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Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

86

Gender

Female

Birthday

1946-06-03 (79 years old)

Place of Birth

Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England, UK

Also Known As

Penelope Alice Wilton

Penelope Winton

Пенелопа Уилтон

페네로프 윌튼

Penelope Wilton

Biography

Dame Penelope Alice Wilton DBE(born 3 June 1946) is an English actress. She was formerly married to fellow actor Sir Ian Holm, and as she has not remarried, she retains her married style of Lady Holm. Wilton is known for starring opposite Richard Briers in the BBC sitcom Ever Decreasing Circles (1984–1989), playing Homily in The Borrowers (1992) and The Return of the Borrowers(1993), and for her role as the widowed Isobel Crawley in the ITV drama Downton Abbey (2010–2015). She also played the recurring role of Harriet Jones in Doctor Who (2005–2008) and Anne in Ricky Gervais' Netflix dark comedy After Life.  Wilton has had an extensive career on stage, receiving six Olivier Award nominations. She was nominated for Man and Superman (1981), The Secret Rapture (1988), The Deep Blue Sea(1994), John Gabriel Borkman (2008) and The Chalk Garden (2009) before winning the 2015 Olivier Award for Best Actress for Taken at Midnight. Her film appearances include Clockwise (1986), Cry Freedom (1987), Blame It on the Bellboy (1992), Calendar Girls (2003), Shaun of the Dead (2004), Match Point (2005), Pride & Prejudice (2005), The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012), The Girl (2012), The BFG (2016) and The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (2023). Description above from the Wikipedia article Penelope Wilton, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known For

Acting

Shaun of the Dead

2004

Shaun of the Dead

as

Barbara

Clockwise

1986

Clockwise

as

Pat Garden

The History Boys

2006

The History Boys

as

Mrs. Bibby

Iris

2001

Iris

as

Janet Stone

Calendar Girls

2003

Calendar Girls

as

Ruth

Cry Freedom

1987

Cry Freedom

as

Wendy Woods

Blame It on the Bellboy

1992

Blame It on the Bellboy

as

Patricia Fulford

Joseph Andrews

1977

Joseph Andrews

as

Mrs. Wilton

Carrington

1995

Carrington

as

Lady Ottoline Morrell

Laughterhouse

1984

Laughterhouse

as

Alice Singleton

Tom's Midnight Garden

1999

Tom's Midnight Garden

as

Aunt Melbourne

Rockaby

2000

Rockaby

as

Old Woman

The Girl

2012

The Girl

as

Peggy Robertson

Landscape

1995

Landscape

as

Beth

Belle

2013

Belle

as

Lady Mary Murray

Victoria & Albert

2001

Victoria & Albert

as

Princess Mary Louise Victoria

The Secret Rapture

1993

The Secret Rapture

as

Marion French

Match Point

2005

Match Point

as

Eleanor Hewett

The Deep Blue Sea

1994

The Deep Blue Sea

as

Hester Collyer

King Lear

1975

King Lear

as

Regan

Country

1981

Country

as

Virginia Carlion

Falling

2005

Falling

as

Daisy Langrish

Celebration

2007

Celebration

as

Julie

The BFG

2016

The BFG

as

The Queen

Lucky Jim

2003

Lucky Jim

as

Celia Welch

The Whistle-Blower

2001

The Whistle-Blower

as

Heather Graham

Margot

2009

Margot

as

B.Q.

Zoo

2018

Zoo

as

Denise Austin

Summerland

2020

Summerland

as

Older Alice

Eternal Beauty

2020

Eternal Beauty

as

Vivian

Downton Abbey

2019

Downton Abbey

as

Isobel Merton

Othello

1981

Othello

as

Desdemona

King Lear

1982

King Lear

as

Regan

Operation Mincemeat

2022

Operation Mincemeat

as

Hester Leggett

Pride & Prejudice

2005

Pride & Prejudice

as

Mrs. Gardiner

Mrs. Warren's Profession

1972

Mrs. Warren's Profession

as

Vivie Warren

Pasmore

1980

Pasmore

as

Helen

Downton Abbey: A New Era

2022

Downton Abbey: A New Era

as

Isobel Merton

Able's Will

1977

Able's Will

as

Journalist

The Tale of Beatrix Potter

1983

The Tale of Beatrix Potter

as

Beatrix Potter

Five Days

Five Days

as

Barbara Poole

Bob & Rose

Bob & Rose

as

Monica Gossage

Downton Abbey

Downton Abbey

as

Isobel Merton

Doctor Who

Doctor Who

as

Harriet Jones

South Riding

South Riding

as

Mrs Beddows

Talking Heads

Talking Heads

as

Rosemary

Murder Is Easy

Murder Is Easy

as

Miss Pinkerton

Kavanagh Q.C.

Kavanagh Q.C.

as

Barbara Watkins

Arena

Arena

as

Self - Narrator

Wives and Daughters

Wives and Daughters

as

Mrs. Hamley

Dead Hot

Dead Hot

as

Francine

Play for Today

Play for Today

as

Virginia Carlion

Production

Crew

Directing