Early life

Manville was born in Brighton, Sussex, to a former ballet dancer mother and a taxicab driver father. She was brought up in nearby Hove, as one of three daughters. Training as a soprano singer from age 8, she twice became under-18 champion of Sussex. She began acting as a teenager, appearing in television series such as King Cinder. As a result, at age 15, she gained a place at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts.

Career

After turning down teacher Arlene Phillips' invitation to join her new dance troupe Hot Gossip, she was taught improvisation by Italia Conti teacher Julia Carey. She made her professional stage debut in the 1972 West End musical I and Albert directed by John Schlesinger and paid for her first flat taking a part in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale Farm (1974-76), which lasted for 80 episodes.

Manville built a career as a distinctive theatre actress, appearing in new plays at the Royal Shakespeare Company's Warehouse and Royal Court Theatre from 1978. She met Mike Leigh in 1979, when he was looking for RSC actors who could improvise. In the 1980s, her work for the Royal Court included Andrea Dunbar's Rita, Sue and Bob Too (1981) and Caryl Churchill's Top Girls (1982) and Serious Money (1987). She also starred in the Top Girls Off-Broadway production in 1983. For the RSC, she starred in As You Like It (1985) and Les Liaisons Dangereuses (1985-86). She made her film debut in 1985s Dance with a Stranger directed by Mike Newell, and went on to appear in Sammy and Rosie Get Laid (1987) directed by Stephen Frears, and High Season (1987). Back on the stage, she starred in The Cherry Orchard at the Aldwych Theatre in 1989, directed by Sam Mendes, and in Three Sisters at the Royal Court in 1990.

In 1994, Manville starred in the first series of the BBC sitcom Ain't Misbehavin'. For her work in the 2000 miniseries Other People's Children, and the 2002 TV film Bodily Harm, she received nominations for Best Female Actor at the Royal Television Society Awards. Her extensive television credits include prominent roles in the dramas Holding On (1997), Real Women (1998-99), The Cazalets (2001), North & South (2004) and Cranford (2007). She also starred in Cards on the Table, a 2006 feature-length episode of Agatha Christie's Poirot.

Since 2005, Manville has starred in several National Theatre productions, including His Dark Materials (2005), The Alchemist (2006) and Her Naked Skin (2008). She also starred in The Old Vic productions of All About My Mother (2007) and Six Degrees of Separation (2010). In 2009, she played Margaret Thatcher in the Channel 4 drama The Queen.

Manville has appeared in numerous Mike Leigh films throughout her career, including High Hopes (1988), Secrets & Lies (1996), Topsy-Turvy (1999), Vera Drake (2004) and Mr. Turner (2014). Her most notable Mike Leigh films are All or Nothing in 2002 and Another Year in 2010. For both, she won the London Film Critics Circle Award for British Actress of the Year. For Another Year, she also won the National Board of Review Award for Best Actress, and was nominated for the British Independent Film Award for Best Supporting Actress and the European Film Award for Best Actress, as well as the Chicago Film Critics Award for Best Actress. She also won Best Supporting Actress from the San Diego Film Critics Society. On 18 January 2011, she received a BAFTA nomination in the Best Supporting Actress category. On 7 February 2011, former Charlie's Angels stars Jaclyn Smith and Cheryl Ladd presented the Best Actress Award to her at the "Movies for Grownups Awards".

In 2011, Manville starred in Mike Leigh's play Grief at the National Theatre which earned her a Best Actress Olivier Award nomination. For her role as Helene Alving in the 2013 revival of the Ibsen play Ghosts, she won the 2014 Olivier Award for Best Actress and the Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Actress. Her other film appearances include Romeo and Juliet (2013) and Maleficent (2014). She was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2015 Birthday Honours. She starred opposite Stellan Skaarsgaard in the 2015 BBC drama River, which earned her a nomination for the 2016 BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Personal life

She met her first husband actor Gary Oldman while working at the Royal Court Theatre. Oldman left her in 1989, three months after their son, Alfie, was born. Her second marriage was to Joe Dixon. In 2007 Manville was living with her son in East Grinstead, West Sussex.

