02/20/1946
Ramsgate, Kent, England, UK:
Brenda Anne Blethyn is an English actress who has worked in theatre, television, and film. Blethyn has received two Academy Award nominations, two SAG Award nominations, two Emmy Award nominations and three Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one. In addition, she has won a BAFTA, an Empire Award and a Golden Lion, and has earned a Theater World Award and both a Critics' Circle Theatre Award and a Laurence Olivier Award nomination for her theatrical work. Born into a working class home in Ramsgate, Kent, Blethyn pursued an administrative career until her early 30s before enrolling in the Guildford School of Acting after the dissolution of her marriage in 1973. She subsequently joined the Royal National Theatre and received credits for her performances in Troilus and Cressida (1976) and Mysteries (1979). In 1981, Blethyn earned her first critical acclaim for Steaming. In 1980, Blethyn made her television debut in Mike Leigh's film Grown-Ups; then, after a modest number of guest spots in several productions, in the mid-1980s she garnered leading roles in the short-living sitcoms Chance in a Million and The Labours of Erica. Having followed her big screen debut with smaller supporting roles in films such as The Witches (1990) and A River Runs Through It (1992), she made her real cinema breakthrough with her role in the 1996 dramedy Secrets & Lies, for which she received rave reviews. Blethyn has since appeared in an eclectic range of films, including independent comedies such as Saving Grace (2000), Plots with a View (2002) and Clubland (2007), music-themed films like Little Voice (1998) and Beyond the Sea (2004) and big-budget dramas such as Pride & Prejudice (2005) and Atonement (2007). In addition, Blethyn has appeared in television productions including The Buddha of Suburbia (1993), Anne Frank: The Whole Story (2001), Belonging (2004) and War and Peace (2007). Her most recent leading role in TV drama is the title role in Vera (2011), playing Detective Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope. Description above from the Wikipedia article Brenda Blethyn, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Dragonfly (2025) as Elsie |
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Vera, Farewell Pet (2025) as Herself / Vera |
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Charlotte (2022) as Grossmama (voice) |
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Raymond Briggs: Snowmen, Bogeymen and Milkmen (2018) as Narrator |
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Ethel & Ernest (2016) as Ethel Briggs (voice) |
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La Voie de l‘ennemi (2014) as Emily Smith |
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Mary and Martha (2013) as Martha |
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My Angel (2011) as Headmistress |
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The Many Faces of... Michael Caine (2011) as |
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The Calling (2010) as Sister Ignatious |
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My Friends Tigger & Pooh: Super Duper Super Sleuths (2010) as Mama Heffalump (voice) |
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Tigger & Pooh and a Musical Too (2009) as Mama Heffalump (voice) |
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London River (2009) as Elisabeth |
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Dead Man Running (2009) as Mother |
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Clubland (2007) as Jean |
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Atonement (2007) as Grace Turner |
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Mysterious Creatures (2006) as Wendy Ainscow |
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Pride & Prejudice (2005) as Mrs. Bennet |
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On a Clear Day (2005) as Joan |
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Pooh's Heffalump Movie (2005) as Mama Heffalump (voice) |
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Beyond the Sea (2004) as Polly Cassotto |
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A Way of Life (2004) as Annette |
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Piccadilly Jim (2004) as Nesta Pett |
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Belonging (2004) as Jess Copplestone |
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Blizzard (2003) as Aunt Millie |
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Bob the Builder: The Knights of Can-A-Lot (2003) as Dr. Florence Mountfitchet (voice) |
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The Sleeping Dictionary (2003) as Aggie |
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Undertaking Betty (2002) as Betty Rhys-Jones |
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Sonny (2002) as Jewel |
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Lovely & Amazing (2002) as Jane Marks |
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Pumpkin (2002) as Judy Romanoff |
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The Yellow Bird (2002) as Mrs. Louise Tutwiler |
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Daddy and Them (2001) as Julia Montgomery |
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On the Nose (2001) as Mrs. Delaney |
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Saving Grace (2000) as Grace Trevethyn |
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RKO 281 (1999) as Louella Parsons |
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Little Voice (1998) as Mari Hoff |
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In the Winter Dark (1998) as Ida Stubbs |
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Girls' Night (1998) as Dawn Wilkinson |
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Music from Another Room (1998) as Grace Swan |
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Inside the Golden Statue (1998) as Self |
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Night Train (1998) as Alice Mooney |
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Remember Me? (1997) as Shirley |
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Secrets & Lies (1996) as Cynthia Rose Purley |
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The Bullion Boys (1993) as Gwen |
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A River Runs Through It (1992) as Mrs. Maclean |
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The Witches (1990) as Mrs Jenkins |
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The Shawl (1989) as Miss A |
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The Storyteller: A Story Short (1988) as The Storyteller's Wife |
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Claws (1987) as Sylvia |
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Floating Off (1983) as Janice |
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Henry VI Part 1 (1983) as Joan La Pucelle |
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King Lear (1982) as Cordelia |
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Mike Leigh: Making Plays (1982) as Self |
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Say No to Strangers (1981) as Policewoman |
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Grown-Ups (1980) as Gloria |
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Bedroom Farce (1980) as Kate |
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The Imitation Game (1980) as |
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King of the Teds () as Nina |
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Strawberry Fields Forever () as Grannie Nellie |
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Fools () as |
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Clubland (2007) Writer |