Biography
This page uses content from the Julie Walters biography page on the English version of Wikipedia and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. This list of authors can be seen in the page history. Rotten Tomatoes disclaims any and all warranties as to the accuracy or reliability of the content.
Julia Mary Walters, OBE (born February 22, 1950) is an English Golden Globe-winning actress.
Biography
Early life
Walters was born in Smethwick, West Midlands, England; her mother was Irish and Catholic.[1][2] Walters originally trained as a nurse at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, before studying English and Drama at Manchester and pursuing a performance career. She first became known as the occasional partner of comedienne Victoria Wood, whom she had met at Manchester. Their series, Wood and Walters, appeared on television in 1982, and they have continued to perform together frequently over the years. Some of Walters' best-known roles include Mrs Overall in Wood's spoof soap opera, Acorn Antiques and Petula Gordino in Wood's sitcom dinnerladies.
Career
Before making her London stage debut in Educating Rita, Walters had worked in regional theatre (including the Everyman Theatre, Liverpool), stand-up comedy and cabaret. Her first serious acting role on TV was in the classic Boys from the Blackstuff in 1980, and she broke into films with her Academy Award nominated and BAFTA Best Actress award-winning performance opposite Michael Caine in Educating Rita (1983), a role she had created on the West End stage.
Walters has won numerous other acting awards, and was made an OBE in 1999 for her services to drama. In 2001, she won a Laurence Olivier award for her performance in Arthur Miller's All My Sons. She received her second BAFTA for her supporting role as the ballet teacher in Billy Elliot (2000). She often plays older women, and, in 2002, she won the BAFTA Television Best Actress award for her performance as Paul Reiser's mother in My Beautiful Son. Walters also played Molly Weasley in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002),Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) and will reprise her role in the upcoming Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007).
In 2004 Walters starred as a widow determined to make some good come out of her husband's death from cancer in Calendar Girls, which also starred Helen Mirren and Ciarán Hinds; in 2005, Walters again starred as an inspirational real-life figure in Ahead of the Class.
In 2006, she came 4th in ITV's poll of the public's 50 Greatest Stars, coming four placed above frequent co-star Victoria Wood.
Partial filmography
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
- Dawn French's Girls Who Do Comedy Three part factual TV series (2006)
- Driving Lessons (2006)
- Wah-Wah (2005)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
- Calendar Girls (2003)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001)
- Billy Elliot (2000)
- Oliver Twist (1999) (miniseries)
- Titanic Town (film) (1998)
- Dinnerladies (1998) (TV series)
- Intimate Relations (1996)
- Sister My Sister (1994)
- Buster (1988)
- G.B.H. (1991) (TV series)
- Prick Up Your Ears (1987)
- Personal Services (1987)
- Talking Heads (1987) (miniseries)
- Acorn Antiques (1986) (TV series)
- She'll Be Wearing Pink Pyjamas ( 1984)×
- Educating Rita (1983)
- Boys from the Blackstuff (1982) (miniseries)
External link
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