Clare Higgins
British actress (born 1955)
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Clare Frances Elizabeth Higgins (born 10 November 1955) is an English actress. She is a three-time winner of the Olivier Award for Best Actress; for Sweet Bird of Youth (1995), Vincent in Brixton (2003), and Hecuba (2005).[1] She made her Broadway debut in 2003 in Vincent in Brixton, receiving a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Play.[2]
10 November 1955
Clare Higgins | |
|---|---|
Higgins in 2016 | |
| Born | Clare Frances Elizabeth Higgins 10 November 1955 Bradford, West Riding of Yorkshire, England |
| Alma mater | London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1980–present |
Higgins is known to film audiences for her role as Julia Cotton in the horror film Hellraiser (1987) and its first sequel, Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988). She also starred as Miss Cackle on the CBBC fantasy television series The Worst Witch (2017-2020), based on the children's book series of the name.
Early life
Higgins, the first of six children, was born in Bradford, to Paula Cecilia (née Murphy) and James Stephen Higgins.[citation needed] Her parents were from working class Irish Catholic backgrounds,[3] and worked as teachers. Higgins was interested in acting from her childhood. After being expelled from a convent school, she ran away from home at seventeen.[3] At 19, she gave birth to a boy, but gave him up for adoption at her social worker's insistence.[3]
Higgins is cousin to British American writer Nicola Griffith.[4]
Career
Theatre
At 23, Higgins graduated from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). Through the 1980s, she became a dynamic stage actress, both in London and on Broadway. She starred in the premiere of David Hare's The Secret Rapture, and won the first of her three Olivier Awards in 1995. In 1983, she starred with Ben Cross in the BBC's serial version of A.J. Cronin's The Citadel, playing the role of Christine Manson.
Higgins appeared as Jocasta in the National Theatre's critically acclaimed production of Oedipus, opposite Ralph Fiennes in the title role. From April to May 2009, she appeared in Wallace Shawn's The Fever at the Royal Court Theatre.[5]
From mid-May to September 2009, she appeared as the Countess Rossillion in All's Well That Ends Well at the National Theatre (Olivier stage).[6]
Film
For the big screen, Higgins played Julia Cotton in Clive Barker's Hellraiser (1987), based on Barker's novella The Hellbound Heart. She reprised the role for Tony Randel's Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988). She was originally intended to play a major role in the third film, but requested her character be killed off at the end of the second film.
Her other film credits include the Scottish film Small Faces (1996). In 2000, she appeared in Catherine Cookson's The Secret mini-series as Maggie Hewitt, as well as in Woody Allen's Cassandra's Dream (2007) and The Golden Compass (2007).
Television
In 1996 appeared in an episode (Series 6 ep 14) of Heartbeat as Maureen Bristow, an escaped prisoner.
On 30 September 2012, Higgins appeared in season 3, episode 3 of Downton Abbey as Mrs Bartlett, a friend of Mrs Bates who eventually helps in the release of Mr Bates from prison.[7]
On 14 November 2013, she appeared in the Doctor Who mini-episode "The Night of the Doctor", which starred Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor. Higgins played Ohila, the leader of the Sisterhood of Karn. In 2014, she appeared in the Father Brown episode "The Daughters of Jerusalem" as Dinah Fortescue. Higgins returned to the role of Ohila in 2015 in "The Magician's Apprentice", which originally aired on 19 September 2015, and in the series finale "Hell Bent" on 5 December 2015. The same year, she appeared in EastEnders, as prosecuting lawyer Hazel Warren.
