Frances de la Tour | |
|---|---|
 De la Tour speaking at theBritish Library in 2019 | |
| Born | (1944-07-30)30 July 1944 (age 81) Bovingdon,Hertfordshire, England |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1965–present |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Andy de la Tour (brother) |
Frances J. de Lautour[1] (born 30 July 1944), better known asFrances de la Tour, is a British actress. ATony Award winner and three-timeOlivier Award winner, she is also known for her roles in the television sitcomRising Damp and inHarry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
She performed as Mrs. Lintott in the playThe History Boys in London and onBroadway, winning the 2006Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play. She reprised the role in the2006 film. Her other film roles includeMadame Olympe Maxime inHarry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005). Television roles include Emma Porlock in theDennis Potter serialCold Lazarus (1996), Maud in the miniseriesFlickers, headmistress Margaret Baron in BBC sitcomBig School and Violet Crosby in the sitcomVicious.
De la Tour was born on 30 July 1944 inBovingdon,Hertfordshire, to Moyra (née Fessas) and Charles de la Tour (1909–1982). The name was also spelled de Lautour, and it was in this form that her birth was registered in the third quarter of 1944.[2] She has English, French, Greek, and Irish ancestry.[3] She was educated at London'sLycée Français and theDrama Centre London.[citation needed]
After leaving drama school, she joined theRoyal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in 1965. Over the next six years, she played many small roles with the RSC in a variety of plays, gradually building up to larger parts such as Hoyden inThe Relapse and culminating inPeter Brook's acclaimed production ofA Midsummer Night's Dream, in which she played Helena as a comic "tour de force".[citation needed]
In the 1970s, she worked steadily both on the stage and on television. Some of her notable appearances were Rosalind inAs You Like It at thePlayhouse,Oxford in 1975 and Isabella inThe White Devil at theOld Vic in 1976. She enjoyed a collaboration withStepney'sHalf Moon Theatre, appearing in the London première ofDario Fo'sWe Can't Pay? We Won't Pay (1978),Eleanor Marx'sLandscape of Exile (1979), and in the title role ofHamlet (1980).
In 1980, she played Stephanie, the violinist withmultiple sclerosis inDuet for One, a play written for her by Kempinski, for which she won theOlivier for Best Actress. She played Sonya inUncle Vanya oppositeDonald Sinden at theTheatre Royal, Haymarket in 1982. Her performance as Josie inEugene O'Neill'sA Moon for the Misbegotten won her another Olivier for Best Actress in 1983. She joined theRoyal National Theatre for the title role inSaint Joan in 1984 and appeared there inBrighton Beach Memoirs in 1986. She again won the Olivier, this time for Best Supporting Actress forMartin Sherman's play about Isadora Duncan,When She Danced, withVanessa Redgrave at theGlobe Theatre in 1991 and played Leo inLes Parents terribles at the Royal National Theatre in 1994, earning another Olivier nomination.
In 1994, de la Tour co-starred withMaggie Smith inEdward Albee'sThree Tall Women at the Wyndham's and withAlan Howard in Albee'sThe Play About the Baby at theAlmeida in 1998. In 1999, she returned to the RSC to play Cleopatra oppositeAlan Bates inAntony and Cleopatra, in which she did anude walk across the stage. In 2004, she played Mrs. Lintott inAlan Bennett'sThe History Boys at the National and later onBroadway, winning both aDrama Desk Award and aTony Award forBest Featured Actress in a Play. She would also later appear in the film version. In December 2005, she appeared in the London production of the highly acclaimed anti-Iraq War one-woman playPeace Mom by Dario Fo, based on the writings ofCindy Sheehan. In 2007, she appeared in a West End revival of the farceBoeing-Boeing. In 2009, she appeared inAlan Bennett's new playThe Habit of Art at the National. In 2012, she returned to the National in her third Bennett premiere,People.
