Elizabeth Spriggs facts for kids

Elizabeth Jean Spriggs (born September 18, 1929 – died July 2, 2008) was a talented English actress. She was known for playing many different kinds of characters.

Elizabeth Spriggs performed with the famous Royal Shakespeare Company. She played important roles like Nurse in Romeo and Juliet and Gertrude in Hamlet. In 1978, she won an Olivier Award for her acting in a play called Love Letters on Blue Paper. She was also nominated for a BAFTA award for her role in the 1995 movie Sense and Sensibility. You might also know her from movies like Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001), where she played the Fat Lady in the portrait.

Early Life and Acting Start

Elizabeth Spriggs was born in Buxton, England, in 1929. She first studied at the Royal College of Music. She also taught speech and drama in Coventry.

Elizabeth always dreamed of becoming an actress. She felt a strong desire to act. She decided to follow her dream and joined a theater company in Stockport, Cheshire. She worked with many different theater groups, including ones in Birmingham and Bristol. In 1962, she joined the well-known Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC).

Stage Career Highlights

Elizabeth Spriggs was a regular actress with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) until 1976. She worked under the famous director Peter Hall. She played many important roles in Shakespeare's plays, such as:

• Nurse in Romeo and Juliet
• Gertrude in Hamlet
• Calpurnia in Julius Caesar
• Mistress Ford in The Merry Wives of Windsor
• Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing

She also appeared in other plays with the RSC. These included A Delicate Balance by Edward Albee and Major Barbara by George Bernard Shaw. She also performed in the comedy London Assurance.

In 1976, Elizabeth moved with Peter Hall to the Royal National Theatre. This was when the company's own theater first opened. In her first season there, she played Madame Arcati in Blithe Spirit. She also acted in many other plays for the National Theatre. These included Volpone and Macbeth. In 1978, she won the Society of West End Theatre Award for Best Supporting Actress. This was for her role in Love Letters on Blue Paper.

Later, she performed in a play called When We Are Married in 1986. She also appeared in Arsenic and Old Lace in 1991.

Television and Film Roles

Elizabeth Spriggs started working regularly on television in the mid-1970s. She appeared in many TV shows and movies. Some of her notable TV roles include:

• The Glittering Prizes (1976)
• Eleanor Pressett in We, the Accused (1980)
• Connie in the drama Fox (1980)
• Martha in Tales Of The Unexpected (1980)
• Nan in the comedy series Shine on Harvey Moon (1982–85)

She also appeared in three plays by Alan Bennett. In 1987, she was in the Doctor Who episode Paradise Towers. She also played the main character in the Children's BBC series Simon and the Witch (1987).

In 1990, she was in the BBC show Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit. In 1994, she played Mrs Gamp in the BBC's Martin Chuzzlewit. She was also Mrs Cadwallader in Middlemarch. She continued to act in popular TV series like Heartbeat and Midsomer Murders. She even played a murder victim and then her identical twin sister in Midsomer Murders! She also appeared in Poirot.

In 1998, she was the subject of the TV show This Is Your Life.

Her early film roles included Work Is a Four-Letter Word (1968) and Three into Two Won't Go (1969). Later, she played Mrs Jennings in the Oscar-winning movie Sense and Sensibility (1995). For this role, she was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. She also famously played the Portrait of the Fat Lady in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001). Her last movie was Is Anybody There? (2008), which came out shortly after she passed away.

Personal Life

Elizabeth Spriggs was married three times. Her first two marriages ended. In 1977, she married her third husband, Murray Manson. He was a taxi driver and musician. Elizabeth had one daughter from her first marriage.

Elizabeth Spriggs passed away on July 2, 2008, at the age of 78. Her funeral was held in Thame, Oxfordshire. Many of her friends and fellow actors attended to remember her.

Selected Filmography and Television