Sophie Thompson
Encyclopedia
Sophie Thompson is an award-winning English actress, best known for playing Stella Crawford
in EastEnders
.
and actor Eric Thompson
, Sophie is the younger sister of twice Academy Award-winning actress and screenwriter Emma Thompson
.
.
, Emma
, Dancing at Lughnasa
, Gosford Park
, Fat Slags, Relative Values, and Morris: A Life with Bells On
. Thompson starred in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in 2010, as Mafalda Hopkirk and Hermione Granger
disguised as Hopkirk.
, in Jonathan Creek
, and Lee Evans
in So What Now? She has also appeared in Persuasion
, Midsomer Murders
, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (TV series)
, A Harlot's Progress
and Magnolia
. She played Miss Bartlett in Andrew Davies
' 2007 adaptation of E.M. Forster's A Room with a View
and also appeared in the last episode of Series 4 of Doc Martin
.
Thompson played the role of child abuser Stella Crawford
in the BBC One
soap opera EastEnders
. She came into show as Phil Mitchell
's lawyer and they gradually developed a romantic link. Stella later became jealous of Phil's relationship with his son Ben and began to emotionally and physically abuse him — becoming one of soaps most-hated villains. Thompson left EastEnders on 20 July 2007, after the exposure of Stella's evil ways on her wedding day led to the character's suicide.
In 2009, Thompson appeared in the BBC One comedy series Big Top
.
's musical Company. She later won the 1999 Olivier Award for her performance in Sondheim's Into The Woods
.
since 1995. They have two sons — Ernie James (born 1997) and Walter Eric (born 2000) — and live in London. Thompson is a Charity Ambassador of Child In Need India (CINI) which helps poor mothers and children in India and ran the 2010 London Marathon for the charity.
Stella Crawford
Stella Crawford is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Sophie Thompson. She left the show on 20 July 2007.-Storylines:...
in EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
.
Early life
The second daughter born in 1962, to actress Phyllida LawPhyllida Law
-Personal life:Law was born in Glasgow, the daughter of William and Megsie Law, who divorced after World War II. She was married to Eric Thompson from 1957 until his death in 1982. Their two children Emma and Sophie Thompson are both actresses...
and actor Eric Thompson
Eric Thompson
Eric Norman Thompson was an English actor, producer and television presenter.Thompson was born in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, the son of George Henry and Anne Thompson, and grew up Rudgwick, Sussex, attending Collyer's School, Horsham...
, Sophie is the younger sister of twice Academy Award-winning actress and screenwriter Emma Thompson
Emma Thompson
Emma Thompson is a British actress, comedian and screenwriter. Her first major film role was in the 1989 romantic comedy The Tall Guy. In 1992, Thompson won multiple acting awards, including an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award for Best Actress, for her performance in the British drama Howards End...
.
Career
Sophie Thompson has worked in film, television, theatre and radio, and has narrated a number of audiobooks. She made her debut in 1978, at the age of 16, starring in A Traveller in Time, before going on to study at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre SchoolBristol Old Vic Theatre School
The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, opened by Laurence Olivier in 1946, is an affiliate of the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama, an organisation securing the highest standards of training in the performing arts, and is an associate school of the Faculty of Creative Arts of the University of the...
.
Film
Big-screen roles include Four Weddings and a FuneralFour Weddings and a Funeral
Four Weddings and a Funeral is a 1994 British comedy film directed by Mike Newell. It was the first of several films by screenwriter Richard Curtis to feature Hugh Grant...
, Emma
Emma (1996 film)
Emma is a 1996 period film based on the novel of the same name by Jane Austen. Directed by Douglas McGrath, it stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeremy Northam, Toni Collette, and Ewan McGregor.- Synopsis :...
, Dancing at Lughnasa
Dancing at Lughnasa (film)
Dancing at Lughnasa is a 1998 film adapted from the Brian Friel play of the same title, directed by Pat O'Connor.The movie competed in the Venice Film Festival of 1998. It won an Irish Film and Television Award for Best Actor in a Female Role by Brid Brennan...
, Gosford Park
Gosford Park
Gosford Park is a 2001 British-American mystery comedy-drama film directed by Robert Altman and written by Julian Fellowes. The film stars an ensemble cast, which includes Helen Mirren, Maggie Smith, Eileen Atkins, Alan Bates, and Michael Gambon...
