Juliet Stevenson

Juliet Anne Virginia Stevenson, (born 30 October 1956) is an English actress of stage and screen, and a narrator. She is known for her role in the film Truly, Madly, Deeply (1991), for which she was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Her other film appearances include Emma (1996), Bend It Like Beckham (2002), Mona Lisa Smile (2003), Being Julia (2004), Infamous (2006), The Enfield Haunting (2015), Wolf (2023), and Reawakening (2024).

In theatre, she has starred in numerous Royal Shakespeare Company and National Theatre productions, including Olivier Award nominated roles in Measure for Measure (1984), Les Liaisons Dangereuses (1986), and Yerma (1987). For her role as Paulina in Death and the Maiden (1991–92), she won the 1992 Olivier Award for Best Actress. Her fifth Olivier nomination was for her work in the 2009 revival of Duet for One. She has also received three nominations for the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress: for A Doll's House (1992), The Politician's Wife (1995) and Accused (2010). Other stage roles include The Heretic (2011) and Happy Days (2014).

Early life

Stevenson was born in Kelvedon, Essex, England, the daughter of Virginia Ruth (née Marshall), a teacher, and Michael Guy Stevenson, an army officer.^{[citation needed]} Stevenson's father was assigned a new posting every two and a half years.^[1] When Stevenson was nine, she attended Berkshire's Hurst Lodge School in Ascot,^[2] and she was later educated at the independent St Catherine's School in Bramley, near Guildford, Surrey, and at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA).^[3] Stevenson was part of the 'new wave' of actors to emerge from the Academy.^{[citation needed]} Others included Jonathan Pryce, Bruce Payne, Alan Rickman, Anton Lesser, Kenneth Branagh, Imelda Staunton and Fiona Shaw.^{[citation needed]} She started her stage career in 1978 with the Royal Shakespeare Company.^{[citation needed]}

Career

Although she has gained fame through her television and film work and has often undertaken roles for BBC Radio, she is known as a stage actress. Significant stage roles include her performances as Isabella in Measure for Measure, Madame de Tourvel in Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Anna in the UK premiere of Burn This in 1990 and Paulina in Death and the Maiden at the Royal Court theatre and the West End (1991–92). For the last she was awarded the 1992 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress.^[4]

In the 1987 TV film Life Story, Stevenson played the part of scientist Rosalind Franklin, for which she won a Cable Ace award.^[5] She played the leading role in the Anthony Minghella film Truly, Madly, Deeply (1991) and her roles in The Secret Rapture (1993), Emma (1996), Bend It Like Beckham (2002) and Mona Lisa Smile (2003). She has more recently starred in Pierrepoint (2006), Infamous (2006) as Diana Vreeland and Breaking and Entering (2006) as Rosemary, the therapist. In 2003, she played the mother of an autistic child in the television film Hear the Silence, a film promoting the now debunked claims of Andrew Wakefield that the MMR vaccine was responsible for autism in children.^[6] The film makers and Stevenson were criticised as Wakefield's professionalism was already seriously in doubt.^[6][7]

In 2008, she starred in ITV's A Place of Execution. The role won her the Best Actress Dagger at the 2009 Crime Thriller Awards.^[8] She performs as a book reader, and has recorded all of Jane Austen's novels as unabridged audiobooks, as well as a number of other novels, such as Lady Windermere's Fan, Hedda Gabler, Stories from Shakespeare, and To the Lighthouse. She received lifetime achievement prize at Women in Film And TV awards.^[9]

In 2024, she played Mary, the mother of a returning missing child in the British psychological thriller film Reawakening, alongside Erin Doherty and Jared Harris.^[10]

Personal life

Stevenson married her long-time partner, British anthropologist Hugh Brody, in 2021. They have a daughter and a son and live in Suffolk, but she also has an apartment in New York.^[11][12] She is an atheist but considers herself a spiritual and superstitious person.^[13][14]

In 2008, she campaigned on behalf of refugee women^[15] with a reading at the Young Vic of Motherland,^[16][17] in protest against conditions at Yarl's Wood immigration detention centre.^[18][19] Directed by Stevenson, with a script written by Natasha Walter, Motherland was described in The Guardian as "an intelligent and shocking piece of theatre", with Anthony Barnett characterising it as "skilful and engrossing, a mixture of drama and performance, witness and testimony, music and reporting."^[20]

Stevenson is patron of the UK registered charity LAM Action, which provides support, information and encouragement to patients with Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) and their families, and raises funds to advance research into LAM.^[21] She is also an Amnesty Ambassador,^[22] and is patron of two other charities: Young Roots, a charity for young refugees; and Antenatal Results and Choices,^[23] which supports parents who have had a diagnosis of fetal anomaly.

