Juliet Stevenson

In theatre, she 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).

Juliet Stevenson studied at Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, St Catherine's School and Hurst Lodge School. The recorded working language is English. Distinctions recorded are Laurence Olivier Awards, Commander of the Order of the British Empire and Sitges Film Festival Best Actress award.

• Name — Juliet Stevenson • Birth Name — Juliet Anne Virginia Stevenson • Born — 30 October 1956 • Birthplace — Kelvedon, Essex, England • Children — 2 • Education — Royal Academy of Dramatic Art • Occupation — Actress and narrator • Years Active — 1978–present

Stevenson was born in Kelvedon, Essex, England, the daughter of Virginia Ruth (née Marshall), a teacher, and Michael Guy Stevenson, an army officer. Stevenson's father was assigned a new posting every two and a half years. When Stevenson was nine, she attended Berkshire's Hurst Lodge School in Ascot, and she was later educated at the independent St Catherine's School in Bramley, near Guildford, Surrey, and at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). 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. She started her stage career in 1978 with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

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, Anna in the UK premiere of Burn This in 1990 and Paulina in Death and the Maiden at the Royal Court theatre and the West End (1991–92). For the last she was awarded the 1992 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress. In the 1987 TV film Life Story, Stevenson played the part of scientist Rosalind Franklin, for which she won a Cable Ace award. 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 promoting the now debunked claims of Andrew Wakefield that the MMR vaccine was responsible for autism in children. The film makers and Stevenson were criticised as Wakefield's professionalism was already seriously in doubt. • Illustration — Stevenson speaking at the 2011 Latitude Festival. In 2008, she starred in ITV's A Place of Execution. The role won her the Best Actress Dagger at the 2009 Crime Thriller Awards. 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. She received lifetime achievement prize at Women in Film And TV awards. In 2024, she played Mary, the mother of a returning missing child in the British psychological thriller film Reawakening, alongside Erin Doherty and Jared Harris.

Stevenson married her long-time partner, British anthropologist Hugh Brody, in 2021. They have a daughter and a son and live in Suffolk, but she also has an apartment in New York. She is an atheist but considers herself a spiritual and superstitious person. In 2008, she campaigned on behalf of refugee women with a reading at the Young Vic of Motherland, in protest against conditions at Yarl's Wood immigration detention centre. Directed by Stevenson, with a script written by Natasha Walter, Motherland was described in The Guardian as "an intelligent and shocking piece of theatre", with Anthony Barnett characterising it as "skilful and engrossing, a mixture of drama and performance, witness and testimony, music and reporting." Stevenson is patron of the UK registered charity LAM Action, which provides support, information and encouragement to patients with Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) and their families, and raises funds to advance research into LAM. She is also an Amnesty Ambassador, and is patron of two other charities: Young Roots, a charity for young refugees; and Antenatal Results and Choices, which supports parents who have had a diagnosis of fetal anomaly. On 12 September 2016, Stevenson, as well as Cate Blanchett, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Peter Capaldi, Douglas Booth, Neil Gaiman, Keira Knightley, Jesse Eisenberg, Kit Harington and Stanley Tucci, featured in a video from the United Nations' refugee agency UNHCR to help raise awareness of the global refugee crisis. The video, titled "What They Took With Them", has the actors reading a poem written by Jenifer Toksvig and inspired by primary accounts of refugees, and is part of UNHCR's #WithRefugees campaign, which also includes a petition to governments to expand asylum to provide further shelter, integrating job opportunities and education. Stevenson's friends and frequent collaborators include director Robert Icke, comedian and feminist broadcaster Deborah Frances-White, poet Aviva Dautch and concert pianist Lucy Parham. Stevenson is also a painter and has talked about how her art has helped her through difficult moments such as the COVID-19 lockdown and the death of her stepson. Stevenson regularly attends protests in support of the people of Palestine. On 30 November 2024, she spoke at the National March for Palestine in London, highlighting the difference in the way the plight of the Palestinian people is portrayed in comparison to other people, and saying: "As artists we cannot remain silent in the face of such gross violations. Violations of human rights and of international law. Violations of the truth and of every human instinct." In September 2025, she signed an open pledge with Film Workers for Palestine pledging not to work with Israeli film institutions "that are implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people." She also spoke out in favour of proscribed terrorist organisation, Palestine Action.

• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1980 — The — Barbara Mallen/Bensham — 6 episodes • 1981 — Maybury — Joanna Langston — Episodes: "A Fall from Grace", "What I Mean Is...", "Ten Green Bottles" • 1983 — Bazaar and Rummage — Fliss — TV film • 1984 — Crown Court — Catherine Lloyd — Episodes: "Dirty Washing: Parts 1–3" • Freud — Elizabeth von Reitberg — Mini-series; episode: "The Secret of Dreams" • Pericles, Prince of Tyre — Thaisa — Part of the BBC Television Shakespeare • 1986 — The — Antigone — Episodes: "Oedipus at Colonus", "Antigone" • 1987 — Horizon — Rosalind Franklin — Episode: "Life Story" • 1988 — ScreenPlay — Ruth — Episode: "Out of Love" • Screen Two — Hilda Carline — Episode: "Stanley" • This is David Lander — Penny Foster — Episode: "The Nicholson Story" • 1990 — The — Vicky Marshall — Episode: "Living with Dinosaurs" (originally aired in UK, 1989) • 1991 — 4 Play — Margaret — Episode: "In the Border Country" • Screen Two — Lucy — Episode: "Aimée" • 1992 — A Doll's House — Nora Helmer — Part of the BBC's Performance series • 1993 — The — Jane (voice) — Main role; 13 episodes • Who Dealt? — Tom's Wife — Short story in the form of a monologue by Ring Lardner • The Trial — Fraulein Burstner — Part of the BBC's Screen Two • 1994 — Verdi — Giuseppina Strepponi (voice) — TV film • 1995 — The — Flora Matlock — Mini-series; all 3 episodes • 1997 — Screen Two — Jean — Episode: "Stone, Scissors, Paper" • 1998 — Cider with Rosie — Annie Lee — TV film • 1999 — Trial by Fire — Helen West — TV film • 2002 — The — Eve — TV film • The Pact — Gus Harte — TV film • 2003 — Hear the Silence — Christine Shields — TV film • 2005 — The — Gerda's Mother — TV film • 2007 — Agatha Christie's Marple — Gwenda Vaughn — Episode: "Ordeal by Innocence" • 2008 — 10 Days to War — Elizabeth Wilmshurst — Mini-series; episode: "A Simple Private Matter" • Place of Execution — Catherine Heathcote — Mini-series; 3 episodes • Dustbin Baby — Marion Bean — TV film • 2010 — Law & Order: UK — Rachel Callaghan — Episode: "Denial" • Accused — Helen Ryland — Episode: "Helen's Story" • 2011 — Lewis — Diana Ellerby — Episode: "Old, Unhappy, Far Off Things" • The — Lady Elms — Recurring role; 4 episodes • 2012 — White Heat — Charlotte (Present Day) — Mini-series; 6 episodes • 2013–2014 — The — Clem Allingham — Main role; 12 episodes • 2013–2015 — Atlantis — The Oracle — Main role; 12 episodes • 2014 — On Angel Wings — Mary (voice) — TV short film • 2015 — X Company — Mayor Marie Bellaire — Episode: "Walk with the Devil" • The — Betty Grosse — Mini-series; 3 episodes • Artsnight — Contributor — Episode: "Richard Wilson on Samuel Beckett" • 2016 — One of Us — Louise Elliot — Mini-series; 4 episodes • 2018 — Hamlet — Gertrude — BBC film of the Almeida Theatre production • 2019 — Riviera — Lady Cassandra Eltham — 10 episodes • 2020 — Out of Her Mind — Carol — Series regular; 6 episodes • 2021 — The Long Call — Dorothy Venn — Main role; 4 episodes • Death in Paradise — Natasha Carlton — Christmas Special • 2022 — The Man Who Fell to Earth — Sister Mary Lou Prescott — Episodes: "Under Pressure", "The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell" • 2022–2025 — Professor T. — Dr. Helena Goldberg — Recurring role; 15 episodes • 2023 — Secret Invasion — Elizabeth Hill — Mini-series; episode: "Promises" • Wolf — Matilda Anchor-Ferrers — 6 episodes • 2025 — A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story — Charity Taylor — Mini-series; 4 episodes • King & Conqueror — Lady Emma — 4 episodes • The Deal — Cindy Cohen — 6 episodes

