Julie Walters

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Birthday:

22 February 1950, Smethwick, West Midlands, England, UK

Birth Name:

Julia Mary Walters

Height:

160 cm

For decades, Brit actress and comedienne Julie Walters has served as a sturdy representation of the working class with her passionate, earthy portrayals on England's stage, screen and TV. A bona fide talent, her infectious spirit and self-deprecating sense of humor eventually captured the hearts of international audiences. The small and slender actress with the prominent cheekbones has yet to give an uninteresting performance.She was born Julia Mary Walters on February 22, 1950 in Smethwick, West Midlands, England, the youngest of three children and only daughter of Mary Bridget (O'Brien), an Irish-born postal clerk from County Mayo, and Thomas Walters, an English-born builder, from Birmingham. Convent schooled in Birmingham, she expressed an early desire to act. Her iron-willed mother had other ideas, however, and geared her towards a nursing career. Dutifully applying at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, Julie eventually gave up nursing when the pull to be an actress proved too strong. Studying English and Drama at Manchester Polytechnic, she subsequently joined a theatre company in Liverpool and apprenticed as a stand-up comic. A one-time company member of the Vanload improv troupe, she made her London stage debut in the aptly-titled comedy "Funny Peculiar" in 1975, and went on to develop a successfully bawdy act on the cabaret circuit. While at Manchester, Julie befriended aspiring writer/comedienne Victoria Wood and the twosome appeared together in sketch comedy. A couple of their works, "Talent" and "Nearly a Happy Ending," transferred to TV and were accompanied by rave reviews. Eventually they were handed their own TV series, Wood and Walters (1981).In 1980, Julie scored a huge solo success under the theatre lights when she made her London debut in Willy Russell's "Educating Rita." For her superlative performance she won both the Variety Critic's and London Critic's Circle Awards as the young hairdresser who vows to up her station in life by enrolling in a university. She conquered film as well when Educating Rita (1983) transferred to the big screen opposite Michael Caine as her Henry Higgins-like college professor, collecting a Golden Globe Award and Oscar nomination.Reuniting with Victoria Wood in 1984, the pair continue to appear together frequently on TV, most recently with the award-winning series Dinnerladies (1998). On stage Julie has impressed in a variety of roles ranging from the contemporary ("Fool for Love," "Frankie and Johnny at the Clair de Lune") to the classics ("Macbeth," "The Rose Tattoo" and "All My Sons"), winning the Olivier Award for the last-mentioned play.Following her success as Rita, she immediately rolled out a sterling succession of film femmes including her seedy waitress-turned-successful brothel-owner in Personal Services (1987); the unsophisticated, small-town wife of Phil Collins in Buster (1988); a boozy, man-chasing mum in Killing Dad or How to Love Your Mother (1990); and Liza Minnelli's abrasive tap student in Stepping Out (1991). Playing a wide variety of ages, she also mustered up a very convincing role as the mother of Joe Orton in the critically-acclaimed Prick Up Your Ears (1987). She capped her career in films as the abrasively stern but encouraging dance teacher in Billy Elliot (2000) which earned her a second Oscar nod and a healthy helping of quirky character parts, including her charming, charity-driven widow who poses à la natural in Calendar Girls (2003), and the maternal witch-wife Molly Weasley in the J.K. Rowling "Harry Potter" series. For her work on film and TV, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts has honored Julie five times, including four awards in a row (2001-2004).Married to Grant Roffey since 1997 after a 12-year relationship, the couple tend to a 70-acre organic farm they bought in Sussex. They have one child. Julie was honored with an OBE for her services to drama in 1999. A biography was published in 2003 entitled "Julie Walters: Seriously Funny." Show less «

When I think of the future, I think of doing my washing so I've something to wear tomorrow.

Self worth is everything. Without it life is a misery.

It's bloody great to get to fifty-five. I've never been bothered about people knowing how old I am.

I was asked about doing a nude shoot for men's magazine GQ. I thought it was the funniest thing I'd ever heard.

I don't like the future sewn up. I like an open book - the feeling that anything can happen.

