Maureen Lipman
Encyclopedia
Maureen Diane Lipman CBE
(born 10 May 1946) is a British
film, theatre
and television actress, columnist
and comedienne
.
in the East Riding of Yorkshire
, England
, the daughter of Maurice Julius Lipman and Zelma Pearlman. Her father was a tailor; he used to have a shop between the Ferens Art Gallery
and Monument Bridge. She attended Newland High School for Girls
in Hull and was encouraged into an acting career by her mother, who used to take her to the pantomime and push her onto the stage. Lipman trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
.
, Watford
. In order to get the post she pretended that a documentary producer wanted to follow her finding her first job-this was a lie but it seemed to work. She was a member of Laurence Olivier
's Royal National Theatre
Company at the Old Vic
. She made an early film appearance in Up the Junction
. After early appearances in the sitcoms The Lovers
, and Doctor at Large, Lipman first gained prominence on television in the 1979 situation comedy
Agony
, in which she played an agony aunt with a troubled private life. She played the lead role in the television series All at No 20
and took on a range of diverse characters when starring in the series About Face
. She is well known for playing Joyce Grenfell
in the biographical show Re: Joyce!, which she co-wrote with James Roose-Evans
, and another memorable character Beatrice Bellman
(Beatie/BT), a Jewish grandmother in a series of television commercials for British Telecom. She has continued to work in the theatre for over thirty years, playing, amongst other roles, Aunt Eller in the National Theatre's Oklahoma!
with Hugh Jackman
.
In 2006 Lipman played Maggie Wych in the children's television show 'The Fugitives.'
In 2002, she played snooty landlady Lillian Spencer in Coronation Street
, and the titular character's mother in Roman Polanski
's award-winning film The Pianist
. More recently, she has narrated two television series on the subject of design, one for UKTV
about Art Deco
and one about 20th century design for ITV
/Sky Travel
. In 2003 she appeared in Jonathan Creek
in the episode "The Tailor's Dummy".
She also wrote a monthly column for Good Housekeeping
magazine for over ten years, which spawned several biographical books, including "How Was It For You?", "Something To Fall Back On", "Thank You For Having Me", "You Can Read Me Like A Book" and "Lip Reading". More recently, Lipman penned a weekly column in The Guardian
in the newspaper's G2 section. She performed as a villain in the 2006 series of Doctor Who
in the episode entitled "The Idiot's Lantern
" as The Wire. Until 29 April 2006 she played Florence Foster Jenkins
in the Olivier Award nominated show Glorious! at the Duchess Theatre in London's West End.
After her playwright husband's death in May 2004 she completed his autobiography By Jack Rosenthal, and played herself in her daughter's four-part adaptation of the book, Jack Rosenthal's Last Act on BBC Radio Four in July 2006. She has created several volumes of autobiography from her Good Housekeeping
columns and recently published The Gibbon's In Decline But The Horse Is Stable, a book of animal poems which is illustrated by established cartoonists including Posy Simmonds
and Gerald Scarfe
, to raise money for Myeloma UK, to combat the cancer to which she lost her husband.
She has also appeared a few times on Just a Minute
, The News Quiz
, That Reminds Me
, This Week and Have I Got News For You
. In 2007, Lipman appeared as a celebrity contestant on Comic Relief Does The Apprentice
to raise money for Comic Relief. The show saw her helping to run a fun fair. Later in 2007, she made a guest appearance in Casualty
. In May 2008 she appeared in the BBC
documentary series Comedy Map of Britain
. She currently writes for The Oldie
. On Sunday 11 January 2009 BBC Four
was devoted to a "Maureen Lipman Night". On 5 February 2009, she appeared in the third series of teen drama Skins
, in the episode entitled "Thomas" as Pandora Moon
's Aunt Elizabeth.
She appeared twice on The Paul O'Grady Show
during its run, once alongside Julie Walters
to promote her most-recent book Past-It Notes, the other to speak about her appearance as the wheelchair-bound Madame Armfeldt in the Sondheim
musical A Little Night Music
, showing at the Menier Chocolate Factory
. In both of these appearances, she also spoke briefly about her role as Irene Spencer in the ITV3 comedy Ladies of Letters
, in which she leads alongside Anne Reid
. The show's first series started in 2009, and returned for a second series in 2010, shown divided into two five-week stints.
