Brenda Blethyn

Brenda Blethyn

Known for Acting · 98 credits

Born
1946-02-20 (age 80)
Place of birth
Ramsgate, Kent, England, UK

Biography

Brenda Anne Blethyn is an English actress who has worked in theatre, television, and film. Blethyn has received two Academy Award nominations, two SAG Award nominations, two Emmy Award nominations and three Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one. In addition, she has won a BAFTA, an Empire Award and a Golden Lion, and has earned a Theater World Award and both a Critics' Circle Theatre Award and a Laurence Olivier Award nomination for her theatrical work.

Born into a working class home in Ramsgate, Kent, Blethyn pursued an administrative career until her early 30s before enrolling in the Guildford School of Acting after the dissolution of her marriage in 1973. She subsequently joined the Royal National Theatre and received credits for her performances in Troilus and Cressida (1976) and Mysteries (1979). In 1981, Blethyn earned her first critical acclaim for Steaming.

In 1980, Blethyn made her television debut in Mike Leigh's film Grown-Ups; then, after a modest number of guest spots in several productions, in the mid-1980s she garnered leading roles in the short-living sitcoms Chance in a Million and The Labours of Erica. Having followed her big screen debut with smaller supporting roles in films such as The Witches (1990) and A River Runs Through It (1992), she made her real cinema breakthrough with her role in the 1996 dramedy Secrets & Lies, for which she received rave reviews.

Blethyn has since appeared in an eclectic range of films, including independent comedies such as Saving Grace (2000), Plots with a View (2002) and Clubland (2007), music-themed films like Little Voice (1998) and Beyond the Sea (2004) and big-budget dramas such as Pride & Prejudice (2005) and Atonement (2007). In addition, Blethyn has appeared in television productions including The Buddha of Suburbia (1993), Anne Frank: The Whole Story (2001), Belonging (2004) and War and Peace (2007). Her most recent leading role in TV drama is the title role in Vera (2011), playing Detective Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope.

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Known For

TV Shows (36)

Movies (62)

Pride & Prejudice
Movie

Pride & Prejudice

2005

as Mrs. Bennet

Atonement
Movie

Atonement

2007

as Grace Turner

A River Runs Through It
Movie

A River Runs Through It

1992

as Mrs. Maclean

Pooh's Heffalump Movie
Movie

Pooh's Heffalump Movie

2005

as Mama Heffalump (voice)

The Sleeping Dictionary
Movie

The Sleeping Dictionary

2003

as Aggie

The Witches
Movie

The Witches

1990

as Mrs Jenkins

Lovely & Amazing
Movie

Lovely & Amazing

2002

as Jane Marks

The Wild Thornberrys Movie
Movie

The Wild Thornberrys Movie

2002

as Mrs. Fairgood (voice)

Secrets & Lies
Movie

Secrets & Lies

1996

as Cynthia Rose Purley

Saving Grace
Movie

Saving Grace

2000

as Grace Trevethyn

Piccadilly Jim
Movie

Piccadilly Jim

2004

as Nesta Pett

Dragonfly
Movie

Dragonfly

2025

as Elsie

Music from Another Room
Movie

Music from Another Room

1998

as Grace Swan

RKO 281
Movie

RKO 281

1999

as Louella Parsons

Undertaking Betty
Movie

Undertaking Betty

2002

as Betty Rhys-Jones

Little Voice
Movie

Little Voice

1998

as Mari Hoff

Sonny
Movie

Sonny

2002

as Jewel

Beyond the Sea
Movie

Beyond the Sea

2004

as Polly Cassotto

Daddy and Them
Movie

Daddy and Them

2001

as Julia Montgomery

Ethel & Ernest
Movie

Ethel & Ernest

2016

as Ethel Briggs (voice)