Her many television appearances during the 1980s and 1990s include the 1980 miniseriesFlickers oppositeBob Hoskins, the TV version ofDuet for One, for which she received aBAFTA nomination, the seriesA Kind of Living (1988–89),Dennis Potter'sCold Lazarus (1996), andTom Jones (1997). Of all her TV roles, however, she is best known for playingspinster Ruth Jones in the successfulYorkshire Television comedyRising Damp, from 1974 to 1978. De la Tour told Richard Webber, who wrote a 2001 book about the series, that Ruth Jones "was an interesting character to play. We laughed a lot on set, but comedy is a serious business, and Leonard took it particularly seriously, and rightly so. Comedy, which is so much down to timing, is exhausting work. But it was a happy time." Upon reprising herRising Damp role in the1980 film version, she won Best Actress at theEvening Standard British Film Awards.
In the mid-1980s, de la Tour was considered, along withJoanna Lumley andDawn French, as a replacement forColin Baker onDoctor Who.[4] The idea was scrapped and the job was given toSylvester McCoy.
In 2003, de la Tour played a terminally ill gay woman in the filmLove Actually with the actressAnne Reid, although her scenes were cut from the film's theatrical release and appear only on the DVD.[5]
In 2005, she portrayedOlympe Maxime, headmistress of Beauxbatons Academy, inHarry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. In 2010, she reprised Maxime as a cameo inHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. Notable television roles during this time includeAgatha Christie's Poirot: Death on the Nile (2004),Waking the Dead (2004), theblack comedySensitive Skin (2005), with Joanna Lumley andDenis Lawson,Agatha Christie's Marple: The Moving Finger (2006) andNew Tricks as a rather morbid Egyptologist, also in 2006.
She was nominated for the 2006 BAFTA Award for Actress in a Supporting Role for her work on the film version ofThe History Boys.
She later appeared in several well-received films, includingTim Burton's 2010Alice in Wonderland as Aunt Imogene, a delusional aunt of Alice's, oppositeJohnny Depp,Anne Hathaway,Helena Bonham Carter, andMia Wasikowska and a supporting role in the filmThe Book of Eli, directed by theHughes brothers. In 2012, she appeared in the filmHugo.
Until 2012, she was also a patron for the performing arts groupTheatretrain.
From 2013 to 2016, de la Tour played the role of Violet Crosby in ITV sitcomVicious withIan McKellen andDerek Jacobi.
From 2013 to 2014, she portrayed headmistress Ms Baron in theBBC One sitcomBig School.
In April 2016, she joined the second series ofOutlander as Mother Hildegarde.
In 2021, de la Tour appeared in an ITV production, initially released on BritBox -Professor T. - in which she played the mother of the titular character.
She is the sister of actor and screenwriterAndy de la Tour.[6]
An episode of the BBC seriesWho Do You Think You Are?, first broadcast on 22 October 2015, revealed de la Tour to be a descendant of the aristocraticDelaval family.[7]
Politically, de la Tour is asocialist and was a member of theWorkers' Revolutionary Party in the 1970s.[8]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Country Dance | District Nurse | |
| Every Home Should Have One | Maud Crape | ||
| 1972 | Our Miss Fred | Miss Lockhart | |
| 1976 | To the Devil a Daughter | Salvation Army Major | |
| 1977 | Wombling Free | Julia Frogmorton | |
| 1980 | Rising Damp | Miss Ruth Jones | Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actress |
| 1990 | Strike It Rich | Mrs. De Vere | |
| 1999 | The Cherry Orchard | Charlotte Ivanova | |
| 2005 | Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire | Madame Olympe Maxime | |
