 Photo: Jeff Vespa - © WireImage.com |
Born Brenda Anne Bottle in Ramsgate, Kent, England. Graduated from technical college and worked as a stenographer and bookkeeper until her late twenties. She began in British television in the early 1980s, and appeared as Cordelia in the 1982 BBC production of King Lear, which was directed by Jonathan Miller. Her first feature film was THE WITCHES (1990). Other notable credits: A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT (1992), SECRETS & LIES (1996), REMEMBER ME? (1997), LITTLE VOICE, GIRL'S NIGHT, NIGHT TRAIN, MUSIC FROM ANOTHER ROOM and IN THE WINTER DARK (all 1998), "RKO 281" (TV, as Louella Parsons) and KEEPING TIME (both 1999), SAVING GRACE (2000), YES YOU CAN, THE YELLOW BIRD, DADDY AND THEM, LOVELY & AMAZING and ON THE NOSE (all 2001), PLOTS WITH A VIEW, THE WILD THORNBERRYS MOVIE (voice), SONNY and PUMPKIN (all 2002), THE SLEEPING DICTIONARY and BLIZZARD (both 2003), PICCADILLY JIM, BEYOND THE SEA and WAY OF LIFE (all 2004), ON A CLEAR DAY and PRIDE & PREJUDICE (both 2005), CLUBLAND, ATONEMENT and "War and Peace" (TV mini-series) (all 2007), and THE CALLING, NO ONE GETS OFF IN THIS TOWN and KING OF THE PIPERS (all scheduled for release in 2008). Blethyn performs frequently on television and in film and television voice work.
She was awarded the O.B.E. (Officer of the British Empire) in Queen Elizabeth II's 2002 New Year's Eve Honours List.
2 nominations |
Nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role