Janet McTeer | |
|---|---|
 McTeer in 2015 | |
| Born | (1961-08-05)5 August 1961 (age 64) Wallsend,North Tyneside, England |
| Citizenship |
|
| Alma mater | Royal Academy of Dramatic Art |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1984–present |
| Spouse | |
Janet McTeerOBE (born 5 August 1961) is an English actress. She began her career training at theRoyal Academy of Dramatic Art before earning acclaim for playing diverse roles on stage and screen in both period pieces and modern dramas. She has received numerous accolades including aTony Award, anOlivier Award, aGolden Globe Award and nominations for twoAcademy Awards and aPrimetime Emmy Award. In 2008 she was appointed anOfficer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her services to drama.
McTeer made her professional stage debut in 1984, and was nominated for the 1986Olivier Award for Best Newcomer forThe Grace of Mary Traverse. She received theLaurence Olivier Award for Best Actress, and theTony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance inA Doll's House in 1997. For her roles onBroadway, she received two other nominations forMary Stuart in 2009 andBernhardt/Hamlet in 2019.
McTeer has also gained acclaim for her film roles, having received twoAcademy Award nominations, one forBest Actress forTumbleweeds in 1999, and the other forBest Supporting Actress forAlbert Nobbs in 2011. Other roles includeWuthering Heights (1992),Carrington (1995),Velvet Goldmine (1998),Songcatcher (2000),As You Like It (2006),The Divergent Series (2015–2016), andThe Menu (2022).
On television, she starred in the title role ofLynda La Plante'sThe Governor (1995–1996), and received aPrimetime Emmy Award nomination for her portrayal ofClementine Churchill in theHBO filmInto the Storm (2009). She is also known for her roles inDamages (2012),The White Queen (2013),The Honourable Woman (2014),Jessica Jones (2018),Sorry for Your Loss (2018–2019), andOzark (2018–2020).
McTeer was born on 5 August 1961[1][2] inWallsend,North Tyneside, and spent her childhood inYork.[3]
She attended the now defunctQueen Anne Grammar School for Girls, and worked at the Old Starre Inn, atYork Minster and at the city'sTheatre Royal.[4][better source needed] She performed locally with the Rowntree Players at Joseph Rowntree Theatre, then trained at theRoyal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA).[2][better source needed]
McTeer began a successful theatrical career with theRoyal Exchange Theatre after graduating from RADA.[2]
McTeer's television work includes theBBC productionPortrait of a Marriage, an adaptation ofNigel Nicolson's biographyof the same name in which she playedVita Sackville-West, and the popularITV seriesThe Governor written byLynda La Plante. She made her screen debut inHalf Moon Street, a 1986 film based on a novel byPaul Theroux. In 1991, she appeared inCatherine Cookson'sThe Black Velvet Gown, withBob Peck andGeraldine Somerville; this won theInternational Emmy award for best drama. She appeared in the 1992film version ofWuthering Heights (co-starringJuliette Binoche andRalph Fiennes) and the 1995 filmCarrington (which starredEmma Thompson andJonathan Pryce) asVanessa Bell.[citation needed]
In 1996, McTeer garnered critical acclaim – and both theLaurence Olivier Theatre Award andCritics' Circle Theatre Award – for her performance asNora Helmer in aWest End production ofHenrik Ibsen'sA Doll's House.[2] The following year, the production transferred toBroadway, and McTeer received aTony Award, aTheatre World Award, and theDrama Desk Award for Best Actress in a Play.[5]
During the show's run, McTeer was interviewed byCharlie Rose on hisPBS talk show, where she was seen by American filmmakerGavin O'Connor, who, at the time, was working on a screenplay about a single mother's cross-country wanderings with her pre-teenage daughter. He was determined that she star in the film. When prospective backers balked at her relative anonymity in the US, he produced the film himself.Tumbleweeds proved to be a 1999Sundance Film Festival favourite, and McTeer's performance won her aGolden Globe as Best Actress andAcademy Award andScreen Actors Guild nominations in the same category.[6]
McTeer's screen credits includeSongcatcher (withAidan Quinn),Waking the Dead (withBilly Crudup andJennifer Connelly), thedogme filmThe King Is Alive (withJennifer Jason Leigh),The Intended (withBrenda Fricker andOlympia Dukakis), andTideland, written and directed byTerry Gilliam. She also starred in the BBC dramatisation of Mary Webb'sPrecious Bane in 1989.[7] She has appeared in such British television serials asThe Amazing Mrs Pritchard,Hunter,[2] andAgatha Christie'sMarple (episode: "The Murder at the Vicarage").[7]
