Juliet Stevenson

Juliet Stevenson

in Dustbin Baby (2008)
Born (1956-10-30) 30 October 1956
Kelvedon, Essex, England
Alma mater Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Occupation Actor
Years active 1978–present
Partner(s) Hugh Brody (1993–present)
Children 2

Juliet Anne Virginia Stevenson, CBE (born 30 October 1956) is an English actress of stage and screen. She is known for her role in the film Truly, Madly, Deeply (1991), for which she was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Her other film appearances include Emma (1996), Bend it Like Beckham (2002), Mona Lisa Smile (2003), Being Julia (2004), and Infamous (2006).

Stevenson has starred in numerous Royal Shakespeare Company and National Theatre productions, including Olivier Award nominated roles in Measure for Measure (1984), Les Liaisons Dangereuses (1986), and Yerma (1987). For her role as Paulina in Death and the Maiden (1991–92), she won the 1992 Olivier Award for Best Actress. Her fifth Olivier nomination was for her work in the 2009 revival of Duet for One. She has also received three nominations for the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress: for A Doll's House (1992), The Politician's Wife (1995) and Accused (2010). Other stage roles include The Heretic (2011) and Happy Days (2014).

Early life

Stevenson was born in Kelvedon, Essex, England, the daughter of Virginia Ruth (née Marshall), a teacher, and Michael Guy Stevenson, an army officer.[1] Stevenson's father was assigned a new posting every two and a half years.[2] When Stevenson was nine, she attended Berkshire's Hurst Lodge School,[3] and she was later educated at the independent St Catherine's School in Bramley, near Guildford in Surrey, and at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA).[4] Stevenson was part of the 'new wave’ of actors to emerge from the Academy. Others included Jonathan Pryce, Bruce Payne, Alan Rickman, Anton Lesser, Kenneth Branagh, Imelda Staunton and Fiona Shaw. This led to a stage career starting in 1978 with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Career

Although she has gained fame through her television and film work, and has often undertaken roles for BBC Radio, she is known as a stage actress. Significant stage roles include her performances as Isabella in Measure for Measure, Madame de Tourvel in Les Liaisons Dangereuses, as Anna in the UK premiere of Burn This in 1990, and as Paulina in Death and the Maiden at the Royal Court theatre and the West End (1991–92). For the latter, she was awarded the 1992 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress.[5]

In the 1987 TV film Life Story, Stevenson played the part of scientist Rosalind Franklin, for which she won a Cable Ace award.[6] She played the leading role in the Anthony Minghella film Truly, Madly, Deeply (1991) and her roles in The Secret Rapture (1993), Emma (1996), Bend It Like Beckham (2002) and Mona Lisa Smile (2003). She has more recently starred in Pierrepoint (2006), Infamous (2006) as Diana Vreeland and Breaking and Entering (2006) as Rosemary, the therapist. In 2003, she played the mother of an autistic child in the television film Hear the Silence, a film based on the now debunked claims of Andrew Wakefield that the MMR vaccine was responsible for autism.[7] The film and Stevenson were criticised for "trying to influence parents against MMR and dressing up science as entertainment."[7]

Stevenson speaking at the 2011 Latitude Festival.

In 2009, she starred in ITV's A Place of Execution. The role won her the Best Actress Dagger at the 2009 Crime Thriller Awards.[8] She performs as a book reader, and has recorded all of Jane Austen's novels as unabridged audiobooks, as well as a number of other novels, such as Lady Windermere's Fan, Hedda Gabler, Stories from Shakespeare, and To the Lighthouse.

Personal life

Stevenson lives with anthropologist Hugh Brody, her partner since 1993. The couple live in Highgate, North London. They have two children, both born in Camden, London: Rosalind Hannah Brody (born 1994) and Gabriel Jonathan Brody (born late 2000/early 2001).[9]

She is an atheist but considers herself a spiritual and superstitious person.[10][11]

In 1992, she appeared in a political broadcast for the Labour Party.[12][13]

In 2008, she campaigned on behalf of refugee women[14] with a reading of 'Motherland' at the Young Vic.

Stage

TV and filmography

Audio recordings

A partial list of Stevenson's audio recordings:

Awards and honours

For her screen work, Stevenson has been nominated four times for a BAFTA (three for television, one for film), while for her stage work she has earned five Olivier nominations, winning one.

Year Award Category Nominated work Result
1984 Olivier Award Best Actress in a Revival Measure for Measure Nominated
1986 Olivier Award Best Actress As You Like It; Les Liaisons Dangereuses Nominated
1987 Olivier Award Best Actress Yerma Nominated
1992 BAFTA Film Award Best Actress Truly, Madly, Deeply Nominated [15]
1992 Olivier Award Best Actress Death and the Maiden Won [16]
1993 BAFTA TV Award Best Actress A Doll's House Nominated
1996 BAFTA TV Award Best Actress The Politician's Wife Nominated
2010 Olivier Award Best Actress Duet for One Nominated
2011 BAFTA TV Award Best Actress Accused Nominated

References

  1. ↑ "Juliet Stevenson Biography (1956–)". Filmreference.com. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
  2. ↑ My Secret Life: Juliet Stevenson
  3. ↑ "Why Juliet Dreads the Boards". The Daily Telegraph. UK. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
  4. ↑ According to Who's Who on Television (1982 edition)
  5. ↑ Archived 11 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
  6. ↑ Awards for Juliet Stevenson at the Internet Movie Database
  7. 1 2 "Juliet Stevenson: 'I would love a completely different life?'". The Daily Telegraph. 18 Feb 2008. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
  8. ↑ Flood, Alison (22 October 2009). "British readers vote Harlan Coben their favourite crime writer". London: guardian.co.uk (Guardian News & Media). Retrieved 28 October 2009.
  9. ↑ "Births England and Wales Births 1984–2006". Findmypast.com. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
  10. ↑ Dodd, Celia (14 March 2008). "Actress Juliet Stevenson reveals that her toughest role is being an older mother". The Times (London). Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  11. ↑ Sign Up: (25 July 2008). "National Secular Society – Coming out as atheist – Billy Connolly, Juliet Stevenson and Peter O’Toole". Secularism.org.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
  12. ↑ "Transcript of Labour Party video". Psr.keele.ac.uk. 5 May 2011. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
  13. ↑ Labour Party video on YouTube
  14. ↑ "Juliet Stevenson: 'I would love a completely different life?'". The Daily Telegraph (London). 18 February 2008.
  15. ↑ "BAFTA Awards search Juliet Stevenson". BAFTA site. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  16. ↑ "Olivier winners 1992". Olivier Awards. Retrieved 30 April 2014.

External links

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