Joanna Lumley

Biography:

Joanna Lamond Lumley was born on May 1, 1946, in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, during British rule in India. Her mother, Thyra Beatrice Rose (née Weir), was English, and her grandfather, Lieutenant Colonel Leslie Weir—born in Ghazipur—served in the army in Kashmir and was a close associate of the 13th Dalai Lama.

Her father, Major James Rutherford Lumley, was of Scottish and English descent and born in Lahore, now in Pakistan. A descendant of Major-General Sir James Rutherford Lumley and Joan Beaufort, Queen of Scots, he served in the British Indian Army’s 6th Queen Elizabeth’s Own Gurkha Rifles during World War II in Burma, particularly at the Battle of Mogaung, where his life was saved by Tul Bahadur Pun.

Joanna’s parents married in 1941. She has childhood memories of tropical life and once traveled to England aboard the HMT Empire Windrush. When her parents returned to Asia, she stayed behind to attend Mickledene School in Kent at the age of eight. Later, she studied at Holmhurst St Mary’s Convent School in Hastings and then went to the Lucie Clayton Finishing School in London, after being rejected by RADA at 16.

Before acting, Lumley worked as a photographic model for three years, including for Brian Duffy and as a house model for Jean Muir. In 1967, she appeared on the BBC2 program The Impresarios: For Appearance’s Sake. Her screen career began in 1969 with a small part in Some Girls Do and as a Bond girl in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. She took on roles in shows like Coronation Street, Are You Being Served?, Steptoe and Son, and The Protectors. In 1973, she played Jessica Van Helsing in The Satanic Rites of Dracula and appeared in Don’t Just Lie There, Say Something! in 1974.

Known for portraying upper-class characters due to her distinct voice and accent, her first prominent TV role was as Purdey in The New Avengers (1976–1977). She gained cult status with her role as Sapphire in Sapphire & Steel (1979–1982), and although Sydney Newman suggested her for Doctor Who in 1986, the idea was dismissed.

Lumley’s most iconic role came in the 1990s as Patsy Stone in Absolutely Fabulous, opposite Jennifer Saunders. The series ran from 1992–1996, with revivals in the 2000s and a feature film in 2016. In the mid-1990s, she starred in Class Act and also took roles in Lovejoy, In the Kingdom of the Thunder Dragon, A Rather English Marriage, and Dr Willoughby. She lent her voice to several animated series including The Forgotten Toys and The Foxbusters.

Her later television work includes Jam & Jerusalem (2006), Sensitive Skin (2007), and appearances in Mistresses, Agatha Christie’s Marple, and Finding Alice. She voiced characters in James and the Giant Peach and Corpse Bride, and acted in Ella Enchanted, Maybe Baby, and The Wolf of Wall Street (2013). On stage, she starred in La Bête in London and on Broadway in 2010, earning a Tony nomination.

Her son was born in 1967, fathered by photographer Michael Claydon. She was briefly married to actor Jeremy Lloyd (1970–1971) and married conductor Stephen Barlow in 1986. They live in Central London and also own a home in Dumfriesshire, Scotland.

A long-time vegetarian and activist, Lumley supports over 60 charities and causes including Book Aid International, the Born Free Foundation, and the Free Tibet campaign. Politically, she backed the Green Party in the 2009 European Elections and donated to Caroline Lucas’s 2010 campaign. She supported electoral reform in the 2011 referendum and has lent her voice to various humanitarian and environmental causes, including the Great Barrier Reef campaign in 2021.

In 2023, she attended the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla and revealed she has prosopagnosia, a condition affecting facial recognition.

Lumley’s long career includes roles in TV series like The New Avengers, Sapphire & Steel, Sensitive Skin, Jam & Jerusalem, and Finding Alice, and films such as Trail of the Pink Panther, Shirley Valentine, Corpse Bride, and Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie. She is a strong supporter of causes like the Gurkha Justice Campaign, Survival International, and animal welfare groups. In recognition of her contributions to drama and charity, she was made a Dame in the 2022 New Year Honours.