Pumpkin
Movie

Pumpkin

2002

as Judy Romanoff

Two Men in Town
Movie

Two Men in Town

2014

as Emily Smith

London River
Movie

London River

2009

as Elisabeth

Blizzard
Movie

Blizzard

2003

as Aunt Millie

Tigger & Pooh and a Musical Too
Movie

Tigger & Pooh and a Musical Too

2009

as Mama Heffalump (voice)

Charlotte
Movie

Charlotte

2022

as Grossmama (voice)

Dead Man Running
Movie

Dead Man Running

2009

as Mother

King Lear
Movie

King Lear

1982

as Cordelia

My Angel
Movie

My Angel

2011

as Headmistress

Mary and Martha
Movie

Mary and Martha

2013

as Martha

Girls' Night
Movie

Girls' Night

1998

as Dawn Wilkinson

Belonging
Movie

Belonging

2004

as Jess Copplestone

Fools
Movie

Fools

On a Clear Day
Movie

On a Clear Day

2005

as Joan

The Yellow Bird
Movie

The Yellow Bird

2002

as Mrs. Louise Tutwiler

Remember Me?
Movie

Remember Me?

1997

as Shirley

On the Nose
Movie

On the Nose

2001

as Mrs. Delaney

Inside the Golden Statue
Movie

Inside the Golden Statue

1998

as Self

Bob the Builder: The Knights of Can-A-Lot
Movie

Bob the Builder: The Knights of Can-A-Lot

2003

as Dr. Florence Mountfitchet (voice)

The Many Faces of... Michael Caine
Movie

The Many Faces of... Michael Caine

2011

Henry VI Part 1
Movie

Henry VI Part 1

1983

as Joan La Pucelle

Raymond Briggs: Snowmen, Bogeymen and Milkmen
Movie

Raymond Briggs: Snowmen, Bogeymen and Milkmen

2018

as Narrator

Strawberry Fields Forever
Movie

Strawberry Fields Forever

as Grannie Nellie

Night Train
Movie

Night Train

1998

as Alice Mooney

Bedroom Farce
Movie

Bedroom Farce

1980

as Kate

My Friends Tigger & Pooh: Super Duper Super Sleuths
Movie

My Friends Tigger & Pooh: Super Duper Super Sleuths

2010

as Mama Heffalump (voice)

Mysterious Creatures
Movie

Mysterious Creatures

2006

as Wendy Ainscow

Clubland
Movie

Clubland

2007

as Jean

The Imitation Game
Movie

The Imitation Game

1980

The Calling
Movie

The Calling

2010

as Sister Ignatious

Mike Leigh: Making Plays
Movie

Mike Leigh: Making Plays

1982

as Self

A Way of Life
Movie

A Way of Life

2004

as Annette

Grown-Ups
Movie

Grown-Ups

1980

as Gloria

In the Winter Dark
Movie

In the Winter Dark

1998

as Ida Stubbs

Floating Off
Movie

Floating Off

1983

as Janice

Claws
Movie

Claws

1987

as Sylvia

Say No to Strangers
Movie

Say No to Strangers

1981

as Policewoman

The Bullion Boys
Movie

The Bullion Boys

1993

as Gwen

The Shawl
Movie

The Shawl

1989

as Miss A

The Storyteller: A Story Short
Movie

The Storyteller: A Story Short

1988

as The Storyteller's Wife

King of the Teds
Movie

King of the Teds

as Nina

Vera, Farewell Pet
Movie

Vera, Farewell Pet

2025

as Herself / Vera

About Brenda Blethyn

Brenda Anne Blethyn is an English actress who has worked in theatre, television, and film. Blethyn has received two Academy Award nominations, two SAG Award nominations, two Emmy Award nominations and three Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one. In addition, she has won a BAFTA, an Empire Award and a Golden Lion, and has earned a Theater World Award and both a Critics' Circle Theatre Award and a Laurence Olivier Award nomination for her theatrical work. Born into a working class home in Ramsgate, Kent, Blethyn pursued an administrative c… With 98 credits spanning from 1944 to 2026, Brenda Blethyn has appeared in 62 films and 36 TV shows.

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