Miranda Richardson

Miranda Richardson
Biographical information
Birth name	Miranda Jane Richardson
Born	3 March, 1958
Nationality	British
Gender	Female
Eye colour	Blue
Hair colour	Blonde
Height	5' 5"
Career
Years active	1980-present
In Harry Potter	Rita Skeeter
Other roles	The Phantom of the Opera (2004) Tom & Viv (1994) Damage (1992) Blackadder II (1986)

Miranda Richardson (born 3 March, 1958) is an English actress who portrayed Rita Skeeter in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1.

Career

A critically-acclaimed, two-time Oscar nominee for her roles in the films Damage (1992) and Tom & Viv (1994), Richardson has also appeared in films such as Empire of the Sun (1987) (scored by John Williams), The Crying Game (1992), Merlin (1998), Sleepy Hollow (1999), Chicken Run (2000), The Phantom of the Opera (2004) and The Young Victoria (2009).

On television, she is best known for her numerous appearances in Rowan Atkinson's Blackadder franchise, most notably as "Queenie" in Blackadder II (1986), which featured various Harry Potter cast. She also appeared in The Lost Prince (2003).

Richardson also appeared in a Harry Potter spoof with Dawn French for Comic Relief, where she played Hermione Granger and Emma Watson.

Personal life

Born and raised in Southport, Lancashire, Richardson considered studying veterinary medicine or English literature, but ultimately chose to enrol in Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and to pursue acting as a career. Currently, she lives in West London with her pets, two cats and two dogs. An animal lover, she contributes to charities such as the World Wildlife Fund, the Humane Society of New York, and the World Society for the Protection of Animals.

Selective filmography

Year	Work	Award	Category	Result
1985	Dance with a Stranger	Evening Standard British Film	Best Actress	Won
1987	A Lie of the Mind	Olivier	Best Actress	Nominated
1988	After Pilkington	BAFTA TV	Best Actress	Nominated
1991	Enchanted April	Golden Globe	Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy	Won
1992	The Crying Game	BAFTA Film	Best Actress in a Supporting Role	Nominated
	Damage	Academy	Best Supporting Actress	Nominated
		BAFTA Film	Best Actress in a Supporting Role	Won
		Golden Globe	Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture	Nominated
1994	Fatherland	Golden Globe	Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film	Won
	Tom & Viv	Academy	Best Actress	Nominated
		BAFTA Film	Best Actress in a Leading Role	Nominated
		Golden Globe	Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama	Nominated
1996	The Evening Star	Satellite	Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture	Nominated
1997	A Dance to the Music of Time	BAFTA TV	Best Actress	Nominated
1998	Merlin	Golden Globe	Best Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television	Nominated
1999	The Big Brass Ring	Golden Globe	Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film	Nominated
	Sleepy Hollow	Saturn	Best Supporting Actress	Nominated
2002	Spider	Satellite	Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture	Nominated
2003	The Lost Prince	BAFTA TV	Best Actress	Nominated
		Golden Globe	Best Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television	Nominated
2005	Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire	N/A
2006	Gideon's Daughter	Satellite	Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film	Nominated
2010	Made in Dagenham	BAFTA Film	Best Actress in a Supporting Role	Nominated
	Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1	N/A
2015	Operation Orangutan	Primetime Emmy	Outstanding Narrator	Nominated

Behind the scenes

• The Blackadder franchise, one of Miranda Richardson's notable works, featured various personnel relating to Harry Potter throughout its seven productions. Richardson has overlapping appearances with:
  • Stephen Fry (UK audiobook narrator) in five productions.
  • Rik Mayall (Peeves) in three productions.
  • Robbie Coltrane (Rubeus Hagrid) in two productions.
    • Additionally, Richardson has appeared in two films outside the Harry Potter films with Coltrane: Eat the Rich (1987) and Provoked (2006).
      • The former also featured Rik Mayall and Fat Lady actress Dawn French.
  • Jim Broadbent (Horace Slughorn) in one production.
    • Additionally, Richardson has appeared in three films outside the Harry Potter films with Broadbent: Enchanted April (1991), The Crying Game (1992) and The Young Victoria (2009).
      • The Young Victoria also featured Julian Glover (voice of Aragog).
• Richardson has appeared in three productions with Rufus Scrimgeour actor Bill Nighy: the TV dramas The Lost Prince and Gideon's Daughter, and the 2008 film A Fox's Tale.
  • The Lost Prince also featured Albus Dumbledore actor Michael Gambon.
• Richardson has also starred alongside several other actors and actresses from the Wizarding World franchise in various projects:
  • David Thewlis (Remus Lupin) in the 1992 film Damage.
  • Simon McBurney (voice of Kreacher) in the 1994 film Tom & Viv.
  • Zoë Wanamaker (Rolanda Hooch) in the TV series A Dance to the Music of Time.
  • Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange) in the miniseries Merlin.
  • Michael Gambon, Johnny Depp (Young Gellert Grindelwald), and Richard Griffiths (Vernon Dursley) in the 1999 film Sleepy Hollow, with Richardson playing the wife of Gambon's character.
  • Ralph Fiennes (Lord Voldemort) in the 2002 film Spider.
  • Ciarán Hinds (Aberforth Dumbledore) in the 2004 film The Phantom of the Opera.
  • Rhys Ifans (Xenophilius Lovegood) and Fiona Shaw (Petunia Dursley) in the 2005 film Midsummer Dream.
  • Andrew Lincoln (Quidditch Through the Ages 2018 audiobook narrator), Roger Lloyd-Pack (Bartemius Crouch Senior), Miles Jupp (TV weatherman) in the 2010 film Made in Dagenham.
  • Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy) in the 2013 film Belle, in which Richardson plays the mother of Felton's character.

External links

• Miranda Richardson at the Internet Movie Database
• Miranda Richardson on Wikipedia