Geraldine James
Geraldine James, OBE (born 6 July 1950), is an English film, television, and stage actress. Born in Maidenhead, Berkshire, she trained at the Drama Centre London and began her professional acting career in the 1970s.
She gained recognition for her performances in the television drama Dummy (1977) and the miniseries The Jewel in the Crown (1984). Her performance alongside Peggy Ashcroft in She’s Been Away (1989) earned her the Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival.
Her film credits include Gandhi (1982), Calendar Girls (2003), Sherlock Holmes (2009), Alice in Wonderland (2010), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011), and 45 Years (2015). She portrayed Mrs. Hudson in Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes films and Queen Mary in Downton Abbey (2019) and Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022).
James is also known for her television roles in Band of Gold (1995), Utopia (2013-2014), Anne with an E (2017-2019), and Silo (2023). Her portrayal of Marilla Cuthbert in Anne with an E brought her widespread international recognition.
Throughout her career, she has received four BAFTA Television Award nominations and has performed extensively in theater, including a Broadway production of The Merchant of Venice opposite Dustin Hoffman. She was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2003 for her services to drama.
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Movies (73)
Creditors
2025 · Tekla
Tank Boy
2025
Eiffel Tower: Building the Impossible
2023 · Self - Narrator (voice)
The Trap
2023
Benediction
2021 · Theresa Thornycroft
A Very Royal Christmas: Sandringham Secrets
2020 · Self - Narrator (voice)
Downton Abbey
2019 · Queen Mary
Beast
2018 · Hilary Huntington
Megan Leavey
2017 · Dr. Turbeville
Daphne
2017 · Rita
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
2016 · Blue Three
Alice Through the Looking Glass
2016 · Lady Ascot
45 Years
2015 · Lena
Robot Overlords
2015 · Monique
Richard Attenborough: A Life in Film
2014 · Self
Legacy
2013 · Martha
Diana
2013 · Oonagh Shanley-Toffolo
Dr. Easy
2013 · Voice of Dr. Easy
The Genius of Marie Curie: The Woman Who Lit up the World
2013 · Maria Skłodowska-Curie's letters read by
13 Steps Down
2012 · Gwendolen Chawcer
The Farmer's Wife
2012 · The Farmer's Wife
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
2011 · Cecilia Vanger
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
2011 · Mrs. Hudson
Arthur
2011 · Vivienne
Made in Dagenham
2010 · Connie
Alice in Wonderland
2010 · Lady Ascot
Sherlock Holmes
2009 · Mrs. Hudson
Caught in a Trap
2008 · Joyce Perkins
Heist
2008 · Joanna the Concubine
Ocean Voyagers
2007 · Narrator (voice)
Northanger Abbey
2007 · Jane Austen (voice)
The Time of Your Life
2007 · Eileen
The 50 Greatest Television Dramas
2007 · Self
A Harlot's Progress
2006 · Mother Needham
The Fever
2004 · Ranevskaya
Calendar Girls
2003 · Marie
Hearts of Gold
2003 · Elizabeth Powell
The Hound of the Baskervilles
2002 · Mrs. Mortimer
White Teeth
2002 · Joyce Malfen
An Angel for May
2002 · Susan Higgins
Taliesin Jones
2002 · Mum
Tom & Thomas
2002 · Miss Tromp
All Forgotten
2001 · Mother
The Luzhin Defence
2000 · Vera, Natalia's Mother
The Man Who Knew Too Little
1997 · Ludmilla Kropotkin
