
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Born
1946-06-03
Place of Birth
Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England, UK
Penelope Wilton
Biography
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.
Gallery


Known For
Acting History
2025
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale as Isobel Merton
2025Downton Abbey Celebrates the Grand Finale as Self
2024Dead Hot as Francine
2023Murder Is Easy as Miss Pinkerton
2023The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry as Maureen Fry
2022Judi Dench: Our National Treasure as Self
2022Downton Abbey: A New Era as Isobel Merton
2022Operation Mincemeat as Hester Leggett
2020Eternal Beauty as Vivian
2020Summerland as Older Alice
2019Downton Abbey as Isobel Merton
2019After Life as Anne
2018Zoo as Denise Austin
2018The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society as Amelia Maugery
2017Brexit Shorts: The End as Helen
2016Brief Encounters as Pauline
2016The BFG as The Queen
2016All the World's a Screen: Shakespeare on Film as Narrator (voice)
2015The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel as Jean Ainslie
2013National Theatre Live: 50 Years on Stage as Delia
2013Belle as Lady Mary Murray
2012The Girl as Peggy Robertson
2012The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel as Jean Ainslie
2011South Riding as Mrs Beddows
2010Downton Abbey as Isobel Merton
2010Harold Pinter: A Celebration as Self
2009Margot as B.Q.
2008The Passion as Mary
2007Half Broken Things as Jean
2007Celebration as Julie
2007Five Days as Barbara Poole
2006The History Boys as Mrs. Bibby
2005Match Point as Eleanor Hewett
2005Pride & Prejudice as Mrs. Gardiner
2005Doctor Who
2005Doctor Who as Harriet Jones
2005Falling as Daisy Langrish
2004Shaun of the Dead as Barbara
2003Calendar Girls as Ruth
2003Comedy Connections
2003Lucky Jim as Celia Welch
2001Iris as Janet Stone
2001Bob & Rose as Monica Gossage
2001Victoria & Albert as Princess Mary Louise Victoria
2001The Whistle-Blower as Heather Graham
2000Victoria Wood with All the Trimmings as Mrs. Cratchit
2000Rockaby as Old Woman
1999Wives and Daughters as Mrs. Hamley
1999Tom's Midnight Garden as Aunt Melbourne
1999The Strange Case of Delfina Potocka as Delfina / Paulina
1998Alice Through the Looking Glass as White Queen
1998Talking Heads 2
1995Landscape as Beth
1995Carrington as Lady Ottoline Morrell
1995Kavanagh Q.C. as Barbara Watkins
1994The Deep Blue Sea as Hester Collyer
1993The Return of the Borrowers as Homily
1993The Secret Rapture as Marion French
1992The Borrowers as Homily
1992Screaming
1992Blame It on the Bellboy as Patricia Fulford
1991Performance as Beth
1991Performance as Hester Collyer
1988Talking Heads as Rosemary
1987Cry Freedom as Wendy Woods
1986Clockwise as Pat Garden
1985C.A.T.S. Eyes
1984Laughterhouse as Alice Singleton
1984Ever Decreasing Circles
1983The Tale of Beatrix Potter as Beatrix Potter
1982The Tale of Beatrix Potter as Beatrix Potter
1982King Lear as Regan
1981Country as Virginia Carlion
1981Othello as Desdemona
1981The French Lieutenant's Woman as Sonia
1980Pasmore as Helen
1978An Audience with... as Self
1977Able's Will as Journalist
1977The Norman Conquests as Annie
1977Joseph Andrews as Mrs. Wilton
1975King Lear as Regan
1972Mrs. Warren's Profession as Vivie Warren
1970Play for Today as Virginia Carlion
1965BBC Play of the Month as Regan
—Visitation
—Fing!








