Georgina McKee (born 14 April 1964) is an English actress. She won the 1997 BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for Our Friends in the North (1996), and earned subsequent nominations for The Lost Prince (2003) and The Street (2007). She also starred on television in The Forsyte Saga (2002) and as Caterina Sforza in The Borgias (2011). Her film appearances include Notting Hill (1999), Phantom Thread (2017), and My Policeman (2022). On the stage, she has been nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for King Lear in 2011, Dear England in 2024, and The Years in 2025.
Early life
McKee was born in Peterlee, County Durham, in 1964, the daughter of a coal miner, McKee appeared in several episodes of the Chris Morris spoof current affairs show Brass Eye (1997, 2001) as reporter Libby Shuss.
McKee's theatre credits include Harold Pinter's The Lover and The Collection at the Comedy Theatre in London. In 2008, she appeared in the BBC drama Fiona's Story and a West End revival of Chekhov's Ivanov. In 2010, she appeared as Goneril in the Donmar Warehouse revival of King Lear, directed by Michael Grandage and starring Derek Jacobi. She received an Olivier Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her performance.
She played the mother of a deaf teenager in BBC TV's thriller The Silence opposite Genevieve Barr. In 2018, she appeared in the BBC/Netflix drama series Bodyguard as Commander Anne Sampson.
Personal life
McKee has been married to Kez Cary since August 1989; they live in East Sussex, England. She has been a vegetarian since 1982.
In 2002, McKee received an Honorary Doctorate of Arts from the University of Sunderland.
In 2025, McKee received an Honorary Doctorate of Letters (D.Litt) from Durham University at the Summer Congregation.
Acting credits
Film
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes
|-
| 1988 || The Lair of the White Worm || Nurse Gladwell ||
|-
| 1989|| The Rachel Papers || Evonne ||
|-
|1989
|Wilt
|Party Guest
|
|-
| 1993 || Naked || Café Girl ||
|-
|rowspan=2|1996 || The Treasure Seekers || Mary Leslie ||
|-
| Element of Doubt || Beth ||
|-
| 1997 || Mothertime|| Caroline ||
|-
| 1998 || Croupier || Marion Nell ||
|-
|rowspan=4|1999 || Notting Hill || Bella ||
|-
| The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc || Duchess of Bedford ||
|-
| Wonderland || Nadia ||
|-
| Women Talking Dirty || Ellen ||
|-
|2000 || There's Only One Jimmy Grimble || Donna ||
|-
| 2001 || The Zookeeper || Ankica ||
|-
| 2002 || Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood || Genevieve ||
|-
| 2003 || Burning the Bed || Caroline ||
|-
|rowspan=2|2004 || The Reckoning || Sarah ||
|-
| Mickybo and Me || Jonjo's ma ||
|-
|rowspan=2|2005 || The Adventures of Greyfriars Bobby || Maureen Gray ||
|-
| MirrorMask || White Queen/Dark Queen ||
|-
| 2006 || Scenes of a Sexual Nature || Julia ||
|-
|rowspan=2|2007 || And When Did You Last See Your Father? || Kathy Morrison ||
|-
| Atonement || Sister Drummond ||
|-
| 2009 || In the Loop || Judy Molloy ||
|-
| 2013 || Jimmy P: Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian || Madeleine ||
|-
|rowspan=2|2015 || Hector || Lizzie ||
|-
| Taj Mahal || Louise's Mother ||
|-
| 2017 || Phantom Thread || Countess Henrietta Harding ||
|-
| rowspan=2|2022
|My Policeman
|Older Marion Taylor
|
|-
| A Grand Romantic Gesture
|Ava
|Lead role
|-
|rowspan=2|2023
| Typist Artist Pirate King
|Dorothy
|
|-
| The End We Start From
| F
|
|}
Television
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes
|-
