Phoebe Nicholls
Encyclopedia
Phoebe Nicholls is an English film, television, and stage actor
. She is known for her roles as Cordelia Flyte in Brideshead Revisited
and as the mother of John Merrick
in The Elephant Man
.
. An undiagnosed dyslexic
, she left school early. Upon leaving, she trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama
. Nicholls married Brideshead Revisited director Charles Sturridge
on 6 July 1985; they have three children. Their eldest son Tom Sturridge
and daughter Matilda Sturridge
are also actors.
in several films she was billed as Sarah Nicholls, appearing alongside her father, mother and sister Kate in her earliest performances. In her early 20s, she appeared in David Lynch
's The Elephant Man
, Michael Palin
's The Missionary
and most famously as Cordelia Flyte in Brideshead Revisited
. Since then, she has worked almost exclusively in television and theatre. Debuting in Michael Lindsay-Hogg
's original staging of Whose Life Is It Anyway?
in 1978, she went on to perform in Robert Strura's revival of Three Sisters
with Vanessa Redgrave
, Stephen Daldry
's acclaimed National Theatre
version of J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls
and in the Olivier Award
-winning productions of Pravda, with The Elephant Man
co-star Sir Anthony Hopkins
and Terry Johnson
's Hysteria. Her supporting performances in the 2008 West End revivals of Noel Coward
's The Vortex
and Harley Granville Barker's Waste
earned her the 2009 Clarence Derwent Award from Equity.
She appeared in the 1995 television production of Jane Austen
's Persuasion
. She has made guest appearances on several television mystery series, including Kavanagh QC
, Prime Suspect, Midsomer Murders
, Inspector Lewis
, The Ruth Rendell Mysteries
, Foyle's War
and Second Sight
starring Clive Owen
. She has also appeared in several works directed by her husband, Charles Sturridge
, including his 1995 television adaptation of Gulliver's Travels
, where she portrayed the Liliputian Empress, and the 1997 film Fairy Tale: A True Story.
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. She is known for her roles as Cordelia Flyte in Brideshead Revisited
Brideshead Revisited (TV serial)
Brideshead Revisited is a 1981 British television serial produced by Granada Television for broadcast by the ITV network. The teleplay is based on Evelyn Waugh's novel Brideshead Revisited...
and as the mother of John Merrick
Joseph Merrick
Joseph Carey Merrick , sometimes incorrectly referred to as John Merrick, was an English man with severe deformities who was exhibited as a human curiosity named the Elephant Man. He became well known in London society after he went to live at the London Hospital...
in The Elephant Man
The Elephant Man (film)
The Elephant Man is a 1980 American drama film based on the true story of Joseph Merrick , a severely deformed man in 19th century London...
.
Personal life
Nicholls was born in London, England to actors Faith Kent (née Heaslip) and Anthony NichollsAnthony Nicholls (actor)
Anthony Nicholls was an English film, television, and stage actor.-Life and career:Nicholls was born Sydney Horace Nicholls on 16 October 1902 in Windsor, Berkshire, England, the son of Florence and photojournalist Horace Nicholls. He served in the Royal Artillery...
. An undiagnosed dyslexic
Dyslexia
Dyslexia is a very broad term defining a learning disability that impairs a person's fluency or comprehension accuracy in being able to read, and which can manifest itself as a difficulty with phonological awareness, phonological decoding, orthographic coding, auditory short-term memory, or rapid...
, she left school early. Upon leaving, she trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama
Central School of Speech and Drama
The Central School of Speech and Drama was founded in London in 1906 by Elsie Fogerty to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students...
. Nicholls married Brideshead Revisited director Charles Sturridge
Charles Sturridge
Charles B. G. Sturridge is an English screenwriter, producer, stage, television and film director.-Personal life:Sturridge was born in London, England to Alyson Bowman Vaughan and Jerome Sturridge. He was educated at Stonyhurst College...
on 6 July 1985; they have three children. Their eldest son Tom Sturridge
Tom Sturridge
Thomas Sidney Jerome "Tom" Sturridge is an English actor best known for his work in Being Julia, Like Minds, and The Boat That Rocked. As of September 2010, he was filming a role in Walter Salles's highly anticipated film adaptation of Jack Kerouac's On the Road.-Personal life:Sturridge was born...
and daughter Matilda Sturridge
Matilda Sturridge
Matilda Sturridge is an English actress born in London in May 1988. She is the younger sister of actor Tom Sturridge, and the only daughter of film director Charles Sturridge and actress Phoebe Nicholls...
are also actors.
