Early life

Duff was born on 8 October 1970, the younger of two children of Irish immigrants - her father was a painter and decorator and her mother worked in a shoe shop. The family lived in Southall, London, and Anne-Marie went to a comprehensive school - Mellow Lane School, which became Hewens College in 2011. At an early age, Anne-Marie attended a local youth theatre; Young Argosy, linked to the Argosy Players, in order to battle her shy nature and soon became hooked on the stage.

In her mid-teens, involved in an amateur theatre company, she began to think seriously about applying to drama schools. Her first application was rejected. “At the time, I was desperately unhappy about it, but I just wasn’t polished. I got too nervous in the audition. It wasn’t a world I was familiar with…” After further study of Film and Theatre, at the age of 19, she attended the Drama Centre in London, alongside John Simm, Anastasia Hille and her good friend, Paul Bettany.

Career

Duff was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award in 2000, but first mainstream attention came as Fiona in the television programme Shameless, and for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth I in the lavish 2005 BBC television miniseries, The Virgin Queen which also starred Tom Hardy, Joanne Whalley and Tara Fitzgerald. She also played Julia Stanley, the mother of John Lennon, in Nowhere Boy. In The Last Station, a biopic about Leo Tolstoy's later years, she played his devoted daughter Sasha.

An accomplished theatre actor, she has worked extensively with the Royal National Theatre, including its 1996 production of Helen Edmundson's adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace, and also in London's West End (Vassa, Collected Stories). Credits at the National Theatre include Collected Stories, King Lear and most recently the title character in Marianne Elliott's production of George Bernard Shaw's Saint Joan to great acclaim. In 2011 she played Alma Rattenbury in Rattigan's final play Cause Célèbre at The Old Vic directed by Thea Sharrock. In 2007 she was one of nine female celebrities to take part in the What's it going to take? campaign promoting awareness of domestic abuse in the United Kingdom.

Personal life

Duff married Scottish actor and former Shameless co-star James McAvoy in October 2006, and gave birth to their son, Brendan McAvoy, in 2010. On 13 May 2016, Duff and McAvoy announced their decision to divorce.

Awards

Laurence Olivier Awards

• 2008: Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Collected Stories (nominated)
• 2008: Best Actress for Saint Joan (nominated)

BAFTA

• 2010: Best Supporting Actress for Nowhere Boy (nominated)
• 2007: Best Actress for The Virgin Queen (2005) (nominated)
• 2006: Best Actress for Shameless (2004) (nominated)
• 2005: Best Actress for Shameless (2004) (nominated)

BAFTA Cymru

• 2008: Best Actress for The History of Mr Polly (2007) (won)

Broadcasting Press Guild

• 2005: Best Actress for Shameless (2004) (won)

Evening Standard British Film Awards

• 2010: Best Actress for Nowhere Boy (2009) (won)

Irish Film and Television Awards

• 2008: Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Feature Film for Garage (2007) (nominated)
• 2007: Best Actress in a Lead Role in Television for The Virgin Queen (2005) (nominated)
• 2005: Best Actress in Television for Shameless (2004) (nominated)
• 2004: Best Actress in a TV Drama for Shameless (2004) (won)

Royal Television Society

• 2006: Best Female Actor for Shameless (2004) (nominated)

Filmography

Film

Film

Year	Production	Role	Notes
1998	Mild and Better	The Woman	Short film
2001	Enigma	Kay
2002	The Magdalene Sisters	Margaret
2006	Notes on a Scandal	Annabel
2007	Garage	Carmel	Nominated—IFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Feature Film
	The Waiting Room	Anna
2008	French Film	Sophie
2009	Is Anybody There?	Mum
	The Last Station	Sasha Tolstoy
	Nowhere Boy	Julia Lennon	British Independent Film Award for Best Supporting Actress Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actress London Film Critics' Circle Award for British Supporting Actress of the Year Nominated—British Academy Film Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated—Empire Award for Best Actress Nominated—IFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Film Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
2012	Sanctuary	Maire	Nominated—IFTA Award for Best Actress in a Film
2013	Closed Circuit	Melissa
	Molly Moon: The Incredible Hypnotist		Post-production
2014	Before I Go to Sleep	Claire
2015	Suffragette	Violet Miller	Nominated - BIFA Award for Best Supporting Actress

