Clare Frances Elizabeth Higgins (born 10 November 1955) is an English actress. Her film appearances include '' Hellraiser'' (1987), '' The Worst Witch'' (2017 - 2020) '' Hellbound: Hellraiser II'' (1988), ''

Small Faces Small Faces were an English rock band from London, founded in 1965. The group originally consisted of Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones and Jimmy Winston, with Ian McLagan replacing Winston as the band's keyboardist in 1966. The b ...

'' (1996) and '' The Golden Compass'' (2007). A six-time

Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known a ...

nominee for her work in the theatre, Higgins received her first nomination in 1984 for her role as Stella Kowalski in ''

A Streetcar Named Desire ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' is a play written by Tennessee Williams and first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947. The play dramatizes the experiences of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who, after encountering a series of pe ...

''. She has since won the Olivier Award for Best Actress three times; for '' Sweet Bird of Youth'' in 1995, '' Vincent in Brixton'' in 2003 and '' Hecuba'' in 2005. She made her Broadway debut in 2003 in ''Vincent in Brixton'', receiving a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

nomination for Best Actress in a Play. She returned to Broadway in the 2014 revival of '' A Delicate Balance''.

Early life

Higgins, the second of five children, was born in Bradford, to Paula Cecilia (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth ...

Murphy) and James Stephen Higgins. Her parents were from working class

Irish Catholic Irish Catholics are an ethnoreligious group native to Ireland whose members are both Catholic and Irish. They have a large diaspora, which includes over 36 million American citizens and over 14 million British citizens (a quarter of the Briti ...

backgrounds,"At home and happy at last"
Telegraph.co.uk. and worked as teachers. Higgins was interested in acting since her childhood. After being expelled from a convent school, she ran away from home at seventeen. At 19, she gave birth to a boy but gave him up for adoption at her social worker's insistence.

Career

At 23, Higgins graduated from the

London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) is a drama school located in Hammersmith, London. It is the oldest specialist drama school in the British Isles and a founding member of the Federation of Drama Schools. LAMDA's Principal i ...

(LAMDA). Through the 1980s, she became a dynamic stage actress, both in London and on Broadway. She starred in the premiere of David Hare's '' The Secret Rapture'', and won the first of her three

s in 1995. In 1983, she starred with

Ben Cross Harry Bernard Cross (16 December 1947 – 18 August 2020) was an English stage and film actor. He was best known for playing Billy Flynn in the original West End production of the musical ''Chicago'', and his portrayal of the British Oly ...

in the BBC's serial version of A.J. Cronin's '' The Citadel'', playing the role of Christine Manson. For the big screen, Higgins played Julia Cotton in

Clive Barker Clive Barker (born 5 October 1952) is an English novelist, playwright, author, film director, and visual artist who came to prominence in the mid-1980s with a series of short stories, the ''Books of Blood'', which established him as a leading h ...

's '' Hellraiser'' (1987), based on Barker's novella ''

The Hellbound Heart ''The Hellbound Heart'' is a horror novella by Clive Barker, first published in November 1986 by Dark Harvest in the third volume of its ''Night Visions'' anthology series. The story features a hedonist criminal acquiring a mystical puzzle box ...

''. She reprised the role for Tony Randel's '' Hellbound: Hellraiser II'' (1988). Her other film credits include the Scottish film ''

'' (1996). In 2000 she appeared in Catherine Cookson's "The Secret" TV mini series as Maggie Hewitt, also in

Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...

's '' Cassandra's Dream'' (2007), and '' The Golden Compass'' (2007). Higgins appeared as Jocasta in the National Theatre's critically acclaimed production of ''

Oedipus Oedipus (, ; grc-gre, Οἰδίπους "swollen foot") was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. A tragic hero in Greek mythology, Oedipus accidentally fulfilled a prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother, thereby ...

'', opposite

Ralph Fiennes Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes ( ; born 22 December 1962) is an English actor, film producer, and director. A Shakespeare interpreter, he excelled onstage at the Royal National Theatre before having further success at the Royal S ...

in the title role. From April to May 2009, she appeared in

Wallace Shawn Wallace Michael Shawn (born November 12, 1943) is an American actor, playwright, and essayist. His film roles include Wally Shawn (a fictionalized version of himself) in '' My Dinner with Andre'' (1981), Vizzini in '' The Princess Bride'' (1987) ...

's ''The Fever'' at the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal ...

. From mid-May to September 2009, she appeared as the Countess Rossillion in ''

All's Well That Ends Well ''All's Well That Ends Well'' is a play by William Shakespeare, published in the '' First Folio'' in 1623, where it is listed among the comedies. There is a debate regarding the dating of the composition of the play, with possible dates rang ...

'' at the National Theatre (Olivier stage). On 30 September 2012, Higgins appeared in Season 3, episode 3 of ''

Downton Abbey ''Downton Abbey'' is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. The series first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United States on ...

'' as Mrs Bartlett, a friend of Mrs Bates who eventually helps in the release of Mr Bates from prison. On 14 November 2013, she appeared in the '' Doctor Who'' mini-episode " The Night of the Doctor", which starred

Paul McGann Paul John McGann (; born 14 November 1959) is an English actor. He came to prominence for portraying Percy Toplis in the television serial ''The Monocled Mutineer'' (1986), then starred in the dark comedy '' Withnail and I'' (1987), which was ...

as the Eighth Doctor. Higgins played Ohila, the leader of the

Sisterhood of Karn The Sisterhood of Karn is a fictional religious cult that appears in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Residing on the planet Karn, the Sisterhood was introduced in the 1976 serial ''The Brain of Morbius'', and later a ...

