Francesca Annis facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Francesca Annis
Annis in trailer for Flipper's New Adventure (1964)
Born	(1945-05-14) 14 May 1945 (age 80) Kensington, London, England
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1959–present
Partner(s)	Patrick Wiseman (1976–1997) Ralph Fiennes (1995–2006)
Children	3

Francesca Annis (born 14 May 1945) is a talented English actress. She is well-known for her roles in many TV shows and movies. Some of her famous TV roles include Reckless (1998), Wives and Daughters (1999), and Cranford (2007).

Francesca Annis has been nominated for the BAFTA TV Award six times. She won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress in 1979 for her role in the TV series Lillie. She has also appeared in popular films like Krull (1983) and Dune (1984).

Early Life and Training

Francesca Annis was born in Kensington, London, in 1945. Her father, Lester William Anthony Annis, was English, and her mother, Mariquita Purcell, was Brazilian-French. Both of her parents were actors, and her mother was also a singer.

When Francesca was one year old, her family moved to Brazil. They lived there for six years, and she returned to England when she was seven. She remembers her parents running a nightclub on Copacabana beach in Brazil. Her mother even performed there as a blues singer.

Francesca went to a convent school. When she was young, she trained to be a ballet dancer. She learned the Russian style of ballet at the Corona Stage Academy.

Acting Career Highlights

Francesca Annis started acting professionally when she was a teenager. Her first film was The Cat Gang in 1959. A big early role was playing Elizabeth Taylor's handmaiden in the movie Cleopatra (1963). She was only 16 at the time and was still studying ballet.

She became very well-known for her role as Lady Macbeth in Roman Polanski's film Macbeth (1971). She also played the "Widow of the Web" in the fantasy film Krull (1983). Later, she starred as Lady Jessica in the science fiction movie Dune (1984), directed by David Lynch.

Francesca Annis also had a successful career on stage. She performed in many leading roles with the Royal Shakespeare Company. For example, she played Luciana in The Comedy of Errors (1976). She also played Juliet in Romeo and Juliet alongside Ian McKellen in 1976.

On television, she played Lillie Langtry in Edward the Seventh (1975) and again in Lillie (1978). She also co-starred with Sir Michael Gambon and Dame Judi Dench in the BBC series Cranford (2007). In Cranford, she played Lady Ludlow, an aristocrat who didn't believe in educating people from lower classes. More recently, she had a main role in the ITV drama Home Fires.

Personal Life

Francesca Annis was in a relationship with photographer Patrick Wiseman starting in 1974. They raised three children together: Charlotte, Taran, and Andreas.

Later, in 1995, she began a relationship with actor Ralph Fiennes. They had met while working together on the play Hamlet. Francesca Annis and Ralph Fiennes announced their separation in 2006, after being together for 11 years.

Selected Film and TV Roles

Here are some of the films and TV shows Francesca Annis has appeared in:

Selected Stage Appearances

Francesca Annis has performed in many plays, including:

Television Appearances

Here are some of Francesca Annis's television roles:

Awards and Nominations

Francesca Annis has received several awards and nominations for her acting:

See also

In Spanish: Francesca Annis para niños