Early life and family

Wanamaker was born in New York City, the daughter of Canadian-born actress and radio performer Charlotte Holland, and American-born actor, film director and radio producer Sam Wanamaker, who decided not to return to the United States after being blacklisted in 1952. Her parents were Jewish, although she had a non-religious and non-observant upbringing. Her father's family was of Ukrainian extraction.

The BBC documentary Who Do You Think You Are?, broadcast on 24 February 2009, revealed that Wanamaker's paternal grandfather Maurice Wanamaker (originally Manus Watmacher) was a tailor (born 1895) in Mykolaiv, Ukraine. She was educated at the independent King Alfred School in Hampstead and at Sidcot School, a Quaker boarding school in Somerset. Zoe attended Hornsey College of Art for the Pre-Diploma Course before she trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama.

Career

Stage

Wanamaker's career started in the theatre. From 1976 to 1984 she was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. She won an Olivier Award for her 1979 performance in Once In a Lifetime and a second for Sophocles' Electra in 1998. In 1985, she played Verdi's wife Giuseppina Strepponi in the original production of After Aida. She appeared on stage playing the part of Beatrice opposite Simon Russell Beale as Benedick in the National Theatre's production of Much Ado About Nothing. She has received Tony Award nominations for her performances in Piaf, Loot, Electra, and Awake and Sing!.

In 1997, Wanamaker was the first person to speak on the stage of the newly completed replica theatre, Shakespeare's Globe, on London's South Bank. This was in recognition of the role played by her father in founding the new theatre. She subsequently became Honorary President of the Globe.

From May to October 2010, Wanamaker appeared in Arthur Miller's All My Sons as Kate Keller at the Apollo Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue in London.

Wanamaker appeared in Terence Rattigan's All On Her Own from 24 October 2015 till 13 January 2016 at the Garrick Theatre. The work is a one-woman play that preceded Rattigan's Harlequinade, which she also appeared in, each night as part of a never-before-seen double bill.

Screen

Starting in the early 1980s, Wanamaker began performing on screen, most notably in a number of critically acclaimed television productions, such as the BBC Television production Edge of Darkness; she was nominated for a BAFTA Award for her portrayal of the love interest of a suspected serial killer in the first instalment of the Granada series Prime Suspect.

Television series have included Paradise Postponed (as Charlotte Fanner-Titmuss, 1986) and Love Hurts (1992-94) with Adam Faith. She appeared with Wendy Hiller in the The Countess Alice in 1993, playing a rebellious woman searching for the truth about her past in war-torn Germany.

She played Madam Hooch in the film Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

She played Clarice, one of the dim-witted twin sisters of Lord Groan in Gormenghast (2000), a BBC television adaptation of Mervyn Peake's trilogy.

Wanamaker portrayed Susan Harper in the BBC situation comedy My Family from 2000 to 2011.

She voiced a CGI character named Lady Cassandra in the Doctor Who episode "The End of the World" (2005), and reprised the role (also appearing in the flesh this time) in the episode "New Earth" (2006).

Wanamaker lent her voice to the 2008 Xbox 360 game Fable II as the blind Seeress Theresa, who guides the playing character throughout the game. She returned to voice Theresa again in Fable III in 2010, and again in 2012 for Fable: The Journey.

She has played Ariadne Oliver in several episodes of Agatha Christie's Poirot.

Wanamaker was in the Australian Film "We of the Outback" (2013) where she played the role of Sheila Williams, the wife of Australian Bush Legend R M Williams, (played by Michael Markidis). The film won many AFI awards with Wanamaker being awarded the Best Actress title and Markidis Best Actor.

In 2015, she joined the cast of Mr. Selfridge as Princess Marie, the Russian mother-in-law of Rosalie Selfridge/Bolotoff.

Nationality

Zoë Wanamaker holds both British and American citizenship. She became a British citizen in 2000.

Honours

Wanamaker was appointed a CBE in the 2001 Queen's New Years Honours List for her services to drama. She also received an honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of East Anglia on 19 July 2012.

Public advocacy

Wanamaker has been a Patron of the UK charity Tree Aid, since 1997. Tree Aid enables communities in Africa's drylands to fight poverty and become self-reliant, while improving the environment. In 2006 Wanamaker recorded a successful Radio 4 appeal for the charity.

She is a patron of Dignity in Dying, the Lymphoedema Support Network, Youth Music Theatre: UK and of the Young Actors' Theatre, Islington. She is also one of the Honorary Patrons of the London children's charity Scene & Heard. Wanamaker also supports Survival International's campaign to save the threatened native tribes in Brazil.

In August 2014, Wanamaker was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue.

Wanamaker is one of nine presidents of The Young People's Trust for the Environment.

Personal life

Wanamaker lived for many years with fellow Royal Shakespeare Company actor David Lyon. In November 1994, she married actor/dramatist Gawn Grainger.

