Judy Catherine Claire Parfitt (born 7 November 1935) is an English theatre, film, and television actress. She made her film debut in the 1950s, followed by a supporting role in the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

television serial ''

David Copperfield ''David Copperfield''Dickens invented over 14 variations of the title for this work; see is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from infancy to matur ...

'' (1966). She also appeared as Queen Gertrude in

Tony Richardson Cecil Antonio Richardson (5 June 1928 – 14 November 1991) was an English theatre and film director, producer and screenwriter, whose career spanned five decades. He was identified with the "angry young men" group of British directors and play ...

's 1969 film adaptation of ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

''. More notable credits include: Mildred Layton in the 1984 ITV television series '' The Jewel in the Crown'', for which she received her first

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

award nomination;

Lady Catherine de Bourgh Lady Catherine de Bourgh ( ; ) is a Character (arts), character in the 1813 novel ''Pride and Prejudice'' by Jane Austen. According to Janet Todd, Lady Catherine can be seen as a foil to the novel's protagonist Elizabeth Bennet. Family Lady Cat ...

in the 1980 television serial version of '' Pride and Prejudice''; Vera Donovan in the 1995 film adaptation of Stephen King's '' Dolores Claiborne''; and as Maria Thins in the 2003 film '' Girl with a Pearl Earring'', for which she earned another BAFTA award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. She has been a cast member on the drama series ''

Call the Midwife ''Call the Midwife'' is a British period drama television series about a group of nurse midwives working in the East End of London in the late 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. The principal cast of the show has included Jessica Raine, Miranda Hart, ...

'', playing Sister Monica Joan, since the show's launch in 2012.

Early life

Parfitt was born in

Sheffield, South Yorkshire Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties of England, historic ...

in 1935Year of birth: 1935
findmypast.co.uk; accessed 28 June 2014. to Catherine Josephine (

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

Caulton) and Lawrence Hamilton Parfitt. As a teenager, she attended Notre Dame High School for Girls and later trained at the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central London ...

, graduating in 1953.

Career

Parfitt began her career in theatre in 1954, appearing in a production of '' Fools Rush In'' at the

Amersham Amersham ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, in the Chiltern Hills, northwest of central London, south-east of Aylesbury and north-east of High Wycombe. Amersham is part of the London commuter belt. There ar ...

Repertory Company. In 1968, Parfitt appeared in the

Hammer A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nail (fastener), nails into wood, to sh ...

television film ''Journey to The Unknown'', opposite Joseph Cotten and hosted by

Joan Crawford Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, 190? was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway theatre, Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion-picture cont ...

. In 1978, Parfitt appeared opposite

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier ( ; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director. He and his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud made up a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage of the m ...

, Joan Plowright and Frank Finlay in the episode "Saturday, Sunday, Monday" of '' Laurence Olivier Presents''. In 1981 she created the role of Eleanor in the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

's production of Peter Nichols' '' Passion Play''. In 1984 she played Deidre in

Jack Rosenthal Jack Morris Rosenthal (8 September 1931 – 29 May 2004) was an English playwright. He wrote 129 early episodes of the ITV (TV network), ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' and over 150 screenplays, including original television plays, featur ...

's '' The Chain''. In 1987, she appeared in '' Maurice''. Two of her most notable past roles are Mildred Layton in '' The Jewel in the Crown'' (1984; for which she received her first

nomination) and Lady Catherine de Bourgh in the 1980 TV serial version of '' Pride and Prejudice''. In 1995, she portrayed

Kathy Bates Kathleen Doyle Bates (born June 28, 1948) is an American actress. Kathy Bates filmography, Her work spans over five decades, and List of awards and nominations received by Kathy Bates, her accolades include an Academy Awards, Academy Award, t ...

' domineering former employer in '' Dolores Claiborne'', who is dying in present-time, but is seen as a vibrant, glowing woman in flashback sequences. Parfitt has appeared in some American television shows, beginning with her regular role as

Snow White "Snow White" is a German fairy tale, first written down in the early 19th century. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'', numbered as Tale 53. The original title was ''Sneewittch ...

