Brenda Blethyn

Brenda Anne Blethyn, OBE (née Bottle; 20 February 1946) is an English film, television, and stage actress. She is known for her role in Mike Leigh's award-winning 1996 drama film Secrets & Lies, and, since 2011, for her performance in the title role of the television series Vera.

Born into a working-class home, Blethyn pursued an administrative career before enrolling in the Guildford School of Acting in her early 30s, following the dissolution of her marriage in 1973. She subsequently joined the Royal National Theatre and received credits for her performances in Troilus and Cressida (1976) and Mysteries (1979). In 1981, Blethyn earned critical acclaim for her performance in Steaming.

In 1980, Blethyn made her television debut in Mike Leigh's film Grown-Ups. After a modest number of guest spots in several productions, in the mid-1980s she garnered leading roles in the short-run sitcoms Chance in a Million and The Labours of Erica. She made her big-screen debut with a small role in The Witches (1990). She subsequently appeared in other films, including A River Runs Through It (1992). She experienced a major career breakthrough with her role in the 1996 drama film Secrets & Lies, for which she received rave reviews and multiple awards, including the Best Actress Award at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, and an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.

Blethyn has since appeared in an eclectic range of films, including independent comedies such as Saving Grace (2000), Plots with a View (2002), and Clubland (2007), music-themed films like Little Voice (1998) and Beyond the Sea (2004), and big-budget dramas such as Pride & Prejudice (2005) and Atonement (2007), the latter of which rank among the biggest commercial successes of her career. In addition, Blethyn has appeared in television productions including The Buddha of Suburbia (1993), Anne Frank: The Whole Story (2001), Belonging (2004), and War and Peace (2007). Since 2011, she has portrayed Detective Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope in the television series Vera.

Throughout her career, Blethyn has received two Academy Award nominations, two SAG Award nominations, two Emmy Award nominations and three Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one. In addition, she has won a BAFTA, an Empire Award and has earned a Theatre World Award and both a Critics' Circle Theatre Award and a Laurence Olivier Award nomination for her theatrical work.