Film and television

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1985	Dance with a Stranger	Maryanne
1987	Sammy and Rosie Get Laid	Margy
1987	High Season	Carol
1988	High Hopes	Laetitia Boothe-Braine
1989	The Firm	Sue Bissel
1996	Secrets & Lies	Social Worker
1999	Milk	Fiona
1999	Topsy-Turvy	Lucy Gilbert	Nominated—London Film Critics Circle Award for Best British Supporting Actress of the Year
2002	All or Nothing	Penny	Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actress London Film Critics Circle Award for Best British Actress of the Year
2004	Vera Drake	Mrs. Wells
2005	The Great Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael	Sarah Carmichael
2007	Richard Is My Boyfriend	Mother
2007	Sparkle	Jill
2010	Another Year	Mary	London Film Critics Circle Award for Best British Actress of the Year National Board of Review Award for Best Actress National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress (3rd place) San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress Santa Barbara International Film Festival Virtuoso Award Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role Nominated—BIFA Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress Nominated—European Film Award for Best Actress Nominated—San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Ensemble Performance
2010	Womb	Judith
2013	Romeo and Juliet	The Nurse
2013	A Five Star Life	Kate Sherman
2013	Spike Island	Margaret
2014	Maleficent	Flittle
2014	Mr. Turner	Mary Somerville
2015	Molly Moon and the Incredible Book of Hypnotism	Miss Adderstone

Year	Television Feature or Series	Role	Notes
1974	Village Hall	Merle	episode: "Dancing in the Dark"
1974	Softly Softly: Task Force	Janet	episode: "Pop Goes the Weasel"
1974-1976	Emmerdale Farm	Rosemary Kendall
1975	Barlow at Large	Christine West	episode: "Protection"
1976	The Emigrants	Janice Parker	episode: "13,000 Miles Away" episode: "Endeavour" episode: "Chances for the Children"
1977	A Bunch of Fives	Helen Wyatt	episode: "The Critic" episode: "Do It Yourself"
1977	Leap in the Dark	Julie	episode: "The Fetch"
1977i	King Cinder	Nikki
1978	Wings	Francoise	episode: "Dawn Attack"
1980	The Gentle Touch	Shirley Davies Shirley Davis	episode: "Loyalties" episode: "Hammer"
1980	BBC2 Playhouse	Mandy	episode: "Grown-Ups"
1982	Objects of Affection	Liz	episode: "Our Winnie"
1982	Coronation Street	Jill Mason	episode: "Episode #1.2211" episode: "Episode: #1.2208"
1984	Play for Today	Vivienne	episode: "Dog Ends"
1985	Bullman	Karen Tait	episode: "The Name of the Game"
1991	Performance	Marlene	episode: "Top Girls"
1992	Soldier Soldier	Rachel Fortune Rachel Elliot	5 episodes
1993	The Mushroom Picker	Margot	3 episodes
1993	A Statement of Affairs	Carol	episode: "Episode #1.1"
1993	Goggle-Eyes	Rosalind Killin	4 episodes
1993	Crime Story	Gail	episode: "When the Lies Run Out: The Ian Spiro Story"
1994	Ain't Misbehavin'	Melissa Quigley	6 episodes
1994	Little Napoleons	Judith Silver	episode: "Sleeping with the Enemy" episode: "The Godfather of Education" episode: "The Big Interview" episode: "Path to Power"
1994	A Skirt Through History	Bessie Parkes	episode: "A Lady's Portion"
1995	Tears Before Bedtime	Beattie Freman	4 episodes
1996	The Bite	Ellie Shannon	2 episodes
1996	Kavanagh QC	Lucy Cartwright	episode: "The Commitment"
1997	Holding On	Hilary	7 episodes
1997	Painted Lady	Susie Peel
1998	Real Women	Karen	episode: "The Hitch" episode: "The Hangover" episode: "The Hen Night"
1998	Silent Witness	Suzy Franklin	episode: "Fallen Idol"
1999	Toy Boys	Mrs. Allen
1999	Real Women II	Karen Turner	4 episodes
2000	Other People's Children	Nadine	2 episodes Nominated— Royal Television Society Award for Best Actor - Female
2000	Black Cab	Yvonne	episode: "Lost & Found"
2000	David Copperfield	Mrs. Micawber
2001	The Cazalets	Villy Cazalet	6 episodes
2002	Bodily Harm	Mandy Greenfield	2 episodes Nominated— Royal Television Society Award for Best Actor - Female
2002	Plain Jane	Dora Bruce
2003	Promoted to Glory	Capt. Annie Sullivan
2004	Rose and Maloney	Professor Diane Marquis	1 episode
2004	North & South	Maria Hale	4 episodes
2005	Poirot: Cards on the Table	Mrs. Lorrimer	episode: "Cards on the Table"
2006	Perfect Parents	Sister Antonia
2007	Cranford	Mrs. Rose	episode: "May 1843" episode: "April 1843" episode: "November 1842" episode: "August 1842" episode: "June 1842"
2009-2011	Law & Order: UK	Phyllis Gladstone	episode: "Tick Tock" episode: "Alesha" episode: "Vice"
2009	The Queen	Margaret Thatcher	episode: "The Rivals"
2011	Midsomer Murders	Phoebe Archbold	episode: "Fit for Murder"
2013	An Adventure in Space and Time	Heather Hartnell
2013	Mayday	Gail Spicer Gail	5 episodes
2014	Fleming: The Man Who Would Be Bond	Evelyn St. Croix Fleming	4 episodes
2015	River	DCI Chrissie Read	Nominated— BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actress
2016	Mum	Cathy