In addition to her acting work, Stevenson has provided voice-overs for numerous film and TV documentaries, including: • Horizon (6 episodes; 1988–2005) • Greek Fire (9 episodes; 1990–1991) • Equinox (1 episode; 1992) • The World of Eric Carle (1 episode; 1993) • Network First (1 episode; 1994) • Paris Was a Woman (film, 1996) • Anglia at Peace (4 episodes; 1996) • Evita, una tumba sin paz (film, 1997) • An Awfully Big Adventure (1 episode; 1998) • B.P. Confidential! (TV film, 1998) • Secret History (2 episodes; 1999, 2000) • Hidden Love (1 episode; 2000) • Animated Tales of the World (1 episode; 2000) • The Real... (2 episodes; 2000, 2002) • The Great Sperm Race (TV film, 2003) • The Hunt for the Camden Ripper (TV film, 2004) • Why Intelligence Fails (mini-series; 2004) • John Wyndham: The Invisible Man of Science Fiction (TV film, 2005) • Israel and the Arabs: Elusive Peace (3 episodes; 2005) • Cutting Edge (2 episodes; 2005, 2006) • In Search of Mozart (film, 2006) • Dispatches (1 episode; 2007) • London Calling: Inside BBC World Service (3 episodes; 2007) • I Can't Believe I'm Telling You This (TV film, 2008) • Arena (1 episode; 2008) • In Search of Beethoven (film, 2009) • True Stories (1 episode; 2011) • In Search of Haydn (film, 2012) • Russia's Open Book: Writing in the Age of Putin (film, 2013) • Natural World (5 episodes; 2013–2016) • In Search of Chopin (film, 2014) • Pakistan's Hidden Shame (film, 2014) • Invictus Games (TV series, 2014) • 60 Years of Carols from King's (TV Special, 2014) • 1066: A Year to Conquer England (3 episodes; 2017) • Russia 1917: Countdown to Revolution (TV film, 2017) • Queens of Mystery (12 episodes; 2019–2021) • Wander (short film, 2020) • Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius (3 episodes; 2023) • Mozart: Rise of a Genius (3 episodes; 2024) • Jane Austen: Rise of a Genius (3 episodes; 2025)

• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1978 — The — Spirit — Royal Shakespeare Company • Antony and Cleopatra — Iras / Octavia — Royal Shakespeare Company • Measure for Measure — Whore / Nun — Royal Shakespeare Company • The — Caroline Thompson • ' — Aphrodite / Artemis • Lovers and Kings • The — Widow / Curtis • The — Yeliena • ' — Miss Chasen • 1980 — Henry IV — Lady Percy — Royal Shakespeare Company • 1981 — A — Hippolyta / Titania • The — Susan — Royal Shakespeare Company • Money — Clara Douglas • 1983 — Other Worlds — Emma / Betsy — Royal Court Theatre, London • 1984 — Measure for Measure — Isabella — Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford Theatre • Breaking the Silence — Polya — Royal Shakespeare Company, The Pit Theatre, London • 1985 — Troilus and Cressida — Cressida — Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford Theatre • As You Like It — Rosalind — Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford Theatre • 1986 — Les Liaisons dangereuses — Madame de Tourvel — Royal Shakespeare Company, The Pit Theatre • 1987 — Yerma — Yerma — National Theatre, London • 1988–1990 — The — Kyllene — Theatre of Delphi/National Theatre, London • 1989 — Hedda Gabler — Hedda — National Theatre, London • ' — Fanny — Sadler's Wells Theatre, London • 1990 — Burn This — Anna — Hampstead Theatre, London • 1991–1992 — ' — Paulina — Theatre Upstairs, Duke of York Theatre, London • 1993 — Scenes from an Execution — Galactia — Mark Taper Forum, Los Angeles • 1995 — The — Greenwich Theatre/Wyndham's Theatre, London • 1997 — The — Royal National Theatre, London • 1999 — Private Lives — Amanda — The National Theatre • 2000 — The — Royal Court Theatre • 2003 — A — Desirée Armfeldt — New York City Opera • 2004 — ' — Gielgud Theatre, London • 2005 — The — Royal Court Theatre • 2006 — The — Irina Arkadina — The National Theatre • 2009 — Duet for One — Stephanie Anderson — London • 2011 — The — Dr Diane Cassell — Royal Court Theatre • 2014–2015 — ' — Winnie — Young Vic • 2016–2018 — ' — Mary Stuart / Elizabeth I — Almeida Theatre & Duke of York's Theatre • 2017 — ' — Gertrude — Almeida Theatre & Harold Pinter Theatre • 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023 — The — Professor Ruth Wolff — Almeida Theatre Adelaide Festival UK Tour & Duke of York's Theatre Park Avenue Armory, New York