Lipman's appearance as Madame Armfeldt was criticised by Telegraph critic Charles Spencer
, at the same time that he criticised Judi Dench
's roles in Madame de Sade
alongside Deborah Findlay
and Jenny Galloway
, and as "M
" in the James Bond films. Madame Armfeldt is a woman who has supposedly slept her way through the European royal families; a role which Spencer described Lipman to be "too angular" to play. His analysis of Lipman was a "wildly unlikely grande horizontale". Both Lipman and Dench were annoyed by these reviews; and Lipman was quoted in a gossip column to want to pour a glass of wine over Spencer's head.
from 1974 until his death in 2004, and has had a number of roles in his works. She has two children, writers Amy
and Adam Rosenthal. Lipman is a Labour Party
supporter. She is on the editorial advisory board of Jewish Renaissance
magazine.
Lipman supports the work of the Burma Campaign UK
, Europe's largest NGO regarding Burma. Lipman supports the process of democratisation in the troubled nation. Lipman also supports the work of Prospect Burma, a non-political charity that offers Burmese students the opportunity to study at universities outside of Burma. Lipman spoke on behalf of Prospect Burma in the BBC Radio 4 Charity Appeal, which was broadcast on 6 September 2009.
Lipman supported Israel
during the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah conflict. On 13 July 2006, in a debate on the BBC's This Week
, she argued that "human life is not cheap to the Israelis, and human life on the other side is quite cheap actually, because they strap bombs to people and send them to blow themselves up." These comments were condemned by Muslim political columnist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown
who said "Brutally straight, she sees no equivalence between the lives of the two tribes" and left-wing journalist John Pilger
, who in the New Statesman
criticised the BBC for allowing Lipman - whom he described as "a Jew and promoter of selective good causes" - to present her allegedly insensitive remarks without, in his view, any "serious challenge". Lipman responded to Alibhai-Brown's accusation of racism by arguing that the columnist had deliberately misrepresented Lipman's comments as generalisations about Muslims rather than specific comments about terrorists.
In the Jewish Chronicle, Lipman argued that media reporting of the conflict was "heavily distorted":
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 10 May 1946) is a British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
film, theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
and television actress, columnist
Columnist
A columnist is a journalist who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs....
and comedienne
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
.
Early life
Lipman was born in HullKingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
in the East Riding of Yorkshire
East Riding of Yorkshire
The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Yorkshire, is a local government district with unitary authority status, and a ceremonial county of England. For ceremonial purposes the county also includes the city of Kingston upon Hull, which is a separate unitary authority...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, the daughter of Maurice Julius Lipman and Zelma Pearlman. Her father was a tailor; he used to have a shop between the Ferens Art Gallery
Ferens Art Gallery
The Ferens Art Gallery is an art gallery in the English city of Kingston upon Hull. The site and money for the gallery were donated to the city by Thomas Ferens, after whom it is named. Opened in 1927,...
and Monument Bridge. She attended Newland High School for Girls
Newland School For Girls
Newland School For Girls, a "Mathematics and Computing College" is a single sex school situated in Kingston upon Hull. On 28 August 2007, the school celebrated its centenary. The School's unofficial song is "The City Of The Light", an old hymn which has been interpreted as an advanced metaphor for...
in Hull and was encouraged into an acting career by her mother, who used to take her to the pantomime and push her onto the stage. Lipman trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art is a leading British drama school in west London. LAMDA's president is Timothy West and its new principal is Joanna Read, who recently succeeded Peter James...
.
Career
Lipman worked extensively in the theatre following her début in a stage production of The Knack at the Palace TheatreWatford Palace Theatre
Watford Palace Theatre, opened in 1908, is an Edwardian Grade II listed building on Clarendon Road, Watford.- Refurbishment :In September 2004 the theatre re-opened after a two year £8.8million Lottery funded refurbishment, which included more public space, two bars, a daytime café, air cooling and...
