Fenella Woolgar
Personal details
  • Born:
    • Birthday: 1969-08-04
    • Born Place: London, England, UK

Fenella Woolgar

Fenella Woolgar is an acclaimed English film, theatre, television, and radio actress born on August 4, 1969, in London. After spending her early years in the United States, she returned to the UK and was educated at Durham University before training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), graduating in 1999. Woolgar first gained widespread critical notice for her feature film debut as Agatha in Stephen Fry's 2003 film Bright Young Things, a role that earned her multiple award nominations, including a British Independent Film Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Throughout her career, she has demonstrated remarkable versatility, becoming a familiar face in period dramas and contemporary roles. Her notable film credits include roles in Vera Drake (2004), Woody Allen’s Scoop (2006) and You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (2010), Mr. Turner (2014), Victoria & Abdul (2017), and Judy (2019). On television, she is widely recognized for playing Sister Hilda in the BBC series Call the Midwife for several seasons, Alison Scotlock in Home Fires, and for her memorable portrayal of the crime novelist Agatha Christie in a 2008 episode of Doctor Who. She has also starred in the Apple TV+ series The Buccaneers and appeared in the miniseries The Reckoning as Margaret Thatcher. A prolific voice artist, Woolgar is regularly heard on BBC radio and audiobooks, having earned a Best Actress nomination at the BBC Radio Drama Awards for playing Rosemary Kennedy in An American Rose, and she also won Sky Arts Celebrity Portrait Artist of the Year in 2019 for her work as a portrait painter.

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