Barbara Leigh-Hunt
Born (1935-12-14) 14 December 1935
OccupationActress
Years active1954–present
Spouse
(m. 1967; died 2014)
RelativesRonald Leigh-Hunt
(cousin)

Barbara Leigh-Hunt (born 14 December 1935) is an English actress.[1] Her numerous theatre credits include Broadway productions of Hamlet (1958) and Sherlock Holmes Justice (1973) (1974), and she won the 1993 Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress for the National Theatre production of An Inspector Calls. Her film appearances include Frenzy (1972), Henry VIII and His Six Wives (1972), Bequest to the Nation (1973) and Billy Elliot (2000).

Early life

Leigh-Hunt was born in Bath, Somerset.

Career

On stage, Leigh-Hunt has appeared in many productions as well those with the Bristol Old Vic, the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre. Her early film roles have included Catherine Parr in Henry VIII and His Six Wives (1972), Bequest to the Nation (1973) and Oh Heavenly Dog (1980). Her most famous movie role is probably in Alfred Hitchcock's penultimate film Frenzy (1972), as a woman raped and strangled by a serial killer, that included the first graphically violent scene featuring visible nudity of Hitchcock's career.

In 1983 Leigh-Hunt appeared as the Queen of Bavaria in the mini-series Wagner, sharing her scenes with Ralph Richardson, Laurence Olivier and John Gielgud as court ministers. Richard Burton played the composer Richard Wagner. Her husband, Richard Pasco, whom she married in 1967, appeared also.

Leigh-Hunt played Jean Lawrence in the controversial BBC drama Tumbledown (1988), and Lady Catherine de Bourgh in Pride and Prejudice (1995), and provided the voices of the farmer's wife in The Plague Dogs (1982), and Captain Mildred and Mary the Hover Fairy in the 1987 Children's BBC series Charlie Chalk. In 1999, Leigh starred as Lady Cumnor in BBC's four-part series adaptation of the novel Wives and Daughters (1999). More recently she has appeared in such films as Paper Mask (1990), Keep the Aspidistra Flying (1997), Billy Elliot (2000), The Martins (2001) and Vanity Fair (2004), and has had much work on television, mainly in guest character parts.

Personal life

Her cousin was the actor Ronald Leigh-Hunt.[2]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1969 Callan Susanne Season 2, episode: "Death of a Hunter"
1972 Frenzy Brenda Blaney
Henry VIII and His Six Wives Catherine Parr
1973 Bequest to the Nation Catherine 'Catty' Matcham
1980 Oh Heavenly Dog Margaret
1982 The Plague Dogs Farmer's Wife Voice only
1986 Charlie Chalk (1987) Captain Mildred, Mary the Hover Fairy Voice only; 12 episodes
Screenplay Mrs Oxney
1988 Tumbledown Jean Lawrence Television film
1990 Paper Mask Celia Mumford
The Ruth Rendell Mysteries Mrs Fanshawe Episodes: "The Best Man to Die Parts 1,2,3"
Inspector Morse Blanche Copley-Barnes Episode: "The Infernal Serpent"
1993 Anna Lee: Headcase Beryl Television film
1995 Pride and Prejudice Lady Catherine de Bourgh
As Time Goes By Registrar Episode: "Wedding Day Nerves"
1997 Keep the Aspidistra Flying Mrs. Wisbeach
1998 The Echo Mrs Deacon Series 1 episode 2
1999 Wives and Daughters Lady Cumnor 3 episodes
Sunburn Edna Hand Series 1 episode 1
1999-2001 Kavanagh QC Lady Justice Pinnock 2 episodes
2000 Billy Elliot Vice-Principal
Longitude Dodo Gould Television film
2001 The Martins Mrs. Heath
2002 Midsomer Murders (2002) Marjorie Empson
George Eliot: A Scandalous Life Gossip Television film
Bertie and Elizabeth Lady Mabel Airlie
2004 Vanity Fair Lady Bareacres

References

  1. Noble 1982, p. 492
  2. Stage, The (3 October 2005). "Ronald Leigh-Hunt | Obituaries". The Stage. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
  • Noble, Peter, ed. (1982). 1982–1983 Screen International Film And TV Year Book. London: King Publications.
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