Julie Frances Christie (born 14 April 1940) is a British actress. Christie's accolades include an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

, a

BAFTA Award The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs or BAFTA Awards, is an annual film award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to f ...

, a Golden Globe, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. She has appeared in six films ranked in the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

BFI Top 100 British films In 1999, the British Film Institute surveyed 1,000 people from the world of British film and television to produce a list of the greatest British films of the 20th century. Voters were asked to choose up to 100 films that were " culturally British ...

of the 20th century, and in 1997, she received the

BAFTA Fellowship The BAFTA Fellowship, or the Academy Fellowship, is a lifetime achievement award presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) in recognition of "outstanding achievement in the art forms of the moving image". The award is t ...

for lifetime achievement. Christie's breakthrough role on the big screen was in ''

Billy Liar ''Billy Liar'' is a 1959 novel by Keith Waterhouse that was later adapted into a play, a Billy Liar (film), film, a Billy (musical), musical and a Billy Liar (TV series), TV series. The work has inspired and been featured in a number of popul ...

'' (1963). She came to international attention for her performances in '' Darling'' (1965), for which she won the

and the

for Best Actress, and '' Doctor Zhivago'' (also 1965), the eighth highest-grossing film of all time after adjustment for inflation. She continued to receive Academy Award nominations, for '' McCabe & Mrs. Miller'' (1971), '' Afterglow'' (1997) and '' Away from Her'' (2007). In addition, Christie starred in ''

Fahrenheit 451 ''Fahrenheit 451'' is a 1953 Dystopian fiction, dystopian novel by American writer Ray Bradbury. It presents a future American society where books have been outlawed and "firemen" Book burning, burn any that are found. The novel follows in the ...

'' (1966), '' Far from the Madding Crowd'' (1967), '' Petulia'' (1968), '' The Go-Between'' (1971), '' Don't Look Now'' (1973), '' Shampoo'' (1975), and '' Heaven Can Wait'' (1978). She is also known for her performances in ''

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 ...

'' (1996) as well as '' Finding Neverland'', ''

Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...

'' and '' Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'' (all 2004).

Early life

Christie was born on 14 April 1940 at Singlijan Tea Estate, Chabua,

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

, to Rosemary (née Ramsden), a Welsh-born painter, and Frank St John Christie, who ran the tea plantation where she grew up. She has a younger brother, Clive, and an older (deceased) half-sister, June, from her father's relationship with an Indian tea picker on his plantation. At the age of six she was sent to live with a foster mother so she could attend a convent school in England. Her parents separated when Julie was a child, and after their divorce, she spent time with her mother in rural

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. She was baptised in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

and was a boarder at the independent Convent of Our Lady school in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, after being expelled from another convent school for telling a risqué joke that reached a wider audience than she had anticipated. After being asked to leave the Convent of Our Lady as well, she attended the all-girls Wycombe Court School,

High Wycombe High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye, Buckinghamshire, River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

, during which time she lived with a foster mother from the age of six. At the Wycombe school, she played the Dauphin in a production of Shaw's '' Saint Joan.'' She went to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

to finish schooling and learn French. She later returned to England and studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London.

Career

Early career

Christie made her professional stage debut in 1957, and her first screen roles were on British television. Her earliest role to gain attention was in

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 ...

serial '' A for Andromeda'' (1961). She was a contender for the role of Honey Ryder in the first

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

film, '' Dr. No'', but producer Albert R. Broccoli reportedly thought her breasts were too small.

1960s

Christie appeared in two comedies for Independent Artists: '' Crooks Anonymous'' and '' The Fast Lady'' (both 1962). Her breakthrough role was as Liz, the friend and would-be lover of the

eponymous An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...

character played by Tom Courtenay in ''

'' (1963), for which she received a

nomination. The director, John Schlesinger cast Christie only after another actress, Topsy Jane, had dropped out of the film. It resulted in her being put under contract by Nat Cohen. Christie appeared as Daisy Battles in '' Young Cassidy'' (1965), a biopic of Irish playwright Seán O'Casey, co-directed by Jack Cardiff and (uncredited)

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), better known as John Ford, was an American film director and producer. He is regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers during the Golden Age of Hollywood, and w ...

. Her role as an amoral model in '' Darling'' (also 1965) led to Christie becoming known internationally; it also inspired the singer Tony Christie to take his stage name from Christie. Directed by Schlesinger and co-starring Dirk Bogarde and

Laurence Harvey Laurence Harvey (born Zvi Mosheh Skikne; 1 October 192825 November 1973) was a Lithuanian-born British actor and film director. He was born to Lithuanian Jewish parents and emigrated to Union of South Africa, South Africa at an early age, before ...