. In 2014 she appeared in Father Brown "The Daughters of Jerusalem" as Dinah Fortescue. Higgins returned to the role of Ohila in 2015 in " The Magician's Apprentice", which originally aired on 19 September 2015, and in the series finale "

Hell Bent Hellbent may refer to: * Hellbent (novel), by Anthony McGowan Film and television * ''Hell Bent'' (film), a 1918 silent Western film * ''Hellbent'' (film), a 2004 slasher film * "Hell Bent" (''Doctor Who''), a 2015 episode of the ninth seri ...

" on 5 December 2015. The same year she appeared in '' EastEnders'', as prosecuting lawyer Hazel Warren. In January 2017, Higgins appeared in CBBC's adaptation of Jill Murphy's ''The Worst Witch'' as Miss Ada Cackle, and her wicked twin sister Agatha.

Acting awards and nominations

Higgins was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 1995 (1994 season) for Best Actress in a Play for her performance in '' Sweet Bird of Youth'' at the

Royal National Theatre The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. I ...

. She won the same award in both 2002 and 2005: in 2002 for her performance in '' Vincent in Brixton'' performed at the Royal National Theatre, Cottesloe and Wyndham's Theatres, and in 2005 for her performance as Hecuba in the

Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars ...

tragedy at the Donmar Warehouse. She was awarded the 2002

London Critics' Circle Theatre Award The Critics' Circle Theatre Awards, originally called ''Drama'' Theatre Awards up to 1990, are British theatrical awards presented annually for the closing year's theatrical achievements. The winners, from theatre throughout the United Kingdom, ar ...

for Best Actress for her performance in ''Vincent in Brixton''. Additionally, she was awarded the 1994 London Critics Circle Theatre Award (Drama Theatre) for Best Actress for her performances in '' The Children's Hour'' and ''Sweet Bird of Youth''. She was also awarded the 2002 ''London Evening Standard'' Theatre Award for Best Actress for her performance in ''Vincent in Brixton'' at the Donmar Warehouse in London. In 2003, she was nominated for a

as Best Actress in a Play for ''Vincent in Brixton'' on Broadway, and garnered the 2003

Theatre World Award The Theatre World Award is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or Off-Broadway. It was first awarded for the 1945–1946 theatre s ...

for outstanding major Broadway debut.

Filmography

* ''Nineteen Nineteen'' (1985) * '' Hellraiser'' (1987) * '' Hellbound: Hellraiser II'' (1988) * '' The Fruit Machine'' (1988) * '' Bad Behaviour'' (1993) * ''

Circle of Deceit Circle of Deceit may refer to: * ''Circle of Deceit'' (1981 film), German film * ''Circle of Deceit'' (1998 film), American TV film * '' Circles of Deceit'', British television thriller series {{disamb ...

'' (1993, TV film) * '' Fatherland'' (1994, TV film) * ''

'' (1996) * '' B. Monkey'' (1998) * '' The House of Mirth'' (2000) * '' Stage Beauty'' (2004) * '' The Libertine'' (2004) * '' Bigger Than the Sky'' (2005) * ''

Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont ''Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont'' is a 2005 US-produced comedy-drama film based on the 1971 novel by Elizabeth Taylor. It was directed by Dan Ireland and produced by Lee Caplin, Carl Colpaert and Zachary Matz from a screenplay by Ruth Sacks Ca ...

'' (2005) * '' Cassandra's Dream'' (2007) * '' The Golden Compass'' (2007) * '' Being Human'' (2009) * '' Toast'' (2010, TV movie) * '' A Fantastic Fear of Everything'' (2012) * '' The Syndicate'' (2012) * '' I Give It a Year'' (2013) * '' Doctor Who'' (2013, 2015) * '' The Worst Witch'' (2017) * '' ''Into the Badlands'''' (2018) * '' Ready Player One'' (2018) * '' Cleaning Up'' (2019) * '' The Sandman'' (2022)

Selected theatre performances

* Countess Hechingen in ''The Deep Man'' by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. British premiere directed by Casper Wrede at the Royal Exchange, Manchester (1979). * Alexa Rollo in ''Rollo'' by Marcel Achard. Directed by David Thompson at the Royal Exchange, Manchester (1980). * Judith in ''Blood, Black and Gold'' by Gerard McLarnon. World premiere directed by

Braham Murray Braham Sydney Murray, OBE (12 February 1943 – 25 July 2018) was an English theatre director. In 1976, he was one of five founding Artistic Directors of the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester, and the longest-serving (he retired in 2012). Ea ...

at the Royal Exchange, Manchester (1980). * Isabella in ''

Measure for Measure ''Measure for Measure'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604 and first performed in 1604, according to available records. It was published in the ''First Folio'' of 1623. The play's plot features its ...

''. Directed by

at the Royal Exchange, Manchester (1981).

References

External links

*
Interview 07/2003 (''The Independent'')
{{DEFAULTSORT:Higgins, Clare 1955 births Living people 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses Actresses from Bradford Alumni of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art Audiobook narrators Critics' Circle Theatre Award winners English film actresses English people of Irish descent English radio actresses English Shakespearean actresses English television actresses Laurence Olivier Award winners Theatre World Award winners