Tamsin Greig

A much-loved actress in her native England, Tamsin Greig cornered the market on women who balanced their emotional and professional lives with varying degrees of humor and pathos on such popular British series as "Black Books" (Channel 4, 2000-04), "Green Wing" (Channel 4, 2004-07) and "Episodes" (Showtime/BBC 2, 2011- ). An unconventional beauty with an impressive knack for physical comedy, Greig's characters grappled with life and love on their own terms, which, in the case of Fran Katzenjammer on "Black Books," meant copious amounts of liquor and anonymous hookups, while on "Green Wing," Dr. Caroline Todd found romance more mortifying than satisfactory. Her sympathetic and frequently hilarious performances made her an audience favorite in her native country, and she further impressed by earning an Olivier Award in 2006 for a production of "Much Ado About Nothing." Television seemed to be her preferred medium, and in 2011, she made the leap to American TV in the raunchy "Episodes," co-starring Matt LeBlanc as a broad caricature of himself as a self-centered, self-destructive Hollywood star. With each subsequent production, Greig proved herself to be one of England's most accomplished television performers.