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IMDbPro

Geraldine McEwan(1932-2015)

  • Actress
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Geraldine McEwan
Agatha Christie's Marple: Nemesis
Play trailer1:53
Ordeal by Innocence (2007)
24 Videos
29 Photos
Geraldine McEwan was born in Old Windsor, England and made her theatre debut at the age of 14 at the Theatre Royal in Windsor. By the age of 18 she was starring in London's West End in several long-running popular productions. During the 1950s she acted with the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in Stratford-Upon-Avon and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1961.

She had leading roles as Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing with Christopher Plummer, Ophelia in Hamlet, The Princess of France in Love's Labour's Lost, Marina in Pericles and played opposite Dorothy Tutin in Twelfth Night which also toured Moscow and Leningrad.

Miss McEwan originated the female lead role in Joe Orton's Loot, captivated Broadway with productions of The School for Scandal, The Private Ear and the Public Eye, and most recently, The Chairs, earning her a Tony nomination for best actress.

As a member of the Royal National Theatre, acting along side Albert Finney, and Laurence Olivier, Geraldine spent the 1960s and 70s with memorable roles including The Dance of Death, Love for Love, A Flea in Her Ear, Chez Nous, Home and Beauty, The Browning Version, Harlequinade and The White Devil. In 1976 she had the distinction of being nominated for an Olivier Award in two separate categories.

In 1983 she won the Evening Standard Best Actress Award for The Rivals. In 1991 she won the BAFTA Best Actress Award for her intense and powerful performance as the Mother in Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (1989) and in 1995 she won the Evening Standard Best Actress Award for her performance of Lady Wishfort in The Way of the World.

In 1998, McEwan was nominated for a Tony Award in the Best Actress Category for The Chairs. Her numerous television credits include the highly acclaimed The Barchester Chronicles (1982) with Alan Rickman, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1978), Mulberry (1992), and the immensely popular Mapp & Lucia (1985). Her film work includes The Dance of Death (1969) with Laurence Olivier, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) with Alan Rickman, Henry V (1989) and Love's Labour's Lost (2000), both with Kenneth Branagh, and most recently The Magdalene Sisters (2002), The Lazarus Child (2004), Vanity Fair (2004) and Carrie's War (2004). In 2003, Geraldine was chosen to play Agatha Christie's Jane Marple. She recently retired from that role after completing 12 hugely popular two-hour mysteries for ITV/PBS.
BornMay 9, 1932
DiedJanuary 30, 2015(82)
BornMay 9, 1932
DiedJanuary 30, 2015(82)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Won 1 BAFTA Award
    • 1 win & 2 nominations total

Photos29

Charlotte Coleman and Geraldine McEwan in Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (1989)
Geraldine McEwan and Clive Swift in The Barchester Chronicles (1982)
Derek Jacobi, Janet McTeer, and Geraldine McEwan in The Murder at the Vicarage (2004)
Geraldine McEwan and Claire Skinner in A Murder Is Announced (2005)
Joanna Lumley and Geraldine McEwan in The Body in the Library (2004)
Francesca Annis, Charles Kay, and Geraldine McEwan in At Bertram's Hotel (2007)
Geraldine McEwan in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1978)
Nigel Hawthorne, Irene Handl, and Geraldine McEwan in Mapp & Lucia (1985)
Nigel Hawthorne and Geraldine McEwan in Mapp & Lucia (1985)
Cecily Hobbs and Geraldine McEwan in Mapp & Lucia (1985)
Geraldine McEwan and Prunella Scales in Mapp & Lucia (1985)
Nigel Hawthorne and Geraldine McEwan in Mapp & Lucia (1985)

Known for:

The Magdalene Sisters (2002)
The Magdalene Sisters
7.7
  • Sister Bridget
  • 2002
Kevin Costner in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
6.9
  • Mortianna
  • 1991
Alan Rickman, Nigel Hawthorne, and Angela Pleasence in The Barchester Chronicles (1982)
The Barchester Chronicles
8.1
TV Mini Series
  • Mrs. Proudie
Kenneth Branagh and Michael Williams in Henry V (1989)
Henry V
7.5
  • Alice
  • 1989

