Geraldine James

Geraldine James Thomas was born in Maidenhead, Berkshire, on 6 July 1950, the daughter of Gerald Trevor Griffith Thomas, a cardiologist,^[1] and his wife Annabella Doogan.^[2] Her parents divorced.^[3] After failing her 11-plus exam, she was educated at Downe House School in Newbury, Berkshire, where she was known as Gerry Thomas. Embarrassed by her simple surname, she used the grander-sounding name of Vaughan-Thomas while at the school.^[4] Her stage name makes use of her middle name of James.^[5]

She studied drama at the Drama Centre London.^[4]

After graduating from the Drama Centre, James spent three years in repertory theatre and school theatre.^[4]

Her film credits include Gandhi (1982), The Tall Guy (1989), The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (1989), Sherlock Holmes (2009), Alice in Wonderland (2010), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011), and 45 Years (2015).^{[citation needed]}

On television, Geraldine James played Sarah Layton in The Jewel in the Crown (1984), Rosemary "Rose" Garrity in Band of Gold (1995) and Gloria Green in The Sins (2000). She is also known as Mrs. Pincher, the breastfeeding mother in Little Britain (2004).

From 2017 to 2019, she starred in the Netflix series Anne with an E as Marilla Cuthbert, and in the 2019 film Downton Abbey as Queen Mary.^{[citation needed]}

In 2020 James voiced the spoken words on the track "All the Works of Nature Which Adorn the World" ("Vista", "Ad Astra") on the album Human. :II: Nature. by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish.^[6]

James was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2004.^[4]

Theatre director Peter Hall said that James ranks among the great English classical actresses.^[7]

James is married to actor and director Joseph Blatchley. They have a daughter.^[3]

• Portia, opposite Dustin Hoffman in the London and Broadway productions of The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare^[12][13]
• Hedda Gabler at the Royal Exchange, Manchester in 1993
• Rosalind, in As You Like It, at the RSC, Stratford-upon-Avon, in 2023

Film

• The Dumb Waiter (1979) as Sally
• Bloody Kids (1980) as Ritchie's wife
• Sweet William (1980) as Pamela
• Gandhi (1982) as Mirabehn
• Freedom Fighter (1988) as Krista Donner
• The Tall Guy (1989) as Carmen
• The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (1989) as Mrs. Gertrude Brisket
• Prince of Shadows (1991) as Rebecca Osorio
• If Looks Could Kill – Teen Agent, (1991) as Vendetta Galante
• The Bridge (1992) as Mrs Todd
• Words Upon the Window Pane (1994) as Mrs. Henderson
• Moll Flanders (1996) as Edna
• The Man Who Knew Too Little (1997) as Dr. Ludmilla Kropotkin
• The Luzhin Defence (2000) as Vera
• Lover's Prayer (2001) as Mother
• Tom & Thomas (2002) as Miss Tromp
• An Angel for May (2002)
• Calendar Girls (2003) as Marie
• Northanger Abbey (2007) as the narrator
• Sherlock Holmes (2009) as Mrs Hudson
• Alice in Wonderland (2010) as Lady Ascot
• Made in Dagenham (2010) as Connie
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) as Cecilia Vanger
• Arthur (2011) as Vivienne Bach
• Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011) as Mrs Hudson
• 45 Years (2015) as Lena
• Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016) as Lady Ascot
• Rogue One (2016) as Jaldine Gerams (Blue 3)
• Daphne (2017)
• Anne with an E (2017) as Marilla Cuthbert
• Megan Leavey (2017) as The Veterinarian
• Beast (2017)
• Downton Abbey (2019)^[14] as Mary of Teck
• Benediction (2021)

Television

More information Year, Title ...

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1976	The Sweeney: Pay Off	Shirley Glass
1977	Dummy	Sandra X
1979	Shoestring		"Nine tenths of the law."
1981	The History Man	Barbara Kirk
1982	I Remember Nelson	Emma Hamilton
1984	The Jewel in the Crown	Sarah Layton
1985	Blott on the Landscape	Lady Maud Lynchwood
1988	Echoes	Angela O'Hara
1991	Inspector Morse: Who Killed Harry Field	Helen Field
1992	A Doll's House	Kristine Linde
1995–1997	Band of Gold	Rose Garrety
1995–1999	Kavanagh QC	Eleanor Harker QC
1997	Rebecca	Beatrice
—	Little Britain	Mother of Harvey Pincher	Cameo
2000	The Sins	Gloria Green
2003	State of Play	Yvonne Shaps
2004	Hex	Lilith Hughes
2004	He Knew He Was Right	Lady Rowley
2005	Agatha Christie's Poirot – After the Funeral	Helen Abernethie
2006	The Amazing Mrs Pritchard	Hilary Rees-Benson
2006	A Harlot's Progress
2006	Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire	Cornelia
2008	The Last Enemy	Barbara Turney
2008	Heist	Joanna
2010	Midsomer Murders	Miranda Bedford	Series 13, episode 8, "Fit for Murder"
2012	Thirteen Steps Down	Gwendolyn
2013	Utopia	Milner
2015	Black Work	Chief Constable Carolyn Jarecki
2016	The Five	Julia Wells
2017–2019	Anne with an E	Marilla Cuthbert	Adaptation of Anne of Green Gables
2019–2021	Back to Life	Caroline Matteson
2021	The Beast Must Die	Joy
2023	Silo	Mayor Ruth Jahns
2024	This Town	Marie	[15]
TBA	Dope Girls		[16]
2026	Run Away	Mother Adiona

Close