Geraldine James
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- July 6, 1950 (age 76)
- Birthplace
- Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, UK
Biography
Geraldine James, OBE (born 6 July 1950), is an English film, television, and stage actress. Born in Maidenhead, Berkshire, she trained at the Drama Centre London and began her professional acting career in the 1970s. She gained recognition for her performances in the television drama Dummy (1977) and the miniseries The Jewel in the Crown (1984). Her performance alongside Peggy Ashcroft in She’s Been Away (1989) earned her the Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival. Her film credits include Gandhi (1982), Calendar Girls (2003), 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). She portrayed Mrs. Hudson in Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes films and Queen Mary in Downton Abbey (2019) and Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022). James is also known for her television roles in Band of Gold (1995), Utopia (2013-2014), Anne with an E (2017-2019), and Silo (2023). Her portrayal of Marilla Cuthbert in Anne with an E brought her widespread international recognition. Throughout her career, she has received four BAFTA Television Award nominations and has performed extensively in theater, including a Broadway production of The Merchant of Venice opposite Dustin Hoffman. She was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2003 for her services to drama.
Known For
Photos
Filmography
Now & Then
Movie · as Laura
A Visit to Grandpa’s
Movie
The Cage
TV · as Nancy Packer · 5 eps
Run Away
TV · as Mother Adiona · 3 eps
Tank Boy
Movie
Creditors
Movie · as Tekla
Dope Girls
TV · as Isabella Salucci · 6 eps
This Town
TV · as Marie · 1 ep
The Trap
Movie
Eiffel Tower: Building the Impossible
Movie · as Self - Narrator (voice)
Silo
TV · as Mayor Ruth Jahns · 3 eps
Benediction
Movie · as Theresa Thornycroft
The Beast Must Die
TV · as Joy · 5 eps
A Very Royal Christmas: Sandringham Secrets
Movie · as Self - Narrator (voice)
Downton Abbey
Movie · as Queen Mary
Back to Life
TV · as Caroline Matteson · 12 eps
Beast
Movie · as Hilary Huntington
Megan Leavey
Movie · as Dr. Turbeville
Daphne
Movie · as Rita
Anne with an E
TV · as Marilla Cuthbert · 27 eps
Alice Through the Looking Glass
Movie · as Lady Ascot
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Movie · as Blue Three
The Five
TV · as Julie Wells · 10 eps
Robot Overlords
Movie · as Monique
45 Years
Movie · as Lena
Black Work
TV · as CC Carolyn Jarecki · 3 eps
Hidden India
TV · as Herself - Narrator · 3 eps
Richard Attenborough: A Life in Film
Movie · as Self
Uncle
TV · as Jane · 1 ep
Diana
Movie · as Oonagh Shanley-Toffolo
Dr. Easy
Movie · as Voice of Dr. Easy
Legacy
Movie · as Martha
The Genius of Marie Curie: The Woman Who Lit up the World
Movie · as Maria Skłodowska-Curie's letters read by
Utopia
TV · as Milner · 8 eps
The Farmer's Wife
Movie · as The Farmer's Wife
13 Steps Down
Movie · as Gwendolen Chawcer
13 Steps Down
TV · as Gwendolen Chawcer · 2 eps
Playhouse Presents
TV · as Liz / Lydia · 1 ep
Arthur
Movie · as Vivienne
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Movie · as Cecilia Vanger
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
Movie · as Mrs. Hudson
Planet of the Apemen: Battle for Earth
TV · as Narrator · 2 eps
Celebrity Antiques Road Trip
TV · as Self - Participant · 1 ep
Made in Dagenham
Movie · as Connie
Alice in Wonderland
Movie · as Lady Ascot
The Michael Ball Show
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Drama Trails
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Sherlock Holmes
Movie · as Mrs. Hudson
Heist
Movie · as Joanna the Concubine
Caught in a Trap
Movie · as Joyce Perkins
The Last Enemy
TV · as Barbara Turney · 5 eps
