Geraldine James, OBE (born 6 July 1950), is an English film, television, and stage actress. Born in Maidenhead, Berkshire, she trained at the Drama Centre London and began her professional acting career in the 1970s.
She gained recognition for her performances in the television drama Dummy (1977) and the miniseries The Jewel in the Crown (1984). Her performance alongside Peggy Ashcroft in She’s Been Away (1989) earned her the Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival.
Her film credits include Gandhi (1982), Calendar Girls (2003), Sherlock Holmes (2009), Alice in Wonderland (2010), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011), and 45 Years (2015). She portrayed Mrs. Hudson in Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes films and Queen Mary in Downton Abbey (2019) and Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022).
James is also known for her television roles in Band of Gold (1995), Utopia (2013-2014), Anne with an E (2017-2019), and Silo (2023). Her portrayal of Marilla Cuthbert in Anne with an E brought her widespread international recognition.
Throughout her career, she has received four BAFTA Television Award nominations and has performed extensively in theater, including a Broadway production of The Merchant of Venice opposite Dustin Hoffman. She was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2003 for her services to drama.
as Laura
as Nancy Packer(5 eps)
as Mother Adiona(3 eps)
as Tekla
as Isabella Salucci(6 eps)
as Marie(1 ep)
as Self - Narrator (voice)
as Mayor Ruth Jahns(3 eps)
as Theresa Thornycroft
as Joy(5 eps)
as Self - Narrator (voice)
as Queen Mary
as Caroline Matteson(12 eps)
as Hilary Huntington
as Dr. Turbeville
as Marilla Cuthbert(27 eps)
as Rita
as Blue Three
as Lady Ascot
as Julie Wells(10 eps)
as CC Carolyn Jarecki(3 eps)
as Lena
as Herself - Narrator(3 eps)
as Monique
as Jane(1 ep)
as Martha
as Oonagh Shanley-Toffolo
as Voice of Dr. Easy
as Maria Skłodowska-Curie's letters read by
as Milner(8 eps)
as Gwendolen Chawcer
as Gwendolen Chawcer(2 eps)
as The Farmer's Wife
as Liz / Lydia(1 ep)
as Cecilia Vanger
as Mrs. Hudson
as Self - Participant(1 ep)
as Narrator(2 eps)
as Vivienne
as Connie
as Self(1 ep)
as Self(1 ep)
as Lady Ascot
as Mrs. Hudson
as Joyce Perkins
as Celia(6 eps)
as Barbara Turney(5 eps)
as Dr Evelyne Conan-Bell(1 ep)
as Nell(1 ep)
as Mrs Brooke(1 ep)
as Joanna the Concubine
as Narrator (voice)
as Jane Austen (voice)
as Eileen
as Eileen(6 eps)
as Mother Needham
as Hilary Rees-Benson(6 eps)
as Cornelia(1 ep)
as Lorraine Hall(6 eps)
as Lilith Hughes(3 eps)
as Ranevskaya
as Lady Rowley(3 eps)
as Harvey's Mother(4 eps)
as Marie
as Elizabeth Powell
as Yvonne Shaps(2 eps)
as Mrs. Mortimer
as Joyce Malfen(4 eps)
as Joyce Malfen
as Hans's Mother(2 eps)
as Susan Higgins
as Pulcheria(2 eps)
as Mum
as Miss Tromp
as Susan Higgins(4 eps)
as Mother
as Gloria Green(7 eps)
as Vera, Natalia's Mother
as Val Price(3 eps)
as Ludmilla Kropotkin
as Ruth Jones(5 eps)
as Miranda Bedford(1 ep)
as Beatrice(2 eps)
as Edna
as Lady Billingham(2 eps)
as Rose Garrity(18 eps)
as Eleanor Harker QC(4 eps)
as Eleanor Harker Q.C.(1 ep)
as Sarah Williams
as Mrs. Henderson
as Dr. Mercedes Honeysett
as Anne O'Dwyer
as Kristine Linde
as Mrs. Dewey
as Mrs. Todd
as Rebeca Osorio
as Dr Trish Collings(4 eps)
as Kristine Linde(1 ep)
as Alice
as Dr Irene Gayus(1 ep)
as Vendetta Galante
as Gertrude Brisket
as Alice(1 ep)
as Mrs. Dewey(1 ep)
as Sarah Williams(1 ep)
as Harriet Ambrose
as Carmen
as Helen Abernethie(1 ep)
as Angela O'Hara(5 eps)
as Krista Donner
as Helen Field(1 ep)
as Madge Conway
as Lady Maud Lynchwood(6 eps)
as Sarah Layton(12 eps)
as Self(2 eps)
as Mirabehn
as Janine
as Lady Emma Hamilton(4 eps)
as Barbara Kirk(4 eps)
as Pamela
as Ritchie's Wife
as Hesther
as Mary Philips(1 ep)
as Sally
as Mary Sutherland(5 eps)
as Barbara Kirk(1 ep)
as Miss Hunt
as Self(1 ep)
as Sandra
as Shirley Glass(1 ep)
as Hesther(1 ep)
as Janine(1 ep)
as Julie Gilmour(3 eps)
as Miss Hunt(1 ep)