, Christie had only been cast in the lead role after Schlesinger insisted, the studio having wanted Shirley MacLaine. She received the

Academy Award for Best Actress The Academy Award for Best Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the 1st Academy Awards to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a lead ...

and the BAFTA Award for Best British Actress in a Leading Role for her performance. Julie Christie - 1965

David Lean Sir David Lean (25 March 190816 April 1991) was an English film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor, widely considered one of the most important figures of Cinema of the United Kingdom, British cinema. He directed the large-scale epi ...

's '' Doctor Zhivago'' (also 1965), adapted from the epic/romance novel by

Boris Pasternak Boris Leonidovich Pasternak (30 May 1960) was a Russian and Soviet poet, novelist, composer, and literary translator. Composed in 1917, Pasternak's first book of poems, ''My Sister, Life'', was published in Berlin in 1922 and soon became an imp ...

, Christie's role as Lara Antipova became her best known. The film was a major box-office success. , ''Doctor Zhivago'' is the 8th highest-grossing film of all time, adjusted for inflation. According to ''

Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

'' magazine, 1965 was "The Year of Julie Christie". After dual roles in

François Truffaut François Roland Truffaut ( , ; ; 6 February 1932 – 21 October 1984) was a French filmmaker, actor, and critic. He is widely regarded as one of the founders of the French New Wave. He came under the tutelage of film critic Andre Bazin as a ...

's adaptation of the

Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury ( ; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of genres, including fantasy, science fiction, Horror fiction, horr ...

novel ''

'' (1966), starring with Oskar Werner, she appeared as

Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Literary realism, Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry ...

's heroine Bathsheba Everdene in Schlesinger's '' Far from the Madding Crowd'' (1967). After moving to Los Angeles in 1967 ("I was there because of a lot of American boyfriends"), she appeared in the title role of

Richard Lester Richard Lester Liebman (born January 19, 1932) is an American retired film director, who spent the majority of his professional life in the United Kingdom. He is known for the fast-paced, flamboyant directing he brought to his comedy films, mo ...

's '' Petulia'' (1968), co-starring with George C. Scott. Christie's persona as the swinging sixties British woman she had embodied in ''Billy Liar'' and ''Darling'' was further cemented by her appearance in the documentary '' Tonite Let's All Make Love in London''. In 1967, ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' magazine said of her: "What Julie Christie wears has more real impact on fashion than all the clothes of the ten best-dressed women combined".

1970s

Joseph Losey Joseph Walton Losey III (; January 14, 1909 – June 22, 1984) was an American film and theatre director, producer, and screenwriter. Born in Wisconsin, he studied in Germany with Bertolt Brecht and then returned to the United States. Hollywood ...

's romantic drama '' The Go-Between'' (1971), Christie had a lead role along with Alan Bates. The film won the Grand Prix, then the main award at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

. She earned a second Best Actress Oscar nomination for her role as a brothel

madam Madam (), or madame ( or ), is a polite and formal form of address for Woman, women in the English language, often contracted to ma'am (pronounced in American English and this way but also in British English). The term derives from the French la ...

Robert Altman Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer, producer. He is considered an enduring figure from the New Hollywood era, known for directing subversive and sat ...

's postmodern western '' McCabe & Mrs. Miller'' (also 1971). The film was the first of three collaborations between Christie and

Warren Beatty Henry Warren Beatty (né Beaty; born March 30, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker. His career has spanned over six decades, and he has received an Academy Award and three Golden Globe Awards. He also received the Irving G. Thalberg Memor ...

, who described her as "the most beautiful and at the same time the most nervous person I had ever known". The couple had a high-profile but intermittent relationship between 1967 and 1974. After the relationship ended, they worked together again in the comedies '' Shampoo'' (1975) and '' Heaven Can Wait'' (1978). Her other films during the decade were

Nicolas Roeg Nicolas Jack Roeg ( ; 15 August 1928 – 23 November 2018) was an English film director and cinematographer, best known for directing ''Performance (film), Performance'' (1970), ''Walkabout (film), Walkabout'' (1971), ''Don't Look Now'' (1973) ...

