Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton, OBE, (born 9 January 1956) is an English actress best known for her performances in the British comedy television series Up the Garden Path and the films Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Vera Drake. For the latter, she drew widespread critical acclaim as Vera Drake, earning a number of awards including the BAFTA and Venice Film Festival Awards for best actress in a leading role.
Staunton was...
more
Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton, OBE, (born 9 January 1956) is an English actress best known for her performances in the British comedy television series Up the Garden Path and the films Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Vera Drake. For the latter, she drew widespread critical acclaim as Vera Drake, earning a number of awards including the BAFTA and Venice Film Festival Awards for best actress in a leading role.
Staunton was born in Archway, North London, the daughter of Bridie (née McNicholas), a hairdresser, and Joseph Staunton, a road-worker and labourer. Both of her parents are first-generation Catholic immigrants from County Mayo, Ireland, with her father coming from Ballyvary and her mother from Bohola. She attended La Sainte Union Convent School, an all-girls Catholic school on the edge of Hampstead Heath, from years 7 to 11. She the went on to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.
Staunton trained for the stage at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art,...
less