, Watford
Watford
Watford is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, situated northwest of central London and within the bounds of the M25 motorway. The borough is separated from Greater London to the south by the urbanised parish of Watford Rural in the Three Rivers District.Watford was created as an urban...
. In order to get the post she pretended that a documentary producer wanted to follow her finding her first job-this was a lie but it seemed to work. She was a member of Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
's Royal 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...
Company at the Old Vic
Old Vic
The Old Vic is a theatre located just south-east of Waterloo Station in London on the corner of The Cut and Waterloo Road. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, it was taken over by Emma Cons in 1880 when it was known formally as the Royal Victoria Hall. In 1898, a niece of Cons, Lilian...
. She made an early film appearance in Up the Junction
Up the Junction (1968 film)
Up the Junction is a 1968 British film directed by Peter Collinson and starring Dennis Waterman, Suzy Kendall, Adrienne Posta, Maureen Lipman and Liz Fraser. It is based on the book of the same name by Nell Dunn and was adapted by Roger Smith...
. After early appearances in the sitcoms The Lovers
The Lovers (TV series)
The Lovers is a British television sitcom by Jack Rosenthal, starring Richard Beckinsale and Paula Wilcox as a courting couple, Geoffrey and Beryl. It was made between 1970 and 1971 by Granada Television for the ITV network. The hook for the show was the mismatch between the two, particularly in...
, and Doctor at Large, Lipman first gained prominence on television in the 1979 situation comedy
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
Agony
Agony (TV series)
Agony is a British sitcom that aired on ITV from 1979 to 1981. Starring Maureen Lipman, it was written by Len Richmond, Anna Raeburn, Stan Hey and Andrew Nickolds. It was made for the ITV network by LWT...
, in which she played an agony aunt with a troubled private life. She played the lead role in the television series All at No 20
All at No 20
All at No 20 is a British sitcom that aired on ITV from 1986 to 1987. Starring Maureen Lipman, it was written by Richard Ommanney, Ian Davidson, Peter Vincent and Alex Shearer. It was made for the ITV network by Thames Television and ran for two series...
and took on a range of diverse characters when starring in the series About Face
About Face (TV series)
About Face is a series of twelve unconnected half-hour sitcoms all starring Maureen Lipman in the lead role. Each episode featured a guest cast of well known actors and actresses....
. She is well known for playing Joyce Grenfell
Joyce Grenfell
Joyce Irene Grenfell, OBE was an English actress, comedienne, diseuse and singer-songwriter.-Early life:...
in the biographical show Re: Joyce!, which she co-wrote with James Roose-Evans
James Roose-Evans
James Roose-Evans is a British theatre director, script-writer, priest and writer on experimental theatre, gesture, ritual and meditation. In 1959 he founded the Hampstead Theatre Club, in London; and in 1974 the Bleddfa Centre for creativity and spirituality, in Powys.-Biography:James...
, and another memorable character Beatrice Bellman
Beatrice Bellman
Beatrice Bellman, more commonly known as Beattie, was a character from a series of television advertisements by British Telecom, famously played by Maureen Lipman...
(Beatie/BT), a Jewish grandmother in a series of television commercials for British Telecom. She has continued to work in the theatre for over thirty years, playing, amongst other roles, Aunt Eller in the National Theatre's Oklahoma!
Oklahoma!
Oklahoma! is the first musical written by composer Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs. Set in Oklahoma Territory outside the town of Claremore in 1906, it tells the story of cowboy Curly McLain and his romance...
with Hugh Jackman
Hugh Jackman
Hugh Michael Jackman is an Australian actor and producer who is involved in film, musical theatre, and television.Jackman has won international recognition for his roles in major films, notably as action/superhero, period and romance characters...
.
In 2006 Lipman played Maggie Wych in the children's television show 'The Fugitives.'
In 2002, she played snooty landlady Lillian Spencer in Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
, and the titular character's mother in Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski is a French-Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, he is considered one of the few "truly international filmmakers."...
