Jennifer Ann AgutterOBE(born 20 December 1952) is an English actress. She began her career as a child actress in 1964, appearing inEast of Sudan,Star!,and two adaptations ofThe Railway Children;theBBC's 1968 television serialand the1970 film version.In 1971 she also starred in the critically acclaimed filmWalkaboutand the TV filmThe Snow Goose,for which she won anEmmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama.
Jenny Agutter | |
---|---|
Born | Jennifer Ann Agutter 20 December 1952 Taunton,Somerset, England |
Years active | 1964–present |
Spouse |
Johan Tham (m.1990) |
Children | 1 |
Website | jennyagutter |
She relocated to the United States in 1974 to pursue a Hollywood career and subsequently appeared inLogan's Run(1976),Amy(1981),An American Werewolf in London(1981), andChild's Play 2(1990). During the same period, Agutter continued appearing in high-profile British films, such asThe Eagle Has Landed(1976),Equus(1977)—for which she won aBAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role—andThe Riddle of the Sands(1979). In 1981, she co-starred inThe Survivor,an Australian adaptation of theJames Herbertnovel by that name, and was nominated for anAACTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role.
After returning to Britain in the early 1990s to pursue family life, Agutter shifted her focus to television, appearing in the 2000 version oftelevision adaptation ofThe Railway Children,this time as the mother, and since 2012 she has had an ongoing role in the BBC'sCall the Midwife.Her film work in recent years includesThe Avengers(2012) andCaptain America: The Winter Soldier(2014), and in 2022, Agutter returned to the world ofThe Railway Childrenonce more by reprising her role from the 1970 film 52 years later in a sequel,The Railway Children Return.
Agutter is married, and has one adult son. She supports several charitable causes, mostly ones related tocystic fibrosis,a condition from which her niece suffers, and for her service to those causes was appointedOfficer of the Order of the British Empire(OBE) in the2012 Birthday Honours.
Early life
editAgutter was born on 20 December 1952[1]inTaunton,Somerset, England.[2]She is the daughter of Derek Agutter (an entertainments manager in the British Army) and Catherine, and was raised Roman Catholic.[3]She has Irish ancestry on her mother's side.[4]As a child, she lived in Singapore,[5]Dhekelia(Cyprus) andKuala Lumpur(Malaya). She attendedElmhurst Ballet School,[6]a boarding school, from ages eight to sixteen.[5]
Career
editTelevision and film
editAgutter became known to television audiences for her role in the twice-weekly BBC seriesThe Newcomers.(She played Kirsty, the daughter of the new managing director of Eden Brothers, the fictional firm that is at the centre of the series.) Agutter could appear only during school holidays. At this stage of her career, she was listed in credits as “Jennifer”. In 1966, she portrayed a ballet pupil in Disney's filmBallerina.In 1968, she was featured in the lavish big-budget20th Century Foxfilm musicalStar!which featuredJulie AndrewsasGertrude Lawrence;Agutter played Lawrence's neglected daughter Pamela. Later, she played Roberta in a BBC adaptation ofThe Railway Children(1968) and inLionel Jeffries's1970 filmof the book. She followed this with a more serious role in the thrillerI Start Counting(1969). She also won an Emmy as supporting actress for her television role as Fritha in a Britishtelevision adaptationofThe Snow Goose(1971).
Agutter then moved into adult roles, beginning withWalkabout(1971), in which she played a teenage schoolgirl who is lost with her younger brother in the Australianoutback.She auditioned for the role in 1967, but funding problems delayed filming until 1969. The delay meant Agutter was sixteen at the time of filming, which allowed the director to include nude scenes.[7]Among them was a five-minuteskinny-dippingscene, which was cut from the original US release.[8]She said at the 2005Bradford Film Festivalat theNational Media Museumthat she was shocked by the film's explicitness, but remained on good terms with directorNicolas Roeg.[9]
Agutter moved to Hollywood at twenty-one and appeared in a number of films over the next decade, includingThe Eagle Has Landed(1976),Logan's Run(1976),Equus(1977) (for which she won aBAFTA as Best Supporting Actress),An American Werewolf in London(1981), and an adaptation of the James Herbert novelThe Survivor(1981). Agutter has commented that the innocence of the characters she played in her early films, combined with the costumes and nudity in later adult roles such asLogan's Run,Equus,andAn American Werewolf in London,are "perfect fantasy fodder".[10][11]
In 1990, Agutter returned to the UK to concentrate on family life and her focus shifted towards British television. During the 1990s, she was cast in an adaptation ofJeffrey Archer's novelNot a Penny More, Not a Penny Lessand as the scandalous Idina Hatton in the BBC miniseriesThe Buccaneers,inspired byEdith Wharton's unfinished 1938 book, and made guest appearances in television series such asRed DwarfandHeartbeat.In 2000, she starred in a third adaptation ofThe Railway Children,produced byCarlton TV,this time playing the mother.[12][13]Since then Agutter has had recurring roles in several television series includingSpooks,The Invisibles,Monday MondayandThe Alan Clark Diaries.In 2012 Agutter resumed her Hollywood career, appearing as a member of the World Security Council in the blockbuster filmThe Avengers;she reprised her role inCaptain America: The Winter Soldier(2014). Since 2012, Agutter has played Sister Julienne in the BBC television drama seriesCall the Midwife.