On 12 September 2016, Stevenson, as well as Cate Blanchett, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Peter Capaldi, Douglas Booth, Neil Gaiman, Keira Knightley, Jesse Eisenberg, Kit Harington and Stanley Tucci, featured in a video from the United Nations' refugee agency UNHCR to help raise awareness of the global refugee crisis. The video, titled "What They Took With Them", has the actors reading a poem written by Jenifer Toksvig and inspired by primary accounts of refugees, and is part of UNHCR's #WithRefugees campaign, which also includes a petition to governments to expand asylum to provide further shelter, integrating job opportunities and education.^[24][25]

Stevenson's friends and frequent collaborators include director Robert Icke,^[26][27][28] comedian and feminist broadcaster Deborah Frances-White,^[29][30] poet Aviva Dautch^[31][32][33] and concert pianist Lucy Parham.^[34][35]

Stevenson is also a painter and has talked about how her art has helped her through difficult moments such as the COVID-19 lockdown and the death of her stepson.^[36]

Stevenson regularly attends protests in support of the people of Palestine. On 30 November 2024 she spoke at the National March for Palestine in London, highlighting the difference in the way the plight of the Palestinian people is portrayed in comparison to other people, and saying: "As artists we cannot remain silent in the face of such gross violations. Violations of human rights and of international law. Violations of the truth and of every human instinct."^[37] In September 2025, she signed an open pledge with Film Workers for Palestine pledging not to work with Israeli film institutions "that are implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people."^[38]

Filmography

Film

Television

Narration

In addition to her acting work, Stevenson has provided voice-overs for numerous film and TV documentaries, including:

• Horizon (6 episodes; 1988–2005)
• Greek Fire (9 episodes; 1990–1991)
• Equinox (1 episode; 1992)
• The World of Eric Carle (1 episode; 1993)
• Network First (1 episode; 1994)
• Paris Was a Woman (film, 1996)
• Anglia at Peace (4 episodes; 1996)
• Evita, una tumba sin paz (film, 1997)
• An Awfully Big Adventure (1 episode; 1998)
• B.P. Confidential! (TV film, 1998)
• Secret History (2 episodes; 1999, 2000)
• Hidden Love (1 episode; 2000)
• Animated Tales of the World (1 episode; 2000)
• The Real... (2 episodes; 2000, 2002)
• The Great Sperm Race (TV film, 2003)
• The Hunt for the Camden Ripper (TV film, 2004)
• Why Intelligence Fails (mini-series; 2004)
• John Wyndham: The Invisible Man of Science Fiction (TV film, 2005)
• Israel and the Arabs: Elusive Peace (3 episodes; 2005)
• Cutting Edge (2 episodes; 2005, 2006)
• In Search of Mozart (film, 2006)
• Dispatches (1 episode; 2007)
• London Calling: Inside BBC World Service (3 episodes; 2007)
• I Can't Believe I'm Telling You This (TV film, 2008)
• Arena (1 episode; 2008)
• In Search of Beethoven (film, 2009)
• True Stories (1 episode; 2011)
• In Search of Haydn (film, 2012)
• Russia's Open Book: Writing in the Age of Putin (film, 2013)
• Natural World (5 episodes; 2013–2016)
• In Search of Chopin (film, 2014)
• Pakistan's Hidden Shame (film, 2014)
• Invictus Games (TV series, 2014)
• 60 Years of Carols from King's (TV Special, 2014)
• 1066: A Year to Conquer England (3 episodes; 2017)
• Russia 1917: Countdown to Revolution (TV film, 2017)
• Queens of Mystery (12 episodes; 2019–2021)
• Wander (short film, 2020)
• Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius (3 episodes; 2023)
• Mozart: Rise of a Genius (3 episodes; 2024)
• Jane Austen: Rise of a Genius (3 episodes; 2025)

Theatre

Audio recordings

A partial list of Stevenson's audio recordings:

