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Miranda Richardson Biography Quotes 9 Report mistakes

Miranda Richardson, Actress
Attr: Rhododendrites
9 Quotes
Born asMiranda Jane Richardson
Occup.Actress
FromEngland
BornMarch 3, 1958
Southport, Lancashire, England
Age67 years
Early Life and Training
Miranda Richardson was born on March 3, 1958, in Southport, Lancashire, England, and became one of the most versatile British actors of her generation. Drawn early to performance, she trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, a proving ground for many leading UK performers. After graduating, she moved quickly into professional repertory and national stages, building a foundation in classical technique and contemporary drama that would inform her later work on screen. Early stage engagements led to attention from casting directors and filmmakers, positioning her to move between theatre, television, and film with unusual ease.

Breakthrough on Stage and Screen
Richardson's first major screen breakthrough came with Dance with a Stranger (1985), directed by Mike Newell, in which she portrayed Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in the United Kingdom. The performance, opposite Rupert Everett and Ian Holm, announced a performer capable of emotional precision and psychological depth. Almost immediately, she showed an equal command of comedy on television, joining Rowan Atkinson, Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, and Tim McInnerny in Blackadder II (1986) as the gleefully capricious Queen Elizabeth I. That dual impact, dramatic and comedic, became a hallmark of her career.

International Recognition in Film
The early 1990s were decisive. Richardson earned international acclaim in a trio of films that showcased different facets of her range: The Crying Game (1992) for director Neil Jordan, Louis Malle's Damage (1992) opposite Jeremy Irons and Juliette Binoche, and Enchanted April (1992), again with Mike Newell. She received an Academy Award nomination for Damage and another for Tom & Viv (1994), in which she played Vivienne Haigh-Wood opposite Willem Dafoe's T. S. Eliot. She won Golden Globes for Enchanted April and for the television film Fatherland (1994), affirming a reputation for complex, layered characterizations.

Comedy and Television
While her film career accelerated, Richardson remained a vivid presence on British television. Blackadder became a recurring touchstone, and she later appeared in specials that reunited the ensemble around Rowan Atkinson's antihero. She continued to seek demanding roles in high-end drama, among them Stephen Poliakoff's The Lost Prince (2003), and later distinguished herself in the BBC adaptation of And Then There Were None (2015) as Emily Brent. In the 21st century she embraced genre storytelling, joining the Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett adaptation Good Omens (2019, ) opposite Michael Sheen and David Tennant, first as Madame Tracy and later as the demon Shax, bringing arch wit and theatrical flair to the series.

Later Career: Fantasy, Thriller, and Voice Work
Richardson's filmography across the later 1990s and 2000s mixes period drama, fantasy, and noir-tinged thriller. She worked with Tim Burton on Sleepy Hollow (1999), sharing the screen with Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci; voiced the indelibly formidable Mrs. Tweedy in Aardman's Chicken Run (2000), created by Nick Park and Peter Lord; and returned to the role in Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (2023). She portrayed the unscrupulous journalist Rita Skeeter in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), crossing paths with Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint. With David Cronenberg she delivered a haunting dual turn in Spider (2002) opposite Ralph Fiennes, and she collaborated with Robert Altman on Kansas City (1996). She joined Joel Schumacher's The Phantom of the Opera (2004), and later played Barbara Castle alongside Sally Hawkins in Made in Dagenham (2010). In Churchill (2017), she portrayed Clementine Churchill opposite Brian Cox, bringing nuance to a figure often overshadowed by historical tides.

Collaborations and Craft
Throughout her career, Richardson has been sought out by directors with distinct visual and narrative signatures: Louis Malle, Neil Jordan, Mike Newell, Tim Burton, David Cronenberg, Robert Altman, Joel Schumacher, and Stephen Poliakoff. Her screen partners have ranged from Jeremy Irons and Juliette Binoche to Willem Dafoe, Stephen Rea, Forest Whitaker, Jaye Davidson, Johnny Depp, Ralph Fiennes, and Brian Cox. Colleagues and critics often note her ability to transform physically and vocally from role to role, whether embodying high comedy as in Blackadder or channeling brittle vulnerability and danger in Damage and Dance with a Stranger. She moves readily from leading turns to incisive supporting roles, enriching ensembles without diluting her presence.

Recognition and Influence
Richardson's body of work has been honored with two Academy Award nominations and multiple BAFTA nominations, as well as Golden Globe wins for both film and television. She has earned accolades from critics' groups on both sides of the Atlantic and remains a frequent presence in prestigious festival lineups. Yet her public profile has often stayed refreshingly low-key; she is recognized less for celebrity than for the consistency and daring of her choices. Younger performers cite her as a model for how to balance mainstream projects with character-driven work, and how to retain individuality within large franchises.

Continuing Work and Legacy
Now decades into a sustained career, Richardson continues to alternate among stage, television, and film, returning to roles that audiences cherish and seeking new challenges with established and emerging directors. Whether inhabiting historical figures, conjuring comic royalty, or voicing a clay-and-feather villain, she invests characters with specific rhythms, contradictions, and emotional stakes. Her legacy is that of a consummate British actor whose range bridges theatre traditions and global screen storytelling, and whose collaborations with artists like Mike Newell, Louis Malle, Tim Burton, David Cronenberg, and Neil Gaiman have resulted in some of the most memorable performances of contemporary British acting.

Our collection contains 9 quotes who is written by Miranda, under the main topics: Witty One-Liners - Wisdom - Hope - Resilience - Optimism.
Frequently Asked Questions
  • Miranda Richardson daughter: She does not have any publicly known children or a daughter.
  • Miranda Richardson Good Omens: In Good Omens season 2 she plays the demon Shax, taking over Hell’s representative role on Earth.
  • Miranda Richardson Doctor Who: She has not appeared in the main Doctor Who TV series, though she has been fancast and rumored for roles by fans.
  • Miranda Richardson Harry Potter: She played journalist Rita Skeeter in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005).
  • Miranda Richardson nominations: She has received two Academy Award nominations, several BAFTA nominations, and won two Golden Globe Awards for her film and TV work.
  • Miranda Richardson Blackadder: In Blackadder II she played Queen Elizabeth I (Queenie), and she returned in Blackadder specials as various characters.
  • Miranda Richardson Queenie: She famously played Queen Elizabeth I, nicknamed Queenie, in the TV comedy series Blackadder II.
  • Miranda Richardson partner: Miranda Richardson is very private about her personal life and is not publicly known to have a long‑term partner or spouse.
  • How old is Miranda Richardson? She is 67 years old
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9 Famous quotes by Miranda Richardson