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actress

  • Abuelas (2011)
    Abuelas
    • Abuela (voice)
    • Short
    • 2011
  • Saoirse Ronan, Mirai Shida, and Bridgit Mendler in The Secret World of Arrietty (2010)
    The Secret World of Arrietty
    • Haru (UK version, voice)
    • 2010
  • Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures: Muzzled! (2009)
    Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures: Muzzled!
    • Miss Thripp (voice)
    • Video Game
    • 2009
  • Geraldine McEwan and Julia McKenzie in Agatha Christie's Marple (2004)
    Agatha Christie's Marple
    • Miss Marple
    • TV Series
    • 2004–2007
  • The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)
    The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
    • Miss Thripp (voice)
    • 2005
  • Vanity Fair (2004)
    Vanity Fair
    • Lady Southdown
    • 2004
  • The Lazarus Child (2004)
    The Lazarus Child
    • Janet
    • 2004
  • Carrie's War (2004)
    Carrie's War
    • Mrs. Dilys Gotobed
    • TV Movie
    • 2004
  • Keira Knightley and Molly Parker in Pure (2002)
    Pure
    • Nanna
    • 2002
  • The Magdalene Sisters (2002)
    The Magdalene Sisters
    • Sister Bridget
    • 2002
  • Kevin Bishop, Allan Corduner, Paul Rhys, and Juliet Stevenson in Food of Love (2002)
    Food of Love
    • Novotna
    • 2002
  • Victoria Wood in Victoria Wood: With All the Trimmings (2000)
    Victoria Wood: With All the Trimmings
    • Various Characters
    • TV Special
    • 2000
  • Thin Ice
    • Mrs. Violet Jerome
    • TV Movie
    • 2000
  • Contaminated Man (2000)
    Contaminated Man
    • Lilian Rodgers
    • 2000
  • Kenneth Branagh, Alicia Silverstone, and Carmen Ejogo in Love's Labour's Lost (2000)
    Love's Labour's Lost
    • Holofernia
    • 2000

Soundtrack

  • Kenneth Branagh, Alicia Silverstone, and Carmen Ejogo in Love's Labour's Lost (2000)
    Love's Labour's Lost
    • performer: "The Way You Look Tonight"
    • 2000
  • Mulberry (1992)
    Mulberry
    • performer: "Bicycle Built For Two"
    • TV Series
    • 1992

Videos24

Clip: Romance
Clip 1:10
Clip: Romance
Clip: Morning
Clip 1:21
Clip: Morning
Agatha Christie's Marple: The Julia McKenzie Collection
Trailer 0:39
Agatha Christie's Marple: The Julia McKenzie Collection
Agatha Christie's Marple: Series 6
Trailer 0:39
Agatha Christie's Marple: Series 6
The Magdalene Sisters
Trailer 1:20
The Magdalene Sisters
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
Trailer 1:12
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
Trailer 2:01
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
Agatha Christie's Marple: Season 3
Trailer 0:51
Agatha Christie's Marple: Season 3
Agatha Christie's Marple: At Bertram's Hotel
Trailer 2:00
Agatha Christie's Marple: At Bertram's Hotel
Agatha Christie's Marple: The Moving Finger
Trailer 0:44
Agatha Christie's Marple: The Moving Finger
Agatha Christie's Marple: The Sittaford Mystery
Trailer 1:04
Agatha Christie's Marple: The Sittaford Mystery
Agatha Christie's Marple: By The Pricking Of My Thumb
Trailer 1:19
Agatha Christie's Marple: By The Pricking Of My Thumb

Personal details

Edit
  • Height
    • 5′ 5″ (1.65 m)
  • Born
    • May 9, 1932
    • Old Windsor, Berkshire, England, UK
  • Died
    • January 30, 2015
    • Hammersmith, London, England, UK(following a stroke)
  • Spouse
    • Hugh CruttwellMay 17, 1953 - August 24, 2002 (his death, 2 children)
  • Parents
      Donald McKeown
  • Other works
    She played "The Old Woman" in "The Chairs", a play by Eugène Ionesco (John Golden Theater, New York City, USA).
  • Publicity listings
    • 2 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Writer Muriel Spark considered Geraldine's portrayal of Jean Brodie in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1978) to be the definitive incarnation of her character.
  • Quotes
    [on her late husband Hugh Cruttwell] Like everybody in that situation feels, I miss him very much but I get on with life. I'm blessed with two children and seven grandchildren, and Marple has been a lovely thing for me to be very occupied with.

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