Theatre
editAgutter has appeared in numerous theatre productions since her stage debut in 1970, including stints at theNational Theatrein 1972–73, the title role in a derivation ofHedda Gablerat theRoundhousein 1980 and with theRoyal Shakespeare Companyin 1982–83, playing Alice inArden of Faversham,Regan inKing Learand Fontanelle inLear.In 1987–88, Agutter played the role of Pat Green in theBroadwayproduction of theHugh WhitemoreplayBreaking the Code,about computer pioneerAlan Turing.[14]In 1995 she was in an RSC production ofLove's Labour's Loststaged in Tokyo.[14]She is also a patron of theShakespeare Schools Festival,a charity that enables school children in the UK to perform Shakespeare in professional theatres.[15]
Audio
editIn 2008, she also guest-starred in theDoctor Whoaudio dramaThe Bride of Peladon[16]and played an outlawed scientist inThe Minister of Chance.[17]She has appeared as a guest star character ( "Fiona Templeton" ) in the Radio 4 comedyEd Reardon's Week.[18]
Music
editAgutter appears on the 1990Prefab Sproutsong "Wild Horses", speaking the words "I want to have you".[19]
Personal life
editAt a 1989 arts festival inBath, Somerset,Agutter met Johan Tham, a Swedish hotelier[20]who was a director ofCliveden Hotelin Buckinghamshire.[21]They married in August 1990,[22]and their son Jonathan[4]was born on 25 December 1990.[20]Agutter lives in London, but has a keen interest inCornwall[23]and once owned a second home there on theTrelowarren Estate,in one of the parishes onthe Lizard peninsula.[24]
She was appointed anOfficer of the Order of the British Empire(OBE) in the2012 Birthday Honours,for her charitable services.[25]
Agutter has been attached to several causes throughout her career. She has been involved in raising awareness of the illness cystic fibrosis, which she believes was responsible for the deaths of two of her siblings. Her niece has the disease. At Agutter's suggestion, an episode ofCall the Midwifefocused on cystic fibrosis.[citation needed]She has also worked in support of charities, in particular theCystic Fibrosis Trust,of which she is a patron (she is also a carrier of the genetic mutation).[4][26][27]
Politics
editThis sectionrelies largely or entirely upon asingle source.(August 2024) |
In August 2014, Agutter was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter toThe Guardianexpressing their hope that Scotland would vote to remain part of the United Kingdom in September 2014'sreferendum on that issue.[28]
Filmography
editFilm
editYear | Title | Roles | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1964 | East of Sudan | Asua | |
1966 | A Man Could Get Killed | Linda Frazier | |
1968 | Gates to Paradise | Maud | |
Star! | Pamela Roper | ||
1969 | I Start Counting | Wynne | |
1970 | The Railway Children | Roberta "Bobbie" Waterbury | |
1971 | Walkabout | Girl | |
1976 | Logan's Run | Jessica 6 | |
The Eagle Has Landed | Molly Prior | ||
1977 | Equus | Jill Mason | BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role |
The Man in the Iron Mask | Louise de la Vallière | ||
1978 | China 9, Liberty 37 | Catherine Sebanek | |
Dominique | Ann Ballard | a.k.a.Dominique Is Dead | |
1979 | The Riddle of the Sands | Clara | |
1979 | Mayflower: The Pilgrims' Adventure | Priscilla Mullins | |
1980 | Sweet William | Ann Walton | |
1981 | Amy | Amy Medford | |
The Survivor | Hobbs | Nominated –Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role | |
An American Werewolf in London | Nurse Alex Price | Nominated –Saturn Award for Best Actress | |
1984 | Secret Places | Miss Lowrie | |
1989 | Dark Tower | Carolyn Page | |
1990 | King of the Wind | Hannah Coke | |
Child's Play 2 | Joanne Simpson | ||
Darkman | Burn Doctor | Uncredited Cameo | |
1992 | Freddie as F.R.O.7 | Daffers | |
1995 | Blue Juice | Mary Fenton | |
2001 | The Parole Officer | Victor's Wife | |
2002 | At Dawning | Escaping woman | Short film |