In January 2017, Higgins starred in CBBC's adaptation of Jill Murphy's The Worst Witch as Miss Ada Cackle, and her wicked twin sister Agatha.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Nineteen Nineteen | Young Sophie | |
| 1987 | Hellraiser | Julia Cotton | |
| 1988 | The Fruit Machine | Eve | |
| Hellbound: Hellraiser II | Julia Cotton | ||
| 1993 | Bad Behaviour | Jessica Kennedy | |
| 1994 | Thin Ice | Fiona | |
| 1996 | Small Faces | Lorna Maclean | |
| 1998 | B. Monkey | Ms. Cherry | |
| 2000 | The House of Mirth | Mrs. Bry | |
| 2004 | Stage Beauty | Mistress Revels | |
| The Libertine | Molly Luscombe | ||
| 2005 | Bigger Than the Sky | Edwina Walters | |
| Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont | Mrs. Meyer | ||
| 2007 | Cassandra's Dream | Dorothy Blaine | |
| Spring 1941 | Clara Planck | ||
| The Stronger | Mrs. X | Short film | |
| The Golden Compass | Ma Costa | ||
| 2009 | National Theatre Live: All's Well That Ends Well | Countess of Rousillon | Season 1 |
| 2010 | National Theatre Live: Hamlet | Gertrude | Season 2 |
| 2012 | A Fantastic Fear of Everything | Clair De Grunwald | |
| 2013 | I Give It a Year | Elaine | |
| 2016 | The Complete Walk: Richard III | Margaret | Short film |
| 2018 | Ready Player One | Mrs. Gilmore | |
| The Convent | Reverend Mother |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Pride and Prejudice | Miss Kitty Bennet | Mini-series; 5 episodes |
| 1981 | BBC2 Playhouse | Annie MacFarlane | Episode: "Unity" |
| Plays for Pleasure | Ann | Episode: "The Concubine" | |
| Byron: A Personal Tour | Lady Caroline Lamb | Television film | |
| 1983 | The Citadel | Christine Barlow/Manson | Mini-series; 9 episodes |
| 1984 | Mitch | Jo | 6 episodes |
| 1985 | Cover Her Face | Catherine Bowers | Mini-series; 5 episodes |
| 1986 | Hideaway | Ann Wright | Mini-series; 6 episodes |
| 1987 | Up Line | Fizzy Targett | Mini-series; 3 episodes |
| 1988 | Dreams, Secrets, Beautiful Lies | Pamela | Television film |
| 1989 | After the War | Rachel Jordan/Lucas | Mini-series; 7 episodes |
| 1992 | Boon | Christine Pryall | Episode: "Deadline" |
| Downtown Lagos | Ms. McDonald | Mini-series; 2 episodes | |
| 1993 | The Inspector Alleyn Mysteries | Marjorie Wilde | Episode: "A Man Lay Dead" |
| Circle of Deceit: The Wolves are Howling | Eilish | Television film (pilot for series Circles of Deceit) | |
| 1994 | Screen Two | Fiona | Episode: "Men of the Month" |
| Fatherland | Klara | Television film | |
| 1995 | Screen Two | Lindsay Fontaine | Episode: "The Absence of War" |
| 1996 | Kavanagh QC | Susannah Dixon QC | Episode: "Men of Substance" |
| Heartbeat | Maureen Bristow | Episode: "The Best Laid Plans" | |
| Silent Witness | DS Farmer | 8 episodes | |
| 1999 | The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones | Edith Wharton | Episode: "Tales of Innocence" |
| 2000 | The Secret | Maggie Hewitt | Mini-series; 3 episodes |
| The Bill | Judy Ryan | Episode: "Take It or Leave It" | |
| 2003 | Vincent in Brixton | Ursula Loyer | Television film |
| 2005 | M.I.T.: Murder Investigation Team | Lesley Pattison | Episode: #2.1 |
| Midsomer Murders | Laura Crawford | Episode: "Midsomer Rhapsody" | |
| Casanova | Cook | Mini-series; 2 episodes | |
| Murder in Suburbia | Helen White | Episode: "Witches" | |
| 2006 | Goldplated | Yvonne | Episode: "Cassidy's Mother" |
| 2007 | Midsomer Murders | Gina Colby | Episode: "Death in a Chocolate Box" |
| 2008 | The Curse of Steptoe | Joan Littlewood | Television film |
| Midsomer Murders | 'Medea' read by her (voice) | Episode: "Talking to the Dead" | |
