Annette Crosbie
Encyclopedia
Annette Crosbie, OBE
(born 12 February 1934) is a Scottish
character actor
.
, Midlothian
, Scotland
, to Presbyterian parents who disapproved of her becoming an actor. Nevertheless, she joined the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School
while still in her teens. Her big break did not come until 1970 when she was cast as Catherine of Aragon
in the BBC
television series, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, for which she won the 1971 BAFTA Television Award for Best Actress. In 1973, she starred alongside Vanessa Redgrave
in the BBC serial, A Picture of Katherine Mansfield
.
A few years later, Crosbie made a similar impact as another Queen, Victoria
, in the ITV period drama, Edward the Seventh
(1975) for which she won the 1976 BAFTA Television Award for Best Actress. She played Cinderella
's fairy godmother
in The Slipper and the Rose
, which was chosen as the Royal Film Première for 1976. In that film, Crosbie sang the Sherman Brothers
' song, "Suddenly It Happens". In Ralph Bakshi
's animated movie The Lord of the Rings
, filmed in 1978, Crosbie voiced the character of Galadriel
, Lady of the Elves, and in 1980 she played the abbess in Hawk the Slayer
. In 1986, she appeared as the vicar's wife in Paradise Postponed
, and Julia Wilson in Farrington
(1987).
Crosbie's next major role was as Margaret Meldrew, the long-suffering wife of Victor Meldrew (played by Richard Wilson), in the British sitcom
, One Foot in the Grave
(1990–2000), for which she is best known. She also played Janet, the housekeeper to Dr. Finlay
, in the 1993 revival
of A. J. Cronin
's popular stories. She also had a poignant role in the 1999 thriller The Debt Collector
.
Crosbie's other roles include playing the monkey-lover Ingrid Strange in an episode of Jonathan Creek
, the character of Edith Sparshott in An Unsuitable Job for a Woman
, and as Jessie in the film Calendar Girls
(2003). In 2004, Crosbie made a cameo appearance alongside Sam Kelly
in an episode of the third series of Black Books
, starring as the mother of the character Manny Bianco. Crosbie has also appeared in A Touch of Frost. She also appeared in the sixth and seventh series of the BBC Radio 4
comedy series Old Harry's Game
, in which she played a recently deceased historian called Edith.
In 2008 she appeared in the BBC adaptation of Charles Dickens
' Little Dorrit
and also appeared in an AXA Sun Life television advertisement for the over-50s. In 2009, she portrayed Sadie Cairncross in the BBC television series Hope Springs
. In 2010, Crosbie appeared in the Doctor Who
episode entitled "The Eleventh Hour
".
Crosbie is divorced from Michael Griffiths, the father of both her children: Owen Griffiths and Selina Griffiths
. She is a campaigner for greyhound
welfare. She is also President of the League Against Cruel Sports
. Crosbie was awarded an OBE in 1998 for services to drama.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 12 February 1934) is a Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
character actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
Life and career
Crosbie was born in GorebridgeGorebridge
Gorebridge is a former mining village in Midlothian, Scotland. The village gets its name from the bridge across the River Gore, a tributary of the South Esk. It was once the home of Scotland's first gunpowder mill, at the Gore Water, commencing operation in 1794.Gorebridge has an annual gala day....
, Midlothian
Midlothian
Midlothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy area. It borders the Scottish Borders, East Lothian and the City of Edinburgh council areas....
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, to Presbyterian parents who disapproved of her becoming an actor. Nevertheless, she joined the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School
Bristol Old Vic Theatre School
The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, opened by Laurence Olivier in 1946, is an affiliate of the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama, an organisation securing the highest standards of training in the performing arts, and is an associate school of the Faculty of Creative Arts of the University of the...
while still in her teens. Her big break did not come until 1970 when she was cast as Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon , also known as Katherine or Katharine, was Queen consort of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII of England and Princess of Wales as the wife to Arthur, Prince of Wales...
in the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
television series, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, for which she won the 1971 BAFTA Television Award for Best Actress. In 1973, she starred alongside Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave, CBE is an English actress of stage, screen and television, as well as a political activist.She rose to prominence in 1961 playing Rosalind in As You Like It with the Royal Shakespeare Company and has since made more than 35 appearances on London's West End and Broadway, winning...
in the BBC serial, A Picture of Katherine Mansfield
A Picture of Katherine Mansfield
A Picture of Katherine Mansfield is a 1973 BBC miniseries starring Vanessa Redgrave as the title character. The series included dramatizations of Mansfield's life as well as adaptations of her short stories.-Cast:*Vanessa Redgrave as Katherine Mansfield...