, Fat Slags, Relative Values, and Morris: A Life with Bells On
Morris: A Life with Bells On
Morris: A Life with Bells On is a 2009 British independent film, a comic spoof documentary about morris dancing.-Development:Morris: A Life with Bells On was written by Charles Thomas Oldham , who also co-produced it with his wife, the film's director Lucy Akhurst...
. Thompson starred in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in 2010, as Mafalda Hopkirk and Hermione Granger
Hermione Granger
Hermione Jean Granger is a fictional character and one of the three protagonists in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. She initially appears in the first novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, as a new student on her way to Hogwarts...
disguised as Hopkirk.
Television
Thompson starred alongside popular British comedians Jack DeeJack Dee
James Andrew Innes "Jack" Dee is an English stand-up comedian, actor and writer known for his sardonic, curmudgeonly, and deadpan style.-Early life:...
, in Jonathan Creek
Jonathan Creek
Jonathan Creek is a British mystery series produced by the BBC and written by David Renwick. Primarily a crime drama, the show is also peppered with broadly comic touches...
, and Lee Evans
Lee Evans (comedian)
Lee Evans is an English comedian, writer, actor and musician.-Personal life:Lee Evans was born in Avonmouth, Bristol, England to an Irish mother and a Welsh father, Dave Evans, a nightclub performer. He left Bristol at the age of 13 and then went to The Billericay School in Billericay, Essex...
in So What Now? She has also appeared in Persuasion
Persuasion (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...
, 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...
, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (TV series)
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (TV series)
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is the name given to the TV series of Sherlock Holmes adaptations produced by British television company Granada Television between 1984 and 1994, although only the first two series bore that title on screen. The series was broadcast on the ITV network in the UK,...
, A Harlot's Progress
A Harlot's Progress
A Harlot's Progress is a series of six paintings and engravings by William Hogarth. The series shows the story of a young woman, Mary Hackabout, who arrives in London from the country and becomes a prostitute...
and Magnolia
Magnolia
Magnolia is a large genus of about 210 flowering plant species in the subfamily Magnolioideae of the family Magnoliaceae. It is named after French botanist Pierre Magnol....
. She played Miss Bartlett in Andrew Davies
Andrew Davies (writer)
Andrew Wynford Davies is a British author and screenwriter. He was made a Fellow of BAFTA in 2002.-Education and early career:...
' 2007 adaptation of E.M. Forster's A Room with a View
A Room with a View
A Room with a View is a 1908 novel by English writer E. M. Forster, about a young woman in the repressed culture of Edwardian England. Set in Italy and England, the story is both a romance and a critique of English society at the beginning of the 20th century...
and also appeared in the last episode of Series 4 of Doc Martin
Doc Martin
Doc Martin is a British television comedy drama series starring Martin Clunes in the title role. It was created by Mark Crowdy, Craig Ferguson and Dominic Minghella. The show is filmed on location in the fishing village of Port Isaac, Cornwall, United Kingdom, with filming of most interior scenes...
.
Thompson played the role of child abuser Stella Crawford
Stella Crawford
Stella Crawford is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Sophie Thompson. She left the show on 20 July 2007.-Storylines:...
in the BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
soap opera EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
. She came into show as Phil Mitchell
Phil Mitchell
Philip James "Phil" Mitchell is a long-running fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Steve McFadden.Phil first arrived in Albert Square on 20 February 1990, and was soon joined by his brother, Grant, sister Sam and mother Peggy...
's lawyer and they gradually developed a romantic link. Stella later became jealous of Phil's relationship with his son Ben and began to emotionally and physically abuse him — becoming one of soaps most-hated villains. Thompson left EastEnders on 20 July 2007, after the exposure of Stella's evil ways on her wedding day led to the character's suicide.
In 2009, Thompson appeared in the BBC One comedy series Big Top
Big Top (2009 TV series)
Big Top was a BBC television situation comedy series which first aired on 25 November 2009. The series was set in and around a travelling circus, aired on BBC One and BBC HD simultaneously. The series revolved around the performers and backstage staff of Circus Maestro. The first series consisted...
.
Theatre
Sophie Thompson played Amy in the 1996 revival of Stephen SondheimStephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
's musical Company. She later won the 1999 Olivier Award for her performance in Sondheim's Into The Woods
Into the Woods
Into the Woods is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. It debuted in San Diego at the Old Globe Theatre in 1986, and premiered on Broadway in 1987. Bernadette Peters' performance as the Witch and Joanna Gleason's portrayal of the Baker's Wife brought acclaim...
