Sophie Thompson (born 1962) is an award-winning
EnglishThe English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity as a people is of early medieval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn....
actress, best known for playing
Stella CrawfordStella Crawford is a fictional character from the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Sophie Thompson. She left the show on 20 July 2007.-Character creation:Stella was created solely as a love interest for the character Phil Mitchell...
in
EastEndersEastEnders is a long-running, popular and award-winning television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985...
.
The second daughter born to actress
Phyllida 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 until his death in 1982. Their two children Emma and Sophie Thompson are both actresses...
and actor
Eric ThompsonEric 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 two-time Academy Award-winning actress and screenwriter
Emma ThompsonEmma Thompson is an Academy Award-winning British actress, comedian, and screenwriter. She is also a patron of the Refugee Council.- Early life :...
.
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 SchoolThe 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...
.
Big-screen roles include
Four Weddings and a FuneralFour Weddings and a Funeral is a 1994 British romantic comedy film directed by Mike Newell. It was the first of several films by screenwriter Richard Curtis to feature Hugh Grant...
,
Emma,
Dancing at LughnasaDancing at Lughnasa is a 1998 film adapted from the Brian Friel play of the same title, directed by Pat O'Connor. A display of mementos from the filming of the 1998 movie are on display at the St. Connell's Museum in Glenties. The movie competed in the Venice Film Festival of 1998...
,
Gosford ParkGosford Park is a 2001 film directed by Robert Altman. The screenplay is by Julian Fellowes, based on an idea by Altman and producer Bob Balaban...
,
Fat Slags,
Relative Values, and the upcoming
Morris: A Life with Bells On.
Sophie Thompson (born 1962) is an award-winning
EnglishThe English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity as a people is of early medieval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn....
actress, best known for playing
Stella CrawfordStella Crawford is a fictional character from the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Sophie Thompson. She left the show on 20 July 2007.-Character creation:Stella was created solely as a love interest for the character Phil Mitchell...
in
EastEndersEastEnders is a long-running, popular and award-winning television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985...
.
Early life
The second daughter born to actress
Phyllida 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 until his death in 1982. Their two children Emma and Sophie Thompson are both actresses...
and actor
Eric ThompsonEric 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 two-time Academy Award-winning actress and screenwriter
Emma ThompsonEmma Thompson is an Academy Award-winning British actress, comedian, and screenwriter. She is also a patron of the Refugee Council.- Early life :...
.
Career
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 SchoolThe 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 is a 1994 British romantic comedy film directed by Mike Newell. It was the first of several films by screenwriter Richard Curtis to feature Hugh Grant...
,
Emma,
Dancing at LughnasaDancing at Lughnasa is a 1998 film adapted from the Brian Friel play of the same title, directed by Pat O'Connor. A display of mementos from the filming of the 1998 movie are on display at the St. Connell's Museum in Glenties. The movie competed in the Venice Film Festival of 1998...
,
Gosford ParkGosford Park is a 2001 film directed by Robert Altman. The screenplay is by Julian Fellowes, based on an idea by Altman and producer Bob Balaban...
,
Fat Slags,
Relative Values, and the upcoming
Morris: A Life with Bells On. Thompson will also be starring in
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in 2010, as Mafalda Hopkirk.
Television
Thompson starred alongside popular British comedians
Jack DeeJames Andrew Innes "Jack" Dee is an English standup comedian, actor and writer known for his sardonic, curmudgeonly, and deadpan style.-Early life:...
, in
Jonathan 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, and stars Alan Davies as the titular character, an eccentric magician's assistant who also solves seemingly supernatural...
, and
Lee EvansLee Evans is an English stand-up comedian, writer, actor and musician.-Personal life:Lee Evans was born in Avonmouth, Bristol, England, the son of Dave Evans, a nightclub performer. His secondary school was The Billericay School in Billericay, Essex...
in
So What Now? She has also appeared in
Persuasion,
Midsomer MurdersMidsomer Murders is a British television drama that has aired on ITV1 since 1997. A detective drama, it focuses on the main character of Detective Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby, played by John Nettles, and his efforts to solve the various crimes that take place in the fictional English county of...
,
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 ProgressA 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
MagnoliaMagnolia is a large genus of about 210 flowering plant species in the subclass Magnolioideae of the family Magnoliaceae.The natural range of Magnolia species is a disjunct distribution, with a main center in east and southeast Asia and a secondary center in eastern North America, Central America,...
. She played Miss Bartlett in
Andrew DaviesAndrew Davies may refer to:*Andrew Davies *Andrew Davies , Welsh Labour politician*Andrew R. T. Davies, Welsh Conservative politician*Andrew Davies , Welsh darts player...
' 2007 adaptation of E.M. Forster's
A Room with a ViewA 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...
.
EastEnders
Thompson played the role of child abuser Stella Crawford in the
BBC One
soap opera
EastEnders. She came into the show as
Phil MitchellPhillip James "Phil" Mitchell is a long-running fictional character from the popular 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. A big success with critics and viewers, her character is said to be a part of
EastEnders big turn around and renewed success.. Thompson left EastEnders
on 20 July 2007, after the exposure of Stella's evil ways on her wedding day, leading to her committing suicide by jumping off a factory roof, landing on the wedding car.
Theatre
Thompson played Amy in the 1996 revival of Stephen SondheimStephen 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, and a Pulitzer Prize...
's musical Company
. She later won the 1999 Olivier Award for her performance in Sondheim's Into 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...
.
Personal life
Thompson has been married to actor
Richard LumsdenRichard Lumsden is a British actor, writer, composer and musician. He played Nathan in Channel 4’s controversial drama Sugar Rush and on radio he plays Ray in Clare in the Community.-Career:...
since 1995. They have two children — Ernie James (born 1997) and Walter Eric (born 2000) — and live in London.
