Lesley Manville
Lesley Ann Manville CBE (born 12 March 1956)[2] is an English actress. She is known for her frequent collaborations with director Mike Leigh, with her winning the London Film Critics Circle Award for British Actress of the Year for the films All or Nothing (2002) and Another Year (2010), and the National Board of Review Award for Best Actress for the latter.
Lesley Manville | |
|---|---|
.jpg.webp) Manville at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival | |
| Born | Lesley Ann Manville[1] 12 March 1956 |
| Alma mater | Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1972–present |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 1 |
For her performance in Paul Thomas Anderson's period drama Phantom Thread (2017), she won the London Film Critics' Circle Award for Supporting Actress of the Year and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Making her film debut in Dance with a Stranger (1985), her other films include High Season (1987), A Christmas Carol (2009), Maleficent (2014) and its 2019 sequel, and Misbehaviour (2020). Her television roles include Emmerdale Farm (1974–1976), Ain't Misbehavin' (1994), Perfect Parents (2006), Mayday (2013), Fleming: The Man Who Would Be Bond (2014), and Save Me (2020). She is also a five-time British Academy of Film and Television Arts nominee for Another Year, Mum, River and Phantom Thread.
Manville's extensive stage career includes roles in I and Albert (1972), Chorus Girls (1981), Les Liaisons Dangereuses (1986), The Alchemist (2006), and The Visit (2020). Nominated for an Olivier Award for Leigh's 2011 play Grief and Richard Eyre's 2018 revival of Long Day's Journey into Night, she won the 2014 Olivier Award for Best Actress for her role as Helene Alving in the 2013 revival of Ghosts.
In July 2020, it was announced that Manville will portray Princess Margaret in seasons five and six of the Netflix series The Crown.
Early life
Manville was born in Brighton, East Sussex, the daughter of Jean, a former ballet dancer, and Ron Manville, a taxi driver.[3][4] She was brought up in nearby Hove, one of three daughters.[5][6] Training as a soprano singer from age 8, she was twice under-18 champion of Sussex.[5] She began acting as a teenager, appearing in television series such as King Cinder. At age 15, she gained a place at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts.[7]
Career
After turning down teacher Arlene Phillips's invitation to join her new dance troupe Hot Gossip, she was taught improvisation by Italia Conti teacher Julia Carey.[5][6][7] She made her professional stage debut in the 1972 West End musical I and Albert directed by John Schlesinger and paid for her first flat by taking a part in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale Farm (1974–76), appearing in 80 episodes.[5]
Manville built a career as a distinctive theatre actress, appearing in new plays at the Royal Shakespeare Company's Warehouse and Royal Court Theatre from 1978.[8] She met Mike Leigh in 1979, when he was looking for RSC actors who could improvise.[6] In the 1980s, her work for the Royal Court included Andrea Dunbar's Rita, Sue and Bob Too (1981) and Caryl Churchill's Top Girls (1982) and Serious Money (1987). She also starred in the Top Girls Off-Broadway production in 1983. For the RSC, she starred in As You Like It (1985) and Les Liaisons Dangereuses (1985–86). She made her film debut in 1985s Dance with a Stranger directed by Mike Newell, and went on to appear in Sammy and Rosie Get Laid (1987) directed by Stephen Frears, and High Season (1987). Back on the stage, she starred in The Cherry Orchard at the Aldwych Theatre in 1989, directed by Sam Mendes, and in Three Sisters at the Royal Court in 1990.
In 1994, Manville starred in the first series of the BBC sitcom Ain't Misbehavin'. For her work in the 2000 miniseries Other People's Children, and the 2002 TV film Bodily Harm, she received nominations for Best Female Actor at the Royal Television Society Awards.[9][10] Her extensive television credits include prominent roles in the dramas Holding On (1997), Real Women (1998–99), The Cazalets (2001), North & South (2004) and Cranford (2007).[11] She also starred in Cards on the Table, a 2006 feature-length episode of Agatha Christie's Poirot.