's award-winning film The Pianist
The Pianist (2002 film)
The Pianist is a 2002 biographical war film directed by Roman Polanski, starring Adrien Brody. It is an adaptation of the autobiography of the same name by Jewish-Polish musician Władysław Szpilman...
. More recently, she has narrated two television series on the subject of design, one for UKTV
UKTV
UKTV is a digital cable and satellite television network, formed through a joint venture between BBC Worldwide, a commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation, and Scripps Networks Interactive, spun off from The E.W Scripps Company in 2008...
about Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
and one about 20th century design for ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
/Sky Travel
Sky Travel
Sky Real Lives was an in-house channel from BSkyB that showed extensive programmes about travel, adverts for travel agencies and documentaries. The channels closed on 19 August 2010.-History:...
. In 2003 she appeared 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...
in the episode "The Tailor's Dummy".
She also wrote a monthly column for Good Housekeeping
Good Housekeeping
Good Housekeeping is a women's magazine owned by the Hearst Corporation, featuring articles about women's interests, product testing by The Good Housekeeping Institute, recipes, diet, health as well as literary articles. It is well known for the "Good Housekeeping Seal," popularly known as the...
magazine for over ten years, which spawned several biographical books, including "How Was It For You?", "Something To Fall Back On", "Thank You For Having Me", "You Can Read Me Like A Book" and "Lip Reading". More recently, Lipman penned a weekly column in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
in the newspaper's G2 section. She performed as a villain in the 2006 series of Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
in the episode entitled "The Idiot's Lantern
The Idiot's Lantern
"The Idiot's Lantern" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on 27 May 2006.-Plot:...
" as The Wire. Until 29 April 2006 she played Florence Foster Jenkins
Florence Foster Jenkins
Florence Foster Jenkins was an American amateur operatic soprano who was known, and ridiculed, for her lack of rhythm, pitch, tone, and overall singing ability.-Early years:...
in the Olivier Award nominated show Glorious! at the Duchess Theatre in London's West End.
After her playwright husband's death in May 2004 she completed his autobiography By Jack Rosenthal, and played herself in her daughter's four-part adaptation of the book, Jack Rosenthal's Last Act on BBC Radio Four in July 2006. She has created several volumes of autobiography from her Good Housekeeping
Good Housekeeping
Good Housekeeping is a women's magazine owned by the Hearst Corporation, featuring articles about women's interests, product testing by The Good Housekeeping Institute, recipes, diet, health as well as literary articles. It is well known for the "Good Housekeeping Seal," popularly known as the...
columns and recently published The Gibbon's In Decline But The Horse Is Stable, a book of animal poems which is illustrated by established cartoonists including Posy Simmonds
Posy Simmonds
Rosemary Elizabeth "Posy" Simmonds MBE is a British newspaper cartoonist and writer and illustrator of children's books. She is best known for her long association with The Guardian, for which she has drawn the cartoons Gemma Bovery and Tamara Drewe , both later published as books...
and Gerald Scarfe
Gerald Scarfe
Gerald Anthony Scarfe, CBE, RDI, is an English cartoonist and illustrator. He worked as editorial cartoonist for The Sunday Times and illustrator for The New Yorker...
, to raise money for Myeloma UK, to combat the cancer to which she lost her husband.
She has also appeared a few times on Just a Minute
Just a Minute
Just a Minute is a BBC Radio 4 radio comedy panel game chaired by Nicholas Parsons. Its first transmission on Radio 4 was on 22 December 1967, three months after the station's launch. The Radio 4 programme won a Gold Sony Radio Academy Award in 2003....
, The News Quiz
The News Quiz
The News Quiz is a topical panel game broadcast on British radio BBC Radio 4.-History:It was first broadcast in 1977 with Barry Norman as chairman. Subsequently it was chaired by Simon Hoggart, Barry Took , and then again by Simon Hoggart until March 2006. Hoggart was replaced by Sandi Toksvig in...
, That Reminds Me
That Reminds Me
That Reminds Me is a series of programmes broadcast on BBC Radio 4 where someone connected with comedy talks about their life for thirty minutes in front of a live audience...
