Julia Mary Walters was born on 22 February 1950 at St Chad's Hospital inEdgbaston,Birmingham, England,[2][3] the daughter of Mary Bridget (née O'Brien), an Irish Catholic postal clerk fromCounty Mayo, and Thomas Walters, an English builder and decorator. According to the BBC genealogy seriesWho Do You Think You Are?, her maternal ancestors played an active part in the 19th-centuryIrish Land War.[4] Her paternal grandfather Thomas Walters was a veteran of theSecond Boer War, and was killed in action inWorld War I in June 1915 while serving with the 2nd Battalion of theRoyal Warwickshire Regiment; he is commemorated at theLe Touret Memorial in France.[5] Walters and her family lived at 69 Bishopton Road in theBearwood area ofSmethwick.[6][7][8] The youngest of five children and the third to survive birth,[9] Walters had an early education atSt Paul's School for Girls in Edgbaston and later atHolly Lodge Grammar School for Girls in Smethwick. She said in 2014 that it was "heaven when [she] went to an ordinary grammar school", although she was asked to leave at the end of herlower sixth because of her "high jinks".[10]
Walters later told interviewer Alison Oddey about her early schooling, "I was never going to be academic, so [my mother] suggested that I try teaching or nursing. [...] I'd been asked to leave school, so I thought I'd better do it."[11] Her first job was in insurance at the age of 15.[12] At the age of 18, she trained as a student nurse at theQueen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham; she worked on the ophthalmic, casualty, and coronary care wards during the 18 months she spent there.[13] She decided to leave nursing and went on to study acting at the newly established Manchester Polytechnic School of Theatre (nowManchester School of Theatre). She worked for theEveryman Theatre Company inLiverpool in the mid-1970s, alongside several other notable performers and writers such asBill Nighy,Pete Postlethwaite,Jonathan Pryce,Willy Russell, andAlan Bleasdale.[14]
Walters first received notice as the occasional partner of comedianVictoria Wood, whom she had originally met in 1971 when Wood auditioned at the School of Theatre in Manchester. The two first worked together in the 1978 theatre revueIn at the Death, followed by the television adaptation of Wood's playTalent.
In 1993, Walters starred in the television filmWide-Eyed and Legless (known asThe Wedding Gift outside the UK) alongsideJim Broadbent andThora Hird. The film was based on the book by the authorDeric Longden and tells the story of the final years of his marriage to his wife, Diana, who contracted a degenerative illness that medical officials were unable to understand at the time, though now believed to be a form ofchronic fatigue syndrome or myalgic encephalomyelitis.
In 1998, she starred as the Fairy Godmother in the ITV pantomimeJack and the Beanstalk.[20] From 1998 until 2000, she played Petula Gordeno inVictoria Wood's BBC sitcomdinnerladies. In the late 1990s, she featured in a series of adverts forBisto gravy.
In 2003, Walters starred as a widow (Annie Clark) determined to make some good come out of her husband's death from cancer inCalendar Girls, which starredHelen Mirren. In 2005, she again starred as an inspirational real-life figure,Marie Stubbs in theITV1 dramaAhead of the Class. In 2006, she came fourth in ITV's poll of thepublic's 50 Greatest Stars, coming four places above frequent co-starVictoria Wood.[23] In 2006, she starred in the filmDriving Lessons alongsideRupert Grint (who played her son Ron inHarry Potter), and had a leading role in theBBC's adaptation ofPhilip Pullman's novelThe Ruby in the Smoke.