Theatre

Role	Play	Theatre	Year
Ali	Savage Amusement (John Caird)	RSC - Warehouse	1978
Sister Croy	The Sons of Light (Ron Daniels)	RSC - Warehouse	1978
Jen	Fear of the Dark (Walter Donohue)	Royal Shakespeare Company	1980
?	Chorus Girls (Adrian Shergold)	Theatre Royal, Stratford East	1981
Second Student	Who Needs Enemies? (Walter Donohue)	RSC - Warehouse	1978
?	Borderline (Max Stafford-Clark)	Royal Court	1981
Sue	Rita, Sue and Bob Too (Andrea Dunbar)	Royal Court	1981
Patient Griselda	Top Girls (Caryl Churchill)	Royal Court	1982
?	Falkland Sound (Max Stafford-Clark)	Royal Court	1983
Pat	The Pope's Wedding (Max Stafford-Clark)	Royal Court	1984
Liz	Saved (Danny Boyle)	Royal Court	1984
Polya	Philistines	Royal Shakespeare Company	1985
Dolores	The Dead Monkey (Roger Michell)	Royal Shakespeare Company	1985
Phebe	As You Like It (Adrian Noble)	RST	1985-6
Cécile	Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Howard Davies)	Pit	1986
Scilla	Serious Money (Max Stafford-Clark)	Royal Court	1989
Sandra	American Bagpipes (Lindsay Posner)	Royal Court	1989
Varya	The Cherry Orchard (Sam Mendes)	Aldwych	1989
Natasha	Three Sisters (Adrian Noble)	Royal Court	1990
Miss Julie	Miss Julie	Greenwich Theatre	1990
Lindsay	Some Girl(s)	Gielgud Theatre	2005
Mrs. Coulter	His Dark Materials	National Theatre	2005
Lona	Pillars of the Community (Marianne Elliott)	National Theatre (Lyttelton)	2006
Dol Common	The Alchemist	National Theatre	2006
Manuela	All About My Mother	The Old Vic	2007
Celia Cain	Her Naked Skin	National Theatre	2008
Ouisa Kittredge	Six Degrees of Separation	The Old Vic	2010
Dorothy	Grief	National Theatre	2011
Helene Alving	Ghosts	Almeida Theatre	2013
Mary Tyrone	Long Day's Journey into Night (Eugene O'Neill's play)	Bristol Old Vic	2016

[ Source: Wikipedia ]