.
Personal life
Sophie Thompson has been married to actor Richard LumsdenRichard Lumsden
Richard James Lumsden is a British actor, writer, composer and musician. He played Nathan in Channel 4's drama Sugar Rush and on radio he plays Ray in Clare in the Community.-Career:...
since 1995. They have two sons — Ernie James (born 1997) and Walter Eric (born 2000) — and live in London. Thompson is a Charity Ambassador of Child In Need India (CINI) which helps poor mothers and children in India and ran the 2010 London Marathon for the charity.
Film
- 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...
(1982) … Mission Girl (uncredited) - Twenty-OneTwenty-One (film)Twenty-One is a British-American drama film directed by Don Boyd and co-scripted by him with Zoë Heller. Patsy Kensit stars as the 21-year-old protagonist. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in February 1991...
(1991) … Francesca - Four Weddings and a FuneralFour Weddings and a FuneralFour Weddings and a Funeral is a 1994 British comedy film directed by Mike Newell. It was the first of several films by screenwriter Richard Curtis to feature Hugh Grant...
(1994) … Lydia - 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) … Mary Musgrove - EmmaEmma (1996 film)Emma is a 1996 period film based on the novel of the same name by Jane Austen. Directed by Douglas McGrath, it stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeremy Northam, Toni Collette, and Ewan McGregor.- Synopsis :...
(1996) … Miss Bates - Relative ValuesRelative ValuesRelative Values is a 2000 British comedy film adaptation of the 1950s play of the same name by Noel Coward. It stars Julie Andrews, Colin Firth, William Baldwin, Stephen Fry and Jeanne Tripplehorn, and was directed by Eric Styles....
(2000) … Dora Moxton - Gosford ParkGosford ParkGosford Park is a 2001 British-American mystery comedy-drama film directed by Robert Altman and written by Julian Fellowes. The film stars an ensemble cast, which includes Helen Mirren, Maggie Smith, Eileen Atkins, Alan Bates, and Michael Gambon...
(2001) … Dorothy - Nicholas NicklebyNicholas Nickleby (2002 film)Nicholas Nickleby is a 2002 comedy-drama film written and directed by Douglas McGrath. The screenplay is based on The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens, which originally was published in serial form between March 1838 and September 1839.-Plot:In a prologue we are...
(2002) … Miss Lacreevy - Fat Slags (2004) … Tracey
- Morris: A Life with Bells OnMorris: A Life with Bells OnMorris: A Life with Bells On is a 2009 British independent film, a comic spoof documentary about morris dancing.-Development:Morris: A Life with Bells On was written by Charles Thomas Oldham , who also co-produced it with his wife, the film's director Lucy Akhurst...
(2009) … Glenda - Eat Pray Love (2010) … Corella
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2010) … Mafalda Hopkirk
Television
- A Traveller in Time (1978) … Penelope; 5 episodes
- Hammer House of HorrorHammer House of HorrorIn 1980, Hammer Films created a series for British television, the Hammer House of Horror, which ran for 13 episodes with 51 minutes per episode...
(1980) … First Girl in "Guardian of the Abyss"; - CasualtyCasualty (TV series)Casualty, stylised as Casual+y, is a British weekly television show broadcast on BBC One, and the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast on 6 September 1986, and transmitted in the UK on BBC One. The...
(1987) … Judy Wilson in "Cross Fingers"; 1 episode - BoonBoon (TV series)Boon is a British television drama and modern-day western series starring Michael Elphick, David Daker, and later Neil Morrissey. It was created by Jim Hill and Bill Stair and filmed by Central Television for ITV...
(1991) … Vicky 'Mouthpiece' in "Help Me Make It Through the Night"; 1 episode - The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes (1992) … Agatha in "The Master Blackmailer"
- Comedy Playhouse (1993) … Val in "The Complete Guide to Relationships"
- Performance (1994) … Gillian Player in "Message for Posterity"
- Mr. BeanMr. BeanMr. Bean is a British comedy television programme series of 14 half-hour episodes written by and starring Rowan Atkinson as the title character. Different episodes were also written by Robin Driscoll, Richard Curtis and one by Ben Elton. The pilot episode was broadcast on ITV on 1 January 1990,...
