Geraldine Somerville
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Geraldine Somerville | |
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Born | Geraldine Margaret Agnew-Somerville 19 May 1967 County Meath, Ireland |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1989–present |
Geraldine Margaret Agnew-Somerville (born 19 May 1967) is an Irish born British actress[1] known for her role as Detective Sergeant Jane Penhaligon in Cracker (1993–95), for which she was nominated for the 1995 BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress, and for playing Lily Potter in the Harry Potter film series. Her other film appearances include Gosford Park (2001), My Week with Marilyn (2011) and Grace of Monaco (2014).
Early life
Geraldine Agnew-Somerville was born in County Meath, Ireland, the daughter of Sir Quentin Charles Agnew-Somerville, 2nd Baronet, and Margaret April Irene, Lady Agnew-Somerville (née Drummond), an antiques dealer, but was brought up on the Isle of Man.
Her mother is a daughter of John Drummond, 15th Baron Strange, and sister of the late Cherry Drummond, 16th Baroness Strange.[2] She has an elder sister, Amelia Rachel (who owns and works in a restaurant with her husband in the Australian rainforest), and a younger brother, James Lockett Charles Agnew-Somerville, who worked in Hong Kong and writes poetry.
Somerville attended dance classes from the age of six, and at eight was sent to the Arts Educational School, a boarding school in Tring, Hertfordshire. There she was taught ballet. She left at sixteen, but continued her studies in London.
Career
Somerville trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (1989) in London. She did stage work and appeared on TV in episodes of Agatha Christie's Poirot and Casualty (1993) before landing the role of Penhaligon in Cracker, which she held from the show's inception in 1993 until its demise in 1995 and became one of the most memorable characters of the series.[3]
Somerville played Lady Stockbridge in Julian Fellowes's Gosford Park and Harry Potter's mother Lily in all the Potter movies. In May 2007, she played author Daphne du Maurier in the BBC TV drama Daphne. She plays a leading role as fictional Louisa, Countess of Manton in the 2012 ITV mini-series Titanic.
In 2014 she played Princess Antoinette of Monaco in the film Grace of Monaco. In 2014, Somerville played Sarah Griffin in the BBC One mini-series Quirke.[4]
Filmography
Year | Film | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1990 | Casualty | Ruth | TV series (1 episode: "All's Fair") |
1991 | The Black Velvet Gown | Biddy Millican | TV movie |
Close My Eyes | Natalie's Boss | ||
1993 | Agatha Christie's Poirot | Pauline Wetherby | TV series (1 episode: "The Yellow Iris") |
The Bill | TV series (1 episode: "Playing Away") | ||
Cracker | DS Jane Penhaligon | TV series (23 episodes: 1993–1995) Nominated — BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress | |
1994 | Romeo & Juliet | Juliet | TV movie |
A Business Affair | Saleswoman | ||
Performance | Ann Welch/Miss Julie | TV series (2 episodes: 1994–1995) | |
1996 | True Blue | Ruth McDonald | |
1998 | Heaven on Earth | Deborah Bennett | TV movie |
Jilting Joe | Olivia | ||
The Canterbury Tales | Dorigen/Pertelote | TV series (1 episode: "Leaving London") | |
1999 | Aristocrats | Lady Emily Lennox | TV series (5 episodes) |
Daylight Robbery | Val McArdle | TV mini-series | |
2001 | Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone | Lily Potter | |
Gosford Park | Louisa, Lady Stockbridge | Critics Choice Award for Best Acting Ensemble Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Cast Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Ensemble Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by the Cast of a Theatrical Motion Picture | |
2002 | Murder in Mind | Angela Coates | TV series (1 episode: "Disposal") |
Re-inventing Eddie | Jeanie Harris | ||
The Safe House | Dr. Sam Graham | TV movie | |
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets | Lily Potter | uncredited | |
2004 | Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban | Lily Potter | |
2005 | Jericho | Fiona Hewitt | TV series (1 episode: "To Murder and Create") |
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire | Lily Potter | ||
2006 | Sixty Six | Alice Barrie | |
2007 | Daphne | Daphne du Maurier | TV movie |
The Inspector Lynley Mysteries | DS Michelle Tate | TV series (1 episode: "Limbo") | |
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix | Lily Potter | ||
2008 | The Children | Sue | TV series (2 episodes) |
2009 | Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince | Lily Potter | |
2010 | Survivors | Fiona Douglas | TV series (3 episodes) |
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 | Lily Potter | ||
2011 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 | Lily Potter | |
My Week with Marilyn | Lady Jane Clark | ||
2012 | Titanic | Louisa, Countess of Manton | TV series (4 episodes) |
Inspector George Gently | Alethea Blackstone | TV series (1 episode: "Gently With Class") | |
2014 | Quirke | Sarah | TV series |
Kids in Love | Linda | ||
Grace of Monaco | Princess Antoinette of Monaco | ||
2015 | New Tricks | Asst. Commissioner Cynthia Kline | 2 episodes (Life Expectancy, The Crazy Gang) |
2016 | Silent Witness | Lydia Hamilton | TV series (1 episode: "After The Fall") |
References
- ^ Internet Movie Database Geraldine Somerville, retrieved 9 April 2011
- ^ "Hon. Margaret April Irene Drummond1" The Peerage.com
- ^ Crackertv.co.uk
- ^ "BBC One-Qurike-Character Guide". bbc.co.uk. BBC. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
External links
- 1967 births
- Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
- British film actresses
- British stage actresses
- British television actresses
- British voice actresses
- British people of Irish descent
- Living people
- Manx people of Irish descent
- Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners
- People from County Meath
- Actresses from London
- Royal National Theatre Company members
- British Shakespearean actresses
- British radio actresses
- People educated at Tring Park School for the Performing Arts
- 20th-century British actresses
- 21st-century British actresses