as Mrs. Weasley in the Harry Potter series

Born in Smethwick, West Midlands, England; educated at Manchester Polytechnic (drama). Feisty, forthright actress who first came to screen attention opposite Michael Caine in EDUCATING RITA (1983); in the same year, Walters won a best actress Tony® for her role in the original stage play. Other notable (non-nominated) screen credits include PRICK UP YOUR EARS (1987), BUSTER (1988), STEPPING OUT (1991), INTIMATE RELATIONS (1996), ALL FORGOTTEN (2000), HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE (2001), BEFORE YOU GO and HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS (both 2002), CALENDAR GIRLS (2003), HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN and MICKYBO AND ME (both 2004), WAH-WAH (2005), DRIVING LESSONS (2006), BECOMING JANE and HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX (both 2007), MAMMA MIA! and HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE (both scheduled for 2008), and SLEEPER (rumored for 2009).  Nominated for Actress 1983: EDUCATING RITA  Nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role 2000: BILLY ELLIOTT 2 nominations