Career
As a child actorChild actor
The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting in motion pictures or television, but also to an adult who began his or her acting career as a child; to avoid confusion, the latter is also called a former child actor...
in several films she was billed as Sarah Nicholls, appearing alongside her father, mother and sister Kate in her earliest performances. In her early 20s, she appeared in David Lynch
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
's The Elephant Man
The Elephant Man (film)
The Elephant Man is a 1980 American drama film based on the true story of Joseph Merrick , a severely deformed man in 19th century London...
, Michael Palin
Michael Palin
Michael Edward Palin, CBE FRGS is an English comedian, actor, writer and television presenter best known for being one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python and for his travel documentaries....
's The Missionary
The Missionary
The Missionary is a 1982 British comedy directed by Richard Loncraine, produced by George Harrison, Denis O'Brian, Michael Palin and Neville C. Thompson. The film stars Palin as the Rev...
and most famously as Cordelia Flyte in Brideshead Revisited
Brideshead Revisited (TV serial)
Brideshead Revisited is a 1981 British television serial produced by Granada Television for broadcast by the ITV network. The teleplay is based on Evelyn Waugh's novel Brideshead Revisited...
. Since then, she has worked almost exclusively in television and theatre. Debuting in Michael Lindsay-Hogg
Michael Lindsay-Hogg
Sir Michael Edward Lindsay-Hogg, 5th Baronet is a British television and stage director and an occasional writer and actor.-Background and early work:...
's original staging of Whose Life Is It Anyway?
Whose Life is it Anyway?
Whose Life Is It Anyway? is a play by Brian Clark adapted from his 1972 television play of the same title. The play premiered at the Mermaid Theatre in London's West End in 1978 starring Tom Conti as Ken.-Plot:...
in 1978, she went on to perform in Robert Strura's revival of Three Sisters
Three Sisters (play)
Three Sisters is a play by Russian author and playwright Anton Chekhov, perhaps partially inspired by the situation of the three Brontë sisters, but most probably by the three Zimmermann sisters in Perm...
with Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave, CBE is an English actress of stage, screen and television, as well as a political activist.She rose to prominence in 1961 playing Rosalind in As You Like It with the Royal Shakespeare Company and has since made more than 35 appearances on London's West End and Broadway, winning...
, Stephen Daldry
Stephen Daldry
Stephen David Daldry, CBE is an English theatre and film director and producer, as well as a three-time Academy Award nominated and Tony Award winning director.-Early years:...
's acclaimed National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
version of J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls
An Inspector Calls
An Inspector Calls is a play written by English dramatist J. B. Priestley, first performed in 1945 in the Soviet Union and 1946 in the UK. It is considered to be one of Priestley's best known works for the stage and one of the classics of mid-20th century English theatre...
and in the Olivier Award
Laurence Olivier Awards
The Laurence Olivier Award is presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre. Named after the renowned British actor Laurence Olivier, they are given for West End shows and other productions staged in London...
-winning productions of Pravda, with The Elephant Man
The Elephant Man (film)
The Elephant Man is a 1980 American drama film based on the true story of Joseph Merrick , a severely deformed man in 19th century London...
co-star Sir Anthony Hopkins
Anthony Hopkins
Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins, KBE , best known as Anthony Hopkins, is a Welsh actor of film, stage and television...
and Terry Johnson
Terry Johnson (dramatist)
Terry Johnson is a British dramatist and director working for stage, television and film. He is a Literary Associate at the Royal Court Theatre. At The Court he directed Dumb Show by Joe Penhall and opened his play Piano/Forte...
's Hysteria. Her supporting performances in the 2008 West End revivals of Noel Coward
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
's The Vortex
The Vortex
The Vortex is a play by the English writer and actor Noël Coward. The story focuses on sexual vanity and drug abuse among the upper classes. The play was Coward's first great commercial success....
and Harley Granville Barker's Waste
Waste (play)
Waste is a play by the English author Harley Granville Barker. It exists in two wholly different versions, from 1906 and 1927. The first version was refused a license by the Lord Chamberlain and had to be performed privately by the Stage Society in 1907; the second was finally staged in public at...
earned her the 2009 Clarence Derwent Award from Equity.
She appeared in the 1995 television production of Jane Austen
Jane Austen
Jane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.Austen lived...