McTeer playedMary, Queen of Scots inMary Stuart, a play byFriedrich Schiller in a new version byPeter Oswald, directed byPhyllida Lloyd. She acted oppositeHarriet Walter asQueen Elizabeth I in London's West End in 2005, a role she reprised in the 2009 Broadway transfer.[8] McTeer received a Tony Award nomination for her role inMary Stuart, and won theDrama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play.[citation needed]
In 2008, she starred inGod of Carnage in the West End alongsideTamsin Greig,Ken Stott and Ralph Fiennes, at theGielgud Theatre.[9] She reprised her role on Broadway oppositeJeff Daniels from March to June 2010.[10]
In 2009, she portrayedClementine Churchill in theHBO featureInto the Storm about SirWinston Churchill's years asBritain's leader during World War II.[11]
In 2011, McTeer starred alongsideGlenn Close inAlbert Nobbs and withDaniel Radcliffe andCiarán Hinds inThe Woman in Black (based on the 1983 novelof the same name). Her role as Hubert Page inAlbert Nobbs won McTeer critical acclaim and numerous award nominations, including anAcademy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.[12] It was announced in November 2011 that McTeer had joined the cast ofDamages (in the character of Kate Franklin) for its fifth and final season, reuniting her with herAlbert Nobbs co-star Glenn Close. This was her first American television series.[13] She played American novelistMary McCarthy inMargarethe von Trotta's filmHannah Arendt.[14]
In 2013 McTeer was cast asJacquetta of Luxembourg, the mother of the title character inThe White Queen, a British television drama series based onPhilippa Gregory's best-selling historical novel seriesThe Cousins' War.[15] Her performance was applauded, with Sam Wollaston ofThe Guardian suggesting she stole the show.[16] In December 2013, McTeer was nominated for aGolden Globe for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Jacquetta.[17]
On 29 July 2013, it was announced that McTeer had joined the cast ofThe Honourable Woman, a BBC spy-thrillerminiseries starring Maggie Gyllenhaal.[18] In 2015, McTeer starred as Commander Kim Guziewicz in CBS comedy-dramaBattle Creek, and filmedException based onThe Kaiser's Last Kiss[19] (in which she was due to portrayPrincess Hermine Reuss of Greiz), set for a 2016 release.[citation needed]
In 2016, McTeer playedPetruchio in theNew York Public Theater Shakespeare in the Park all-female production ofThe Taming of the Shrew, directed again by Phyllida Lloyd. She co-starred alongsideLiev Schreiber inLes Liaisons Dangereuses on Broadway, with McTeer cast as Marquise de Merteuil. The play ran from October 2016 to January 2017.[20]
In 2018, she playedAlisa Jones in theMarvel Television andNetflix productionJessica Jones. In September 2018, she took on the role ofSarah Bernhardt inTheresa Rebeck's Broadway playBernhardt/Hamlet.[21] She was nominated for the 2019 Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play.[22]
In 2018-2020 McTeer portrayed cartel attorney Helen Pierce on the Netflix crime dramaOzark.[23]
In early 2023, McTeer appeared at London'sNational Theatre in a new playPhaedra.[24] Director playwrightSimon Stone turned theGreek myth of the woman falling in love with her stepson into a satire about London elitism and post-Brexit Britain. Despite a strong cast that included French actorAssaad Bouab, Canadian screen starMackenzie Davis, and a superb lead performance from McTeer, the play received mixed reviews. TheEvening Standard called it "A must-see show. A high-spec, richly-textured chamber extravaganza",[25] whileThe Guardian wrote "Even McTeer's strong performance cannot save a tonally unsure play".[26] McTeer garnered aBest Actress nomination at the2023 Olivier Awards, losing toJodie Comer forPrima Facie.[citation needed] She will also be starring inMission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, due for debut in 2025.[27] McTeer will portrayMinerva McGonagall in theHBO television adaptation of theHarry Potter series.[28][29]
McTeer was appointed anOfficer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the2008 Queen's Birthday Honours.[30]
McTeer has been married to poet and fashion consultant Joseph Coleman since 2010. They reside inMaine, US.[31][32]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Half Moon Street | Van Arkady's Secretary | |
| 1988 | Hawks | Hazel | |
| 1992 | Wuthering Heights | Ellen "Nelly" Dean | |
| 1995 | Carrington | Vanessa Bell | |
| 1996 | Saint-Ex | Genevieve de Ville-Franche | |
| 1998 | Velvet Goldmine | Narrator (voice) | |
| 1999 | Tumbleweeds | Mary Jo Walker | |
| 2000 | Waking the Dead | Caroline Pierce | |
| Songcatcher | Professor Lily Penleric | ||
| The King Is Alive | Liz | ||
| 2002 | The Intended | Sarah Morris | |
| 2005 | Tideland | Dell | |
| 2006 | As You Like It | Audrey | |
| 2011 | Cat Run | Helen Bingham | |
| Island | Phyllis Lovage | ||
| Albert Nobbs | Hubert Page | ||
| 2012 | The Woman in Black | Elisabeth Daily | |
| Hannah Arendt | Mary McCarthy | ||