Film
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2010) … Mafalda Hopkirk
- Morris: A Life with Bells On
Morris: A Life with Bells On is a comic spoof documentary about morris dancing. Written by and starring Chas Oldham, it is directed by Lucy Akhurst, although a low-budget film, features some well-known actors including Derek Jacobi, Harriet Walter, Sophie Thompson, Greg Wise, Clive Mantle and...
(2009) … Glenda
- Fat Slags (2004) … Tracey
- Nicholas Nickleby
Nicholas Nickleby is a 2002 British/American drama film with comedic undertones 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...
(2002) … Miss Lacreevy
- Gosford Park
Gosford Park is a 2001 film directed by Robert Altman. The screenplay is by Julian Fellowes, based on an idea by Altman and producer Bob Balaban...
(2001) … Dorothy
- Relative Values
Relative Values is a 2000 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
- Emma
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
- Persuasion
Persuasion is a 1995's BBC TV-film adaptation of Jane Austen's novel. It was directed by British theatre director Roger Michell and starred Amanda Root and Ciarán Hinds....
(1995) … Mary Musgrove
- Four Weddings and a Funeral
Four Weddings and a Funeral is a 1994 British romantic comedy film directed by Mike Newell. It was the first of several films by screenwriter Richard Curtis to feature Hugh Grant...
(1994) … Lydia
- Twenty-One (1991) … Francesca
- The Missionary (1982) … Mission Girl (uncredited)
Television
- May Contain Nuts … Sarah; 11–18 June 2009, ITV1
- Big Top
Big Top is a forthcoming BBC television comedy series. The series set in and around a travelling circus, is due to air on BBC One. The series revolves around the performers and backstage staff of Circus Maestro.-Development:...
(2009)
- A Room with a View
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
- EastEnders
EastEnders is a long-running, popular and award-winning television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985...
… Stella Crawford; 2006–07, BBC One
- Doctors … Rachel Barton in "Rabbitgate"; 2 November 2006
- 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...
… Jane Hogarth; 2006
- Magnolia … Marjorie Forsyth; 2006
- Midsomer Murders
Midsomer Murders is a British television drama that has aired on ITV1 since 1997. A detective drama, it focuses on the main character of Detective Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby, played by John Nettles, and his efforts to solve the various crimes that take place in the fictional English county of...
… April Gooding in "Dead Letters"; 26 February 2006, ITV1
- The Young Visiters … Bessie Topp, 2003
- 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 stars Alan Davies as the titular character, an eccentric magician's assistant who also solves seemingly supernatural...
… Dorothy Moon in "Angel Hair"; 8 March 2003
- So What Now?
So What Now? was a BBC comedy starring comedian Lee Evans, Steven O'Donnell and Sophie Thompson. It was broadcast on BBC1 from 26th March 2001 to 22nd May 2001. Eight episodes were shown during it's only series. Evans wrote the series, along with Stuart Silver and Peter Tilbury. It was directed by...
… Heather; 26 March – 22 May 2001, BBC Two
- The Railway Children … Mrs Perks; 2000
- Mr. Bean
Mr. Bean is a British comedy television series of 14 half-hour episodes starring Rowan Atkinson as the title character. Different episodes were written by Rowan Atkinson, Robin Driscoll, Richard Curtis and one by Ben Elton. The self-titled first episode was broadcast on ITV on 1 January 1990,...
… Girlfriend "Torvill and Bean"; 17 March 1995
- Performance … Gillian Player in "Message for Posterity"; 29 October 1994
- Comedy Playhouse … Val in "The Complete Guide to Relationships"; 13 April 1993
- The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes … Agatha in "The Master Blackmailer"; 2 January 1992
- Boon
Places:* Boon Township, Warrick County, Indiana* Boon Township, Michigan* Boon Lake Township, Minnesota* Boon Lay, Singapore* Boon Tat Street* Boon Keng MRT StationPeople:*Clint Boon, musician and member of indie rock group the Inspiral Carpets...
… Vicky 'Mouthpiece' in "Help Me Make It Through the Night"; 24 September 1991, ITV
- Tumbledown
Tumbledown is a 1988 BBC Television Drama set during the Falklands War.-Synopsis:The film centres on the experiences of Robert Lawrence MC, an officer of the Scots Guards during the Falklands Campaign of 1982. While fighting at the Battle of Mount Tumbledown, Lawrence is hit in the head by an...
… Louise Stubbs; 30 May 1988, BBC1
- Casualty
Casualty may refer to:*Casualty , a person who is killed or injured in a war or disaster* The emergency department of a hospital, also known as a casualty department *Casualty insurance, a type of insurance...
… Judy Wilson in "Cross Fingers"; 31 October 1987, BBC1
- Hammer House of Horror … First Girl in "Guardian of the Abyss"; 15 November 1980
- A Traveller in Time … Penelope in five episodes: 4 January — 1 February 1978
Theatre
- Measure For Measure
Measure for Measure is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604. It was originally classified as a comedy, but is now also classified as one of Shakespeare's problem plays. Originally published in the First Folio of 1623, the play's first recorded performance was...
… Isabella; Globe Theatre, London; 2004
- All's Well That Ends Well
All's Well That Ends Well is a play by William Shakespeare. It was probably written between 1601 and 1608, and it was first published in the First Folio in 1623....
… Helena; Royal Shakespeare Company, 1992/93
- As You Like It
As 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 work was based upon the novel Rosalynde by Thomas Lodge. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in...
… Rosalind; Rotal Shakespeare Company, 1989/90