Since 2005, Manville has starred in several National Theatre productions, including His Dark Materials (2005), The Alchemist (2006) and Her Naked Skin (2008). She also starred in The Old Vic productions of All About My Mother (2007) and Six Degrees of Separation (2010). In 2009, she played Margaret Thatcher in the Channel 4 drama The Queen.
Manville has appeared in numerous Mike Leigh films throughout her career, including High Hopes (1988), Secrets & Lies (1996), Topsy-Turvy (1999), Vera Drake (2004) and Mr. Turner (2014). Her most notable Mike Leigh films are All or Nothing in 2002 and Another Year in 2010. For both, she won the London Film Critics Circle Award for British Actress of the Year.[12] For Another Year, she also won the National Board of Review Award for Best Actress, and was nominated for the British Independent Film Award for Best Supporting Actress and the European Film Award for Best Actress, as well as the Chicago Film Critics Award for Best Actress.[13][14] She also won Best Supporting Actress from the San Diego Film Critics Society.[15] On 18 January 2011, she received a BAFTA nomination in the Best Supporting Actress category.[16] On 7 February 2011, former Charlie's Angels stars Jaclyn Smith and Cheryl Ladd presented the Best Actress Award to her at the "Movies for Grownups Awards".[17]
In 2011, Manville starred in Mike Leigh's play Grief at the National Theatre which earned her a Best Actress Olivier Award nomination.[18] For her role as Helene Alving in the 2013 revival of the Ibsen play Ghosts, she won the 2014 Olivier Award for Best Actress and the Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Actress.[19][20] She also appeared in the films Romeo and Juliet (2013) and Maleficent (2014).
Manville was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2015 Birthday Honours. In the same year, she starred opposite Stellan Skaarsgaard in the BBC drama River, which earned her a nomination for the 2016 BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actress. She then starred opposite Peter Mullan in the BBC sitcom Mum, for which she was nominated for the BAFTA TV Award for Best Female Comedy Performance in 2017 and 2019.[21]
In the 2017 period film Phantom Thread, Manville played Cyril Woodcock, the sister of the dressmaker Reynolds Woodcock, played by Daniel Day-Lewis. For her role, she was nominated for the Academy Award and BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress.[22]
Manville was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2021 New Year Honours for services to drama and charity.[23]
Personal life
Manville's first boyfriend was actor Peter Duncan whom she met at stage school while attending Italia Conti.[24]
Her first husband was actor Gary Oldman. The pair split in 1989, three months after their son, Alfie (born 1988), was born,[6][25] Her second marriage was to Joe Dixon.[6]
In 2007, Manville was living with her son in East Grinstead, West Sussex.[7]
In 2020, she delivered a monologue for the Equity Benevolent Fund to support fellow actors during the COVID-19 pandemic.[26]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Dance with a Stranger | Maryanne | |
| 1987 | Sammy and Rosie Get Laid | Margy | |
| 1987 | High Season | Carol | |
| 1988 | High Hopes | Laetitia Boothe-Braine | |
| 1996 | Secrets & Lies | Jenny Ford the Social Worker | |
| 1999 | Milk | Fiona | |
| 1999 | Topsy-Turvy | Lucy Gilbert | |
| 1999 | Toy Boys | Mrs. Allen | Short film |
| 2002 | All or Nothing | Penny | |
| 2004 | Vera Drake | Mrs. Wells | |
| 2005 | The Great Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael | Sarah Carmichael | |
| 2007 | Richard Is My Boyfriend | Mother | |
| 2007 | Sparkle | Jill | |
| 2009 | A Christmas Carol | Mrs. Cratchit | |
| 2010 | Another Year | Mary | |
| 2010 | Womb | Judith | |
| 2013 | Romeo and Juliet | The Nurse | |
| 2013 | A Five Star Life | Kate Sherman | |
| 2013 | Spike Island | Margaret | |
