Harriet Walter

Dame Harriet Mary Walter, DBE was born on 24th September 1950. She is a well-known stage and screen actress who worked in films like Sense and Sensibility (1995), The Governess (1998), Villa des Roses (2002), Atonement (2007) & Man Up(2015). In the television industry, she played characters like Natalie Chandler in drama series Law & Order: UK (2009-14) & Lady Prudence Shackleton in Downton Abbey(2013-15).

Her career started through Broadway debut in 1983. Throughout her career, she mainly worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Her other theater works include Three Birds Alighting on a Field. Arcadia (1993), Hedda Gabler, Ivanov, and Mary Stuart . In 2014, she starred as Brutus in all - female production of Julius Caesar.

She is also a lady of noble deeds as she has done various charity works. . She works mainly for all women productions like Donmar Warehouse, Brooklyn’s St. Ann’s Warehouse. She is set to play Prospero in The Tempest Click to look into! >> Read More... . The roles that made her famous are Helena in All’s Well That Ends Well, Imogene in Cymbeline, Viola in Twelfth Night, Dacha in A Question of Geography, Masha in Chekhov’s Three Sisters, and Duchess in John Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi.

She is the niece of renowned British actor Sir Christopher Lee. John Walter, the founder of The Times, is her great-great-great-grandfather. She did her schooling from Cranborne Chase School. She turned down university education, and in turn, was rejected by five different drama schools.

Then, she was admitted to the London School of Music and Dramatic Art. Peter Blythe was her partner, until his death in 2004. She found her life partner in theaters only. She married Guy Schuessler who is an American actor(also known by stage name Guy Paul). Her Films, Radio shows, and Books are as follows Radio shows: - Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation - Time and the Conways - The Vortex - Scenes of Seduction - Desmond Olivier Dingle - The Arts and How they was done, etc.

Books: - Clamorous Voices: Shakespeare’s women Today (1988) - Players of Shakespeare 3(1994) - Macbeth (Actors on Shakespeare) - Facing it Reflections on images of older women (2010) Drama: - Rebecca (1979) - Play for Today: “ The Imitation Game Click to look into! >> Read More... “ - Strong Poison (1987) - Have his Carcase (1987) - The Hour of the Pig (1993) etc. All her works as stated above made everyone to believe in ‘The Power of Performance.’ Her all women’s play signifies her female strength as she says women don’t get enough voice, and hence she plays the role of Brutus and Henry IV.

She is chosen as the Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for Services to Drama. She won Olivier Award for best actress for A Question of Geography/ Twelfth Night/ Three Sisters. Harriet has been nominated for Drama Desk Award twice. She won Evening Standard Award for Best Actress for Mary Stuart.