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Harriet Walter | |
|---|---|
 Walter in 2025 | |
| Born | Harriet Mary Walter 1950 (age 74–75)[1] London, England |
| Education | London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (BA) |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1974–present |
| Spouse | |
| Partner | Peter Blythe (1996–2004; his death) |
| Relatives |
|
Dame Harriet Mary Walter (born 1950[1]) is an English actress. She has received anOlivier Award and nominations for aTony Award, fiveEmmy Awards, and aScreen Actors Guild Award. In 2011, Walter was appointedDame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for services to drama.
Walter began her career performing on stage with theRoyal Shakespeare Company in productions ofTwelfth Night (1987–88) andThree Sisters (1988), for which she received theOlivier Award for Best Actress. She received Olivier Award nominations forLife x 3 (2001), andMary Stuart (2006). Her other notable work for the RSC includes leading roles inMacbeth (1999) andAntony and Cleopatra (2006).
She made herBroadway debut in the 1983 revival of theWilliam Shakespeare playAll's Well That Ends Well (1983). She returned to Broadway inMary Stuart for which she was nominated for theTony Award for Best Actress in a Play. She reprised her roles of Brutus inJulius Caesar (2012) and the title role inHenry IV (2014), as well as playingProspero inThe Tempest, as part of an all-female Shakespeare trilogy in 2016.
Walter has acted in the filmsSense and Sensibility (1995),The Governess (1998),Atonement (2007),The Young Victoria (2009),A Royal Affair (2012),Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015),Denial (2016),The Sense of an Ending (2017),Rocketman (2019), andThe Last Duel (2021). On television she starred asHarriet Vane in the1987 BBC Wimsey dramatisations and as Natalie Chandler in theITV drama seriesLaw & Order: UK from 2009 to 2014. She has also acted inDownton Abbey (2013–15),London Spy (2015),The Crown (2016),Patrick Melrose (2018),Killing Eve (2020), andSilo (2023–present). She has earnedPrimetime Emmy Award nominations for her roles inSuccession (2018–2023) andTed Lasso (2020–2023).
Harriet Walter was born inLondon, England in 1950.[2] She is the niece of British actorSir Christopher Lee, being the daughter of his elder sister Xandra Lee and so she has Italian origins.[3] On her father's side, Walter is a great-great-great-great-granddaughter ofJohn Walter, founder ofThe Times.[4][5]
She was educated atCranborne Chase School. After turning down a university education, she was rejected by five drama schools before being admitted to theLondon Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.[2] Following her training, she gained early experience with theJoint Stock Theatre Company,Paines Plough touring, and theDuke's Playhouse,Lancaster.[6]
Walter appeared in theRoyal Shakespeare Company (RSC) productionsNicholas Nickleby (1980),A Midsummer Night's Dream (1981),All's Well That Ends Well (1981),The Castle (1985),A Question of Geography (1988),Twelfth Night (1988),Three Sisters (1988),The Duchess of Malfi (1989),Macbeth (1999),Much Ado about Nothing (2002) andDeath of a Salesman (2015).
In 1987, Walter was made an associate artist of the RSC. Additional theatre work includesThree Birds Alighting on a Field (1991),Arcadia (1993),Hedda Gabler (1996),Ivanov (1997) andMary Stuart (2005).
Walter made herBroadway debut in 1983, when the RSC production ofAll's Well That Ends Well transferred there. In 1993, she starred as Biddy in theoff-Broadway production ofThree Birds Alighting on a Field, for which she received aDrama Desk Award nomination. She returned to the Broadway stage in 2009, when she reprised her role inMary Stuart. In 2014, Walter starred asBrutus in an all-female off-Broadway production ofJulius Caesar and received her second Drama Desk nomination.
Walter's films includeSense and Sensibility (1995),Bedrooms and Hallways (1998),The Governess (1998),Onegin (1999),Villa des Roses (2002) andBright Young Things (2003). In 1987, she portrayedHarriet Vane in three instalments of the BBC'sA Dorothy L. Sayers Mystery, and played Detective Inspector Natalie Chandler from 2009 to 2012 in theITV drama seriesLaw & Order: UK. Other television roles includeWaking the Dead (2001),Little Dorrit (2008),A Short Stay in Switzerland (2009) and Lady Shackleton in four episodes of the seriesDownton Abbey (2013–15).[citation needed]
In 2016, Walter playedClementine Churchill on the Netflix seriesThe Crown, appeared in two episodes in 2017 inCall the Midwife and had a recurring role on the HBO seriesSuccession (2018–23). In 2020, Walter joined the seriesKilling Eve.[7][8]
Walter played Brutus inJulius Caesar in 2012, and the title role inHenry IV in 2014, in all-female productions at theDonmar Warehouse. Both productions transferred to Brooklyn'sSt. Ann's Warehouse in New York. She was set to reprise both roles, as well as playingProspero in an all-female production ofThe Tempest, as part of directorPhyllida Lloyd's Shakespeare trilogy at the Donmar's temporary,in-the-round, 420-seat theatre next to King's Cross station in 2016.