Back then, it was still possible for a working-class kid like me to study drama because I got a grant. But the way things are now, there are...Show more »

Back then, it was still possible for a working-class kid like me to study drama because I got a grant. But the way things are now, there aren't going to be any working class actors. I look at almost all the up-and-coming names and they're from the posh schools. Don't get me wrong ... they're wonderful. It's just a shame those working-class kids aren't coming through. When I started, 30 years ago, it was the complete opposite. Show less «

[on Educating Rita (1983)] I thought I was dreadful in it. When I first saw the film, I said, 'Oh God, it's awful. And I'm awful in it.' I w...Show more »

[on Educating Rita (1983)] I thought I was dreadful in it. When I first saw the film, I said, 'Oh God, it's awful. And I'm awful in it.' I went straight to the toilets and started crying. When our lovely director, Lewis Gilbert, was talking about possible Oscar nods I genuinely thought he was mad. I did meet Sean Connery at the premiere, though. I had a crush on him as a teenager and he walked past me and slapped me on the bum. It was really funny. Show less «

[In a 1984 interview] (I) would never do Shakespeare again unless it was with a director I trusted. People get more out of reading Shakespea...Show more »

[In a 1984 interview] (I) would never do Shakespeare again unless it was with a director I trusted. People get more out of reading Shakespeare than they do seeing a terrible production. Show less «

I did impersonations of everyone in the family and the teachers at school because I didn't know how to do anything else, but I was educated ...Show more »

I did impersonations of everyone in the family and the teachers at school because I didn't know how to do anything else, but I was educated by nuns in my junior school and they were HEAVY. Show less «

British films bring a lot of revenue into this country and should be supported. Our special effects are the best in the world, thanks to the...Show more »

British films bring a lot of revenue into this country and should be supported. Our special effects are the best in the world, thanks to the Harry Potter films, which we made in Britain with a British cast and crew. They weren't Americanised and are total proof of how great we Brits are at film. Show less «

People imagine a huge pile of scripts and it's not like that. But I get a decent trickle of stuff. Most of it, I don't want to do any more, ...Show more »

People imagine a huge pile of scripts and it's not like that. But I get a decent trickle of stuff. Most of it, I don't want to do any more, either because it's like something I've done before or simply because I'm older now, so I don't have that same drive to keep going. Show less «

[on her autobiography] I wrote every single word of it and I loved the process, but I kind of ended the book before my career really took of...Show more »

[on her autobiography] I wrote every single word of it and I loved the process, but I kind of ended the book before my career really took off. 'm not really interested in writing about my career because you have to be honest, and you can't exactly write, "So-and-so was a right little s***." I mean, that wouldn't be right, would it? Show less «

[on her mother's support of her film career] It wasn't until after she died and I was clearing out her flat that I found a huge pile of news...Show more »

[on her mother's support of her film career] It wasn't until after she died and I was clearing out her flat that I found a huge pile of newspaper articles she had kept about me, She had been cataloguing my career, but it just wasn't the sort of thing she would say - although when she came to the premiere of Educating Rita (1983) she pointed me out to a policeman and said, "That's my daughter", so I think she must have been proud. Show less «

[on Paddington (2014)]: It gives out a really positive message about inclusion and tolerance. He's a refugee, basically. Peter Capaldi's pla...Show more »

[on Paddington (2014)]: It gives out a really positive message about inclusion and tolerance. He's a refugee, basically. Peter Capaldi's plays the neighbour and he says, 'Before long the street will be crawling with them. Let one in'. It's all the old cliched prejudices about people coming into the country. Show less «

[on Paddington (2014)] I asked friends who'd read the books as a child to share their memories. I grilled my husband about Mrs Bird and he s...Show more »

[on Paddington (2014)] I asked friends who'd read the books as a child to share their memories. I grilled my husband about Mrs Bird and he said, 'Well, she was very stern, but you knew that she was loving.' I remember thinking, That's a difficult one Show less «

I was given an agent and taken under the wing of Columbia Pictures after Educating Rita (1983) came out. They arranged all sorts of intervie...Show more »

I was given an agent and taken under the wing of Columbia Pictures after Educating Rita (1983) came out. They arranged all sorts of interviews, but nothing ever came of it. I just felt that the best writing and talent was in the UK. The stuff I was getting was c**p...well, not c**p, but just stuff I didn't want to do. After all, the best American material is always going to go to the best American actors. Show less «

All long-term relationships are going to hit rocky patches, but you have to talk things through and forgive your partner, just for being hum...Show more »

All long-term relationships are going to hit rocky patches, but you have to talk things through and forgive your partner, just for being human, I suppose. Being with another actor wouldn't have worked for me because you'd never escape the business, which would make it difficult to find out who you really are. Also, because we have such different working lives, we're constantly interested in what the other person is doing. Being with someone who isn't in the industry gives me a fresh outlook and as grounding as he's been for me, I think I've grounded him, too. Show less «