Acting credits

Film

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1988	The Raggedy Rawney	Elle
1997	Wilde	Ada Leverson
	Amy Foster	Mary Foster
2001	Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone	Madam Hooch
2004	Five Children and It	Martha
2010	It's a Wonderful Afterlife	Mrs. Goldman
2011	My Week with Marilyn	Paula Strasberg

Television

Year	Tv Series	Role	Notes
1971	ITV Sunday Night Drama	Sally	Episode Turn of the Year: Sally for the Keeps
	Take Three Girls	Jackie
1973	Late Night Theatre	Alice	Episode The Eagle has Landed
	Between the Wars	Ada Abbott	Episode The Silver Mask
	ITV Sunday Night Theatre	Lorna Green	Episode Lorna and Ted
	Spy Trap	Muriel	Episode Sale of Work
1974	Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill	Pearl Craigie	TV Miniseries (1 episode) A Perfect Darling
1975	The Confederacy of Wives	Corinna	TV film
	Village Hall	Shirley Chatsfield	Episode Miss Health and Beauty
	Crown Court	Joan Carmichael	1 episode
1977	A Christmas Movie	Belle	TV film
1978	BBC Play of the Month	Lucille/Dorinda	Danton's / Death the Beaux Strategem
	The Devil's Crown	Berengaria of Navarre	3 episodes
1980	Doctor Who	Villager	Episode: State of Decay: Part Two
1981	Strike: The Birth of Solidarity	Aline Pienkowska	TV film
1982	Baal	Sophie
	Inside the Third Reich	Annemarie Kempf
1983	Richard III	Lady Anne
	Enemies of the State	Zdena Tomin
1985	Edge of Darkness	Clemmy	TV Miniseries (3 episodes)
1986	Paradise Postponed	Charlie Fanner	TV Mini-series (8 episodes)
1987	Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story	Jean Kennerly	TV film
	Tales of The Unexpected	Margaret Smythe	1 episode Skeleton in the Cupboard
1988	Once in a Life Time	May Daniels	TV film
1989	The Dog It was That Died	Blidebeck
	Ball-Trap on the Cote Sauvage	Sarah Marriot
1990	Theatre Night	Emilia	Episode Othello
1991	Inspector Morse	Emma Pickford	Episode Fat Chance
	Prime Suspect	Morya Henson	TV Miniseries (2 episodes)
1992	Screen Two: Memento Mori	Olive Mannering	TV film
	Screenplay: The Countess Alice	Connie
	Shakespeare: The Animated Tales	Lady Macbeth	Episode Macbeth
	The Blackheath Poisonings	Charlotte Collard	TV Miniseries (3 episodes)
1992-94	Love Hurts	Tessa Piggot/Tessa Carver	30 episodes
1995	Prime Suspect: The Scent of Darkness	Morya Henson	TV film
	Performance	Mrs Holroyd	Episode The Widowing of Mrs. Holroyd
	The English Wife	Carolina Griveau	TV film
1997	A Dance to the Music of Time	Audrey Mclintick	TV mini-series (2 episodes)
	Great Performances	Prologue/Herself	Episode Henry V at Shakespeare's Globe
	Creatures Fantastic	Narrator	1 episode
1998	Normal Ormal: A Very Political Turtle	Narrator	TV film
1999	The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns	Mary Muldoon
	David Copperfield	TV miniseries
2000	Gormenghast	Clarice Groan	TV Mini-Series (3 episodes)
2000-11	My Family	Susan Harper	114 episodes
2001	Adrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years	Tania Braithwaite	6 episodes
2005	Agatha Christie's Marple	Letitia Blacklock	Episode A Murder is Announced
	The Real Maityville Horror	Narrator	Documentary
	A Waste of Shame: The Mystery of Shakespeare and His Sonnets	Countess of Pembroke	TV film
2005-13	Agatha Christie's Poirot	Ariadne Oliver	6 feature-length episodes: Cards on the Table (2005) Mrs McGinty's Dead (2008) Third Girl (2008) Hallowe'en Party (2010) Elephants Can Remember (2013) Dead Man's Folly (2013)
2006	Johnny and the Bomb	Mrs Tachyon	2 episodes Deha Viidii / Mrs. Tachyon and the Bags of Time
2005, 2006	Doctor Who	Cassandra	2 episodes: "The End of the World" and "New Earth"
2007	The Old Curiosity Shop	Mrs Jarley	TV film
2013	Wodehouse in Exile	Ethel Wodehouse
2015	Mr Selfridge	Princess Marie	10 episodes

Video Games

Year	Video Game	Role	Note
2008	Fable II	Theresa
2010	Fable III	Theresa
2012	Fable: the Journey	Theresa