, This Week and Have I Got News For You
Have I Got News for You
Have I Got News for You is a British television panel show produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC. It is based loosely on the BBC Radio 4 show The News Quiz, and has been broadcast since 1990, currently the BBC's longest-ever running television panel show...
. In 2007, Lipman appeared as a celebrity contestant on Comic Relief Does The Apprentice
Comic Relief Does The Apprentice
Comic Relief Does The Apprentice is a special celebrity version of British reality television series The Apprentice, produced to raise money for Comic Relief. The first edition aired in March 2007, and the second in March 2009. Five male celebrities and five female celebrities took part in the show...
to raise money for Comic Relief. The show saw her helping to run a fun fair. Later in 2007, she made a guest appearance in Casualty
Casualty (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...
. In May 2008 she appeared in the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
documentary series Comedy Map of Britain
Comedy Map of Britain
Comedy Map of Britain is a BBC documentary series which visits the places that have inspired many of Britain's leading comedians. It first aired on BBC Two in 2007 and 2008....
. She currently writes for The Oldie
The Oldie
The Oldie is a monthly magazine launched in 1992 by Richard Ingrams, who for 23 years was the editor of Private Eye. It carries general interest articles, humour and cartoons, and has an eclectic list of contributors, including James Le Fanu, John Sweeney, Thomas Stuttaford, Virginia Ironside,...
. On Sunday 11 January 2009 BBC Four
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
was devoted to a "Maureen Lipman Night". On 5 February 2009, she appeared in the third series of teen drama Skins
Skins (TV series)
Skins is a BAFTA award-winning British teen drama that follows a group of teenagers in Bristol, South West England, through the two years of college. The controversial plot line explores issues such as dysfunctional families, mental illness , adolescent sexuality, substance abuse and death...
, in the episode entitled "Thomas" as Pandora Moon
Pandora Moon
Pandora "Panda" Moon is a fictional character in the E4 television series Skins, portrayed by Lisa Backwell. Along with Effy Stonem, Pandora is one of the only "Second generation" characters to appear in series two, and is prominent throughout the third and fourth series...
's Aunt Elizabeth.
She appeared twice on The Paul O'Grady Show
The Paul O'Grady Show
The Paul O'Grady Show was a BAFTA award-winning British comedy chat show hosted by Birkenhead-born comedian Paul O'Grady. The format was originally devised by Granada Television and was broadcast on ITV before moving to Channel 4...
during its run, once alongside Julie Walters
Julie Walters
Julie Walters, CBE is an English actress and novelist. She came to international prominence in 1983 for Educating Rita, performing in the title role opposite Michael Caine. It was a role she had created on the West End stage and it won her BAFTA and Golden Globe awards for Best Actress...
to promote her most-recent book Past-It Notes, the other to speak about her appearance as the wheelchair-bound Madame Armfeldt in the Sondheim
Stephen 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...
musical A Little Night Music
A Little Night Music
A Little Night Music is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. Inspired by the Ingmar Bergman film Smiles of a Summer Night, it involves the romantic lives of several couples. Its title is a literal English translation of the German name for Mozart's Serenade...
, showing at the Menier Chocolate Factory
Menier Chocolate Factory
The Menier Chocolate Factory is an award-winning 180 seat fringe studio theatre, restaurant and gallery. It is located in a former 1870s Menier Chocolate Company factory in Southwark Street, a major street in the London Borough of Southwark, central south London, England. The theatre stages plays...
. In both of these appearances, she also spoke briefly about her role as Irene Spencer in the ITV3 comedy Ladies of Letters
Ladies of Letters
Ladies of Letters is a BBC Radio 4 comedy series starring Patricia Routledge and Prunella Scales, based on the series of books of the same name written by Carole Hayman and Lou Wakefield...
, in which she leads alongside Anne Reid
Anne Reid
Anne Reid, MBE is a BAFTA Award-nominated English film and television actress from Newcastle upon Tyne, best known for her roles as Valerie Tatlock in Coronation Street and Jean in dinnerladies....