2004 | Number One Longing, Number Two Regret | Kenosha | |
2006 | Heroes and Villains | June | |
2007 | Irina Palm | Jane | |
2007 | The Magic Door | Black Witch | |
2009 | Glorious 39 | Maud Keyes | |
2010 | Burke and Hare | Lucy | |
2011 | Outside Bet | Shirley Baxter | |
Golden Brown | Sarah | ||
2012 | The Avengers | Councilwoman Hawley | |
2014 | Captain America: The Winter Soldier | ||
2015 | Queen of the Desert[29] | Florence Bell | |
Tin | Marjorie Dawson | ||
2018 | Sometimes Always Never | Margaret | |
2022 | The Railway Children Return | Roberta "Bobbie" Waterbury |
Television
editYear | Title | Roles | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1965 | The Newcomers | Kirsty Kerr | BBC TV series |
Alexander Graham Bell | Grace Hubbard | BBC TV series | |
1966 | Ballerina | Ingrid Jensen | Two-part episode ofDisneyland;credited as Jennifer Agutter |
1967 | Boy Meets Girl | Joanna | BBC TV; Series 1, Episode 10: "Long After Summer" |
1968 | The Railway Children | Roberta Faraday | BBC TV series |
1970 | The Great Inimitable Mr. Dickens | Young Maria Beadnall / Mary Hogarth / Ellen Ternan | TV film |
1971 | The Snow Goose | Fritha | Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama |
1972 | The Wild Duck | Hedvig | BBC TV "Play of the Month" broadcast on BBC 1 on 19 March |
A War of Children | Maureen Tomelty | American (CBS) TV film set in Northern Ireland duringThe Troubles | |
Shelley | Mary Shelley | BBC TV series | |
1974 | Thriller | Dominie Lanceford | Series 2, Episode 3: "Kiss Me and Die" |
1975 | Shadows | Sue | Season One, Episode Four: "The Waiting Room" |
1977 | The Six Million Dollar Man | Dr. Leah Russell | "Deadly Countdown" Parts 1 & 2 |
1980 | Beulah Land | Lizzie Corlay | TV mini-series |
1985 | Love's Labour's Lost | Rosaline | BBC TV film |
Magnum, P.I. | Krista Villeroch | Season 5, Episode 96: "Little Games" | |
Silas Marner | Nancy Lammeter | BBC TV film | |
1986 | The Twilight Zone | Morgan le Fay | Season 1, Episode 24: "The Last Defender of Camelot" |
Murder, She Wrote | Margo Claymore | Season 3, Episode 4: "One White Rose for Death" | |
1987 | The Grand Knockout Tournament | Herself | TV special |
The Twilight Zone | Jacinda | Season 2, Episode 13: "Voices in the Earth"[30] | |
1990 | Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less | Jill Albery | BBC TV mini-series |
1991 | The Diamond Brothers: South by South East | Louise Meyer | CITV mini-series |
1992 | Dream On | Ellen | Season 3,Episode 22: "No Deposit, No Return" |
1993 | Red Dwarf | Professor Mamet | "Psirens" |
1994 | Heartbeat | Susannah Temple-Richards | Series 4, Episode 8:"Fair Game" |
1994 | Love Hurts | Jeanette Summers | Season 3, Episode 9 Season 3, Episode 10 |
1995 | The Buccaneers | Idina Hatton | BBC TV mini-series |
2000 | The Railway Children | Mother | ITV |
2002 | Spooks | Tessa Phillips | BBC TV series |
2003 | Britain's Finest | Presenter | Channel 5Series 1, Episode 2: "Gardens" |
2004 | The Alan Clark Diaries | Jane Clark | BBC TV series |
The Inspector Lynley Mysteries | Jemma Sanderson | BBC TV Series 3, Episode 3 | |
Agatha Christie's Marple | Agnes Crackenthorpe | Series 1, Episode 3: "4.50 from Paddington" | |
2005 | New Tricks | Yvonne Barrie | BBC TV Series 2, Episode 1 |
2006 | Agatha Christie's Poirot | Adela Marchmont | Season 10, Episode 4: "Taken at the Flood" |
2007 | Diamond Geezer | Vanessa | ITV series |
2008 | The Invisibles | Barbara Riley | BBC TV series |
2009 | Monday Monday | Jenny Mountfield | ITV1 TV series |
2010 | Midsomer Murders | Isobel Chettham | ITV1 TV series, Episode 72: "The Creeper" |
2012–present | Call the Midwife | Sister Julienne | BBC TV series |
Awards and nominations
editReferences
edit- ^"Agutter, Jenny 1952–".Encyclopedia.com.Cengage.Retrieved23 May2022.
- ^"TV star Jenny Agutter cuts the ribbon on new homes".Somerset County Gazette.1 May 2012.Archivedfrom the original on 22 January 2018.Retrieved25 May2017.