| 2014 | Maleficent | ElderlyPrincess Aurora (voice) | |
| 2015 | Angelica | Anne Montague | |
| Insurgent | Edith Prior | ||
| Fathers and Daughters | Carolyn | ||
| 2016 | Allegiant | Edith Prior | |
| Me Before You | Camilla Traynor | ||
| National Theatre Live: Les Liaisons Dangereuses | Marquise de Merteuil | ||
| Paint It Black | Meredith | ||
| The Exception | Princess Hermine 'Hermo' Reuss of Greiz | ||
| 2022 | The Menu | Lillian Bloom | |
| Glimpse | Lucienne | ||
| 2025 | Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning | Walters |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Juliet Bravo | Esther Pearson | Episode: "Flesh and Blood" |
| 1986 | Gems | Stephanie Wilde | 2 episodes |
| 1987 | Theatre Night | Miss Julie | Episode: "Miss Julie" |
| 1988 | Les Girls | Susan | 7 episodes |
| 1989 | Precious Bane | Prue Sarn | Television film |
| 1990 | The Play on One | Juliet Horowitz | Episode: "Yellowbacks" |
| Portrait of a Marriage | Vita Sackville-West | 4 episodes | |
| Screen Two | Celeste | Episode: "102 Boulevard Haussmann" | |
| 1990–1991 | Screen One | Adult Claudie/Caroline | 2 episodes |
| 1991 | The Black Velvet Gown | Riah Millican | Television film |
| 1992 | Dead Romantic | Madeleine Severn | |
| A Masculine Ending | Loretta Lawson | ||
| 1993 | Don't Leave Me This Way | ||
| 1994 | Jackanory | Reader | Episode: "The Iron Woman" |
| 1995–1996 | The Governor | Helen Hewitt | 12 episodes |
| 2004 | Agatha Christie's Marple | Anne Protheroe | Episode: "Agatha Christie's Marple: The Murder at the Vicarage" |
| 2006 | The Amazing Mrs Pritchard | Catherine Walker | 6 episodes |
| 2007 | Five Days | DS Amy Foster | 4 episodes |
| Daphne | Gertrude Lawrence | Television film | |
| 2008 | Sense and Sensibility | Mrs Dashwood | 3 episodes |
| Masterpiece Theatre | Episode: "Sense and Sensibility" | ||
| 2009 | Hunter | DS Amy Foster | 2 episodes |
| Into the Storm | Clementine Churchill | Television film | |
| Psychoville | Cheryl | 2 episodes | |
| 2011 | Weekends at Bellevue | Diana Wallace | Television film |
| 2012 | Parade's End | Mrs Satterthwaite | 4 episodes |
| Damages | Kate Franklin | 9 episodes | |
| 2013 | The White Queen | Jacquetta of Luxembourg | 6 episodes |
| 2014 | The Honourable Woman | Julia Walsh | 8 episodes |
| 2015 | Battle Creek | Commander Kim Guziewicz | Main cast, 13 episodes |
| 2016 | Marks and Spencer | Mrs Claus | Advert |
| 2018 | Jessica Jones | Alisa Jones | 11 episodes |
| 2018–2019 | Sorry for Your Loss | Amy Shaw | Main role; 11 episodes |
| 2018–2020 | Ozark | Helen Pierce | Recurring role (seasons 2 & 3) |
| 2020 | The President Is Missing | Carolyn Brock | Television film |
| 2023 | Julius Caesar: The Making of a Dictator | Narrator | Miniseries |
| 2024 | Kaos | Hera | Main Cast; 8 episodes |
| The Old Man | Marion | Recurring role (season 2) | |
| 2025 | Gangs of London | Isabel Vaughn | Episode: "Episode #3.8" |
| MobLand | Kat McAllister | Completed | |
| 2027 | Harry Potter | Minerva McGonagall | Main Cast[33] |
| TBA | The Artist | Marian Henry | Upcoming series |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | A Doll's House | Nora Helmer | Playhouse Theatre, London |
| 1997 | Belasco Theatre, Broadway | ||
| 2009 | God of Carnage | Veronica (replacement) | Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, Broadway |
| Mary Stuart | Mary Stuart | Broadhurst Theatre, Broadway | |
| 2016 | Les Liaisons Dangereuses | La Marquise de Merteuil | Booth Theatre, Broadway |
| 2018 | Bernhardt / Hamlet | Sarah Bernhardt | American Airlines Theatre, Broadway |
| 2023 | Phaedra | Helen | National Theatre, London |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Populous: The Beginning | The Shaman, Additional voices (voice) |
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Olivier Award | Most Promising Newcomer of the Year in Theatre | The Grace of Mary Traverse | Nominated | [34] |
| 1992 | Olivier Award | Actress of the Year | Uncle Vanya | Nominated | [35] |
| 1997 | Critics Circle Award | Best Actress | A Doll's House | Won | [citation needed] |
| Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Actress in a Play | Won | [36] | ||
| Olivier Award | Best Actress | Won | [37] | ||
| Tony Award | Best Actress in a Play | Won | [38] | ||
| 2006 | Olivier Award | Best Actress | Mary Stuart | Nominated | [39] |
| 2009 | Tony Award | Best Actress in a Play | Nominated | [40] | |
| 2016 | Olivier Award | Best Actress | Les Liaisons Dangereuses | Nominated | [41] |
| 2019 | Tony Award | Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play | Bernhardt/Hamlet | Nominated | [22] |
| 2023 | Olivier Award | Best Actress | Phaedra | Nominated | [42] |
Janet was born in 1961 in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, and started her career in acting on stage at the Royal Exchange Theatre.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)