Moll Flanders
1996 · Edna
Doggin' Around
1994 · Sarah Williams
Words Upon the Window Pane
1994 · Mrs. Henderson
The Healer
1994 · Dr. Mercedes Honeysett
No Worries
1994 · Anne O'Dwyer
A Doll's House
1992 · Kristine Linde
Losing Track
1992 · Mrs. Dewey
The Bridge
1992 · Mrs. Todd
Prince of Shadows
1991 · Rebeca Osorio
Ex
1991 · Alice
If Looks Could Kill
1991 · Vendetta Galante
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase
1989 · Gertrude Brisket
She's Been Away
1989 · Harriet Ambrose
The Tall Guy
1989 · Carmen
Wall of Tyranny
1988 · Krista Donner
Time and the Conways
1985 · Madge Conway
Blott on the Landscape
1985
Mr. Attenborough and Mr. Gandhi
1983 · Self
Gandhi
1982 · Mirabehn
Chains
1982 · Janine
Sweet William
1980 · Pamela
Bloody Kids
1980 · Ritchie's Wife
Hesther for Example
1980 · Hesther
The Dumb Waiter
1979 · Sally
Who's Who
1979 · Miss Hunt
Dummy
1977 · Sandra
Now & Then
· Laura
A Visit to Grandpa’s
TV shows (64)
The Cage
2026 · Nancy Packer
Run Away
2026 · Mother Adiona
Dope Girls
2025 · Isabella Salucci
This Town
2024 · Marie
Silo
2023 · Mayor Ruth Jahns
The Beast Must Die
2021 · Joy
Back to Life
2019 · Caroline Matteson
Anne with an E
2017 · Marilla Cuthbert
The Five
2016 · Julie Wells
Black Work
2015 · CC Carolyn Jarecki
Hidden India
2015 · Herself - Narrator
Uncle
2014 · Jane
Utopia
2013 · Milner
13 Steps Down
2012 · Gwendolen Chawcer
Playhouse Presents
2012 · Liz / Lydia
Celebrity Antiques Road Trip
2011 · Self - Participant
Planet of the Apemen: Battle for Earth
2011 · Narrator
The Michael Ball Show
2010 · Self
Drama Trails
2010 · Self
Little Britain USA
2008 · Celia
The Last Enemy
2008 · Barbara Turney
Phoo Action
2008 · Dr Evelyne Conan-Bell
City of Vice
2008 · Nell
Fairy Tales
2008 · Mrs Brooke
The Time of Your Life
2007 · Eileen
The Amazing Mrs Pritchard
2006 · Hilary Rees-Benson
Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire
2006 · Cornelia
Jane Hall
2006 · Lorraine Hall
Hex
2004 · Lilith Hughes
He Knew He Was Right
2004 · Lady Rowley
Little Britain
2003 · Harvey's Mother
State of Play
2003 · Yvonne Shaps
White Teeth
2002 · Joyce Malfen
Hans Christian Andersen: My Life as a Fairytale
2002 · Hans's Mother
Crime and Punishment
2002 · Pulcheria
An Angel For May
2002 · Susan Higgins
The Sins
2000 · Gloria Green
Seesaw
1998 · Val Price
Drovers' Gold
1997 · Ruth Jones
Midsomer Murders
1997 · Miranda Bedford
Rebecca
1997 · Beatrice
Over Here
1996 · Lady Billingham
Band of Gold
1995 · Rose Garrity
Kavanagh Q.C.
1995 · Eleanor Harker QC, Eleanor Harker Q.C.
Stanley and the Women
1991 · Dr Trish Collings
Performance
1991 · Kristine Linde
In Suspicious Circumstances
1991 · Dr Irene Gayus
Screen One
1989 · Alice, Mrs. Dewey, Sarah Williams
Agatha Christie's Poirot
1989 · Helen Abernethie
Echoes
1988 · Angela O'Hara
Inspector Morse
1987 · Helen Field
Blott on the Landscape
1985 · Lady Maud Lynchwood
The Jewel in the Crown
1984 · Sarah Layton
Natural World
1983 · Self
I Remember Nelson
1982 · Lady Emma Hamilton
The History Man
1981 · Barbara Kirk
Shoestring
1979 · Mary Philips
Love Among the Artists
1979 · Mary Sutherland
General Studies
1979 · Barbara Kirk
An Audience with...
1978 · Self
The Sweeney
1975 · Shirley Glass
Playhouse
1974 · Hesther, Janine
Crown Court
1972 · Julie Gilmour
Play for Today
1970 · Miss Hunt