Geraldine James

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 role as Marilla Cuthbert in the Netflix series Anne with an E (2017–2019) and as Queen Mary in the 2019 film Downton Abbey.

Geraldine James OBE
Born	(1950-07-06) 6 July 1950 (age 75) Maidenhead, Berkshire, England
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1973–present
Spouse	Joseph Blatchley ​ (m. 1986)​

Early life and education

Geraldine James was born in Maidenhead, Berkshire, on 6 July 1950. Her father was a cardiologist.^[1] Her parents divorced.^[2] She failed her 11 plus exam, and was educated at Downe House School in Newbury, Berkshire, where she was known as Gerry Thomas. Embarrassed by her simple surname, James used the grander-sounding double-barrelled name of Vaughan-Thomas while at school.^[3]

She studied drama at the Drama Centre London.^[3]

Career

After graduating from the Drama Centre, James spent three years in repertory theatre and school theatre.^[3]

Her film credits include Gandhi (1982), The Tall Guy (1989), Sherlock Holmes (2009), Alice in Wonderland (2010), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011), and 45 Years (2015).^{[citation needed]}

On television, Geraldine James played Sarah Layton in The Jewel in the Crown (1984), Rosemary "Rose" Garrity in Band of Gold (1995) and Gloria Green in The Sins (2000). She is also known as Mrs. Pincher, the breastfeeding mother in Little Britain (2004).

From 2017 to 2019, she starred in the Netflix series Anne with an E as Marilla Cuthbert, and in the 2019 film Downton Abbey as Queen Mary.^{[citation needed]}

In 2020 James voiced the spoken words on the track "All the Works of Nature Which Adorn the World" ("Vista", "Ad Astra") on the album Human. :II: Nature. by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish.^[4]

Awards and recognition

James was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2004.^[3]

Theatre director Peter Hall said that James ranks amongst the great English classical actresses.^[5]

Year	Nominated work	Award	Category	Result	Refs
1977	Dummy	BAFTA TV Award	Best Actress	Nominated	[6]
1984	The Jewel in the Crown	BAFTA TV Award	Best Actress	Nominated
1989	She's Been Away	Venice Film Festival	Volpi Cup for Best Actress	Won	[7][8]
1990	The Merchant of Venice	Drama Desk Award	Outstanding Actress in a Play	Won
1990	The Merchant of Venice	Tony Award	Best Actress in a Play	Nominated
1995	Band of Gold	BAFTA TV Award	Best Actress	Nominated
2000	The Sins	BAFTA TV Award	Best Actress	Nominated
2017	Anne with an E	Canadian Screen Awards	Best Supporting Actress, Drama	Nominated
2018				Won	[9]

Personal life

James is married to actor and director Joseph Blatchley. They have a daughter.^[2]

Selected stage roles

• Portia, opposite Dustin Hoffman in the London and Broadway productions of The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare^[10][11]
• Hedda Gabler at the Royal Exchange, Manchester in 1993
• Rosalind, in As You Like It, at the RSC, Stratford-upon-Avon, in 2023

Radio

Date	Title	Role	Director	Station
21 February 2000 – 3 March 2000	The Hours		Gaynor Macfarlane	BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour Drama
21 March 2003	Baldi: The Book Case	Maggie	Mark Lambert	BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play
19 April 2003	Turtle Diary	Neaera	Gaynor Macfarlane	BBC Radio 4 Saturday Play
2005	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)^[12] as Mary of Teck
• Benediction (2021)

Television

• The Sweeney: Pay Off (1976) as Shirley Glass
• Dummy (1977) as Sandra X
• Shoestring (1979) Nine tenths of the law.
• The History Man (1981) as Barbara Kirk
• I Remember Nelson (1982) as Emma Hamilton
• The Jewel in the Crown (1984) as Sarah Layton
• Blott on the Landscape (1985) as Lady Maud Lynchwood
• Echoes (1988) as Angela O'Hara
• Inspector Morse: Who Killed Harry Field (1991) as Helen Field
• A Doll's House (1992) as Kristine Linde
• Band of Gold (1995–1997) as Rose Garrety
• Kavanagh QC (1995–1999) as Eleanor Harker QC
• Rebecca (1997) as Beatrice
• Little Britain as Mother of Harvey Pincher (cameo)
• The Sins (2000) as Gloria Green
• State of Play (2003) as Yvonne Shaps
• Hex (2004) as Lilith Hughes
• He Knew He Was Right (2004) as Lady Rowley
• Agatha Christie's Poirot – After the Funeral, (2005) as Helen Abernethie
• The Amazing Mrs Pritchard (2006) as Hilary Rees-Benson
• A Harlot's Progress (2006)
• Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire (2006) as Cornelia
• The Last Enemy (2008) as Barbara Turney
• Heist (2008) as Joanna
• Midsomer Murders (2010) Series 13, episode 8, "Fit for Murder" as Miranda Bedford
• Thirteen Steps Down (2012) as Gwendolyn
• Utopia (2013) as Milner
• Black Work (2015) as Chief Constable Carolyn Jarecki
• The Five (2016) as Julia Wells
• Anne with an E (2017–2019) as Marilla Cuthbert (adaptation of Anne of Green Gables)
• Back to Life (2019-2021) as Caroline Matteson
• The Beast Must Die (2021) as Joy
• Silo (2023) as Mayor Ruth Jahns
• This Town (2024) as Marie^[13]
• Dope Girls (TBA)^[14]