Anne-Marie Duff

Anne-Marie Duff

Duff at the 60th British Academy Film Awards in February 2007
Born 8 October 1970 (1970-10-08) (age 41)
Chiswick,[1] London, England, UK
Years active 1995–present
Spouse James McAvoy
(2006–present) (1 Son)

Anne-Marie Duff (born 8 October 1970) is an English actress best known for playing Fiona Gallagher in Shameless, and Elizabeth I in The Virgin Queen.

Contents

Early life

Duff was born on 8 October 1970, the younger of two children of Irish immigrants – her father was a painter and decorator and her mother worked in a shoe shop. The family lived in Southall, Middlesex, and Anne-Marie went to a comprehensive school. At an early age, Anne-Marie attended a local youth theatre in order to battle her shy nature and soon became hooked on the stage.

In her mid-teens, involved in an amateur theatre company, she began to think seriously about applying to drama schools. Her first application was rejected. “At the time, I was desperately unhappy about it, but I just wasn’t polished. I got too nervous in the audition. It wasn’t a world I was familiar with…” So she went away and did some more A levels and studied Film and Theatre Studies.

At the age of 19 she ended up alongside John Simm, Anastasia Hille and her good friend, Paul Bettany at the Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design Drama Centre, London.[2]

Career

Duff was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award in 2000, but first became well known as Fiona in the television programme Shameless, and for her portrayal of Elizabeth I of England in the lavish 2005 BBC television miniseries, The Virgin Queen which also starred Joanne Whalley and Tara FitzGerald. In 2007 she was one of nine female celebrities to take part in the What's it going to take? campaign promoting awareness of domestic abuse in the United Kingdom.

She also played Julia Stanley in Nowhere Boy, playing John Lennon's mother. The film is about John Lennon's teenage years.

In The Last Station, a biopic about the events before Count Leo Tolstoy's death, she played Sasha, the much devoted daughter.

An accomplished theatre actor, she has worked extensively with the Royal National Theatre and also in London's West End (Vassa, Collected Stories). Credits at the National Theatre include Collected Stories, King Lear and most recently the title character in Marianne Elliott's production of Bernard Shaw's Saint Joan to great acclaim.[3][4]

From March to June 2011, she will play Alma Rattenbury in Rattigan's final play Cause Célèbre at The Old Vic directed by Thea Sharrock.[5]

Personal life

Away from work, Duff likes to spend time hiking, camping, and hill-climbing.[6] She also enjoys baking cakes round at her brother's house, particularly as a way of dealing with stress.[6]

She married Scottish actor and fellow former Shameless star James McAvoy in October 2006[7] and gave birth to their first child, a son, in 2010.[8]

Awards

BAFTA
BAFTA Cymru
Broadcasting Press Guild
Evening Standard British Film Awards
Irish Film and Television Awards
Royal Television Society

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Radio and audio

References

  1. ^ Lane, Harriet; "Real-life romance" Guardian.co.uk, 8 February 2004 (Retrieved: 31 July 2009)
  2. ^ http://courses.csm.arts.ac.uk/drama/students.asp
  3. ^ Billington, Michael; "Saint Joan" Guardian.co.uk, 12 July 2007 (Retrieved: 31 July 2009)
  4. ^ Brown, Peter; "Saint Joan" LondonTheatre.co.uk, 13 July 2007 (Retrieved: 31 July 2009)
  5. ^ Masters, Tim (27 March 2011). "BBC News - Anne-Marie Duff on Rattigan revival". bbc.co.uk. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-12850940. Retrieved 27 March 2011. 
  6. ^ a b Mueller, Matt; "Duff Stuff" WonderlandMagazine.com, issue 18, April/May 2009 (Retrieved: 31 July 2009)
  7. ^ Todd, Ben. "Glowing Anne-Marie Duff, 39, confirms first pregnancy with husband James McAvoy". Daily Mail. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1246279/Anne-Marie-Duff-39-confirms-pregnancy-husband-James-McAvoy.html. Retrieved 26 September 2011. 
  8. ^ Mcdonald, Toby (24 April 2011). "Doting mum Anne-Marie Duff reveals toddler's name". Sunday Mail. Archived from the original on 13 November 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/63AjNBWmj. Retrieved 13 November 2011. 
  9. ^ Masters, Tim (8 February 2010). "Duff and Serkis scoop Standard film awards". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8504400.stm. Retrieved 9 February 2010. 
  10. ^ John Preston (4 December 2009). "Margot, BBC Four, review". The Daily Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/6729235/Margot-BBC-Four-review.html. 

External links