Personal details
Born:
- Birthday: 1968-01-22
- Born Place: Fleet, Hampshire, England
Raquel Cassidy
Raquel Cassidy (born Raquel Josephine Dominic Cassidy on 22 January 1968 in Fleet, Hampshire) is an English actress celebrated for her range from stage to screen. The daughter of a Spanish mother and an English father, she grew up speaking languages and cultivated an early academic path—studying modern languages and biological anthropology at Girton College, Cambridge—before abandoning her PhD to pursue acting. She trained in theatre, making her debut as Viola in Twelfth Night at the Royal Court in 1997, and built her career across British television in roles such as Susan Gately on Teachers, Jo Porter in Party Animals, Nancy Week s in Moving Wallpaper, and Mel in Lead Balloon. In 2013, Cassidy joined the ensemble cast of Downton Abbey as Phyllis Baxter, a reformed thief and lady's maid. Her performance contributed to the show’s Screen Actors Guild Award wins for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in 2015 and 2016. She reprised the role in both feature films (Downton Abbey, 2019; A New Era, 2022) and returns for The Grand Finale (2025). Following Downton, she became well-known to younger audiences as Miss Hardbroom in the revival of The Worst Witch (2017–2020) and has continued to appear in acclaimed series like The Good Karma Hospital (2022) and The Chelsea Detective (2023).