In summer 2006, Walters published her first novel,Maggie's Tree.[24] The novel, concerning a group of English actors in Manhattan and published byWeidenfeld & Nicolson, was described as "a disturbing and thought-provoking novel about mental torment and the often blackly comic, mixed-up ways we view ourselves and misread each other.".[25] Another reviewer, Susan Jeffreys, inThe Independent, described the novel as "the work of a writer who knows what she's doing. There's nothing tentative about the writing, and Walters brings her experiences as an actress to bear on the page. ... you do have the sensation of entering someone else's mind and of looking through someone else's eyes."[26] Walters starred inAsda's Christmas 2007 television advertising campaign. She also appeared alongsidePatrick Stewart in UK Nintendo DS Brain Training television advertisements, and in a series ofpublic information films aboutsmoke alarms. In June 2008, Walters appeared in the film version ofMamma Mia!, playing Rosie Mulligan, marking her second high-profile musical, afterAcorn Antiques: The Musical!. The same year, she released her autobiography, titledThat's Another Story.[27]
In 2007, Walters starred as the mother of authorJane Austen (played byAnne Hathaway) inBecoming Jane.[16] Walters playedMary Whitehouse in the BBC DramaFilth: The Mary Whitehouse Story (2008), an adaptation of the real-life story of Mrs. Whitehouse who campaigned for "taste and decency on television". Walters commented, "I am very excited to be playing Mary Whitehouse, and to be looking at the time when she attacked the BBC and started to make her name."[28]Filth won Best Motion Picture Made for Television, and Walters was nominated for Best Actress in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made For Television, at the 2008 13th Annual Satellite Awards.[29]
In 2009, she received a star in theBirmingham Walk of Stars on Birmingham's Golden Mile,Broad Street. She said: "I am very honoured and happy that the people of Birmingham and the West Midlands want to include me in their Walk of Stars and I look forward to receiving my star. Birmingham and the West Midlands is where I'm from; these are my roots and in essence it has played a big part in making me the person I am today".[30] Her other awards include an International Emmy with forA Short Stay in Switzerland.
Walters played the late MP andSecretary of State for Northern IrelandMo Mowlam in the dramaMo forChannel 4 broadcast in early 2010. She had misgivings about taking on the role because of the differences in their physical appearance,[31] but the result was highly praised by critics.[32][33]
In July 2012, Walters appeared in theBBC Two productionThe Hollow Crown as Mistress Quickly in Shakespeare'sHenry IV, Parts I and II.[34] In the summer of 2012, she voiced the Witch in Pixar'sBrave (2012). In 2012, she worked withLV= to promote one of their life insurance products targeted at people over 50. Walters was seen in television advertisements, at the lv.com website and in other marketing material helping to raise awareness for life insurance.[35]
In 2014, Walters portrayed Mrs. Bird, the Browns' housekeeper, in the critically acclaimedPaddington (2014).[38] Walters reprised her role for the sequel,Paddington 2 (2017), which has also received universal acclaim.[39][40] Upon the 2014 release ofPaddington, Walters designed a "Primrose"-themedPaddington Bear statue, which was located inPrimrose Hill (one of 50 placed around London), with the statues auctioned to raise funds for theNational Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC).[41]
Walters voiced the Lexi Decoder (LEXI) for Channel 4 during the 2016 Paralympic Games. The graphical system aims to aid the viewing experience of the games by debunking the often confusing classifications that govern Paralympic sport.[42] Set in London during the depression, Walters played Ellen, Michael's and Jane's long-time housekeeper, inMary Poppins Returns (2018).[43]
In 2020 Walters starred withColin Firth inThe Secret Garden (2020).[44] Also in 2020, Walters featured as the narrator for ITV documentaryFor the Love of Britain.[45]
On 25 December 2021 Channel 4 airedThe Abominable Snow Baby, in which Walters appeared as Granny, providing her voice for the animated television short film.[46][47]
In May 2022, Walters narrated the BBC documentaryThe Queen: 70 Glorious Years, which took a look atthe Queen's life in her seventieth year on the British throne.[48] In March 2023, however, she pulled out of filmingTruelove due to "ill health", according toThe Times,[49] and her role was taken over byLindsay Duncan.[50][51]
Walters' relationship with Grant Roffey, a patrol man for theAA, began in 1985 after a chance meeting in a Fulham pub, where Roffey told her that he votedLabour.[52] He was invited to repair Walters' washing machine, a whirlwind romance ensued and the couple became parents to their only child, a daughter, whom they named Maisie Mae Roffey (born 26 April 1988). The couple delayed marriage until they visitedNew York City in 1997. The family live on an organic farm operated by Roffey nearPlaistow, West Sussex.[53]
Walters was diagnosed withstage IIIbowel cancer in 2018. Having had surgery andchemotherapy, she entered remission. This meant that she had to be cut from certain scenes inThe Secret Garden and also had to miss the premiere ofMamma Mia! Here We Go Again.[57] Walters did not announce her illness to the public until February 2020, when she said in an interview withVictoria Derbyshire that she would be taking a step back from acting, particularly from large and demanding film roles. Later that year, however, she stated that she would make an exception for roles that she was 'really engaged' with, includingMamma Mia 3!, which was in development as of 2021.[58][59][60]
In May 2022, it was announced that Walters would star inTruelove, an upcoming drama series from Channel 4.[61] In March 2023, Walters announced she had withdrawn from the role, due to ill health. She was replaced in the show byLindsay Duncan.[62]
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