's thriller '' Don't Look Now '' (1973), based on a story by Daphne du Maurier, in which she co-starred with Donald Sutherland, and the science-fiction/horror film '' Demon Seed'' (1977), based on the novel of the same name by Dean Koontz and directed by Donald Cammell. ''Don't Look Now'' in particular has received acclaim, with Christie nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, and in 2017 a poll of 150 actors, directors, writers, producers and critics for '' Time Out'' magazine ranked it the greatest British film ever."The 100 best British films"
''Time Out''. Retrieved 24 October 2017 Christie returned to the United Kingdom in 1977, living on a farm in

. In 1979, she was a member of the jury at the 29th Berlin International Film Festival. Never a prolific actress, even at the height of her career, Christie turned down many high-profile film roles, including '' Anne of the Thousand Days'', '' They Shoot Horses, Don't They?'', '' Nicholas and Alexandra'', and '' Reds'', all of which earned Oscar nominations for the actresses who eventually played them.

1980s

In the 1980s, Christie appeared in non-mainstream films such as '' The Return of the Soldier'' (1982) and '' Heat and Dust'' (1983). She had a major supporting role in

Sidney Lumet Sidney Arthur Lumet ( ; June 25, 1924 – April 9, 2011) was an American film director. Lumet started his career in theatre before moving to film, where he gained a reputation for making realistic and gritty New York City, New York dramas w ...

's '' Power'' (1986) alongside Richard Gere and Gene Hackman, but apart from that, she avoided large budget films. She starred in the television film '' Dadah Is Death'' (1988), based on the Barlow and Chambers execution, as Barlow's mother Barbara, who desperately fought to save her son from being hanged for drug trafficking in Malaysia.

1990s

After a lengthy absence from the screen, Christie co-starred in the fantasy adventure film ''

Dragonheart ''Dragonheart'' (stylized as ''DragonHeart'') is a 1996 fantasy adventure film directed by Rob Cohen and written by Charles Edward Pogue, based on a story created by him and Patrick Read Johnson. The film stars Dennis Quaid, David Thewlis, ...

'' (1996), and appeared as Gertrude in

Kenneth Branagh Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh ( ; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Born in Belfast and raised primarily in Reading, Berkshire, Branagh trained at RADA in London and served as its president from 2015 to 2024. List of award ...

's ''

'' (also 1996). Her next critically acclaimed role was the unhappy wife in Alan Rudolph's domestic comedy-drama '' Afterglow'' (1997) with Nick Nolte, Jonny Lee Miller and Lara Flynn Boyle. Christie received a third Oscar nomination for her role. Appearing in six films that were ranked in the

's 100 greatest British films of the 20th century, in recognition of her contribution to British cinema Christie received

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 ...

's highest honour, the Fellowship, in 1997. In 1994, she had been awarded the title Doctor of Letters from the University of Warwick.

21st century

Christie made a brief cameo appearance in the third ''

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven Fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...

'' film, '' Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'' (2004), playing Madam Rosmerta. Around the same time, she also appeared in two other high-profile films: Wolfgang Petersen's ''

'' and

Marc Forster Marc Forster (born 30 November 1969) is a German-Swiss filmmaker. He is best known for directing the feature films ''Monster's Ball'', ''Finding Neverland (film), Finding Neverland'', ''Stranger than Fiction (2006 film), Stranger than Fiction'' ...

's '' Finding Neverland'' (both 2004), playing mother to Brad Pitt and

Kate Winslet Kate Elizabeth Winslet (; born 5 October 1975) is an English actress. Primarily known for her roles as headstrong and complicated women in independent films, particularly period dramas, she has received numerous accolades, including an Ac ...

, respectively. The latter performance earned Christie a BAFTA nomination as supporting actress in a film. Christie portrayed the female lead in '' Away from Her'' (2006), a film about a long-married Canadian couple coping with the wife's

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

. Based on the Alice Munro short story " The Bear Came Over the Mountain", the movie was the first feature film directed by Christie's sometime co-star, Canadian actress Sarah Polley. She took the role, she says, only because Polley is her friend. Polley has said Christie liked the script but initially turned it down as she was ambivalent about acting. It took several months of persuasion by Polley before Christie finally accepted the role. In July 2006 she was a member of the jury at the 28th Moscow International Film Festival. Debuting at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...

on 11 September 2006 as part of the TIFF's Gala showcase, ''Away from Her'' drew rave reviews from the trade press, including ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'', and the four Toronto dailies. Critics singled out her performances as well as that of her co-star, Canadian actor

Gordon Pinsent Gordon Edward Pinsent (July 12, 1930 – February 25, 2023) was a Canadian actor, writer, director, and singer. He was known for his roles in numerous productions, including ''Away from Her'', ''The Rowdyman'', ''John and the Missus'', ''A Gift ...