(1995) … Girlfriend "Torvill and Bean"; 1 episode - The Railway Children (2000) … Mrs Perks
- So What Now?So What Now?So What Now? was a BBC comedy starring comedian Lee Evans as an eponymous character. Evans co-wrote it with Stuart Silver and Peter Tilbury...
(2001) … Heather - Jonathan CreekJonathan CreekJonathan Creek is a British mystery series produced by the BBC and written by David Renwick. Primarily a crime drama, the show is also peppered with broadly comic touches...
(2003) … Dorothy Moon in "Angel Hair"; 1 episode - The Young Visiters (2003) … Bessie Topp
- 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...
(2006) … April Gooding in "Dead Letters"; 1 episode - Magnolia (2006) … Marjorie Forsyth
- A Harlot's ProgressA Harlot's Progress (film)A Harlot's Progress is a 2006 British television film directed by Justin Hardy and starring Zoe Tapper, Toby Jones, Sophie Thompson and Richard Wilson. The story is based on the series of paintings entitled A Harlot's Progress by William Hogarth. Hogarth's work is inspired by his interactions with...
(2006) … Jane Hogarth - Doctors … (2006) Rachel Barton in "Rabbitgate"; 1 episode
- EastEndersEastEndersEastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
… (2006–07) Stella Crawford - A Room with a ViewA Room with a View (2007 TV drama)A Room with a View is televised adaptation of E. M. Forster's novel, A Room with a View, written by Andrew Davies. It was announced in 2006 and filmed in the summer of 2007...
(2007) … Charlotte Bartlett - Big TopBig Top (2009 TV series)Big Top was a BBC television situation comedy series which first aired on 25 November 2009. The series was set in and around a travelling circus, aired on BBC One and BBC HD simultaneously. The series revolved around the performers and backstage staff of Circus Maestro. The first series consisted...
(2009) … Aunty Helen - May Contain Nuts (2009) … Sarah McDonald
- Agatha Christie's PoirotAgatha Christie's PoirotAgatha Christie's Poirot is a British television drama that has aired on ITV since 1989. It stars David Suchet as Agatha Christie's fictional detective Hercule Poirot. It was originally made by LWT and is now made by ITV Studios...
(2010) … Mrs Reynolds in Halloween Party - Whistle and I'll Come to YouWhistle and I'll Come to YouWhistle and I'll Come to You is the name of two BBC television drama adaptations based on the ghost story "Oh, Whistle, And I'll Come To You, My Lad" by Victorian and Edwardian academic and supernatural writer M. R. James. The story tells the tale of an introverted academic who happens upon a...
(2010) as Carol, the hotel proprietor
Theatre
- As You Like ItAs You Like ItAs You Like It is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 or early 1600 and first published in the folio of 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has been suggested as a possibility...
… Rosalind; Royal Shakespeare Company; 1989/90 - All's Well That Ends WellAll's Well That Ends WellAll's Well That Ends Well is a play by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1604 and 1605, and was originally published in the First Folio in 1623....
… Helena; Royal Shakespeare Company; 1992/93 - CompanyCompany (musical)Company is a musical with a book by George Furth and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. The original production was nominated for a record-setting fourteen Tony Awards and won six....
- Amy; Donmar/Albery; 1996 - Into the WoodsInto the WoodsInto the Woods is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. It debuted in San Diego at the Old Globe Theatre in 1986, and premiered on Broadway in 1987. Bernadette Peters' performance as the Witch and Joanna Gleason's portrayal of the Baker's Wife brought acclaim...
- The Baker's Wife; Donmar; 1998-9 (Olivier Award) - Measure For MeasureMeasure for MeasureMeasure for Measure is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604. It was classified as comedy, but its mood defies those expectations. As a result and for a variety of reasons, some critics have labelled it as one of Shakespeare's problem plays...
… Isabella; Globe Theatre, London; 2004 - Female of the SpeciesFemale of the Species"Female of the Species" is a song by the English rock band Space, released as their fourth single, and second single proper from their debut album Spiders on May 27, 1996, reaching #14 in the UK charts. It was the band's only entry on any music chart in the U.S...
- London; 2008 - Clybourne ParkClybourne ParkClybourne Park is a 2010 play by Bruce Norris written in response to Lorraine Hansberry's play A Raisin in the Sun portraying fictional events set before and after the play and loosely based on real life events. The premiere took place in February 2010 at Playwrights Horizons in New York. The play...
… Bev; Royal Court Theatre, London; 2010