Personal Info
Known For:
Acting
Birthday:
June 3, 1946
Place of Birth:
Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England, UK
Social Media
Penelope Wilton
Biography
Dame Penelope Alice Wilton DBE(born 3 June 1946) is an English actress. She was formerly married to fellow actor Sir Ian Holm, and as she has not remarried, she retains her married style of Lady Holm.
Wilton is known for starring opposite Richard Briers in the BBC sitcom Ever Decreasing Circles (1984–1989), playing Homily in The Borrowers (1992) and The Return of the Borrowers(1993), and for her role as the widowed Isobel Crawley in the ITV drama Downton Abbey (2010–2015). She also played the recurring role of Harriet Jones in Doctor Who (2005–2008) and Anne in Ricky Gervais' Netflix dark comedy After Life.
Wilton has had an extensive career on stage, receiving six Olivier Award nominations. She was nominated for Man and Superman (1981), The Secret Rapture (1988), The Deep Blue Sea(1994), John Gabriel Borkman (2008) and The Chalk Garden (2009) before winning the 2015 Olivier Award for Best Actress for Taken at Midnight. Her film appearances include Clockwise (1986), Cry Freedom (1987), Blame It on the Bellboy (1992), Calendar Girls (2003), Shaun of the Dead (2004), Match Point (2005), Pride & Prejudice (2005), The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012), The Girl (2012), The BFG (2016) and The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (2023).
Description above from the Wikipedia article Penelope Wilton, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Filmography
| Year | TV Show | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Dead Hot | Francine |
| 2023 | Murder Is Easy | Miss Pinkerton |
| 2019 | After Life | Anne |
| 2016 | Brief Encounters | Pauline |
| 2011 | South Riding | Mrs Beddows |
| 2010 | Downton Abbey | Isobel Merton |
| 2008 | The Passion | Mary |
| 2007 | Five Days | Barbara Poole |
| 2005 | Doctor Who | |
| 2005 | Doctor Who | Harriet Jones |
| 2003 | Comedy Connections | |
| 2001 | Bob & Rose | Monica Gossage |
| 1999 | Wives and Daughters | Mrs. Hamley |
| 1995 | Kavanagh Q.C. | Barbara Watkins |
| 1993 | The Return of the Borrowers | Homily |
| 1992 | Screaming | |
| 1992 | The Borrowers | Homily |
| 1991 | Performance | Beth |
| 1988 | Talking Heads | Rosemary |
| 1985 | C.A.T.S. Eyes | |
| 1984 | Ever Decreasing Circles | |
| 1982 | The Tale of Beatrix Potter | Beatrix Potter |
| 1978 | The BBC Television Shakespeare | Regan |
| 1978 | An Audience with... | Self |
| 1978 | The BBC Television Shakespeare | Desdemona |
| 1977 | The Norman Conquests | Annie |
| 1970 | Play for Today | Virginia Carlion |