. The show's first series started in 2009, and returned for a second series in 2010, shown divided into two five-week stints.
Lipman's appearance as Madame Armfeldt was criticised by Telegraph critic Charles Spencer
Charles Spencer (journalist)
Charles Spencer is a British journalist. He has been the drama critic of The Daily Telegraph since 1991. In 2006, Compton Miller of The Independent wrote in a profile: "This convivial ex-alcoholic is best remembered for his description of Nicole Kidman's nude scene in The Blue Room as 'pure...
, at the same time that he criticised Judi Dench
Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English film, stage and television actress.Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo...
's roles in Madame de Sade
Madame de Sade
Madame de Sade is a 1965 play written by Yukio Mishima. It was first published in English, translated by Donald Keene by Grove Press and is currently out of print....
alongside Deborah Findlay
Deborah Findlay
Deborah Findlay is an English actress.Her TV credits include Gillian in the ITV drama The Last Train , the recurring character Greer Thornton in 4 of the 6 episodes of State of Play, and in the episode The French Drop in Foyle's War. She also appeared in 4 episodes of the 2001 series of The...
and Jenny Galloway
Jenny Galloway
Jenny Galloway is a British actress, and singer best known for her stage career.Theatre credits include:* Madame Thénardier - Les Misérables* Widow Corney - Oliver!...
, and as "M
M (James Bond)
M is a fictional character in Ian Fleming's James Bond series, as well as the films in the Bond franchise. The head of MI6 and Bond's superior, M has been portrayed by three actors in the official Bond film series: Bernard Lee, Robert Brown and since 1995 by Judi Dench. Background =Ian Fleming...
" in the James Bond films. Madame Armfeldt is a woman who has supposedly slept her way through the European royal families; a role which Spencer described Lipman to be "too angular" to play. His analysis of Lipman was a "wildly unlikely grande horizontale". Both Lipman and Dench were annoyed by these reviews; and Lipman was quoted in a gossip column to want to pour a glass of wine over Spencer's head.
Personal life and politics
Lipman is Jewish. She was married to dramatist Jack RosenthalJack Rosenthal
Jack Morris Rosenthal CBE was an English playwright, who wrote 129 early episodes of the ITV soap opera Coronation Street and over 150 screenplays, including original TV plays, feature films, and adaptations.-Biography:...
from 1974 until his death in 2004, and has had a number of roles in his works. She has two children, writers Amy
Amy Rosenthal
Amy Rosenthal is a British playwright from Muswell Hill, London. She is the daughter of Jack Rosenthal and Maureen Lipman.- Plays :Rosenthal studied playwriting at the University of Birmingham...
and Adam Rosenthal. Lipman is a Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
supporter. She is on the editorial advisory board of Jewish Renaissance
Jewish Renaissance
Jewish Renaissance is a quarterly cultural magazine, founded in 2001, covering Jewish culture, arts and communities in Britain and beyond. It is published and edited by Janet Levin.-Description:...
magazine.
Lipman supports the work of the Burma Campaign UK
Burma Campaign UK
Burma Campaign UK founded in 1991 is a London based Non Governmental Organisation that aims to achieve the 'restoration of human rights and democracy in Burma . BCUK campaigns on behalf of the Burmese pro-democracy movement and is the largest campaigning organisation for Burma in Europe...
, Europe's largest NGO regarding Burma. Lipman supports the process of democratisation in the troubled nation. Lipman also supports the work of Prospect Burma, a non-political charity that offers Burmese students the opportunity to study at universities outside of Burma. Lipman spoke on behalf of Prospect Burma in the BBC Radio 4 Charity Appeal, which was broadcast on 6 September 2009.
Lipman supported Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
during the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah conflict. On 13 July 2006, in a debate on the BBC's This Week
This Week (BBC One TV series)
This Week is a current affairs and politics TV programme in the United Kingdom on the BBC, screened on Thursday evenings, hosted by former Sunday Times editor Andrew Neil alongside former Conservative Member of Parliament and Minister Michael Portillo, and a left leaning guest panellist on...