| 2009 | Minder | Liz Grant | Episode: "A Matter of Life and Debt" |
| Being Human | Josie | 2 episodes | |
| Casualty 1909 | Mrs. Ramsbury | Episode: #1.4 | |
| 2010 | Toast | Mavis | Television film |
| 2011 | Casualty | Brenda Tunnell | Episode: "Charlie's Angels" |
| 2012 | The Syndicate | Joyce | 5 episodes |
| Parade's End | Lady Claudine | Mini-series; 4 episodes | |
| Shameless | Hazel | Episode: "The Brazilian Effect" | |
| Downton Abbey | Mrs. Bartlett | 2 episodes | |
| Homefront | Paula Raveley | 6 episodes | |
| 2013 | Holby City | Susannah Harris | 4 episodes |
| 2014 | Father Brown | Dinah Fortescue | Episode: "The Daughters of Jerusalem" |
| Rogue | Vivian | 10 episodes | |
| New Tricks | Francis Kane | Episode: "Deep Swimming" | |
| 2015 | EastEnders | Hazel Warren | 9 episodes |
| Doctor Who | Ohila | Episodes: "The Magician's Apprentice", "Hell Bent" | |
| 2017 | Liar | Felicity Cassidy | Episode: "Catherine" |
| Love, Lies and Records | Jean | 2 episodes | |
| 2017–2020 | The Worst Witch | Miss Cackle / Agatha | 52 episodes (4 series) |
| 2018 | The Bisexual | Grace | Episode: #1.4 |
| 2018–2019 | Into the Badlands | Ankara | 4 episodes |
| 2019 | Cleaning Up | Mary | 2 episodes |
| Vera | Elaine Sidden | Episode: "The Seagull" | |
| 2020 | Silent Witness | Professor Katherine Dukes | Episodes: "The Greater Good: Parts 1 & 2" |
| 2022 | Dangerous Liaisons | Madama Jericho | Episodes: "Love or War", "Conquer or Die" |
| 2022, 2024 | Trying | Bev | 4 episodes |
| 2022, 2025 | The Sandman | Mad Hettie | 6 episodes |
| 2026 | Gone | Carol Bradley | 6 episodes |
Selected theatre performances
- Countess Hechingen in The Deep Man by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. British premiere directed by Casper Wrede at the Royal Exchange, Manchester (1979).
- Alexa Rollo in Rollo by Marcel Achard. Directed by David Thompson at the Royal Exchange, Manchester (1980).
- Judith in Blood, Black and Gold by Gerard McLarnon. World premiere directed by Braham Murray at the Royal Exchange, Manchester (1980).
- Isabella in Measure for Measure. Directed by Braham Murray at the Royal Exchange, Manchester (1981).
- Jocasta in Oedipus[8] (2008) at Oliver Theatre, National Theatre.
- Gertrude in Hamlet (2010). A performance was recorded as "National Theatre Live: Hamlet".
- Edna in A Delicate Balance (2014) at Broadway, also starring Glenn Close.
Awards and nominations
Higgins was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 1995 (1994 season) for Best Actress in a Play for her performance in Sweet Bird of Youth at the Royal National Theatre. She won the same award in both 2002 and 2005: in 2002 for her performance in Vincent in Brixton performed at the Royal National Theatre, Cottesloe and Wyndham's Theatres, and in 2005 for her performance as Hecuba in the Euripides tragedy at the Donmar Warehouse. She was awarded the 2002 London Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Actress for her performance in Vincent in Brixton. Additionally, she was awarded the 1994 London Critics Circle Theatre Award (Drama Theatre) for Best Actress for her performances in The Children's Hour and Sweet Bird of Youth. She was also awarded the 2002 London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actress for her performance in Vincent in Brixton at the Donmar Warehouse in London. In 2003, she was nominated for a Tony Award as Best Actress in a Play for Vincent in Brixton on Broadway, and garnered the 2003 Theatre World Award for outstanding major Broadway debut.[9] She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the horror film, Hellbound: Hellraiser II at the 16th Saturn Awards.