Theatre

Year	Play	Role	Writer	Location	Notes
1970	A Midsummer Night's Dream	Hermia	William Shakespeare	University Theatre, Manchester
	Creditors	Tealk	August Strindberg
	The Cherry Orchard	Anya	Anton Chekhov
1971	Pictures in a Bath of Acid	Colin Wilson	Fanny Falkner
	Family Album	Emily Valance	Noel Coward
	Twelfth Night	Olivia, a co untess	William Shakespeare	West Yorkshire Playhouse
	Dick Whittington	Tommy the Cat	Fred Locke
	The Hostage	Teresa	Brendan Behan	Royal Lyceum Theatre
1972	The Birthday Party	LuLu	Harold Pinter
	When Thou Art King	Lady Percy/Doll Tearsheet	John Barton
	Guys and Dolls	Miss Adelaide	Damon Runyan	University Theatre Manchester
1973	The Provoked Wife	Bellinda, The Brute's nieve	John Vangrugh	Watford Palace Theatre
	Twelfth Night	Viola	William Shakespeare	Multiple venues
	Jack and the Beanstalk	Margery, the Baron`s daughter	John Moffatt	Cambridge Arts Theatre
1974	She Stoops to Conquer	Constance Neville, Kate's Cousin	Oliver Goldsmith	Various places
	French Without Tears	Jacqueline Maingot	Therence Rattigan	Various places
	Cabaret	Sally Bowles	Jan van Druten	Redgrave Theatre, Farnham
	Tom Thumb	Princess Huncamunca	Henry Fielding	The Young Vic, London
	Much Ado About Nothing	hero, Leonato's daughter	William Shakespear
1975	Kiss Me Kate	Lois Lane/Bianca	Cole Porter	Oxford PlayHouse
	The Vegetable; or, From President to Postman	Doris	F. Scott Fitzgerald	various places
	The Taming of the Shrew	Katherina	William Shakespeare
	The Beggar's Opera	Mrs. Vixen/Lucy Lockit	John gay	Nottingham Playhouse
	Jug	eva Hirst, her daughter	Henry Livings
	A Streetcar Named Desire	Stella Kowalski	Tennessee Williams
1976	Pygmalion	Eliza Doolittle	George Bernard Shaw
	The Servant of Two Masters	Smeraldina	Carlo Goldini
	Trumpets and Drums	Victoria Balance	Bertolt Brecht,	Aldwych Theatre
	The Devil's Advocate	Essie, Mrs Dudgeon's illegitimate niece
	Ivanov	Babakina, Marfa Yegorovna, a young widow	Anton Chekhov,
	Wild Oats; or, The Strolling Gentleman	Jane, daughter to Farmer Gammon	John O'Keeffe
1978	The Taming of the Shrew	Bianca, the Prize, younger daughter of Baptista	William Shakespeare	The Other Place, Stratford-Upon Avon
	Captain Swing	Gemma Beech	Peter Whelan
1979	Piaf	Toin	Pam Gems
	Once in a Lifetime	May Daniels	Moss Hart & George S. Kaufman	Aldwych Theatre, London
1985	After Aida	Giuseppina Strepponi	Julian Mitchell	Taliesin Theatre, Swansea

Awards and nominations

• For her stage work, Wanamaker has been nominated four times for the United States' most prestigious theatre award the Tony and nine times for the most prestigious British theatre award the Olivier, winning two.
• For her screen work, Wanamaker has received three BAFTA nominations.

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result
1979	Olivier Award	Best Actress in a Revival	Once in a Lifetime	Won
1981	Tony Award	Best Featured in a Play	Piaf!	Nominated
1981	Drama Desk Award	Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play	Piaf!	Nominated
1984	Olivier Award	Best Actress in a Revival	Twelfth Night	Nominated
	Olivier Award	Best Actress in a Supporting Role	The Time of Your Life	Nominated
1985	Olivier Award	Best Performance in a Supporting Role	Mother Courage	Nominated
1986	Tony Award	Best Featured Actress in a Play	Loot	Nominated
1986	Drama Desk Award	Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play	Loot	Nominated
1989/90	Olivier Award	Best Performance in a Supporting Role	Othello	Nominated
1991	Olivier Award	Best Actress in a Supporting Role	The Crucible	Nominated
1992	BAFTA TV Award	Best Actress	Prime Suspect	Nominated
1993	BAFTA TV Award	Best Actress	Love Hurts	Nominated
1996	Olivier Award	Best Actress	The Glass Menagerie	Nominated
1998	BAFTA Film Award	Best Supporting Actress	Wilde	Nominated
	Olivier Award	Best Actress	Electra	Won
1999	Tony Award	Best Actress in a Play	Electra	Nominated
1999	Drama Desk Award	Outstanding Actress in a Play	Electra	Nominated
2002	Olivier Award	Best Actress	Boston Marriage	Nominated
2006	Tony Award	Best Featured Actress in a Play	Awake and Sing!	Nominated

• In 2006, Wanamaker and the rest of the cast of Awake and Sing! won a special Drama Desk award for Outstanding Ensemble Performance.

Charities

Zoe Wanamaker supports the following charitable cause: Cancer.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]