, she argued that "human life is not cheap to the Israelis, and human life on the other side is quite cheap actually, because they strap bombs to people and send them to blow themselves up." These comments were condemned by Muslim political columnist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown MBE is a Ugandan-born British journalist and author, who describes herself as a "leftie liberal, anti-racist, feminist, Muslim, part-Pakistani...a very responsible person"...
who said "Brutally straight, she sees no equivalence between the lives of the two tribes" and left-wing journalist John Pilger
John Pilger
John Richard Pilger is an Australian journalist and documentary maker, based in London. He has twice won Britain's Journalist of the Year Award, and his documentaries have received academy awards in Britain and the US....
, who in the New Statesman
New Statesman
New Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
criticised the BBC for allowing Lipman - whom he described as "a Jew and promoter of selective good causes" - to present her allegedly insensitive remarks without, in his view, any "serious challenge". Lipman responded to Alibhai-Brown's accusation of racism by arguing that the columnist had deliberately misrepresented Lipman's comments as generalisations about Muslims rather than specific comments about terrorists.
In the Jewish Chronicle, Lipman argued that media reporting of the conflict was "heavily distorted":
Awards and nominations
- She was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Comedy Performance in 1985 (1984 season) for See How They RunSee How They RunSee How They Run is a classic English comedy in three acts by Philip King. Its title is a line from the nursery rhyme Three Blind Mice. It is considered a farce for its tense comic situations and headlong humour, heavily playing on mistaken identity, doors, and vicars...
. - She was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of HullUniversity of HullThe University of Hull, known informally as Hull University, is an English university, founded in 1927, located in Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire...
in 1994. - Her show, Live and Kidding, performed at the Duchess Theatre, was nominated for a 1998 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Entertainment of the 1997 season.
- She was awarded the CBEOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in 1999. - In 2003 she was nominated as Best Supporting Actress for The PianistThe Pianist (2002 film)The Pianist is a 2002 biographical war film directed by Roman Polanski, starring Adrien Brody. It is an adaptation of the autobiography of the same name by Jewish-Polish musician Władysław Szpilman...
(2002), at the Polish Film Awards. - Meeting Room 7 in the Information Commons at Sheffield University is named the Maureen Lipman Room, honouring her career.
Television
- ThrillerThriller (UK TV series)Thriller is a British television series, originally broadcast in the UK from 1973 to 1976. It is an anthology series: each episode has a self-contained story and its own cast...
(1973) - The SweeneyThe SweeneyThe Sweeney is a 1970s British television police drama focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London...
("Selected Target") (1976) — Mrs Smedley - Agony (1979–81) — Jane Lucas
- Smiley's PeopleSmiley's PeopleSmiley's People is a spy novel by John le Carré, published in 1979. Featuring British master-spy George Smiley, it is the third and final novel of the "Karla Trilogy", following Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and The Honourable Schoolboy...
(1982) — Stella Craven - On Your Way, Riley (1985) — Kitty McShaneKitty McShaneKathleen "Kitty" McShane is best known as the wife and acting partner of Arthur Lucan, with whom she appeared in a series of Old Mother Riley stage shows and films from the 1930s to the 1950s.-Early life:Catherine McShane was the fourth of seventeen children born to Daniel and Kate McShane, of...
- A Little PrincessA Little Princess (1986 TV serial)A Little Princess is a mini-series based upon the novel, A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It was directed by Carol Wiseman and stars Amelia Shankley as Sara Crewe, Jessica Simpson as Lottie, and Maureen Lipman as Miss Minchin....
(1986) — Miss Minchin - All At No. 20 (1986-7)— Sheila Haddon
- The Enid Blyton Story (1992) — Enid BlytonEnid BlytonEnid Blyton was an English children's writer also known as Mary Pollock.Noted for numerous series of books based on recurring characters and designed for different age groups,her books have enjoyed huge success in many parts of the world, and have sold over 600 million copies.One of Blyton's most...
- Agony AgainAgony AgainAgony Again is a British sitcom that aired on BBC1 in 1995. Starring Maureen Lipman, it is the sequel to Agony, an ITV sitcom that aired from 1979 to 1981...