.
A few years later, Crosbie made a similar impact as another Queen, Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
, in the ITV period drama, Edward the Seventh
Edward the Seventh (television)
Edward the Seventh is a 1975 television drama series, made by ATV in 13 one-hour episodes.Based on the biography of Edward VII by Philip Magnus, it starred Timothy West as the elder Edward VII and Simon Gipps-Kent and Charles Sturridge as Edward in his youth, Annette Crosbie as Queen Victoria,...
(1975) for which she won the 1976 BAFTA Television Award for Best Actress. She played Cinderella
Cinderella
"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune...
's fairy godmother
Fairy godmother
In fairy tales, a fairy godmother is a fairy with magical powers who acts as a mentor or parent to someone, in the role that an actual godparent was expected to play in many societies...
in The Slipper and the Rose
The Slipper and the Rose
The Slipper and the Rose is a 1976 British musical film retelling the classic fairy tale of Cinderella. This film was chosen as the Royal Command Performance motion picture selection for 1976....
, which was chosen as the Royal Film Première for 1976. In that film, Crosbie sang the Sherman Brothers
Sherman Brothers
The Sherman Brothers are an American songwriting duo that specialize in musical films, made up of Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman ....
' song, "Suddenly It Happens". In Ralph Bakshi
Ralph Bakshi
Ralph Bakshi is an Israeli-American director of animated and live-action films. In the 1970s, he established an alternative to mainstream animation through independent and adult-oriented productions. Between 1972 and 1992, he directed nine theatrically released feature films, five of which he wrote...
's animated movie The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings (1978 film)
J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings is a 1978 American fantasy film directed by Ralph Bakshi. It contains both animation and live action footage which is rotoscoped to give it a more consistent look throughout the length of the movie. It is an adaptation of the first half of the high fantasy...
, filmed in 1978, Crosbie voiced the character of Galadriel
Galadriel
Galadriel is a character created by J.R.R. Tolkien, appearing in his Middle-earth legendarium. She appears in The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, and Unfinished Tales....
, Lady of the Elves, and in 1980 she played the abbess in Hawk the Slayer
Hawk the Slayer
Hawk the Slayer is a sword and sorcery movie directed by Terry Marcel and starring John Terry and Jack Palance. The protagonist is Hawk, a hero in the Dark Age, where the Evil ruled the world.-Plot summary :...
. In 1986, she appeared as the vicar's wife in Paradise Postponed
Paradise Postponed
Paradise Postponed is a 1986 TV serial based on a novel by John Mortimer. The plot focused on inquires into why the leftist Reverend Simeon Simcox left the Simcox brewery millions to the loathsome Leslie Titmuss, a city developer and Conservative cabinet minister...
, and Julia Wilson in Farrington
Farrington of the F.O.
Farrington of the F.O. was a British television comedy series by Dick Sharples about the staff of the British Consulate in "one of the armpits of Latin America". It was produced by Yorkshire Television and broadcast from 1986 to 1987...
(1987).
Crosbie's next major role was as Margaret Meldrew, the long-suffering wife of Victor Meldrew (played by Richard Wilson), in the British sitcom
British sitcom
A British sitcom tends, as it does in most other countries, to be based on a family, workplace or other institution, where the same group of contrasting characters is brought together in each episode. Unlike American sitcoms, where twenty or more episodes in a season is the norm, British sitcoms...
, One Foot in the Grave
One Foot in the Grave
One Foot in the Grave is a BBC television sitcom series written by David Renwick. The show ran for six series, including seven Christmas specials, two Comic Relief specials, over an eleven year period, from early 1990 to late 2000...
(1990–2000), for which she is best known. She also played Janet, the housekeeper to Dr. Finlay
Dr. Finlay
Dr. Finlay is a fictional character, the hero of a series of stories by Scottish author A. J. Cronin.-History:The stories were used as the basis for the long-running BBC television programme, Dr. Finlay's Casebook, screened from 1962 to 1971, and radio series . Based on Cronin's novella entitled...
, in the 1993 revival
Doctor Finlay
Doctor Finlay is a British television series based on A. J. Cronin's stories about the fictional hero, Dr. Finlay. It is a follow-up to Dr. Finlay's Casebook, the successful BBC series. It takes place in the 1940s after John Finlay returns from war service...
of A. J. Cronin
A. J. Cronin
Archibald Joseph Cronin was a Scottish physician and novelist. His best-known works are Hatter's Castle, The Stars Look Down, The Citadel, The Keys of the Kingdom and The Green Years, all of which were adapted to film. He also created the Dr...