| 2006 | The History Boys | Dorothy Lintott | Nominated –BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role Nominated –British Independent Film Awards |
| 2010 | The Book of Eli | Martha | |
| Alice in Wonderland | Aunt Imogene | ||
| Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 | Madame Olympe Maxime | Cameo | |
| The Nutcracker in 3D | The Rat Queen/Housekeeper | ||
| 2011 | Hugo | Madame Emile | |
| 2012 | Private Peaceful | Grandma Wolf | |
| 2014 | Into the Woods | The Giantess | |
| 2015 | Mr. Holmes | Madame Schirmer | |
| Survivor | Sally | ||
| The Lady in the Van | Ursula Vaughan Williams | ||
| Miss You Already | Jill | ||
| 2020 | Dolittle | Dragon (voice) | |
| Enola Holmes | The Dowager |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | NBC Experiment in Television | Relief Secretary | Episode: "The Engagement" |
| 1971 | The Marty Feldman Comedy Machine | Various | 2 episodes |
| 1974-1976 | Play for Today | Maria/Marcia | |
| 1974–1978 | Rising Damp | Miss Ruth Jones | |
| 1976 | Crown Court | Anne Schofield | Serial: "Pigmented Patter" |
| 1977 | Maggie: It's Me | Maggie | Pilot |
| 1979 | Leave it to Charlie | Miss Grimshaw | Episode: "...And Harry's Just Wild About Me" |
| 1980 | Flickers | Maud Cole | Miniseries |
| 1982 | ITV Playhouse | Jean | Episode: "Skirmishes" |
| 1983 | The Bounder | Celia | Episode: "Matchmaker" |
| 1984 | Ellis Island | Millie Renfew | 1 episode |
| 1985 | Murder with Mirrors | Miss Bellaver | TV film |
| 1988 | A Kind of Living | Carol Beasley | |
| 1993 | Stay Lucky | Paddy Bysouth | Episode: "One Jump Ahead" |
| 1994 | Downwardly Mobile | Rosemary | |
| 1996 | Cold Lazarus | Emma Porlock | Miniseries |
| 1997 | The History of Tom Jones: A Foundling | Aunt Western | |
| 1998 | Heartbeat | Tessa | Episode: "Bad Penny" |
| 2003 | Born and Bred | Eugenia Maddox | 2 episodes |
| 2004 | Agatha Christie's Poirot | Salome Otterbourne | Episode: "Death on the Nile" |
| Waking the Dead | Alice Taylor-Garrett | Episode: "False Flag" | |
| 2005 | Sensitive Skin | Sarah Thorne | 1 episode |
| 2006 | Agatha Christie's Marple | Mrs. Maud Dane Calthrop | Episode:The Moving Finger |
| New Tricks | Professor Styles | Episode: "Old Dogs" | |
| 3 Ibs | Dr. Haliday | Episode: "The Cutting Edge" | |
| 2013-2014 | Big School | Ms. Baron | |
| 2013-2016 | Vicious | Violet Crosby | |
| 2016 | Outlander | Mother Hildegarde | 4 episodes |
| The Collection | Yvette Sabine | Miniseries | |
| 2017 | Man in an Orange Shirt | Mrs. March | 1 episode |
| The Highway Rat | The Rabbit | Voice | |
| 2018 | Vanity Fair | Lady Matilda Crawley | 3 episodes |
| 2021 | The Prince | Queen Elizabeth II (voice) | Miniseries |
| 2021-present | Professor T. | Adelaide Tempest |
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Olivier Award | Actress of the Year in a New Play | Duet for One | Won |
| 1980 | Evening Standard Film Award | Best Actress | Rising Damp | Won |
| 1983 | Olivier Award | Actress of the Year in a Revival | A Moon for the Misbegotten | Won |
| 1986 | BAFTA TV Award | Best Actress | Duet for One | Nominated |
| 1992 | Olivier Award | Best Supporting Actress | When She Danced | Won |
| 1995 | Olivier Award | Best Actress | Les Parents Terribles | Nominated |
| 2006 | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play | The History Boys | Won |
| 2006 | Tony Award | Best Featured Actress in a Play | The History Boys | Won |
| 2006 | British Independent Film Award | Best Actress | The History Boys | Nominated |
| 2007 | BAFTA Film Award | Best Supporting Actress | The History Boys | Nominated |
| 2014 | BAFTA TV Award | Best Female Comedy Performance | Vicious | Nominated |
