Linda Bassett
Born: 1950-02-04 in Pluckley, Kent, England, UK
Known For: Acting
Biography
Linda Bassett was born in the Kentish village of Pluckley - location for the television series The Darling Buds of May (1991). She was brought up in Pimlico, South London, by her typist mother and police officer father. She became interested in acting as a child when she was frequently taken to see plays in London, most notably at the Old Vic, the famous classical theater. On leaving school, Linda went to work at the Old Vic as an usherette and catering manager, before going to read English at Leeds University. However, she dropped out after a year and became involved in a local drama group which put on plays in community-based locations, such as schools. She regards this as her theatrical schooling, having had no formal training. She made her London stage debut at the age of 32 in 1982 and, in 1991, joined the Royal Shakespeare Company. Although she was a well-regarded stage performer, it was the 1999 film version of the play East Is East (1999) (in which she had been an original stage cast member) which brought her to a larger audience and, throughout the 2000s, she has been a familiar face in a variety of films and television series. In the late 1980s, she returned to live in Pluckley.
Filmography
2023
- The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry as Queenie
2018
2017
- Strike as Joan Nancarrow
- Carnage: Swallowing the Past as Dr Yasmine Vondenburg
2014
- Effie Gray as Anna
2013
- Spies of Warsaw as Maika Rosen
- National Theatre Live: People as Iris
2012
- Call the Midwife as Phyllis Crane
- The Life and Adventures of Nick Nickleby as Mrs. Smike
2010
- West Is West as Ella Khan
- Grandma's House as Grandma
2008
- The Reader as Ms. Brenner
- Lark Rise to Candleford as Queenie Turrill
- Sense and Sensibility as Mrs. Jennings
- Cass as Doll
2005
- Separate Lies as Maggie
- Kinky Boots as Mel
- Colour Me Kubrick as Trolley Lady
- The English Harem as Monica Pringle
2003
- Calendar Girls as Cora
- This Little Life as Nurse Nina
2002
- The Hours as Nelly Boxall
2001
- The Martins as Anthea
2000
- Don Quixote as Housekeeper
- Lounge Act
1999
- Beautiful People as Sister
- East Is East as Ella Khan
1998
- Spoonface Steinberg as Mrs. Spud
- Far from the Madding Crowd as Maryann Money
- dinnerladies as Peggy
- The Life and Crimes of William Palmer as Mary Thornton
- Our Mutual Friend as Abby Potterson
1997
- Midsomer Murders as Eileen Carnack
- Oscar and Lucinda as Betty Stratton
1996
- Alive and Kicking as Doctor
- Mary Reilly as Mary's Mother
- No Bananas as Ellen Slater
1995
- Haunted as Madame Brontski
- Kavanagh Q.C. as Miss Haddon QC
- Loved Up as Mum
- Bramwell as Maud
- A Village Affair as Gwen
1994
- Skallagrigg as Susan
- In The Cold Light Of Day as Mrs. Loveless
1993
- Frank Stubbs Promotes as Eileen
1992
- Heartbeat as Beryl Palmer
- A Touch of Frost
1991
- Let Him Have It as Mrs. Miles
- A Small Dance as Sandra Matkin
1990
- News Hounds as Virginia Lyddon
1989
- Paris by Night as Janet Swanton
1987
- Waiting for the Moon as Gertrude Stein
1986
- Casualty as Olwyn Humphries