• Year — Award — Category — Work — Result • 1993 — British Academy Television Award — Actress — A Doll's House • 1996 — British Academy Television Award — Actress — The Politician's Wife • 2011 — British Academy Television Award — Leading Actress — Accused • 2019 — Primetime Emmy Award — Outstanding Narrator — Queens of Mystery (Episode: "Murder in the Dark: First Chapter")

• Year — Award — Category — Nominated work — Result • 1983 — Critics' Circle Theatre Award — Best Actress — Measure for Measure • 1984 — Laurence Olivier Award — Actress of the Year in a Revival • 1986 — Laurence Olivier Award — Best Actress — As You Like It, Les Liaisons Dangereuses and Troilus and Cressida • 1987 — Laurence Olivier Award — Yerma • 1992 — Laurence Olivier Award — Death and the Maiden • 2009 — Evening Standard Theatre Award — Best Actress — Duet for One • 2010 — Laurence Olivier Award — Best Actress • 2019 — Evening Standard Theatre Award — Best Actress — The Doctor • Critics' Circle Theatre Award — Best Actress • 2020 — Laurence Olivier Award — Best Actress • 2024 — Drama Desk Award — Lead Performance in a Play

• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1988 — Drowning by Numbers — Cissie Colpitts 2 • 1990 — Ladder of Swords — Alice Howard • The — Clare Fitzgerald • Truly, Madly, Deeply — Nina • 1993 — The — Fräulein Bürstner • The — Isobel Coleridge • 1996 — ' — Augusta Hawkins Elton • 2001 — Play — Second Woman — Short film • Christmas Carol: The Movie — Mrs. Cratchit / Mother Gimlet (voice) • The — Gwenyth Moore • 2002 — ' — Pamela Porterfield • Bend It Like Beckham — Paula Paxton • ' — Mrs. Squeers • 2003 — Mona Lisa Smile — Amanda Armstrong • 2004 — Being Julia — Evie • 2005 — Pierrepoint: The Last Hangman — Anne Fletcher • ' — Sofia Warburton • 2006 — ' — Diana Vreeland • ' — Rosemary McCloud • 2007 — And When Did You Last See Your Father? — Kim Morrison • 2008 — A Previous Engagement — Julia Reynolds • The — Miss Heliotrope • 2009 — Quietus — Jayne — Short film • ' — Lucinda • ' — Amy — aka: Shell Shock • 2013 — ' — Sonia • Penelope — Penny — Short film • 2014 — The — Mother Teresa • The — Laura Burrell — Short film • Mayday — May — Short film • 2015 — Departure — Beatrice • 2016 — Love Is Thicker Than Water — Ethel • Let Me Go — Helga • 2018 — London Unplugged — Jayne • 2019 — Four — The Dowager — Short film • 2022 — Walls Like Windows — Maggie — Short film • Ceres — Ceres — Short film • 2024 — Reawakening — Mary • Rhoda — Rhoda — Short film • 2026 — A Talent for Murder — Peggy — Post-production • 2027 — Elsinore — Filming • Black Palace — Post-production

• Year — Award — Category — Work — Result • 1992 — British Academy Film Award — Best Actress in a Leading Role — Truly, Madly, Deeply