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Anne-Marie Duff (born 8 October 1970) is an Irish actress and narrator. She is an accomplished theatre actress and has been nominated for a
Laurence Olivier Award. She has also received acclaim and awards for her television and film work.
After graduating from
Drama Centre London, Duff made television appearances in ''
Trial & Retribution
''Trial & Retribution'' is a feature-length ITV police procedural television drama series that first aired on 19 October 1997. Written and devised by Lynda La Plante as a follow-on from her successful television series ''Prime Suspect'', each e ...
'', ''
Amongst Women
''Amongst Women'' is a novel by the Irish writer John McGahern (1934–2006). McGahern's best known novel, it is also considered his greatest work.
Published by Faber and Faber, the novel tells the story of Michael Moran, a bitter, ageing Iris ...
'' and ''
Aristocrats
Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'.
At the time of the word' ...
'' in the late 1990s. She made her breakthrough as
Fiona Gallagher
The following is a list of fictional characters from the English comedy-drama '' Shameless'', created by Paul Abbott, which was on Channel 4 between 2004 and 2013. The programme is set on the fictional Chatsworth Estate in suburban Manchester a ...
on the
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
drama series ''
Shameless'' and as
Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen".
El ...
in ''
The Virgin Queen''; both earned her
BAFTA nominations for Best Actress. She was awarded the
BAFTA Cymru Award for Best Actress for her work in the 2007 television film ''
The History of Mr Polly
''The History of Mr. Polly'' is a 1910 comic novel by H. G. Wells.
Plot summary
The protagonist of ''The History of Mr. Polly'' is an antihero inspired by H. G. Wells's early experiences in the drapery trade: Alfred Polly, born circa ...
''. Further television roles include Claire Church in ''
From Darkness
''From Darkness'' is a British psychological crime drama that premiered on BBC One on 4 October 2015. The series stars Anne-Marie Duff as former police officer Claire Church. A total of four episodes were broadcast. A DVD of the complete series ...
'' (2015), Ma Costa in the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
and
HBO series ''
His Dark Materials
''His Dark Materials'' is a trilogy of fantasy novels by Philip Pullman consisting of '' Northern Lights'' (1995; published as ''The Golden Compass'' in North America), '' The Subtle Knife'' (1997), and '' The Amber Spyglass'' (2000). It follo ...
'' (2019), Erin Wiley in ''
Sex Education
Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including emotional relations and responsibilities, human sexual anatomy, sexual activity, sexual reproduc ...
'' (2020–2021) and as
Tracy Daszkiewicz in ''
The Salisbury Poisonings'' (2020).
In film, Duff has had roles in ''
Enigma
Enigma may refer to:
*Riddle, someone or something that is mysterious or puzzling
Biology
*ENIGMA, a class of gene in the LIM domain
Computing and technology
* Enigma (company), a New York-based data-technology startup
* Enigma machine, a family ...
'' (2001), ''
The Magdalene Sisters
''The Magdalene Sisters'' is a 2002 drama film written and directed by Peter Mullan, about three teenage girls who were sent to Magdalene asylums (also known as 'Magdalene Laundries') homes for women who were labelled as "fallen" by their familie ...
'' (2002), ''
Notes on a Scandal
''Notes on a Scandal'' (''What Was She Thinking? Notes on a Scandal'' in the U.S.) is a 2003 novel by Zoë Heller. It is about a female teacher at a London comprehensive school who begins an affair with an underage pupil. Heller said to ''The Ob ...
'' (2006), ''
French Film
French cinema consists of the film industry and its film productions, whether made within the nation of France or by French film production companies abroad. It is the oldest and largest precursor of national cinemas in Europe; with primary influ ...
'' (2008), ''
The Last Station
''The Last Station'' is a 2009 English-language German biographical drama film written and directed by Michael Hoffman, and based on Jay Parini's 1990 biographical novel of the same name, which chronicled the final months of Leo Tolstoy's life. ...
'' (2009) and ''
Nowhere Boy
''Nowhere Boy'' is a 2009 British biographical drama film, directed by Sam Taylor-Wood in her directorial debut. Written by Matt Greenhalgh, it is based on Julia Baird's biography of her half-brother, the musician John Lennon. ''Nowhere Boy'' i ...
'' (2009), alongside ''Shameless'' co-star
David Threlfall
David John Threlfall (born 12 October 1953) is an English stage, film and television actor and director. He is best known for playing Frank Gallagher in Channel 4's series '' Shameless''. He has also directed several episodes of the show. In A ...
; the latter earned her a nomination for the
BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Best Actress in a Supporting Role is a British Academy Film Award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding supporting performance in a film.
This award ...
. She later appeared in ''
Before I Go to Sleep'' (2014) and ''
Suffragette'' (2015).
Early life and education
Duff was born in London on 8 October 1970, the youngest of two children of
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
immigrants: her father, a painter and decorator at Fuller's Brewery in Chiswick, was from
County Meath
County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the ...
and her mother was from
County Donegal
County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconn ...
and worked in a shoe shop. The family lived in
Southall
Southall () is a large suburban county of West London, England, part of the London Borough of Ealing and is one of its seven major towns. It is situated west of Charing Cross and had a population of 69,857 as of 2011. It is generally divided ...
,
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, and Duff attended
Mellow Lane School. While at school, she joined the school choir, where she discovered she could 'really sing'. She paid for singing lessons with a woman who taught classical singing, who made a huge impact. Duff initially thought about pursuing a career as a singer and talked about it in great depth with her teacher, who looked at her and said, 'I think you have the soul of an actor.' At an early age, Duff attended a local youth theatre, Young Argosy, linked to the Argosy Players, in order to battle her shy nature; she soon became hooked on the stage.
In her mid-teens, involved in an amateur theatre company, she began to think seriously about applying to drama schools. Her first application was rejected. "At the time, I was desperately unhappy about it, but I just wasn’t polished. I got too nervous in the audition. It wasn't a world I was familiar with." After further study of Film and Theatre, at the age of 19, she attended the
Drama Centre in London, alongside
John Simm,
Anastasia Hille
Anastasia Hille (born 1965) is an English film, television and theatre actress, and ceramicist. Born in London, she was a student at London's Drama Centre and won second prize at the Ian Charleson Awards in 1994 (the first prize was awarded to ...
and her good friend
Paul Bettany
Paul Bettany (born 27 May 1971) is an English actor. He is mostly known for his roles as J.A.R.V.I.S. and Vision in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, recently starring in the Disney+ miniseries '' WandaVision'' (2021), for which he was nominate ...
.
Duff says she was considered 'the runt' at the Drama Centre and was pretty much told that she 'wasn't ever, ever going to be a leading lady' and would only ever play small parts. But her constant fear that she would be asked to leave put fire in her belly: 'I wrote a thousand letters in my final year and walked straight into work.'
Career
Screen work
Duff made her first television appearance in
ITV drama ''
Trial & Retribution
''Trial & Retribution'' is a feature-length ITV police procedural television drama series that first aired on 19 October 1997. Written and devised by Lynda La Plante as a follow-on from her successful television series ''Prime Suspect'', each e ...
'' as Cathy Gillingham for two episodes in 1997. She later made appearances in series such as ''
Amongst Women
''Amongst Women'' is a novel by the Irish writer John McGahern (1934–2006). McGahern's best known novel, it is also considered his greatest work.
Published by Faber and Faber, the novel tells the story of Michael Moran, a bitter, ageing Iris ...
'', in ''
Aristocrats
Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'.
At the time of the word' ...
'' as
Lady Louisa Lennox and in 2003
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...