• Man and Superman, BBC Audiobooks, 1998 (Broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1996). Production featured Juliet Stevenson, Ralph Fiennes and Judi Dench. It also included an interview with the director, Peter Hall
• Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, Penguin Audiobooks, 1997
• The Plague Tales, BDD, c. 1997
• Hamlet by William Shakespeare, BBC Radio Collection, 1999 (with Michael Sheen)
• When Love Speaks (2002, EMI Classics) – "Sonnet 128" ("How oft, when thou, my music ...")
• Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (2004 BBC Radio 3)
• The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield, Unabridged, Orion audiobook (2006)
• Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen. Unabridged, Naxos audiobook, 7 CDs (2006)
• Persuasion by Jane Austen. Unabridged, Naxos audiobook, 7 CDs (2007)
• Mansfield Park by Jane Austen. Unabridged, Naxos audiobook, 14 CDs (2007)
• Emma by Jane Austen. Unabridged, Naxos audiobook, 13 CDs (2007)
• Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen, Unabridged, Naxos audiobook (2007)
• Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon. Abridged, CSA Word Classic, 4 CDs (2007)
• The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë
• I, Coriander by Sally Gardner
• The King's General by Daphne du Maurier
• An Unequal Marriage by Emma Tennant
• From Shakespeare with Love by William Shakespeare. David Tennant (narrator), Juliet Stevenson (narrator), Anton Lesser (narrator), Alex Jennings (narrator)
• Rebecca, Frenchman's Creek & My Cousin Rachel (Daphne du Maurier Collection) by Daphne du Maurier. Juliet Stevenson (narrator), Daniel Massey (narrator), Michael Maloney (narrator)
• A Room with a View by E.M. Forster
• The London Tapes by Juliet Stevenson
• Ancient and Modern by Sue Gee (2004)
• Alentejo Blue by Monica Ali, abridged (2006)
• North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell, unabridged (2009)
• The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing (2010)
• A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf (2011)
• Middlemarch by George Eliot. Unabridged, Naxos Audiobooks (2011)
• Goldfish Girl by Peter Souter (2011)
• Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers (2012)^[42]
• The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert (2013)
• The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters, unabridged (2014)
• Apple Tree Yard by Louise Doughty, unabridged (2014)
• Belgravia by Julian Fellowes, (2016)^[43]
• Miss Marple’s Final Cases by Agatha Christie (2022)
• Stevenson's speaking voice is heard in the historical symposium which opens and closes the production of The Handmaid's Tale at English National Opera in 2024.^[44]

Honours

In the 1999 Queens Birthday Honours, Stevenson was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).

She is a patron of the London International Festival of Theatre.^[45]

Awards and nominations

Film

Television

Theatre

See also

• List of British actors
• List of atheists in film, radio, television and theater

