calderon* (2013), Actor - *Love/Loss* (2010), as Mary - *Agatha Christie's Marple* (2004), series, as Belle Goedler - *The Whistle-Blower* (2001), as Theresa Elliot - *Sliding Doors* (1998), as James' Mother — Fi1m 63, [page](https://film.one/film/sliding-doors.md) - *The Scold's Bridle* (1998), as Violet Orloff - *September* (1996), series, as Violet - *Kavanagh Q.C.* (1995), series, as Alice Aldermarten - *Staggered* (1994), as Flora - *The Camomile Lawn* (1992), series, as Polly (older) - *The Lady in Waiting* (1992), as Miss Peach - *Duel of Hearts* (1992), as Lady Brecon - *Have a Nice Night* (1990), as Jennifer Warrenton - *The Ruth Rendell Mysteries* (1987), series, as Milborough Lang - *The Cook Report* (1987), series, Actor - *Lovejoy* (1986), series, as Harriet Fisher - *The First Olympics: Athens 1896* (1984), series, as Annabel Flack - *Sharing Time* (1984), series, as Phoebe - *Puccini* (1984), as Elvira - *Waters of the Moon* (1983), as Mrs. Whyte - *Natural World* (1983), series, as Participant - *The Case of the Frightened Lady* (1983), as Lady Lebanon Amersham - *Blood Link* (1982), as Woman in Ballroom - *Julius Caesar* (1979), as Portia - *The Disappearance* (1977), as Catherine - *Holocaust 2000* (1977), as Eva Caine - *Peter Pan* (1976), as Mrs. Darling - *Beauty and the Beast* (1976), as Lucy - *Shades of Greene* (1975), series, as Mary - *The Gathering Storm* (1974), as Clemmie Churchill - *Swallows and Amazons* (1974), as Mrs. Walker - *The Dragon's Opponent* (1973), series, as Margaret - Countess of Suffolk - *The Edwardians* (1972), series, as Frances Evelyn 'Daisy' Greville - *The Lion at World's End* (1971), Actor - *Waterloo* (1970), as Duchess of Richmond - *Ring of Bright Water* (1969), as Mary MacKenzie - *The Lions Are Free* (1969), Actor - *An Elephant Called Slowly* (1969), as Ginny - *The Admirable Crichton* (1968), as Lady Mary - *Half Hour Story* (1967), series, as Ann - *Born Free* (1966), as Joy Adamson - *Mystery and Imagination* (1966), series, as Alice Oke - *A Passage to India* (1965), as Adela Quested - *BBC Play of the Month* (1965), series, as Adela Quested, Fraulein von Bernburg, Mary Stuart, Hester - *Two Living, One Dead* (1961), as Helen Berger - *The Wreck of the Mary Deare* (1959), as Janet Taggart - *Storm Over Jamaica* (1958), as Judy Waring - *Carve Her Name with Pride* (1958), as Violette Szabo - *The Smallest Show on Earth* (1957), as Jean Spenser - *The Barretts of Wimpole Street* (1957), as Henrietta Barrett - *A Town Like Alice* (1956), as Jean Paget - *Romeo and Juliet* (1955), as Juliet Capulet - *The Ship That Died of Shame* (1955), as Helen Randall - *Simba* (1955), as Mary Crawford - *The Oracle* (1953), as Shelagh - *The Cruel Sea* (1953), as Julie Hallam - *Father's Doing Fine* (1952), as Catherine - *Hallmark Hall of Fame* (1951), series, as Lady Mary, Mrs. Darling, Lucy, Clementine Churchill - *Sunday Night Theatre* (1950), series, as Juliet, Captain Janine Mayhew - *Echoes of Camusfearna*, as Narrator ## Gallery - ![Virginia McKenna](https://film.one/media/person/4078376/gallery-b567058d2fa5.jpg) Virginia McKenna — Brian Minkoff-London Pixels, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Virginiamckenna_westminster_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Virginia McKenna at an anti badger cull demo Westminster, London June 2013](https://film.one/media/person/4078376/gallery-18e05d5d315a.jpg) Virginia McKenna at an anti badger cull demo Westminster, London June 2013 — Brian Minkoff-London Pixels, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e1/Virginiamckenna_westminster.jpg/1280px-Virginiamckenna_westminster.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Virginia McKenna](https://film.one/media/person/4078376/gallery-76a9e908ca7b.jpg) Virginia McKenna — Image via TMDB ## Awards ### BAFTA Television Awards — 1 won, 1 nominated - 1976: Best Actress (nominated), for *Shades of Greene* - 1956: Best Actress (won) ### Golden Globes — 0 won, 1 nominated - 1966: Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama (nominated), for *Born Free* ### Other awards — 1 won - Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical 1979: Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical (won) *From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.* --- © 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/virginia-mckenna