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Penelope Wilton

Born 1946-06-03
📍 Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England, UK

Dame Penelope Alice Wilton DBE (born 3 June 1946) is an English actress. She was formerly married to fellow actor Sir Ian Holm, and as she has not remarried, she retains her married style of Lady Holm.

Wilton is known for starring opposite Richard Briers in the BBC sitcom Ever Decreasing Circles (1984–1989), playing Homily in The Borrowers (1992) and The Return of the Borrowers(1993), and for her role as the widowed Isobel Crawley in the ITV drama Downton Abbey (2010–2015). She also played the recurring role of Harriet Jones in Doctor Who (2005–2008) and Anne in Ricky Gervais' Netflix dark comedy After Life. 

Wilton has had an extensive career on stage, receiving six Olivier Award nominations. She was nominated for Man and Superman (1981), The Secret Rapture (1988), The Deep Blue Sea(1994), John Gabriel Borkman (2008) and The Chalk Garden (2009) before winning the 2015 Olivier Award for Best Actress for Taken at Midnight. Her film appearances include Clockwise (1986), Cry Freedom (1987), Blame It on the Bellboy (1992), Calendar Girls (2003), Shaun of the Dead (2004), Match Point (2005), Pride & Prejudice (2005), The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012), The Girl (2012), The BFG (2016) and The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (2023).

Description above from the Wikipedia article Penelope Wilton, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Filmography 85

Fing!
2026
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale
as Isobel Merton
2025
Downton Abbey Celebrates the Grand Finale
as Self
2025
Dead Hot
as Francine
2024
Murder Is Easy
as Miss Pinkerton
2023
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
as Maureen Fry
2023
Judi Dench: Our National Treasure
as Self
2022
Remembers…
2022
Downton Abbey: A New Era
as Isobel Merton
2022
Operation Mincemeat
as Hester Leggett
2022
Eternal Beauty
as Vivian
2020
Summerland
as Older Alice
2020
Downton Abbey
as Isobel Merton
2019
After Life
as Anne
2019
Zoo
as Denise Austin
2018
The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society
as Amelia Maugery
2018
Brexit Shorts: The End
as Helen
2017
Brief Encounters
as Pauline
2016
The BFG
as The Queen
2016
All the World's a Screen: Shakespeare on Film
as Narrator (voice)
2016
The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
as Jean Ainslie
2015
National Theatre Live: 50 Years on Stage
as Delia
2013
Belle
as Lady Mary Murray
2013
The Girl
as Peggy Robertson
2012
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
as Jean Ainslie
2012
South Riding
as Mrs Beddows
2011
Downton Abbey
as Isobel Merton
2010
Harold Pinter: A Celebration
as Self
2010
Margot
as B.Q.
2009
The Passion
as Mary
2008
Half Broken Things
as Jean
2007
Celebration
as Julie
2007
Five Days
as Barbara Poole
2007
The History Boys
as Mrs. Bibby
2006
Match Point
as Eleanor Hewett
2005
Pride & Prejudice
as Mrs. Gardiner
2005
Doctor Who
2005
Doctor Who
as Harriet Jones
2005
Falling
as Daisy Langrish
2005
Shaun of the Dead
as Barbara
2004
Calendar Girls
as Ruth
2003
Comedy Connections
2003
Lucky Jim
as Celia Welch
2003
Iris
as Janet Stone
2001
Bob & Rose
as Monica Gossage
2001
Victoria & Albert
as Princess Mary Louise Victoria
2001
The Whistle-Blower
as Heather Graham
2001
Victoria Wood with All the Trimmings
as Mrs. Cratchit
2000
Rockaby
as Old Woman
2000
Wives and Daughters
as Mrs Hamley
1999
Tom's Midnight Garden
as Aunt Melbourne
1999
The Strange Case of Delfina Potocka
as Delfina / Paulina
1999
Alice Through the Looking Glass
as White Queen
1998
Talking Heads 2
1998
Carrington
as Lady Ottoline Morrell
1995
Kavanagh Q.C.
as Barbara Watkins
1995
The Deep Blue Sea
as Hester Collyer
1994
The Borrowers
as Homily
1992
Screaming
1992
Blame It on the Bellboy
as Patricia Fulford
1992
Performance
as Beth
1991
Performance
as Hester Collyer
1991
Talking Heads
as Rosemary
1988
Cry Freedom
as Wendy Woods
1987
Clockwise
as Pat Garden
1986
C.A.T.S. Eyes
1985
Laughterhouse
as Alice Singleton
1984
Ever Decreasing Circles
1984
The Tale of Beatrix Potter
as Beatrix Potter
1983
The Tale of Beatrix Potter
as Beatrix Potter
1982
King Lear
as Regan
1982
Country
as Virginia Carlion
1981
Othello
as Desdemona
1981
The French Lieutenant's Woman
as Sonia
1981
Pasmore
as Helen
1980
An Audience with...
as Self
1978
Able's Will
as Journalist
1977
The Norman Conquests
as Annie
1977
Joseph Andrews
as Mrs. Wilton
1977
King Lear
as Regan
1975
Mrs. Warren's Profession
as Vivie Warren
1972
Country Matters
as Rachel Sullens
1972
Play for Today
as Virginia Carlion
1970
BBC Play of the Month
as Regan
1965
Visitation