's Persuasion
Persuasion
Persuasion is a form of social influence. It is the process of guiding or bringing oneself or another toward the adoption of an idea, attitude, or action by rational and symbolic means.- Methods :...
. She has made guest appearances on several television mystery series, including Kavanagh QC
Kavanagh QC
Kavanagh QC is a British television series made by Carlton Television for ITV between 1995 and 2001. It has been shown on ITV3 as recently as August 2011; series 1–6 are available on Region 2 DVDs....
, Prime Suspect, Midsomer Murders
Midsomer Murders
Midsomer Murders is a British television detective drama that has aired on ITV since 1997. The show is based on the books by Caroline Graham, as originally adapted by Anthony Horowitz. The lead character is DCI Tom Barnaby who works for Causton CID. When Nettles left the show in 2011 he was...
, Inspector Lewis
Inspector Lewis
Robert "Robbie" Lewis is a fictional character in the Inspector Morse crime novels by Colin Dexter. The "sidekick" to Morse, Lewis is a Detective Sergeant in the Thames Valley Police, and appears in all 13 Morse novels. In the television adaptation, Inspector Morse, he is played by Kevin Whately...
, The Ruth Rendell Mysteries
The Ruth Rendell Mysteries
The Ruth Rendell Mysteries is a British television series made by TVS and Meridian Television for ITV between 1987 and 2000.-Description:The series comprises adaptations of the works of Ruth Rendell, many of which are based on her extensive range of short stories...
, Foyle's War
Foyle's War
Foyle's War is a British detective drama television series set during World War II, created by screenwriter and author Anthony Horowitz, and was commissioned by ITV after the long-running series Inspector Morse came to an end in 2000. It has aired on ITV since 2002...
and Second Sight
Second Sight (TV series)
Second Sight was a British television crime drama written by Paula Milne that aired on BBC One from 2000 to 2001.- Premise :Second Sight is the story of Detective Chief Inspector Ross Tanner , a maverick cop who finds out he has a rare disease and is going blind....
starring Clive Owen
Clive Owen
Clive Owen is an English actor, who has worked on television, stage and film. He first gained recognition in the United Kingdom for portraying the lead in the ITV series Chancer from 1990 to 1991...
. She has also appeared in several works directed by her husband, Charles Sturridge
Charles Sturridge
Charles B. G. Sturridge is an English screenwriter, producer, stage, television and film director.-Personal life:Sturridge was born in London, England to Alyson Bowman Vaughan and Jerome Sturridge. He was educated at Stonyhurst College...
, including his 1995 television adaptation of Gulliver's Travels
Gulliver's Travels (TV miniseries)
Gulliver's Travels is a U.S. TV miniseries based on Jonathan Swift's novel of the same name, produced by Jim Henson Productions and Hallmark Entertainment. This miniseries is notable for being one of the very few adaptations of Swift's novel to feature all four voyages. The miniseries aired in the...
, where she portrayed the Liliputian Empress, and the 1997 film Fairy Tale: A True Story.
Filmography
- 1964: The Pumpkin EaterThe Pumpkin EaterThe Pumpkin Eater is a 1964 British drama film starring Anne Bancroft as an unusually fertile woman and Peter Finch as her philandering husband....
- 1965: Dr. Terror's House of HorrorsDr. Terror's House of HorrorsDr. Terror's House of Horrors is a 1965 British horror film from Amicus Productions, directed by veteran horror director Freddie Francis, written by Milton Subotsky, and starred Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee....
- 1967: Our Mother's HouseOur Mother's HouseOur Mother's House is a 1967 British drama film starring Dirk Bogarde. The screenplay was by Jeremy Brooks, based on the 1963 novel of the same name by Julian Gloag.-Plot:...
- 1969: Women in LoveWomen in Love (film)Women in Love is a 1969 British film directed by Ken Russell. It stars Alan Bates , Oliver Reed, Glenda Jackson and Jennie Linden. The film was adapted by Larry Kramer from the novel of the same name by D. H. Lawrence....
- 1980: The Elephant ManThe Elephant Man (film)The Elephant Man is a 1980 American drama film based on the true story of Joseph Merrick , a severely deformed man in 19th century London...
- 1982: The MissionaryThe MissionaryThe Missionary is a 1982 British comedy directed by Richard Loncraine, produced by George Harrison, Denis O'Brian, Michael Palin and Neville C. Thompson. The film stars Palin as the Rev...
