Penelope Wilton
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Gender
Female
Birthday
1946-06-03
Place of Birth
Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England, UK
Penelope Wilton
Biography
Dame Penelope Alice Wilton DBE(born 3 June 1946) is an English actress. She was formerly married to fellow actor Sir Ian Holm, and as she has not remarried, she retains her married style of Lady Holm. Wilton is known for starring opposite Richard Briers in the BBC sitcom Ever Decreasing Circles (1984–1989), playing Homily in The Borrowers (1992) and The Return of the Borrowers(1993), and for her role as the widowed Isobel Crawley in the ITV drama Downton Abbey (2010–2015). She also played the recurring role of Harriet Jones in Doctor Who (2005–2008) and Anne in Ricky Gervais' Netflix dark comedy After Life. Wilton has had an extensive career on stage, receiving six Olivier Award nominations. She was nominated for Man and Superman (1981), The Secret Rapture (1988), The Deep Blue Sea(1994), John Gabriel Borkman (2008) and The Chalk Garden (2009) before winning the 2015 Olivier Award for Best Actress for Taken at Midnight. Her film appearances include Clockwise (1986), Cry Freedom (1987), Blame It on the Bellboy (1992), Calendar Girls (2003), Shaun of the Dead (2004), Match Point (2005), Pride & Prejudice (2005), The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012), The Girl (2012), The BFG (2016) and The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (2023). Description above from the Wikipedia article Penelope Wilton, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Also Known For
Shaun of the Dead
Apr 09, 2004
Visitation
Clockwise
Mar 01, 1986
Iris
Dec 14, 2001
The History Boys
Oct 02, 2006
Calendar Girls
Sep 02, 2003
The French Lieutenant's Woman
Aug 28, 1981
Cry Freedom
Nov 06, 1987
Blame It on the Bellboy
Jan 24, 1992
Joseph Andrews
Mar 09, 1977
Alice Through the Looking Glass
Dec 26, 1998
Carrington
May 25, 1995
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Feb 23, 2012
Laughterhouse
Sep 01, 1984
Tom's Midnight Garden
Jul 02, 1999
Rockaby
Jan 01, 2000
Brexit Shorts: The End
Jun 26, 2017
The Girl
Oct 22, 2012
Landscape
Oct 21, 1995
Belle
May 01, 2013
Victoria & Albert
Aug 26, 2001
The Secret Rapture
Sep 12, 1993
Match Point
Oct 26, 2005
All the World's a Screen: Shakespeare on Film
Apr 24, 2016
The Deep Blue Sea
Nov 12, 1994
King Lear
Mar 23, 1975
Country
Oct 20, 1981
The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Feb 26, 2015
Judi Dench: Our National Treasure
Jul 15, 2022
Talking Heads 2
Oct 06, 1998
Victoria Wood with All the Trimmings
Dec 25, 2000
Falling
Mar 06, 2005
Celebration
Feb 26, 2007
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale
Sep 10, 2025
The BFG
Jun 01, 2016
Lucky Jim
Apr 11, 2003
The Whistle-Blower
Apr 14, 2001
Half Broken Things
Oct 28, 2007
Margot
Nov 30, 2009
National Theatre Live: 50 Years on Stage
Nov 02, 2013
Harold Pinter: A Celebration
Jan 24, 2010
The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society
Apr 19, 2018
Zoo
Jun 08, 2018
Summerland
Jul 24, 2020
Eternal Beauty
Aug 21, 2020
Downton Abbey
Sep 12, 2019
Othello
Oct 04, 1981
King Lear
Sep 19, 1982
Operation Mincemeat
Apr 01, 2022
Pride & Prejudice
Sep 16, 2005
Mrs. Warren's Profession
Oct 03, 1972
Pasmore
Oct 21, 1980
The Strange Case of Delfina Potocka
Jan 01, 1999
Downton Abbey: A New Era
Apr 27, 2022
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
Apr 27, 2023
Able's Will
Oct 05, 1977
The Tale of Beatrix Potter
Jan 01, 1983
Fing!
Downton Abbey Celebrates the Grand Finale
Sep 10, 2025
Ever Decreasing Circles
Jan 29, 1984
Comedy Connections
Jun 09, 2003
C.A.T.S. Eyes
Apr 12, 1985
Five Days
Jan 23, 2007
Bob & Rose
Sep 10, 2001
The Return of the Borrowers
Nov 14, 1993
The Passion
Mar 16, 2008
Screaming
Mar 15, 1992
Downton Abbey
Sep 26, 2010
Doctor Who
Mar 26, 2005
The Borrowers
Nov 08, 1992
Doctor Who
Mar 26, 2005
Performance
Oct 05, 1991
South Riding
Feb 20, 2011
Talking Heads
Apr 19, 1988
Brief Encounters
Jul 04, 2016
Murder Is Easy
Dec 27, 2023
An Audience with...
Jan 08, 1978
Kavanagh Q.C.
Jan 03, 1995
The Norman Conquests
Oct 05, 1977
Wives and Daughters
Nov 28, 1999
Dead Hot
Mar 01, 2024
After Life
Mar 08, 2019
Play for Today
Oct 15, 1970
The Tale of Beatrix Potter
Nov 01, 1982
Performance
Oct 05, 1991