's Stepmother, Evil Queen Lillian "Lily" White in the series '' The Charmings''. Parfitt's real-life husband

Tony Steedman Anthony Francis Steedman (21 August 1927 – 4 February 2001) was an English character actor, perhaps best known for roles in British TV drama series of the 1970s and 1980s, and for his role as Socrates in '' Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventur ...

guest-starred as Santa Claus in The Charmings' second season

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

special. She appeared on an episode of ''

Murder, She Wrote ''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The series f ...

'' in 1989, and as the mother of Dr Elizabeth Corday (played by

Alex Kingston Alexandra Elizabeth Kingston (born 11 March 1963) is an English actress. Active from the early 1980s, Kingston became noted for her television work in both Britain and the US in the 1990s, including her regular role as Elizabeth Corday, Dr. Eliz ...

) on several episodes of '' ER'' in 2002. In 1998, she played the role of Queen Marie in '' Ever After: A Cinderella Story''. Parfitt played Lady Mount-Temple in the biopic film '' Wilde'', alongside

Stephen Fry Sir Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, narrator and writer. He came to prominence as a member of the comic act Fry and Laurie alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring in ''A Bit of ...

, Vanessa Redgrave and

Gemma Jones Jennifer "Gemma" Jones (born 4 December 1942) is an English actress. Appearing on both stage and screen, her film appearances include ''Sense and Sensibility (film), Sense and Sensibility'' (1995), the Bridget Jones (film series), ''Bridget Jo ...

in 1997. In 2003, she played Maria Thins in '' Girl with a Pearl Earring'', which earned her a

nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Parfitt played the domineering American dowager, Mrs van Schuyler, opposite David Suchet, James Fox, Frances de la Tour and David Soul in a feature-length episode of '' Agatha Christie's Poirot'' in the 2004 edition of ''

Death on the Nile ''Death on the Nile'' is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 1 November 1937 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company the following year. The UK edition retailed at ...

''. In 2008, she appeared as the primary villainess in '' Little Dorrit'', as the cruel Mrs Clennam, alongside Alun Armstrong,

Sue Johnston Sue Johnston (born Susan Wright; 7 December 1943) is an English actress. She is known for portraying Sheila Grant in the Channel 4 soap opera '' Brookside'' (1982–1990), Barbara Royle in the BBC comedy '' The Royle Family'' (1998–2012), G ...

and Matthew Macfadyen. At Christmas 2011, she appeared in a small role similar to that which she portrayed in ''Little Dorrit'' as Aunt Chastity along with Una Stubbs and Phyllida Law in '' The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff''. In 2012, Parfitt began appearing in the BBC TV series ''

'' as Sister Monica Joan, an elderly nun in early stages of dementia. Sister Monica Joan's strong educational background and knowledge of classical literature are often used in the programme as a way of reflecting on the unfolding drama. Parfitt has also recently appeared in BBC's spy tale, ''The Game''; a film, ''Hello Carter''; a Radio 4 show, '' Tom Wrigglesworth's Hang-Ups''; and Jessica Hynes's suffragette sitcom '' Up the Women''.

Personal life

In 1963, Parfitt married actor

in Harrow,

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

. He died in 2001. The couple had a son.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

;BAFTA Film Awards *2003 – Best Actress in a Supporting Role – as Maria Thins in '' Girl with a Pearl Earring'' – nominated ;BAFTA TV Awards *1984 – Best TV Actress – as Mildred Layton in '' The Jewel in the Crown'' – nominated ;Other awards *2009 – Satellite Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television – as Mrs Clennam in '' Little Dorrit'' – nominated *2014 – Satellite Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television – as Sister Monica Joan in ''

'' – nominated

References

Works cited

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Parfitt, Judy 1935 births 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art English film actresses English stage actresses English television actresses Living people Actresses from Sheffield People educated at Notre Dame High School, Sheffield