- 1983: Party PartyParty Party (film)Party Party is a British comedy film about three friends and their South London crowd.This crowd includes workers, spivs and young police constables. A British entry into the teenage/youth house party genre typified by John Hughes' films and the late 80s movies of Kid and Play.The movie was...
- 1984: Ordeal by InnocenceOrdeal by InnocenceOrdeal by Innocence is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on November 3 1958 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company the following year. The UK edition retailed at twelve shillings and sixpence and the US edition at $2.95...
- 1987: Gentry
- 1987: MauriceMaurice (film)Maurice is a 1987 British film based on the novel of the same title by E. M. Forster. It is a tale of homosexual love in early 20th century England, following its main character Maurice Hall from his school days through university until he is united with his life partner.It was produced by Ismail...
- 1997: FairyTale: A True StoryFairyTale: A True StoryFairyTale: A True Story is a 1997 film from Paramount Pictures, loosely based on the story of the Cottingley Fairies.-Plot:Early 20th Century England was a time and place ripe for believing, both in scientific advancements such as electric light and photography, and in anomalous phenomena of all...
- 2000: The Miracle MakerThe Miracle MakerThe Miracle Maker is a stop motion-animated film about the life of Jesus Christ through the eyes of a young girl, Tamar, the daughter of the Biblical Jairus who is raised from death by Jesus Some clips of the film are animated cartoons instead of stop motion.The film was directed by...
Television
- 1977: Alternative 3Alternative 3Alternative 3 is a television programme, broadcast once only in the United Kingdom in 1977, and later broadcast in Australia and New Zealand, as a fictional hoax, an heir to Orson Welles' radio production of The War of the Worlds...
- 1977: Van der Valk "Gold Plated Delinquents"
- 1979: Secret OrchardsSecret OrchardsSecret Orchards is a 1979 made for TV movie directed by Richard Loncraine. The film is partially based on the memoir My Father and Myself by J. R. Ackerley....
- 1980: Blade on the FeatherBlade on the FeatherBlade on the Feather is a television drama by Dennis Potter, broadcast by ITV on 19 October 1980 as the first in a loosely-connected trilogy of plays exploring language and betrayal...
- 1981: Pictures
- 1981: Brideshead RevisitedBrideshead Revisited (TV serial)Brideshead Revisited is a 1981 British television serial produced by Granada Television for broadcast by the ITV network. The teleplay is based on Evelyn Waugh's novel Brideshead Revisited...
- 1983: All for Love
- 1984: Hay FeverHay FeverHay Fever is a comic play written by Noël Coward in 1924 and first produced in 1925 with Marie Tempest as the first Judith Bliss. Laura Hope Crews played the role in New York...
- 1990: Drowning in the Shallow End
- 1994: Heart of Darkness
- 1995: PersuasionPersuasion (1995 film)Producer Fiona Finlay had for several years been interested in making a film based on the novel Persuasion, and approached screenwriter Nick Dear about adapting it for television...
- 1995: Kavanagh QCKavanagh QCKavanagh QC is a British television series made by Carlton Television for ITV between 1995 and 2001. It has been shown on ITV3 as recently as August 2011; series 1–6 are available on Region 2 DVDs....
"Heartland" - 1996: Gulliver's TravelsGulliver's Travels (TV miniseries)Gulliver's Travels is a U.S. TV miniseries based on Jonathan Swift's novel of the same name, produced by Jim Henson Productions and Hallmark Entertainment. This miniseries is notable for being one of the very few adaptations of Swift's novel to feature all four voyages. The miniseries aired in the...
- 1997: The Ruth Rendell MysteriesThe Ruth Rendell MysteriesThe Ruth Rendell Mysteries is a British television series made by TVS and Meridian Television for ITV between 1987 and 2000.-Description:The series comprises adaptations of the works of Ruth Rendell, many of which are based on her extensive range of short stories...
"May and June" - 1999: Second SightSecond Sight (TV series)Second Sight was a British television crime drama written by Paula Milne that aired on BBC One from 2000 to 2001.- Premise :Second Sight is the story of Detective Chief Inspector Ross Tanner , a maverick cop who finds out he has a rare disease and is going blind....
- 2001: People Like UsPeople Like UsPeople Like Us is a British comedy programme, a spoof on-location documentary written by John Morton, and starring Chris Langham as Roy Mallard, an inept interviewer...
- 2002: Shackleton
- 2002: I'm Alan PartridgeI'm Alan PartridgeI'm Alan Partridge is a BBC situation comedy starring Steve Coogan, of which two series of six episodes each were produced — the first in 1997 and the second in 2002...