Little Britain USA
TV · as Celia · 6 eps
Fairy Tales
TV · as Mrs Brooke · 1 ep
Phoo Action
TV · as Dr Evelyne Conan-Bell · 1 ep
City of Vice
TV · as Nell · 1 ep
The 50 Greatest Television Dramas
Movie · as Self
Northanger Abbey
Movie · as Jane Austen (voice)
Ocean Voyagers
Movie · as Narrator (voice)
The Time of Your Life
Movie · as Eileen
The Time of Your Life
TV · as Eileen · 6 eps
A Harlot's Progress
Movie · as Mother Needham
Agatha Christie Poirot After the Funeral
Movie · as Helen Abernethie
The Amazing Mrs Pritchard
TV · as Hilary Rees-Benson · 6 eps
Jane Hall
TV · as Lorraine Hall · 6 eps
Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire
TV · as Cornelia · 1 ep
The Fever
Movie · as Ranevskaya
Hex
TV · as Lilith Hughes · 3 eps
He Knew He Was Right
TV · as Lady Rowley · 3 eps
Calendar Girls
Movie · as Marie
Hearts of Gold
Movie · as Elizabeth Powell
State of Play
TV · as Yvonne Shaps · 2 eps
Little Britain
TV · as Harvey's Mother · 4 eps
Taliesin Jones
Movie · as Mum
Tom & Thomas
Movie · as Miss Tromp
White Teeth
Movie · as Joyce Malfen
An Angel for May
Movie · as Susan Higgins
The Hound of the Baskervilles
Movie · as Mrs. Mortimer
An Angel For May
TV · as Susan Higgins · 4 eps
Hans Christian Andersen: My Life as a Fairytale
TV · as Hans's Mother · 2 eps
Crime and Punishment
TV · as Pulcheria · 2 eps
White Teeth
TV · as Joyce Malfen · 4 eps
All Forgotten
Movie · as Mother
The Luzhin Defence
Movie · as Vera, Natalia's Mother
The Sins
TV · as Gloria Green · 7 eps
Seesaw
TV · as Val Price · 3 eps
The Man Who Knew Too Little
Movie · as Ludmilla Kropotkin
Rebecca
TV · as Beatrice · 2 eps
Midsomer Murders
TV · as Miranda Bedford · 1 ep
Drovers' Gold
TV · as Ruth Jones · 5 eps
Moll Flanders
Movie · as Edna
Over Here
TV · as Lady Billingham · 2 eps
Band of Gold
TV · as Rose Garrity · 18 eps
Kavanagh Q.C.
TV · as Eleanor Harker QC, Eleanor Harker Q.C. · 4 eps
No Worries
Movie · as Anne O'Dwyer
Doggin' Around
Movie · as Sarah Williams
The Healer
Movie · as Dr. Mercedes Honeysett
Words Upon the Window Pane
Movie · as Mrs. Henderson
Losing Track
Movie · as Mrs. Dewey
A Doll's House
Movie · as Kristine Linde
The Bridge
Movie · as Mrs. Todd
Ex
Movie · as Alice
Prince of Shadows
Movie · as Rebeca Osorio
If Looks Could Kill
Movie · as Vendetta Galante
Performance
TV · as Kristine Linde · 1 ep
Stanley and the Women
TV · as Dr Trish Collings · 4 eps
In Suspicious Circumstances
TV · as Dr Irene Gayus · 1 ep
The Tall Guy
Movie · as Carmen
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase
Movie · as Gertrude Brisket
She's Been Away
Movie · as Harriet Ambrose
Agatha Christie's Poirot
TV · as Helen Abernethie · 1 ep
Screen One
TV · as Alice, Mrs. Dewey, Sarah Williams · 1 ep
Wall of Tyranny
Movie · as Krista Donner
Echoes
TV · as Angela O'Hara · 5 eps
Inspector Morse
TV · as Helen Field · 1 ep
Blott on the Landscape
Movie
Time and the Conways
Movie · as Madge Conway
Blott on the Landscape
TV · as Lady Maud Lynchwood · 6 eps
The Jewel in the Crown
TV · as Sarah Layton · 12 eps
Mr. Attenborough and Mr. Gandhi
Movie · as Self
Natural World
TV · as Self · 2 eps
Gandhi
Movie · as Mirabehn
Chains
Movie · as Janine
I Remember Nelson
TV · as Lady Emma Hamilton · 4 eps
The History Man
TV · as Barbara Kirk · 4 eps
Sweet William
Movie · as Pamela
Bloody Kids
Movie · as Ritchie's Wife
Hesther for Example
Movie · as Hesther
Who's Who
Movie · as Miss Hunt
The Dumb Waiter
Movie · as Sally
Shoestring
TV · as Mary Philips · 1 ep
Love Among the Artists
TV · as Mary Sutherland · 5 eps
General Studies
TV · as Barbara Kirk · 1 ep
An Audience with...
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Dummy
Movie · as Sandra
The Sweeney
TV · as Shirley Glass · 1 ep
Playhouse
TV · as Hesther, Janine · 1 ep
Crown Court
TV · as Julie Gilmour · 3 eps
Play for Today
TV · as Miss Hunt · 1 ep