Celia Imrie

Celia Diana Savile Imrie CBE (born 15 July 1952) is a British actress and author. She is best known for her film roles, including the Bridget Jones film series, Calendar Girls (2003), Nanny McPhee (2005), The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011), The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015), and Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018). Imrie was born on 15 July 1952 in Guildford, Surrey, the fourth of five children. Imrie's film credits include Nanny McPhee, Homily Clock in the 1997 film The Borrowers, House of Whipcord, Bridget Jones's Diary, Calendar Girls, Highlander, and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. She has also appeared in numerous Television shows like Upstairs, Downstairs, Bergerac, The Nightmare Man etc. Imrie's theatre career started when she got a job as an Assistant Stage Manager and understudy in the Royal Shakespeare Company. She has also ventured into writing. Her debut novel Not Quite Nice was published by Bloomsbury in 2015. She has since authored several other books.

Imrie lives in London and in Nice, France. She has a son, Angus Imrie, born in 1994, with the actor Benjamin Whitrow. Angus appears as her on-screen son in Kingdom (2007–2009) and has acted in other productions, having studied drama and performance at the University of Warwick. Imrie has received several awards and accolades for her contributions to acting. She was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2023 Birthday Honours for services to drama. She won The Clarence Derwent Award for Best Supporting Actress in The Sea and Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical in Acorn Antiques: The Musical.