, and Polley's direction. Christie's performance generated Oscar buzz, leading the distributor,

Lions Gate Entertainment Starz Entertainment Corp, formerly known officially as Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation and commonly as Lions Gate and/or Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment industry, entertainment company currently headquartered in Santa Monica ...

, to buy the film at the festival to release the film in 2007 to build momentum during the awards season. On 5 December 2007, she won the Best Actress Award from the National Board of Review for her performance in ''Away from Her''. She won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama, the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role and the Genie Award for Best Actress for the same film. On 22 January 2008, Christie received her fourth

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role at the 80th Academy Awards. She appeared at the ceremony wearing a pin calling for the closure of the prison in Guantanamo Bay. Christie narrated ''Uncontacted Tribes'' (2008), a short film for the British-based charity Survival International, featuring previously unseen footage of remote and endangered peoples. She has been a long-standing supporter of the charity, and in February 2008, was named as its first 'Ambassador'. She appeared in a segment of the film, '' New York, I Love You'' (also 2008), written by

Anthony Minghella Anthony Minghella (6 January 195418 March 2008) was a British film director, playwright, and screenwriter. He was chairman of the board of Governors at the British Film Institute between 2003 and 2007. He directed ''Truly, Madly, Deeply (film), ...

, directed by Shekhar Kapur and co-starring Shia LaBeouf, as well as in '' Glorious 39'' (2009), about a British family at the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Christie played a "sexy, bohemian" version of the grandmother role in Catherine Hardwicke's gothic retelling of '' Red Riding Hood'' (2011). Her most recent role was in the political thriller '' The Company You Keep'' (2012), where she co-starred with Robert Redford and Sam Elliott.

Personal life

Christie is fluent in French and Italian. In the early 1960s, Christie dated actor Terence Stamp. She had a live-in relationship with Don Bessant, a lithographer and art teacher, from December 1962 to May 1967,''Julie Christie'', Anthony Hayward (Robert Hale, 2000) before dating actor

for seven on-and-off years (1967–1974). Christie was also linked romantically with musician

Brian Eno Brian Peter George Jean-Baptiste de la Salle Eno (, born 15 May 1948), also mononymously known as Eno, is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, visual artist, and activist. He is best known for his pioneering contributions to ambien ...

, record producer Lou Adler, director Jim McBride and photographer Terry O'Neill. Christie was married to journalist Duncan Campbell from 2005 until his death in 2025; they had lived together since 1979. In January 2008, several news outlets reported that the couple had quietly married in India two months earlier, in November 2007, which Christie called "nonsense", adding, "I have been married for a few years. Don't believe what you read in the papers." In the late 1960s, her advisers adopted a very complex scheme in an attempt to reduce her tax liability, giving rise to the leading case of ''Black Nominees Ltd v Nicol (Inspector of Taxes)''. The case was heard by Judge Sydney Templeman (who later became Lord Templeman), who gave judgement in favour of the Inland Revenue, ruling that the scheme was ineffective. She is active in various causes, including

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all Animal consciousness, sentient animals have Moral patienthood, moral worth independent of their Utilitarianism, utility to humans, and that their most basic interests—such as ...

environmental protection Environmental protection, or environment protection, refers to the taking of measures to protecting the natural environment, prevent pollution and maintain ecological balance. Action may be taken by individuals, advocacy groups and governments. ...

, and the anti-nuclear power movement. In the 1980s she was a supporter of the Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp. She is a Patron of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, as well as Reprieve, and the CFS/ME charity Action for ME. Christie is a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...

."Julie Christie has done us no favours"
telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 22 January 2023.

Acting credits

Films

Television

Theatre

Christie made her professional debut in 1957 at the Frinton Repertory Company in

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

Awards and nominations

References

External links

; Biography and filmography * * * * * ; Interviews * * * Webb, Oliver (23 September 2020
An interview with Julie Christie
{{DEFAULTSORT:Christie, Julie 1940 births 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses Living people Age controversies Alumni of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama Alumni of the Open University BAFTA fellows Best Actress Academy Award winners Best British Actress BAFTA Award winners Best Drama Actress Golden Globe (film) winners British anti–nuclear power activists David di Donatello winners English environmentalists English film actresses English stage actresses English television actresses English voice actresses English people of Welsh descent Best Actress Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead winners Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role Screen Actors Guild Award winners People from Dibrugarh district British people in colonial India Actresses from British India ME/CFS activists