| 2013 | The Christmas Candle | Bea Haddington | |
| 2014 | Maleficent | Flittle | |
| 2014 | Mr. Turner | Mary Somerville | |
| 2015 | Molly Moon and the Incredible Book of Hypnotism | Miss Adderstone | |
| 2016 | Rupture | Dr. Nyman | |
| 2017 | Hampstead | Fiona | |
| 2017 | Phantom Thread | Cyril Woodcock | |
| 2019 | Ordinary Love | Joan | |
| 2019 | Maleficent: Mistress of Evil | Flittle | |
| 2020 | Misbehaviour | Dolores Hope | |
| 2020 | Let Him Go | Blanche Weboy | |
| TBA | Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris | Ada Harris | Filming; Also executive producer |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Village Hall | Merle | Episode: "Dancing in the Dark" |
| 1974 | Softly Softly: Task Force | Janet | Episode: "Pop Goes the Weasel" |
| 1974–1976 | Emmerdale Farm | Rosemary Kendall | 48 episodes |
| 1975 | Barlow at Large | Christine West | Episode: "Protection" |
| 1976 | The Emigrants | Janice Parker | 3 episodes |
| 1977 | A Bunch of Fives | Helen Wyatt | 14 episodes |
| 1977 | Leap in the Dark | Julie | Episode: "The Fetch" |
| 1977 | King Cinder | Nikki | 6 episodes |
| 1978 | Wings | Francoise | Episode: "Dawn Attack" |
| 1980 | The Gentle Touch | Shirley Davis | 2 episodes |
| 1980 | Grown-Ups | Mandy | Television film |
| 1982 | Objects of Affection | Liz | Episode: "Our Winnie" |
| 1982 | Coronation Street | Jill Mason | 2 episodes |
| 1982 | Our Winnie | Student | Television short |
| 1984 | Play for Today | Vivienne | Episode: "Dog Ends" |
| 1985 | Bulman | Karen Tait | Episode: "The Name of the Game" |
| 1989 | The Firm | Sue Bissel | Television film |
| 1991 | Performance | Marlene | Episode: "Top Girls" |
| 1992 | Soldier Soldier | Rachel Elliot | 5 episodes |
| 1993 | The Mushroom Picker | Margot | 3 episodes |
| 1993 | A Statement of Affairs | Carol | Episode #1.1 |
| 1993 | Goggle-Eyes | Rosalind Killin | 4 episodes |
| 1993 | Crime Story | Gail | Episode: "When the Lies Run Out" |
| 1994 | Ain't Misbehavin' | Melissa Quigley | 6 episodes |
| 1994 | Little Napoleons | Judith Silver | 4 episodes |
| 1994 | A Skirt Through History | Bessie Parkes | Episode: "A Lady's Portion" |
| 1995 | Tears Before Bedtime | Beattie Freman | 4 episodes |
| 1996 | The Bite | Ellie Shannon | 2 episodes |
| 1996 | Kavanagh QC | Lucy Cartwright | Episode: "The Commitment" |
| 1997 | Holding On | Hilary | 7 episodes |
| 1997 | Painted Lady | Susie Peel | Television film |
| 1998–1999 | Real Women | Karen | 7 episodes |
| 1998 | Silent Witness | Suzy Franklin | Episode: "Fallen Idol" |
| 1999 | Real Women II | Karen Turner | 4 episodes |
| 2000 | Other People's Children | Nadine | 2 episodes |
| 2000 | Black Cab | Yvonne | Episode: "Lost & Found" |
| 2000 | David Copperfield | Mrs. Micawber | Television film |
| 2001 | The Cazalets | Villy Cazalet | 6 episodes |
| 2002 | Bodily Harm | Mandy Greenfield | 2 episodes |
| 2002 | Plain Jane | Dora Bruce | Television film |
| 2003 | Promoted to Glory | Capt. Annie Sullivan | Television film |
| 2004 | Rose and Maloney | Professor Diane Marquis | 2 episodes |
| 2004 | North & South | Maria Hale | 4 episodes |
| 2005 | Agatha Christie's Poirot | Mrs. Lorrimer | Episode: "Cards on the Table" |
| 2006 | Perfect Parents | Sister Antonia | Television film |
| 2007 | Cranford | Mrs. Rose | 5 episodes |
| 2009–2011 | Law & Order: UK | Phyllis Gladstone | 3 episodes |
| 2009 | The Queen | Margaret Thatcher | Episode: "The Rivals" |
| 2011 | Midsomer Murders | Phoebe Archbold | Episode: "Fit for Murder" |
| 2013 | An Adventure in Space and Time | Heather Hartnell | Television film |
| 2013 | Mayday | Gail Spicer | 5 episodes |
| 2014 | Fleming | Evelyn St. Croix Fleming | 4 episodes |
| 2015 | The Go-Between | Mrs. Maudsley | Television film |
| 2015 | River | DCI Chrissie Read | 6 episodes |
| 2016–2019 | Mum | Cathy | 18 episodes |
| 2017 | A Very British Brothel | Narrator | Documentary |
| 2017–2019 | Harlots | Lydia Quigley | 24 episodes |
