Geraldine James (born 6 July 1950) is an English actress. She has worked extensively on television, on stage and in film. She is known for her roles as Sarah Layton in The Jewel in the Crown (1984), Marilla Cuthbert in the Netflix series Anne with an E (2017–2019) and as Queen Mary in the 2019 film Downton Abbey. She won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress for her performance in the television film She's Been Away.
Early life and education
Geraldine James Thomas was born in Maidenhead, Berkshire, on 6 July 1950, the daughter of Gerald Trevor Griffith Thomas, a cardiologist, and his wife Annabella Doogan. Her parents divorced. After failing her 11-plus exam, she was educated at Downe House School in Newbury, Berkshire, where she was known as Gerry Thomas. Embarrassed by her simple surname, she used the grander-sounding name of Vaughan-Thomas while at the school. Her stage name makes use of her middle name of James.
She studied drama at the Drama Centre London.
Awards and recognition
James was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2004.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Year
!Nominated work
!Award
!Category
!Result
!Refs
|-
|1977
|Dummy
|BAFTA TV Award
|Best Actress
|
|
|-
|1984
|The Jewel in the Crown
|BAFTA TV Award
|Best Actress
|
|
|-
|1989
|She's Been Away
|Venice Film Festival
|Volpi Cup for Best Actress
|
|
|-
|1990
|The Merchant of Venice
|Drama Desk Award
|Outstanding Actress in a Play
|
|
|-
|1990
|The Merchant of Venice
|Tony Award
|Best Actress in a Play
|
|
|-
|1995
|Band of Gold
|BAFTA TV Award
|Best Actress
|
|
|-
|2000
|The Sins
|BAFTA TV Award
|Best Actress
|
|
|-
|2017
| rowspan="2" |Anne with an E
| rowspan="2" |Canadian Screen Awards
| rowspan="2" |Best Supporting Actress, Drama
|
|
|-
|2018
|
|
|}
Personal life
James is married to actor and director Joseph Blatchley. They have a daughter.
Selected stage roles
- Portia, opposite Dustin Hoffman in the London and Broadway productions of The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare
- Hedda Gabler at the Royal Exchange, Manchester in 1993
- Rosalind, in As You Like It, at the RSC, Stratford-upon-Avon, in 2023
Radio
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Date !! Title !! Role !! Director !! Station
|-
| – || The Hours || || Gaynor Macfarlane || BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour Drama
|-
|
| Baldi: The Book Case
| Maggie
| Mark Lambert
| BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play
|-
| || Turtle Diary || Neaera || Gaynor Macfarlane || BBC Radio 4 Saturday Play
|-
| || The Raj Quartet || Mildred Layton || Jeremy Mortimer || BBC Radio 4
|}
Filmography
Film
- The Dumb Waiter (1979) as Sally
- Bloody Kids (1980) as Ritchie's wife
- Sweet William (1980) as Pamela
- Gandhi (1982) as Mirabehn
- Freedom Fighter (1988) as Krista Donner
- The Tall Guy (1989) as Carmen
- The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (1989) as Mrs. Gertrude Brisket
- Prince of Shadows (1991) as Rebecca Osorio
- If Looks Could Kill – Teen Agent, (1991) as Vendetta Galante
- The Bridge (1992) as Mrs Todd
- Words Upon the Window Pane (1994) as Mrs. Henderson
- Moll Flanders (1996) as Edna
- The Man Who Knew Too Little (1997) as Dr. Ludmilla Kropotkin
- The Luzhin Defence (2000) as Vera
- Lover's Prayer (2001) as Mother
- Tom & Thomas (2002) as Miss Tromp
- An Angel for May (2002)
- Calendar Girls (2003) as Marie
- Northanger Abbey (2007) as the narrator
- Sherlock Holmes (2009) as Mrs Hudson
- Alice in Wonderland (2010) as Lady Ascot
- Made in Dagenham (2010) as Connie
- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) as Cecilia Vanger
- Arthur (2011) as Vivienne Bach
- Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011) as Mrs Hudson
- 45 Years (2015) as Lena
- Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016) as Lady Ascot
- Rogue One (2016) as Jaldine Gerams (Blue 3)
- Daphne (2017)
- Anne with an E (2017) as Marilla Cuthbert
- Megan Leavey (2017) as The Veterinarian
- Beast (2017)
- Downton Abbey (2019) as Mary of Teck
- Benediction (2021)
Television
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes
|-
| 1976 || The Sweeney: Pay Off || Shirley Glass ||
|-
| 1977 || Dummy || Sandra X ||
|-
| 1979 || Shoestring || || "Nine tenths of the law."
|-
| 1981 || The History Man || Barbara Kirk ||
|-
| 1982 || I Remember Nelson || Emma Hamilton ||
|-
| 1984 || The Jewel in the Crown || Sarah Layton ||
|-
| 1985 || Blott on the Landscape || Lady Maud Lynchwood ||
|-
| 1988 || Echoes || Angela O'Hara ||
|-
| 1991 || Inspector Morse: Who Killed Harry Field || Helen Field ||
|-
| 1992 || A Doll's House || Kristine Linde ||
|-
| 1995–1997 || Band of Gold || Rose Garrety ||
|-
| 1995–1999 || Kavanagh QC || Eleanor Harker QC ||
|-
| 1997 || Rebecca || Beatrice ||
|-
| — || Little Britain || Mother of Harvey Pincher || Cameo
|-
| 2000 || The Sins || Gloria Green ||
|-
| 2003 || State of Play || Yvonne Shaps ||
|-
| 2004 || Hex || Lilith Hughes ||
|-
| 2004 || He Knew He Was Right || Lady Rowley ||
|-
| 2005 || Agatha Christie's Poirot – After the Funeral || Helen Abernethie ||
|-
| 2006 || The Amazing Mrs Pritchard || Hilary Rees-Benson ||
|-
| 2006 || A Harlot's Progress || ||
|-
| 2006 || Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire || Cornelia ||
|-
| 2008 || The Last Enemy || Barbara Turney ||
|-
| 2008 || Heist || Joanna ||
|-
| 2010 || Midsomer Murders || Miranda Bedford || Series 13, episode 8, "Fit for Murder"
|-
| 2012 || Thirteen Steps Down || Gwendolyn ||
|-
| 2013 || Utopia || Milner ||
|-
| 2015 || Black Work || Chief Constable Carolyn Jarecki ||
|-
| 2016 || The Five || Julia Wells ||
|-
| 2017–2019 || Anne with an E || Marilla Cuthbert || Adaptation of Anne of Green Gables
|-
| 2019–2021 || Back to Life || Caroline Matteson ||
|-
| 2021 || The Beast Must Die || Joy ||
|-
| 2023 || Silo || Mayor Ruth Jahns ||
|-
| 2024 || This Town || Marie ||
|-
| TBA || Dope Girls || ||
|-
| 2026 || Run Away || Mother Adiona ||
|}
References
External links
- "The Jewel That is James" – Interview by Jeremy Taylor for bmi Voyager October 2007
- Q&A with Geraldine James in the Guardian