| 1979 || Quest of Eagles || Jane || Miniseries
|-
| 1986 || Auf Wiedersehen, Pet || Girl || Episode: "Cowboys"
|-
|1986
|Unnatural Causes
|Nancy
|Episode: "Home Cooking"
|-
| rowspan="4" | 1987 || Inspector Morse|| Girl in Betting Shop || Episode: "Service of All the Dead"
|-
|Rockliffe's Babies
|Barmaid
|Episode: "A Few Bad Days"
|-
|The Ritz
|Janice
|Episode: "Tuesday"
|-
|Floodtide
|Medical Student
|Episode: "Four: The Trail"
|-
| 1987–1988 || The Lenny Henry Show|| Julie || 12 episodes
|-
|1989
|The Paradise Club
|Bank Teller
|Episode: "Short Story"
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1990 || Drop the Dead Donkey|| Lou || Episode: "Death, Disaster 'n Damien"
|-
|Medics
|Alex
|Episode: "Helen Palmer"
|-
|1990, 1997
|Screen Two
|Lynn/Caroline
|2 episodes
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1991 || Minder|| Joanna || Episode: "Guess Who's Coming To Pinner"
|-
|Paul Merton: The Series
|Jackie
|1 episode
|-
| An Actor's Life For Me|| Sue Bishop || 6 episodes
|-
| rowspan="2" |1994
|In Suspicious Circumstances
|Evelyn Foster
|2 episodes
|-
|Casualty
|Ginnie Davies
|Episode: "The Facts of Life"
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1996 || Our Friends in the North|| Mary Cox || Miniseries
|-
|Frontiers
|Sarah Lightfoot
|Episode: "Casual Bank Robbers"
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1997 || Comedy Premieres || Fiona Croft || Episode: "The Chest"
|-
| Brass Eye|| Libby Shuss / Vivian Banch || 3 episodes
|-
| Beyond Fear|| Stephanie Slater|| Television movie
|-
| 2001 || Dice || Angela Starck || rowspan="2" | Miniseries
|-
| 2002–2003 || The Forsyte Saga || Irene Forsyte
|-
| 2003 || The Lost Prince || Lalla || rowspan="2" | Television movie
|-
| 2004 || The Blackwater Lightship || Helen
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2006 || Tsunami: The Aftermath || Kim Peabody || Miniseries
|-
| The Lavender List || Marcia Williams || Television movie
|-
| rowspan="3" | 2007 || Lewis || Diane Turnbull || Episode: "Old School Ties"
|-
| The Old Curiosity Shop || Sally Brass || Television movie
|-
| The Street || Jan Parr || 2 episodes
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2008 || 1983 The Brink of Apocalypse|| Narrator ||
|-
| Fiona's Story || Fiona || Television film
|-
| 2009 || Waking the Dead || Jackie || 2 episodes
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2010 || Dive || Jacqueline || Television movie
|-
| The Silence || Anne || Miniseries
|-
| 2011 || Vera || Julie Armstrong || Episode: "Hidden Depths"
|-
| 2011–2013 || The Borgias || Caterina Sforza || Main cast
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2012 || Missing || Jamie Ortega || 6 episodes
|-
| Line of Duty || Jackie Laverty || 3 episodes
|-
| 2012–2013 || Hebburn || Pauline || 12 episodes
|-
| 2012 || Secret State || Ellis Kane || rowspan="2" | Miniseries
|-
| 2013 || By Any Means || Helen Barlow
|-
| 2016 || Royal Wives At War || Wallis Simpson || Television film
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2017 || Emerald City || Dr. Jane Andrews || Recurring role, 5 episodes
|-
| Knightfall || Landry's Mother || 3 episodes
|-
| 2018 || Bodyguard || Commander Anne Sampson || Main cast
|-
| 2019 || The Rook || Jennifer Birch || rowspan="3" | Miniseries
|-
| 2019 || Catherine the Great || Countess Bruce
|-
| 2020|| Black Narcissus || Sister Adela
|}
Theatre
- King Lear (2010-11)... Goneril; Donmar Warehouse, London (director: Michael Grandage)
References
External links
- Gina McKee Biography FilmReference.com