Phoebe Sarah Nicholls (born 7 April 1957) is an English film, television, and stage

actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

. She is known for her roles as Cordelia Flyte in '' Brideshead Revisited'' and as the mother of John Merrick in ''

The Elephant Man Joseph Carey Merrick (5 August 1862 – 11 April 1890) was an English man known for his severe physical deformities. He was first exhibited at a freak show under the stage name "The Elephant Man", and then went to live at the London Hospital, ...

''.

Personal life

Nicholls is the daughter of actors Anthony Nicholls and Faith Kent. She trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama. Nicholls married director Charles Sturridge on 6 July 1985; they have two sons, Tom and Arthur, and a daughter Matilda. Her grandfather is photojournalist Horace Nicholls.

Career

As a child actress in several films she was billed as Sarah Nicholls. In her early 20s, she appeared in

David Lynch David Keith Lynch (January 20, 1946 – January 16, 2025) was an American filmmaker, visual artist, musician, and actor. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Lynch was often called a "visionary" and received acclaim f ...

's ''

'' (1980),

Richard Loncraine Richard Loncraine (born 20 October 1946) is a British film and television director. Loncraine was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. Loncraine received early training in the features department of the BBC, including a season directing i ...

's '' The Missionary'' (1982) and as Cordelia Flyte in '' Brideshead Revisited'' (1981). Since then, she has worked almost exclusively in television and theatre. Cast in Michael Lindsay-Hogg's original staging of '' Whose Life Is It Anyway?'' in 1978, she later performed in Robert Strura's revival of '' Three Sisters'' with Vanessa Redgrave. At the National Theatre she appeared in

Stephen Daldry Stephen David Daldry Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 2 May 1960) is an English director and producer of film, theatre, and television. He has won three Tony Awards for his work on Broadway theatre, Broadway and an Olivie ...

's acclaimed version of J.B. Priestley's '' An Inspector Calls'' and in David Hare's ''Pravda'' (starring Sir Anthony Hopkins). 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 theatre in Sloane Square, London, England, opene ...

she appeared the Olivier Award-winning production of Terry Johnson's '' ''Hysteria''''. Her supporting performances in the 2008 West End revivals of

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' called "a sense of personal style, a combination of c ...

's ''

The Vortex ''The Vortex'' is a play in three acts by the English writer and actor Noël Coward. The play depicts the sexual vanity of a rich, ageing beauty, her troubled relationship with her adult son, and drug abuse in British society circles after the ...

'' and Harley Granville Barker's ''

Waste Waste are unwanted or unusable materials. Waste is any substance discarded after primary use, or is worthless, defective and of no use. A by-product, by contrast is a joint product of relatively minor Value (economics), economic value. A wast ...

'' earned her the 2009 Clarence Derwent Award from Equity. She also played the conniving art critic Rivera in the National Theatre production of the Howard Barker drama, '' Scenes from an Execution''. Nicholls appeared in the BBC film ''

Persuasion Persuasion or persuasion arts is an umbrella term for influence. Persuasion can influence a person's beliefs, attitudes, intentions, motivations, or behaviours. Persuasion is studied in many disciplines. Rhetoric studies modes of persuasi ...

'' (1995), an adaptation of

Jane Austen Jane Austen ( ; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for #List of works, her six novels, which implicitly interpret, critique, and comment on the English landed gentry at the end of the 18th century ...

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

. She has made guest appearances on several television mystery series, including '' Kavanagh QC'', '' Prime Suspect'', ''

Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British Mystery fiction, mystery television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the ''Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series created by Caroline Graham (writer), Caroline Graham. ...

'', '' Lewis'', '' The Ruth Rendell Mysteries'' ("May and June", 1997), '' Foyle's War'', '' Second Sight'' starring

Clive Owen Clive Owen (born 3 October 1964) is an English actor. He first gained recognition in the United Kingdom for playing the lead role in the ITV series '' Chancer'' from 1990 to 1991. He received critical acclaim for his work in the film '' Close ...

, and the 2012 Christmas episode 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. It first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV (TV network), ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United St ...

'', a role she reprised for the 2014 season. She has also appeared in several works directed by her husband, Charles Sturridge, including his 1995 television adaptation of ''

Gulliver's Travels ''Gulliver's Travels'', originally titled ''Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships'', is a 1726 prose satire by the Anglo-Irish writer and clerg ...

'', where she portrayed the Liliputian Empress, the 1997 film '' Fairy Tale: A True Story'' and '' Shackleton'' in 2002.

Filmography

Film

Television

Stage

* 1978: '' Whose Life Is It Anyway?'' * 1981: ''

The Cherry Orchard ''The Cherry Orchard'' () is the last play by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. Written in 1903, it was first published by '' Znaniye'' (Book Two, 1904), and came out as a separate edition later that year in Saint Petersburg, via A.F. Marks Pu ...

'' * 1983: ''The Beautiful Part of Myself'' * 1984: ''

Pravda ''Pravda'' ( rus, Правда, p=ˈpravdə, a=Ru-правда.ogg, 'Truth') is a Russian broadsheet newspaper, and was the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, when it was one of the most in ...

'' * 1985: ''

The Seagull ''The Seagull'' () is a play by Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov, written in 1895 in literature, 1895 and first produced in 1896 in literature#Drama, 1896. ''The Seagull'' is generally considered to be the first of his four major plays. It dramati ...

'' * 1991: '' Three Sisters'' * 1993: '' An Inspector Calls'' * 1993: ''

Hysteria Hysteria is a term used to mean ungovernable emotional excess and can refer to a temporary state of mind or emotion. In the nineteenth century, female hysteria was considered a diagnosable physical illness in women. It is assumed that the bas ...

'' * 1994: '' Rutherford & Son'' * 1997: '' Dona Rosita the Spinster'' * 2005: ''Three Women and a Piano Tuner'' * 2007: ''

'' * 2008: ''

'' * 2009: ''When the Rain Stops Falling'' * 2012: '' Scenes from an Execution'' * 2022: '' The Southbury Child''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholls, Phoebe 1957 births 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses Actresses from London Alumni of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama Clarence Derwent Award winners English film actresses English stage actresses English television actresses Living people English child actresses