— Jane Lucas (1995) - Eskimo Day (1996) — Shani Whittle
- Coronation StreetCoronation StreetCoronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
(2002) — Lilian Spencer - 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...
: ("The Tailor's Dummy") (2003) — Louise Bergman - Doctor WhoDoctor WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
("The Idiot's LanternThe Idiot's Lantern"The Idiot's Lantern" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on 27 May 2006.-Plot:...
") (2006) — The Wire - The AgentThe Agent"The Agent" was the debut single by Sheffield based indie band Little Man Tate. The single was initially released as a limited pressing of 1,800 copies on 7" vinyl, on Yellow Van Records. The single peaked at #117 in the UK Singles Chart....
(2008) — Charlie - The Paul O'Grady ShowThe Paul O'Grady ShowThe Paul O'Grady Show was a BAFTA award-winning British comedy chat show hosted by Birkenhead-born comedian Paul O'Grady. The format was originally devised by Granada Television and was broadcast on ITV before moving to Channel 4...
(2008, 2009) — Herself - SkinsSkins (TV series)Skins is a BAFTA award-winning British teen drama that follows a group of teenagers in Bristol, South West England, through the two years of college. The controversial plot line explores issues such as dysfunctional families, mental illness , adolescent sexuality, substance abuse and death...
(2009) - Aunt Elizabeth - MinderMinderA minder is a person assigned to guide or escort a visitor, or to provide protection to somebody, or to otherwise assist or take care of something, i.e...
("The Art of the Matter") (2009) - Anita Richardson - Ladies of LettersLadies of LettersLadies of Letters is a BBC Radio 4 comedy series starring Patricia Routledge and Prunella Scales, based on the series of books of the same name written by Carole Hayman and Lou Wakefield...
(2009–present) — Irene Spencer - Loose WomenLoose WomenLoose Women is a British lunchtime television programme, first broadcast in 1999 on ITV. It consists of a panel of four women who interview celebrities and discuss topical issues, ranging from daily politics and current affairs, to celebrity gossip...
(2010) — Herself
Film
- Up the Junction (1968)
- The Smashing Bird I Used to KnowThe Smashing Bird I Used to KnowThe Smashing Bird I Used to Know is a 1969 British drama/sexploitation film, directed by Robert Hartford-Davis and starring Madeleine Hinde, Maureen Lipman, Patrick Mower and Dennis Waterman. As with other Hartford-Davis films, The Smashing Bird I Used to Know contains elements from different...
(1969) — Sarah - Educating RitaEducating Rita (film)Educating Rita is a 1983 film of Willy Russell's play of the same title directed by Lewis Gilbert and stars Julie Walters, Michael Caine, and Maureen Lipman with a screenplay by Russell.-Premise:...
(1983) — Trish - See How They RunSee How They RunSee How They Run is a classic English comedy in three acts by Philip King. Its title is a line from the nursery rhyme Three Blind Mice. It is considered a farce for its tense comic situations and headlong humour, heavily playing on mistaken identity, doors, and vicars...
(1984) - National Lampoon's European VacationNational Lampoon's European VacationEuropean Vacation is a 1985 comedy film. The second film in National Lampoon's Vacation film series, it was directed by Amy Heckerling and stars Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo. Dana Hill and Jason Lively replace Dana Barron and Anthony Michael Hall as Griswold children Audrey and Rusty...
(1985) - Carry On ColumbusCarry On ColumbusCarry On Columbus is the 31st and last film in the Carry On series, following 1978's Carry On Emmannuelle. The only main series regulars present are Jim Dale , Bernard Cribbins , Leslie Phillips , Jon Pertwee and June Whitfield...
(1992) — Countess Esmeralda - Oklahoma! (1999) — Aunt Eller
- The PianistThe Pianist (2002 film)The Pianist is a 2002 biographical war film directed by Roman Polanski, starring Adrien Brody. It is an adaptation of the autobiography of the same name by Jewish-Polish musician Władysław Szpilman...
(2002) — Mother Szpilman (Nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Polish Film Awards)