Stella Gonet | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1960-12-12)12 December 1960 (age 64) |
| Alma mater | Royal Conservatoire of Scotland |
| Years active | 1985–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
Stella Gonet (born 12 December 1960)[2][3] is a Scottish theatre, film and televisionactress. She is known for her roles in theBBC dramasThe House of Eliott (1991–94) andHolby City (2007–09). Her stage credits include playingOphelia in the 1989National Theatre revival ofHamlet, opposite bothDaniel Day-Lewis andIan Charleson as Hamlet and playingMargaret Thatcher in the originalWest End production ofHandbagged (2014). She playedQueen Elizabeth II in the 2021 movieSpencer andMargaret Thatcher in the 2023 movieEl Conde.
Gonet was born inGreenock, Scotland.[1] Her Polish father met her Scottish mother, a teacher of English, when he was stationed in Greenock during theSecond World War.[4] She is the seventh of twelve children and four of her sisters are nurses.[5]
Gonet starred as Beatrice Eliott, one of the two lead roles, in three series of thetelevision dramaThe House of Eliott and played Chief Executive OfficerJayne Grayson in the medical dramaHolby City. She appeared inCasualty,The Crow Road,Dalziel and Pascoe,The Inspector Lynley Mysteries,Foyle's War,Outnumbered andLewis. She played a villain in themini-seriesThe Secret and played Grace Maplin in theSins of Commission episode ofMidsomer Murders. Her screen credits also includeFor Queen and Country,Nicholas Nickleby andRed Mercury.
Gonet also has acted extensively in the theatre. In 1989 she appeared asOphelia in theNational Theatre production ofHamlet, with thetitle role being played byDaniel Day-Lewis,Ian Charleson and finallyJeremy Northam.
She playedMargaret Thatcher in theMoira Buffini playHandbagged in 2013 at theTricycle Theatre, and in 2014 at theVaudeville Theatre when the play transferred to theWest End. She played Elizabeth in the 2018 BBC1 drama seriesThe Cry.
In 2020, she played Caroline Sturgess in the BBC dramaThe Salisbury Poisonings.[6] From 2020 to 2023 she appeared in the Sky television seriesBreeders.
Collaborating with Chilean filmmakerPablo Larraín, Gonet appeared in the filmsSpencer (2021) andEl Conde (2023) asQueen Elizabeth II andMargaret Thatcher respectively.[7]
Gonet married English actorNicholas Farrell in 2005. The couple co-starred in an episode ofRoman Mysteries asQueen Berenice of Judea andEmperor Titus, and as Mr. and Mrs. Musgrove inITV's 2007 production ofJane Austen'sPersuasion, and they both participated in a 2001 Shakespeare'sRichard III audiobook. The couple have a daughter, Natasha, born in 2000.[5][8]