On 14 January 2025 Walter announced that filming was underway for Paramount+ seriesPlaying Gracie Darling, in the role of Pattie.[9]
Walter was in a relationship with actorPeter Blythe from 1996 until his death in 2004.[10] She married actor Guy Paul in 2011.[11]
At the age of 20, Walter became a feminist and went "into political theatre; to try and put as much feminism into the interpretation of parts I was playing".[12] She was conflicted on herdamehood and nearly turned it down,[13] but eventually decided to accept because "there are many fewer women [than men] who can sustain a career to the point where they can be named a dame, and that's not through lack of talent. It was a slightly political gesture".[14]
She supported the UK remaining in theEuropean Union in the run-up to the2016 EU referendum.[15]
Walter, who speaksRussian, gave a reading at the 2022 Poets for Ukraine event alongsideJuliet Stevenson,Meera Syal, and others.[16] Shortly after the beginning of the 2023Gaza war, Walter was one of over 2,000 to sign an Artists for Palestine letter calling for a ceasefire and accusing western governments of "not only tolerating war crimes but aiding and abetting them".[17] She condemned the decision to rescindCaryl Churchill's 2022 European Drama Lifetime Achievement Award over Churchill's support of Palestine and alleged anti-semitism.[18]
Walter is a patron of theShakespeare Schools Festival, a charity that enables school children across the UK to perform Shakespeare in professional theatres;Prisoners Abroad, a charity that supports Britons imprisoned overseas and their families; and Clean Break, a charity and theatre company dedicated to sharing the stories of imprisoned women and transforming the lives of female offenders through theatre education.[19]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Rebecca | Clarice | Episode #1.3 |
| 1980 | The Imitation Game | Cathy Raine | Television film |
| 1981 | The Cherry Orchard | Varya | Television film |
| 1984 | Amy | Amy Johnson | Television film |
| 1985 | The Price | Frances Carr | 6 episodes |
| 1986 | Girls on Top | R.S.C. Actress 3 | Episode: "Mr. Yummy Brownie" |
| 1987 | A Dorothy L. Sayers Mystery | Harriet Vane | Main cast, 10 episodes |
| 1989 | Theatre Night | Sheila | Episode: "Benefactors" |
| 1991 | Screen Two | Amelia Cleverly | Episode: "They Never Slept" |
| The Men's Room | Charity Walton | Miniseries, 5 episodes | |
| Ashenden | Giulia Lazzari | Episode: "The Dark Woman" | |
| 1993 | Inspector Morse | Dr. Esther Martin | Episode: "The Day of the Devil" |
| Performance | Mrs. Dorothy Maitland | Episode: "The Maitlands" | |
| 1994 | Hard Times | Rachel | 4 episodes |
| 1997 | A Dance to the Music of Time | Mildred | Episode: "The Thirties" |
| 1998–1999 | Unfinished Business | Amy | Main cast, 12 episodes |
| 1999 | Dalziel and Pascoe | Mary Waddell | Episode: "Time to Go" |
| The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns | Queen Morag | Television film | |
| 2001 | Waking the Dead | Annie Keel | Episode: "A Simple Sacrifice" |
| 2003 | My Uncle Silas | Pamela Farrell | Episode: "Shandy Lil" |
| 2004 | London | Virginia Woolf | 2 episodes |
| Imagine | Mother | Episode: "The Smoking Diaries" | |
| Spooks | Deep Throat | Episode: "Who Guards the Guards?" | |
| 2005 | New Tricks | Madeline | Episode: "Trust Me" |
| Messiah | Professor Robb | 3 episodes | |
| Midsomer Murders | Margaret Winstanley | Episode: "Orchis Fatalis" | |
| 2006 | Agatha Christie's Marple | Duchess of Malfi | Episode: "Sleeping Murder" |
| Doctors | Annie Fenton | 4 episodes | |
| 2007 | Trial & Retribution | The Judge | Episode: "Paradise Lost: Part 1" |
| Five Days | ACC Jennie Griffin | 3 episodes | |
| Ballet Shoes | Dr. Smith | Television film | |
| 2008 | The Palace | Joanna Woodward | Episode #1.1 |
| Fairy Tales | Charlotte Brooks | Episode: "Cinderella" | |
| 10 Days to War | Anne Campbell | Episode: "Failure Is Not an Option" | |