[on Gnomeo & Juliet (2011)] When someone offers you a part in a film where Romeo and Juliet are played by gnomes, you can't really turn ...Show more »

[on Gnomeo & Juliet (2011)] When someone offers you a part in a film where Romeo and Juliet are played by gnomes, you can't really turn it down. You only ever see my character's legs in the film - lovely tree stumps they are too - and I'll admit, by the end of the film I was so moved I started crying. I thought to myself, "Julie, pull yourself together - they're gnomes for goodness sake! Show less «

[on her part in the Harry Potter films]It was so sad when I finished. It wasn't a very big part, but it was going in every year to the same ...Show more »

[on her part in the Harry Potter films]It was so sad when I finished. It wasn't a very big part, but it was going in every year to the same group of people. I just loved it and it's rare you have that kind of structure in your life as an actor. Show less «

I think there was a breakthrough period where I did Educating Rita (1983) and Victoria Woods work very close together. I'd just started to b...Show more »

I think there was a breakthrough period where I did Educating Rita (1983) and Victoria Woods work very close together. I'd just started to be known through Victoria's stuff with Wood and Walters, which came out very close to 'Educating Rita'. It was quite a grand slam in a way for me, really useful for me doing those two things. And at the same time I started to do something with Alan Bennett, I did a play with Alan Bennett in it on television, and also Boys from the Blackstuff (1982). It all came out in a short space of time. Show less «

[on Mamma Mia! (2008)] I thought my acting was terrible in the film; so bad! I sprained my ankle during Dancing Queen and Meryl Streep went ...Show more »

[on Mamma Mia! (2008)] I thought my acting was terrible in the film; so bad! I sprained my ankle during Dancing Queen and Meryl Streep went mad. She was calling for ice, calling for the nurse, she really looked after me. I was massively intimidated before I met her, because I hold her in such high esteem, but she's very down-to-earth, a good woman. Show less «

Art should reflect society but that's not going to happen if there's no funding for working class kids - like I was - to follow their passio...Show more »

Art should reflect society but that's not going to happen if there's no funding for working class kids - like I was - to follow their passion. In acting, I certainly think we could end up with too many posh people, the only people who can afford to go to drama school, and that all the working class roles will be taken by posh people pretending to be working class, like it used to be before the Sixties. Not that there will be many new working class roles because there won't be any working class writers and the society we'll live in won't be represented. If I was starting out today, I would never have been able to afford to go to drama school. Show less «

Saoirse Ronan, she is amazing. She makes me feel like I should go to drama school, really.

[on Pete Postlethwaite] He was such an important part of my youth. I think you learn from one another without realising it - we certainly sp...Show more »

[on Pete Postlethwaite] He was such an important part of my youth. I think you learn from one another without realising it - we certainly sparked off one another acting-wise in the early days. He played Coriolanus at the Everyman and I played his wife. His performance was amazing, terrifyingly on the edge, I've never seen anything like it before or since. We hadn't kept in touch in later years, but my heart really goes out to his family. He was such a massive presence wherever he went, that for them to have lost him. Show less «

[on how she keeps love alive] We can be romantic. Not soppy, though! We always leave notes for one another if I get in late or he has to get...Show more »

[on how she keeps love alive] We can be romantic. Not soppy, though! We always leave notes for one another if I get in late or he has to get up early. And he brings me flowers every week. Sometimes I will leave a little note on his pillow if I'm going away. But even when I'm home we leave each other notes. Love is the most important thing to me in my life. It really is what makes the world go round. Show less «

[on Billy Elliot (2000)] I was very touched by it. It's moving on all sorts of levels. It was a diamond in the sand. Different from all the ...Show more »

[on Billy Elliot (2000)] I was very touched by it. It's moving on all sorts of levels. It was a diamond in the sand. Different from all the middle-of-the-road crap that I get sent. I loved the character, and the fact that she was disappointed on every level possible. She was so grim and jaded. Her relationship with the boy was so unusual: she was so unmaternal, and he's a boy without a mother. She treated him not like a child, but more like a lover, a man. I found that very interesting. Show less «

[on her BAFTA nomination for Brooklyn (2015)] What a wonderful surprise, thrilled to be nominated. And proud to be included alongside these ...Show more »

[on her BAFTA nomination for Brooklyn (2015)] What a wonderful surprise, thrilled to be nominated. And proud to be included alongside these great women and their powerful performances. Show less «