- 2003: Midsomer MurdersMidsomer MurdersMidsomer Murders is a British television detective drama that has aired on ITV since 1997. The show is based on the books by Caroline Graham, as originally adapted by Anthony Horowitz. The lead character is DCI Tom Barnaby who works for Causton CID. When Nettles left the show in 2011 he was...
"A Tale of Two Hamlets" - 2003: Prime Suspect 6 "The Last Witness"
- 2003: Foyle's WarFoyle's WarFoyle's War is a British detective drama television series set during World War II, created by screenwriter and author Anthony Horowitz, and was commissioned by ITV after the long-running series Inspector Morse came to an end in 2000. It has aired on ITV since 2002...
- 2004: HawkingHawking (television)Hawking is a BBC television dramatisation of physicist Stephen Hawking's early career while at the University of Cambridge.The programme was nominated for the British Academy Television Award for Best Single Drama in 2005...
- 2006: Spooks
- 2007: The Trial of Tony BlairThe Trial of Tony BlairThe Trial of Tony Blair is a satirical drama, based around the notion that the former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair is to face charges of war crimes by an international tribunal, following his departure from 10 Downing Street...
- 2007: Lewis
- 2007: Clapham JunctionClapham Junction (film)Clapham Junction is a 2007 British television film, written by Kevin Elyot. Directed by Adrian Shergold, the film centers on the experiences of several gay men during a 36 hour period in the Clapham area of London and the consequences when their lives collide...
- 2010: The Road to Coronation StreetThe Road to Coronation StreetThe Road to Coronation Street is a British drama first broadcast on BBC Four documenting the journey of Coronation Street, the UK's longest-running television soap opera, from conception to its first transmission in December 1960...
Stage
- 1978: Whose Life Is It Anyway?Whose Life is it Anyway?Whose Life Is It Anyway? is a play by Brian Clark adapted from his 1972 television play of the same title. The play premiered at the Mermaid Theatre in London's West End in 1978 starring Tom Conti as Ken.-Plot:...
- 1981: The Cherry OrchardThe Cherry OrchardThe Cherry Orchard is Russian playwright Anton Chekhov's last play. It premiered at the Moscow Art Theatre 17 January 1904 in a production directed by Constantin Stanislavski. Chekhov intended this play as a comedy and it does contain some elements of farce; however, Stanislavski insisted on...
- 1983: The Beautiful Part of Myself
- 1984: PravdaPravda (play)Pravda is a play by David Hare and Howard Brenton. It was first produced at the Royal National Theatre on 2 May 1985, directed by David Hare starring Anthony Hopkins in the role of Lambert Le Roux. It is a satire on the mid-1980s newspaper industry, in particular the press baron Rupert Murdoch...
- 1985: The SeagullThe SeagullThe Seagull is the first of what are generally considered to be the four major plays by the Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov. The Seagull was written in 1895 and first produced in 1896...
- 1991: Three SistersThree Sisters (play)Three Sisters is a play by Russian author and playwright Anton Chekhov, perhaps partially inspired by the situation of the three Brontë sisters, but most probably by the three Zimmermann sisters in Perm...
- 1993: An Inspector CallsAn Inspector CallsAn Inspector Calls is a play written by English dramatist J. B. Priestley, first performed in 1945 in the Soviet Union and 1946 in the UK. It is considered to be one of Priestley's best known works for the stage and one of the classics of mid-20th century English theatre...
- 1993: HysteriaHysteria (play)Hysteria: Or Fragments of an Analysis of an Obsessional Neurosis is a two-hour play by Terry Johnson fictionalising a 1938 meeting between Salvador Dalí and Sigmund Freud a year before the latter's death. It is named after the Freudian psychological term "hysteria" and its London premiere was in 1...
- 1994: Rutherford & Son
- 1997: Dona Rosita the Spinster
- 2005: Three Women and a Piano Tuner
- 2007: The VortexThe VortexThe Vortex is a play by the English writer and actor Noël Coward. The story focuses on sexual vanity and drug abuse among the upper classes. The play was Coward's first great commercial success....
- 2008: WasteWaste (play)Waste is a play by the English author Harley Granville Barker. It exists in two wholly different versions, from 1906 and 1927. The first version was refused a license by the Lord Chamberlain and had to be performed privately by the Stage Society in 1907; the second was finally staged in public at...
- 2009: When the Rain Stops Falling