Television

Television

Year	Production	Role	Notes
1997	Trial & Retribution	Cathy Gillingham	2 episodes
1998	Amongst Women	Sheila	2 episodes
1999	Aristocrats	Louisa	4 episodes
2000	Reach for the Moon	Cath Bird
2001	The Way We Live Now	Georgiana	4 episodes
2002	Doctor Zhivago	Olya
	Holby City	Alison McCarthy	1 episode
	Wild West	Holly	6 episodes
	Sinners	Anne Marie/Theresa	TV Film Golden Nymph for Television Films - Best Performance by an Actress
2003	Charles II: The Power and The Passion	Princess Henrietta of England	1 episode
2004-05, 2013	Shameless	Fiona Gallagher	19 episodes Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Actress IFTA Award for Best Actress in a TV Drama Golden Nymph for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series Nominated—British Academy Television Award for Best Actress (2005) Nominated—British Academy Television Award for Best Actress (2006) Nominated—IFTA Award for Best Actress in Television (2005) Nominated—Royal Television Society Award for Best Actor - Female
2006	The Virgin Queen	Queen Elizabeth	4 episodes Nominated—British Academy Television Award for Best Actress Nominated—IFTA Award for Best Actress in a Lead Role in Television
	Born Equal	Michelle	TV Film
2007	The History of Mr Polly	Miriam	BAFTA Cymru Award for Best Actress (Yr Actores Orau)
2008	Pop Britannia	Narrator
2009	Margot	Margot Fonteyn	TV Film
2012	Accused	Mo Murray	1 episode Nominated—Royal Television Society Award for Best Actor (Female)
	Parade's End	Edith Duchemin	4 episodes
2015	From Darkness	Claire Church	All 4 episodes
2017	Watership Down	Hyzenthlay	Miniseries; pre-production

Theatre

Theatre

Year	Production	Role	Notes
1994	Uncle Silas'	Maud Ruthyn
	The Mill on the Floss	First Maggie
1995	La Grande Magia	Amelia
1995-96	Peter Pan	Wendy
1996	War and Peace	Natasha
1997-98	King Lear	Cordelia
1999	Vassa	Lyudmila
1999-2000	Collected Stories	Lisa
2000	A Doll's House	Nora
2002	The Daughter in Law	Minnie
2004	The Playboy of the Western World	Pegín maidhc
2005	Days of Wine and Roses	Mona
2007	The Soldier's Fortune	Lady Dunce
	Saint Joan	Joan
2011	Cause Célèbre	Alma Rattenbury	Old Vic, London
2013	Strange Interlude	Nina Leeds	National Theatre, London
	Macbeth	Lady Macbeth	Broadway debut, Lincoln Center Theater
2015	Husbands & Sons	Lizzie Holroyd	Co-production between National Theatre,London and Royal Exchange, Manchester

Radio and audio

Radio and audio

Year	Production	Role	Notes
1998	Twelfth Night	Viola
2000	The Art of Love	Cypassis
	The Diary of a Provincial Lady		Radio series
2001	A Time That Was		Radio drama
2004	Life Half Spent		Radio Play
	Jane Eyre	Narrator
2005	Ears Wide Open	Diane
	Othello	Desdemona	Audiobook
2006	The Queen at 80	Narrator	Radio series
	The Possessed	Liza/Marya	Radio drama
	Look Back in Anger	Alison	Rehearsed reading
2007	Kingdom of the Golden Dragon	Narrator	Radio drama
2011	Carmilla	Narrator	Radio drama

[ Source: Wikipedia ]