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Penelope Wilton
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Penelope Wilton
Dame Penelope Alice Wilton DBE (born 3 June 1946) is an English actress.
Wilton is known for starring opposite Richard Briers in the BBC sitcom Ever Decreasing Circles (1984–1989), playing Homily in The Borrowers (1992) and The Return of the Borrowers (1993), and her role as the widowed Isobel Crawley in the ITV drama Downton Abbey (2010–2015). She also played the recurring role of Harriet Jones in Doctor Who (2005, 2008) and Anne in Ricky Gervais' Netflix dark comedy After Life.
Wilton has had an extensive career on stage, receiving six Olivier Award nominations. She was nominated for Man and Superman (1981), The Secret Rapture (1988), The Deep Blue Sea (1994), John Gabriel Borkman (2008) and The Chalk Garden (2009), before winning the 2015 Olivier Award for Best Actress for Taken at Midnight. Her film appearances include Clockwise (1986), Cry Freedom (1987), Blame It on the Bellboy (1992), Calendar Girls (2003), Shaun of the Dead (2004), Match Point (2005), Pride & Prejudice (2005), The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012), The Girl (2012), The BFG (2016) and The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (2023).
Wilton was born in Scarborough, North Riding of Yorkshire, the second of three daughters of Cliff Wilton, a Cambridge-educated businessman and barrister who had played rugby union on the amateur and provincial level, going on to be an administrator in the sport, and Alice Linda Travers, a tap dancer and former actress.
She is a niece of actors Bill Travers and Linden Travers. Her cousins include actors Angela and Richard Morant. Her maternal grandparents owned theatres.
She attended the Drama Centre London from 1965 to 1968.
Wilton began her career on stage in 1969 at the Nottingham Playhouse. Her early roles included Cordelia in King Lear, both in Nottingham and at The Old Vic.
She made her Broadway debut in March 1971 when she played Araminta in the original Broadway production of The Philanthropist, and made her West End debut in August 1971 opposite Sir Ralph Richardson in the John Osborne play West of Suez at the Cambridge Theatre. She had previously appeared in both plays at the Royal Court Theatre. She played Ruth in the original 1974 London stage production of Alan Ayckbourn's Norman Conquests trilogy, initially as understudy for Bridget Turner.
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Penelope Wilton
Dame Penelope Alice Wilton DBE (born 3 June 1946) is an English actress.
Wilton is known for starring opposite Richard Briers in the BBC sitcom Ever Decreasing Circles (1984–1989), playing Homily in The Borrowers (1992) and The Return of the Borrowers (1993), and her role as the widowed Isobel Crawley in the ITV drama Downton Abbey (2010–2015). She also played the recurring role of Harriet Jones in Doctor Who (2005, 2008) and Anne in Ricky Gervais' Netflix dark comedy After Life.
Wilton has had an extensive career on stage, receiving six Olivier Award nominations. She was nominated for Man and Superman (1981), The Secret Rapture (1988), The Deep Blue Sea (1994), John Gabriel Borkman (2008) and The Chalk Garden (2009), before winning the 2015 Olivier Award for Best Actress for Taken at Midnight. Her film appearances include Clockwise (1986), Cry Freedom (1987), Blame It on the Bellboy (1992), Calendar Girls (2003), Shaun of the Dead (2004), Match Point (2005), Pride & Prejudice (2005), The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012), The Girl (2012), The BFG (2016) and The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (2023).
Wilton was born in Scarborough, North Riding of Yorkshire, the second of three daughters of Cliff Wilton, a Cambridge-educated businessman and barrister who had played rugby union on the amateur and provincial level, going on to be an administrator in the sport, and Alice Linda Travers, a tap dancer and former actress.
She is a niece of actors Bill Travers and Linden Travers. Her cousins include actors Angela and Richard Morant. Her maternal grandparents owned theatres.
She attended the Drama Centre London from 1965 to 1968.
Wilton began her career on stage in 1969 at the Nottingham Playhouse. Her early roles included Cordelia in King Lear, both in Nottingham and at The Old Vic.
She made her Broadway debut in March 1971 when she played Araminta in the original Broadway production of The Philanthropist, and made her West End debut in August 1971 opposite Sir Ralph Richardson in the John Osborne play West of Suez at the Cambridge Theatre. She had previously appeared in both plays at the Royal Court Theatre. She played Ruth in the original 1974 London stage production of Alan Ayckbourn's Norman Conquests trilogy, initially as understudy for Bridget Turner.
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