| Agatha Christie's Poirot | Miss Bulstrode | Episode: "Cat Among the Pigeons" | |
| Little Dorrit | Mrs. Gowan | Miniseries, 4 episodes | |
| 2009 | Hunter | ACC Jenny Griffin | Miniseries, 2 episodes |
| A Short Stay in Switzerland | Clare | Television film | |
| 2009–2014 | Law & Order: UK | Natalie Chandler | Main cast, 40 episodes |
| 2013 | Midsomer Murders | Diana Davenport | Episode: "Death and the Divas" |
| Heading Out | Angela | 2 episodes | |
| By Any Means | Sally Walker | Episode #1.4 | |
| 2013–2015 | Downton Abbey | Lady Shackleton | Recurring role, 4 episodes |
| 2014 | The Assets | Jeanne Vertefeuille | Miniseries, 8 episodes |
| 2015 | London Spy | Claire | Miniseries, 3 episodes |
| 2016 | The Crown | Clementine Churchill | Recurring role, 6 episodes |
| 2017 | Call the Midwife | Sister Ursula | 3 episodes |
| Black Sails | Marion Guthrie | 3 episodes | |
| 2018 | Patrick Melrose | Princess Margaret | Episode: "Some Hope" |
| Flowers | Hylda | Main cast, 5 episodes | |
| Black Earth Rising | Eve Ashby | 2 episodes | |
| My Dinner with Hervé | Baskin | Television film | |
| 2018–2023 | Succession | Lady Caroline Collingwood | 7 episodes |
| 2019 | Curfew | Helen Newman | 4 episodes |
| The Spanish Princess | Lady Margaret Beaufort | Miniseries, 8 episodes | |
| 2020 | The End | Edie | 10 episodes |
| Belgravia | Caroline, Countess of Brockenhurst | 6 episodes | |
| Killing Eve | Dasha | 7 episodes | |
| Talking Heads | Muriel | Episode: "Soldiering On" | |
| 2021 | Doctor Who | Prime Minister Jo Patterson | Episode: "Revolution of the Daleks" |
| 2021–2023 | Ted Lasso | Deborah Welton | 4 episodes |
| 2022 | Documentary Now! | Edwina | Episode: "Two Hairdressers in Bagglyport" |
| This Is Going to Hurt | Veronique | Recurring character[20] | |
| 2023 | The Cleaner | Lisa | Episode: "The Transaction" |
| Archie | Elsie Leach | 3 episodes | |
| 2023–present | Silo | Martha Walker | Main cast[21] |
| 2024 | Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light | Lady Margaret Pole | Episode: "Wreckage" |
| 2025 | Brian and Maggie | Margaret Thatcher | 2 episodes[22] |
| Black Mirror | Judith Keyworth | Episode: "Hotel Reverie" | |
| Playing Gracie Darling | Pattie | ||
| 2026 | Maya | Nancy | Filming |
She was appointedCommander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the2000 New Year Honours[27][6] and promoted toDame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the2011 New Year Honours for services to drama.[28]
In 2001 she andKenneth Branagh were both given honorary doctorates and honorary fellowships at theShakespeare Institute inStratford.
Her performance inMary Stuart at theDonmar Warehouse transferred to Broadway, where it was nominated for numerousTony Awards, including Best Actress nods for her and her co-starJanet McTeer.[29]
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Laurence Olivier | Actress of the Year | The Castle | Nominated |
| 1988 | Best Actress in a Revival | A Question of Geography /Twelfth Night /Three Sisters | Won | |
| 1994 | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Actress in a Play | Three Birds Alighting on a Field | Nominated |
| 2001 | Laurence Olivier Award | Best Actress | Life x 3 | Nominated |
| 2005 | Evening Standard Award | Best Actress | Mary Stuart | Won |
| 2006 | Laurence Olivier Award | Best Actress | Nominated | |
| 2009 | Tony Award | Best Actress in a Play | Nominated | |
| 2014 | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Actress in a Play | Julius Caesar | Nominated |
| 2016 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series | The Crown | Nominated |
| 2020 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series | Succession | Nominated |
| 2022 | Nominated | |||
| Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series | Ted Lasso | Nominated | ||
| 2023 | Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series | Succession | Nominated | |
| Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series | Ted Lasso | Nominated |