's popular stories. She also had a poignant role in the 1999 thriller The Debt Collector
The Debt Collector
The Debt Collector is a 1999 thriller, written and directed by Scottish dramatist Anthony Neilson and starring Billy Connolly, Ken Stott and Francesca Annis....
.
Crosbie's other roles include playing the monkey-lover Ingrid Strange in an episode of Jonathan Creek
Jonathan Creek
Jonathan Creek is a British mystery series produced by the BBC and written by David Renwick. Primarily a crime drama, the show is also peppered with broadly comic touches...
, the character of Edith Sparshott in An Unsuitable Job for a Woman
An Unsuitable Job for a Woman
An Unsuitable Job For A Woman is the title of a 1972 detective novel by P. D. James - and also the title of a TV series of four dramas developed from that novel....
, and as Jessie in the film Calendar Girls
Calendar Girls
Calendar Girls is a 2003 comedy film directed by Nigel Cole. Produced by Buena Vista International and Touchstone Pictures, it features a screenplay by Tim Firth and Juliette Towhidi based on a true story of a group of Yorkshire women who produced a nude calendar to raise money for Leukaemia...
(2003). In 2004, Crosbie made a cameo appearance alongside Sam Kelly
Sam Kelly
Sam Kelly is an English actor who has appeared in television, radio and theatre.-Career:He has had roles in British sitcoms such as Porridge as Bunny Warren, Allo 'Allo! as Captain Hans Geering leaving after series three, On the Up as Dennis Waterman's chauffeur and We'll Think of Something as Les...
in an episode of the third series of Black Books
Black Books
Black Books is a British sitcom television series created by Dylan Moran and Graham Linehan and produced by Nira Park, first broadcast on Channel 4 from 2000 to 2004...
, starring as the mother of the character Manny Bianco. Crosbie has also appeared in A Touch of Frost. She also appeared in the sixth and seventh series of the BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
comedy series Old Harry's Game
Old Harry's Game
Old Harry's Game is a UK radio comedy written and directed by Andy Hamilton, who also plays the cynical, world-weary Satan. "Old Harry" is one of many names for the devil...
, in which she played a recently deceased historian called Edith.
In 2008 she appeared in the BBC adaptation of Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
' Little Dorrit
Little Dorrit (TV serial)
Little Dorrit is a 2008 British television serial directed by Adam Smith, Dearbhla Walsh, and Diarmuid Lawrence. The teleplay by Andrew Davies is based on the serial novel of the same title by Charles Dickens, originally published between 1855 and 1857....
and also appeared in an AXA Sun Life television advertisement for the over-50s. In 2009, she portrayed Sadie Cairncross in the BBC television series Hope Springs
Hope Springs (TV Series)
Hope Springs is a British television comedy-drama series following the lives of four female ex-cons in hiding following a multimillion pound robbery. Produced by Shed Productions, the company behind Bad Girls, Footballers' Wives and Waterloo Road, the 8-part series began airing on BBC One on 7 June...
. In 2010, Crosbie appeared in the Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
episode entitled "The Eleventh Hour
The Eleventh Hour (Doctor Who)
"The Eleventh Hour" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC One and BBC HD on 3 April 2010....
".
Crosbie is divorced from Michael Griffiths, the father of both her children: Owen Griffiths and Selina Griffiths
Selina Griffiths
Selina Griffiths is a British actress. She trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama and has appeared in many plays as a result of this. She is the daughter of actors Annette Crosbie and Michael Griffiths. Her only brother, Owen Griffiths, is a sound engineer at a post production sound...
. She is a campaigner for greyhound
Greyhound
The Greyhound is a breed of sighthound that has been primarily bred for coursing game and racing, and the breed has also recently seen a resurgence in its popularity as a pedigree show dog and family pet. It is a gentle and intelligent breed...
welfare. She is also President of the League Against Cruel Sports
League Against Cruel Sports
The League Against Cruel Sports are an animal welfare organisation that campaigns against all blood sports including bull fighting, fox hunting and hare coursing. It also campaigns to ban the manufacture, sale and use of snares, for the regulation of greyhound racing and for an end to commercial...
. Crosbie was awarded an OBE in 1998 for services to drama.