The Best English Actresses of All Time
When it comes to the best English actresses of all time, there will likely be a heated debate. Helen Mirren, Judi Dench, and Audrey Hepburn immediately come to mind, but when you really start thinking, there are tons of fantastic actresses from England who have, throughout film history, made their marks as truly some of the greats.
Who are the all-time top English actresses in history? Dames like Judi Dench and Maggie Smith are certainly great English actresses, but so are some of the women on this list who have passed on. Fantastic actresses like Vivien Leigh and Deborah Kerr earned their rightful spots in film history by turning in classic film performances and making many great movies.
Emily Blunt and Helena Bonham Carter are a few more of the famous British actresses you will find on this list. There are also great older British actresses, like Angela Lansbury of Murder, She Wrote and Beauty and the Beast. Julie Walters is another of the beloved old English actresses. Who could forget her appearances in Mamma Mia!, Paddington, the Harry Potter series, and Calendar Girls?
Now, who, of the greatest English actresses of all time is truly the best? Below you'll find the wonderful actresses as well as their major film and television award wins and nominations. Vote up your favorite English actresses below, and then check back to see if they topped our list!
- Ilford, London, United Kingdom
- Credits (Film): The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Travels with My Aunt, Gosford Park
- Heworth, United Kingdom
- Credits (Film): Notes on a Scandal, Philomena, Shakespeare in Love
- Paddington, London, United Kingdom
- Credits (Film): Sense and Sensibility, Howards End, The Remains of the Day
- Walton-on-Thames, United Kingdom
- Credits (Film): Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music, Victor Victoria
- Hammersmith, London, United Kingdom
- Credits (Film): The Queen, The Last Station, Gosford Park
- Reading, United Kingdom
- Credits (Film): The Reader, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Titanic
- Golders Green, London, United Kingdom
- Credits (Film): The Wings of the Dove, Fight Club, The King's Speech
- Ixelles, Belgium
- Credits (Film): Breakfast at Tiffany's, My Fair Lady, Roman Holiday, Charade, Wait Until Dark
- Doncaster, Yorkshire, England
- Credits (Film): On Her Majesty's Secret Service, The Great Muppet Caper, The Hospital, The Painted Veil, Theatre of Blood
- Roehampton, London, United Kingdom
- Credits (Film): The Young Victoria, Salmon Fishing in Yemen, The Devil Wears Prada
- Darjeeling, India
- Credits (Film): Gone with the Wind, A Streetcar Named Desire, Ship of Fools, Waterloo Bridge, Fire Over England
- Smethwick, United Kingdom
- Credits (Film): Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Brave
- London, England, UK
- Credits (Film): Gaslight, The Manchurian Candidate, The Picture of Dorian Gray
- Paris, France
- Credits (Film): Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
- Greenwich, London, United Kingdom
- Credits (Film): Howards End, Isadora, The Bostonians
- Westminster, London, United Kingdom
- Credits (Film): The Constant Gardener, The Deep Blue Sea, Sunshine
- Tokyo, Japan
- Credits (Film): The Heiress, To Each His Own, The Snake Pit
- Teddington, Middlesex, England
- Credits (Film): Pride & Prejudice, The Imitation Game, Atonement
- Hampstead Garden Suburb, United Kingdom
- Credits (Film): Cleopatra, National Velvet, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Flintstones, Giant
- London, United Kingdom
- Credits (Film): Voice from the Stone, Dom Hemingway, Spike Island, The Garden of Last Days, Triassic Attack
- Hammersmith, London, England
- Credits (Film): Gone Girl, Pride & Prejudice, The World's End, Die Another Day, An Education
- London, United Kingdom
- Credits (Film): Michael Clayton, The Deep End, We Need to Talk About Kevin
- Shoreham, Kent, England
- Credits (Film): The Impossible, 21 Grams, Eastern Promises
- Southport, England
- Credits (Film): Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Sleepy Hollow, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part I, Empire of the Sun, The Crying Game
- Archway, London, United Kingdom
- Credits (Film): Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Alice in Wonderland, Shakespeare in Love, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part I