| 2019 | World on Fire | Robina Chase | 7 episodes |
| 2020 | Save Me Too | Jennifer Charles | 4 episodes |
| 2020 | Love Life | Narrator (voice) | 10 episodes |
| 2020 | Talking Heads | Susan | Episode: "Bed Among the Lentils" |
| 2022 | The Crown | Princess Margaret | Seasons 5 & 6 |
Theatre
Awards and nominations
References
- Patel, Salina (12 June 2015). "Actress Lelsey Manville appointed OBE in Queen's Birthday Honours list". getwestlondon.co.uk.
- "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
- Cooper, Glenda (23 April 2014). "After four decades on the stage, Manville is in no mood to slow down". Telegraph. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
- Appleyard, Bryan (8 May 2016). "Lesley Manville is one hot mother". The Sunday Times.
- Kellaway, Kate (12 August 2007). "The mother superior". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
- Nick Curtis (6 January 2010). "Lesley Manville's six degrees of success". London Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 10 January 2010. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
- Naomi West (4 August 2007). "The world of Lesley Manville, actress". London: daily Telegraph. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
- "Patrons". Hub Theatre Bio of Manville. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
- "Programme Award Winners 2000". Royal Television Society. 2000. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
- "Programme Award Winners". Royal Television Society. 2002. Archived from the original on 17 June 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
- "All-star announced to star alongside Judi Dench in Cranford". BBC. 20 April 2007. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
- London Critics Circle British Actress of the Year Archived 7 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine Critics Circle web site
- Chicago Film Critics Award for Best Actress Archived 24 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine Chicago Film Critics web site
- "London Film Critics: Colin Firth vs. Christian Bale Mystery". altfg.com.
- San Diego Film Critics Society Archived 25 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine San Diego Film Critics Society web site
- "Search Results". BAFTA site. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
- Cohrs, Jocelyn (2011). "AARP The Magazine's Movies for Grownups Awards Gala - An Evening of Congratulations, Class, and Circumstance | Splash Magazines | Los Angeles". lasplash.com. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
- "Mike Leigh: Profile of a Playwright". Daily Telegraph. 22 September 2011. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
- Billington, Michael (14 April 2014). "The Olivier awards were predictable, yes, but not necessarily wrong". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
- "Rory Kinnear claims double victory in 2014 Critics' Circle theatre awards". the Guardian. 28 January 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
- Saunders, Emma (9 May 2019). "Mum: Will we see a happy ending?". BBC News. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
- "Oscar-nominee Lesley Manville talks Phantom Thread, Daniel Day-Lewis and the Kardashians". The Independent. 30 January 2018. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
- "No. 63218". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2020. p. N8.
- BFI (16 April 2018). "Lesley Manville and Naomi Ackie - Working Class Heroes at the BFI" – via YouTube.
- "Both Lesley Manville and ex-husband Gary Oldman were nominated for Oscars: He's got a new wife, we get on". Hindustan Times. 7 March 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
- Glynn, Paul (22 May 2020). "Lesley Manville: 'Most actors are not loaded'". BBC News. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
- Quarmby, Kevin (Spring 2005). "Interview with Lesley Manville, Some Girl(s), The Gielgud Theatre". Retrieved 2 August 2014.