References

1. ^ "My Secret Life: Juliet Stevenson". Independent.co.uk. 10 January 2009. Archived 25 February 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
2. ^ Sierz, Aleks (7 November 2005). "Why Juliet Dreads the Boards". The Daily Telegraph. Archived 13 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
3. ^ According to Who's Who on Television (1982 edition)
4. ^ [1] Archived 11 June 2009 at archive.today
5. ^ Juliet Stevenson at IMDb
6. ^ "Juliet Stevenson: 'I would love a completely different life?'". The Daily Telegraph. 18 February 2008. Archived 1 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
7. ^ Aaronovitch, David (14 December 2003). "A travesty of truth". The Guardian. Archived 2 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
8. ^ Flood, Alison (22 October 2009). "British readers vote Harlan Coben their favourite crime writer". London: guardian.co.uk (Guardian News & Media). Archived 5 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 28 October 2009.
9. ^ "Juliet Stevenson receives lifetime achievement prize at Women in Film And TV awards". Sky News. Archived 8 December 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2018-12-07.
10. ^ "Reawakening". westendfilms.com. 2023. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
11. ^ Howell, Madeleine (8 August 2022). "Juliet Stevenson: 'Alan Rickman was never easy – but brilliant people never are'" (interview). The Telegraph. Archived 25 November 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
12. ^ Dugan, Emily (22 May 2011). "Juliet Stevenson: 'I'd much rather live a useful life than be rich'". Independent. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
13. ^ Dodd, Celia (14 March 2008). "Actress Juliet Stevenson reveals that her toughest role is being an older mother". The Times. Archived from the original on 21 November 2008. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
14. ^ Sign Up (25 July 2008). "National Secular Society – Coming out as atheist – Billy Connolly, Juliet Stevenson and Peter O'Toole". Secularism.org.uk. Archived 13 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
15. ^ "Juliet Stevenson: 'I would love a completely different life?'". The Daily Telegraph. 18 February 2008. Archived 1 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
16. ^ Parsons, Tan (8 February 2008). "Juliet Stevenson is truly, deeply sad about refugees". Ham & High. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
17. ^ Barnett, Anthony (11 March 2008). "The real face of asylum". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
18. ^ Verkaik, Robert (2 March 2008). "Theatre stars unite for reform of 'brutal' UK asylum system". The Independent. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
19. ^ Barnett, Anthony (7 March 2008). "Motherland is a must". openDemocracy. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
20. ^ Barnett, Anthony (13 March 2008). "Political theatre presenting lives not lectures". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
21. ^ "LAM Action". Archived 26 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
22. ^ "Juliet Stevenson: Amnesty Ambassador". www.amnesty.org.uk. Archived 19 May 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-05-19.
23. ^ "ARC News December 2023 by ARCantenatal - Issuu". 13 December 2023.
24. ^ "2016 Stories – #WithRefugees". Archived 19 September 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
25. ^ "What They Took With Them – #WithRefugees". 2016-09-07. Archived 19 September 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
26. ^ Billington, Michael (2019-08-21). "The Doctor review – Robert Icke offers brilliant diagnosis of modern ills". The Guardian. Archived 19 May 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-05-19.
27. ^ Galton, Bridget (2017-06-21). "Juliet Stevenson: 'I thought I'd be bored but I love playing Gertrude'". Islington Gazette. Archived 19 May 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-05-19.
28. ^ "Mary Stuart". Almeida Theatre. Archived 19 May 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-05-19.
29. ^ "The Guilty Feminist: 105. Mothers and Daughters with Juliet Stevenson and Rosalind Brody". guiltyfeminist.libsyn.com. Archived 19 May 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-05-19.
30. ^ "The Secret Policeman's Tour". www.amnesty.org.uk. Archived 19 May 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-05-19.
31. ^ "BBC Radio 4 – We Sigh for Houses". BBC. Archived 19 May 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-05-19.
32. ^ "JR July 2020 Issue Launch". Jewish Renaissance. 26 July 2020. Archived 19 May 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-05-19.
33. ^ "Literary Reflections – Deborah Freeman". www.deborahfreeman.co.uk. Archived 19 May 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-05-19.
34. ^ "Lucy Parham with Juliet Stevenson: I, Clara". mysite. Archived 19 May 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-05-19.
35. ^ "Juliet Stevenson". Lucy Parham. Archived 19 May 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-05-19.
36. ^ Mallinson, Mathilda (2021-04-21). "'When I paint, all the voices in my head go still': Juliet Stevenson on how art got her through lockdown". The Guardian. Archived 19 May 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-05-19.
37. ^ Siedlecka, Jo (4 December 2024). "Text: Juliet Stevenson at Saturday's national peace march". Independent Catholic News. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
38. ^ "Film Workers Pledge to End Complicity". Film Workers For Palestine. Retrieved 2025-09-09.
39. ^ "Who Dealt? at IMDB". IMDb. Archived 8 February 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
40. ^ Lardner, Ring (1929). "Who Dealt?". Round Up: The Stories of Ring W. Lardner. Charles Scribner's Sons
41. ^ "BBC releases first look imagery for new crime thriller series Wolf". bbc.co.uk/mediacentre. 15 February 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
42. ^ "Mary Poppins". BBC. Archived 8 February 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2020-12-30.
43. ^ Julian Fellowes's Belgravia. 27 June 2017. ISBN 9781478940371. Archived 9 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
44. ^ Shapiro, Yehuda. Report on The Handmaid's Tale, London, February 2024. Opera, April 2024, Vol.75 No.4, p524-525.
45. ^ "Meet The Team" Archived 11 September 2016 at the Wayback Machine, LIFT. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
46. ^ "BAFTA Awards search Juliet Stevenson". BAFTA site. Archived 2 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
47. ^ "Outstanding Narrator Nominees / Winners 2019". Television Academy. Archived 5 November 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
48. ^ "Just announced! Full list of 2019 Critics' Circle Awards winners and production photos | Critics' Circle Theatre Awards". 2020-02-11. Archived 22 January 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
49. ^ "Olivier Winners 1984". Olivier Awards. Archived 22 January 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
50. ^ "Olivier Winners 1986". Olivier Awards. Archived 22 January 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
51. ^ "Olivier Winners 1987". Olivier Awards. Archived 27 November 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
52. ^ "Olivier winners 1992". Olivier Awards. Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
53. ^ agencies, Staff and (2009-11-09). "Royal Court theatre celebrates 11 Evening Standard award nominations thanks to the success of Enron and Jerusalem". The Guardian. Archived 26 July 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
54. ^ "Winners of Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2009". www.standard.co.uk. 2012-04-10. Archived 20 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
55. ^ "Olivier Awards Winners 2010 -Official London Theatre". Olivier Awards. Archived 27 November 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
56. ^ Paskett, Zoe (2019-11-25). "The 2019 Evening Standard Theatre Awards winners in full". standard.co.uk. Archived 22 January 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
57. ^ "2019 Results | Critics' Circle Theatre Awards". 2020-02-11. Archived 28 January 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
58. ^ "Olivier Awards 2020 with Mastercard – Theatre's Biggest Night". Olivier Awards. Archived 3 March 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
59. ^ Culwell-Block, Logan (10 June 2024). "Stereophonic Leads 2024 Drama Desk Awards With 7 Wins Including Outstanding Play". Playbill. Retrieved 2025-03-27.

External links

• Juliet Stevenson at the British Film Institute
• Juliet Stevenson at IMDb
• Juliet Stevenson: The Power of Story Telling in The Guardian