- ^"Call the Midwife's Jenny Agutter:" I do love playing a nun "".Radio Times.18 January 2015.Archivedfrom the original on 12 April 2021.
- ^Jump up to: abcEwing, Sarah (22 August 2014)."Jenny Agutter: My family values".Interviews.The Guardian.
- ^Jump up to: ab"Jenny Agutter is Jane Clark".BBC.Archivedfrom the original on 22 January 2018.Retrieved25 May2017.
- ^"Elmhurst Ballet School at 100. Feature by Diane Parkes".elmhurstballetschool.org.12 January 2023.Retrieved8 April2024.
- ^Nowra, L.(2003).Walkabout.Sydney:Currency Press& Canberra:ScreenSound Australia, National Screen and Sound Archive,pp. 17–18;ISBN978-0-86819-700-5.
- ^"Creative Spirits".Creativespirits.info. Archived fromthe originalon 19 August 2010.Retrieved19 June2010.
- ^Jenny Agutter: A Charmed Career,2006. Directed by Tony Earnshaw.National Museum of Photography, Film & Television.
- ^McLean, G. (22 February 2002)."My life in front of the lens".The Guardian.Archived fromthe originalon 1 January 2017.Retrieved21 August2009.
- ^Crace, J. (8 December 1997)."Interview: Almost forever young".The Independent.Archivedfrom the original on 1 January 2017.Retrieved21 August2009.
- ^"Agutter, Jenny (1952–)".British Film Institute.Archivedfrom the original on 11 May 2013.Retrieved29 December2013.
- ^Lockyer, Daphne (May 2008)."The eyes have it".SAGA Magazine:66. Archived fromthe originalon 30 December 2013.Retrieved29 December2013.
- ^Jump up to: abJenny Agutter website: BiographyArchived18 April 2012 at theWayback Machine.Retrieved 5 August 2013.
- ^"Shakespeare Schools Foundation Patrons".Shakespeare Schools Foundation.Shakespeare Schools Foundation.Archived fromthe originalon 11 December 2017.Retrieved12 July2021.
- ^Powell, Jenny Agutter & Philip."Jenny Agutter: Recordings and Radio".www.jennyagutter.net.Archivedfrom the original on 12 August 2016.Retrieved25 May2017.
- ^Mahoney, Elisabeth (16 March 2011)."Radio head: The Minister of Chance".The Guardian.Archivedfrom the original on 6 October 2014.Retrieved3 October2014.
This sci-fi podcast is a gripping futuristic thriller – let's hope they get to make the final episodes.
- ^"BBC Radio 4 Extra – Ed Reardon's Week, Series 8, Have a Great Weekend".BBC.2012.Archivedfrom the original on 20 June 2014.Retrieved3 October2014.
- ^"Prefab Sprout – Jordan: The Comeback".discogs.com.28 August 1990.Retrieved16 July2023.
- ^Jump up to: ab"Jenny Agutter on Call the Midwife: 'It's hard playing a nun. You're asked to believe things that are absurd' | Call The Midwife".The Guardian.Retrieved2 July2021.
- ^"Diary of a tireless busybody Jenny Agutter, one of Britain's most consistently successful and thoughtful stars, reveals what it was like to play Alan Clark's wife in the eponymous Diaries series".HeraldScotland.19 January 2004.Retrieved2 July2021.
- ^Powell, Rosalind."Relative Values: the actress Jenny Agutter and her niece Georgina, a florist".The Times.Retrieved2 July2021.
- ^"JENNY AGUTTER'S CORNWALL LIFE".Great British Life.16 May 2014.Retrieved2 July2021.
- ^"SISTER TREASURE: JENNY AGUTTER".Great British Life.6 February 2017.Retrieved2 July2021.
- ^"No. 60173".The London Gazette(Supplement). 16 June 2012. p. 8.
- ^"Sixty Five Roses Club — Scotland".Cystic Fibrosis trust. Archived fromthe originalon 12 March 2017.Retrieved25 May2017.
- ^Bowdler, Neil (25 June 2010)."Jenny Agutter: 'Cystic fibrosis is in my family'".BBC News.Archivedfrom the original on 13 September 2014.Retrieved25 May2017.
- ^"Celebrities' open letter to Scotland – full text and list of signatories | Politics".The Guardian.7 August 2014.Archivedfrom the original on 17 August 2014.Retrieved26 August2014.
- ^"Top 100 Most Anticipated Foreign Films of 2015: #64. Werner Herzog's Queen of the Desert".ION Cinema. 6 January 2015.Archivedfrom the original on 24 February 2015.Retrieved23 February2015.
- ^"Television: 1980s".Jenny Agutter's Official Website.Archived fromthe originalon 24 March 2020.Retrieved24 March2020.