Jenny Agutter facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jenny Agutter OBE
Agutter in 2022
Born	Jennifer Ann Agutter (1952-12-20) 20 December 1952 (age 72) Taunton, Somerset, England
Years active	1964–present
Spouse(s)	Johan Tham (m. 1990)
Children	1

Jennifer Ann Agutter (born 20 December 1952) is an English actress. She started acting as a child in 1964. Some of her first roles were in East of Sudan and Star!. She became well-known for playing Roberta in two versions of The Railway Children: a BBC TV show in 1968 and a movie in 1970.

In 1971, she starred in the movie Walkabout and the TV film The Snow Goose. For The Snow Goose, she won an Emmy Award. This award is a big prize for TV acting.

Jenny Agutter moved to the United States in 1974 to work in Hollywood. She appeared in films like Logan's Run (1976), An American Werewolf in London (1981), and Child's Play 2 (1990). At the same time, she also acted in major British films. These included The Eagle Has Landed (1976) and Equus (1977). For Equus, she won a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, another important acting award.

In the early 1990s, Agutter returned to Britain to focus on her family. She then mostly worked in television. In 2000, she appeared in a new TV version of The Railway Children, but this time she played the mother! Since 2012, she has been a regular on the BBC show Call the Midwife. More recently, she appeared in the superhero movies The Avengers (2012) and Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014). In 2022, she returned to The Railway Children world again. She played her original character, Roberta, in the sequel The Railway Children Return, 52 years after the first film.

Jenny Agutter is married and has one adult son. She supports several charities, especially those helping people with cystic fibrosis. Her niece has this condition. For her charity work, she was given the Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) award in 2012.

Early Life and Discovering Acting

Jenny Agutter was born on 20 December 1952 in Taunton, Somerset, England. Her father, Derek Agutter, managed entertainment for the British Army. Her mother was Catherine. Jenny was raised in the Roman Catholic faith. Her mother's family came from Ireland.

As a child, Jenny lived in different countries because of her father's job. She lived in Singapore, Cyprus, and Malaysia. She went to Elmhurst Ballet School, a boarding school, from age eight to sixteen. A casting agent found her there while looking for a young English-speaking girl for a film. She didn't get that specific part. However, the agent recommended her to the people making East of Sudan (1964), which became her first film.

Acting Career Highlights

Early Television and Film Roles

Agutter and Richard Harris in The Snow Goose (1971)

Jenny Agutter became known to TV viewers through the BBC series The Newcomers. She played Kirsty, the daughter of a new boss at a fictional company. She could only film during her school holidays. In her early career, she was listed as "Jennifer" in the credits.

In 1966, she played a ballet student in Disney's film Ballerina. In 1968, she was in the musical film Star!, which starred Julie Andrews. Agutter played Pamela, the daughter of the main character. Later, she played Roberta in a BBC TV show of The Railway Children (1968). She also played the same role in the Lionel Jeffries movie version in 1970. After this, she took on a more serious role in the thriller I Start Counting (1969). She also won an Emmy award for her role as Fritha in the British TV film The Snow Goose (1971).

Moving to Adult Roles and Hollywood

Agutter then started playing adult characters. Her first major adult role was in Walkabout (1971). In this film, she played a teenage schoolgirl who gets lost with her younger brother in the Australian outback. She tried out for the role in 1967, but filming was delayed until 1969.

At age 21, Agutter moved to Hollywood. Over the next ten years, she appeared in many films. These included The Eagle Has Landed (1976) and Logan's Run (1976). She also starred in Equus (1977), for which she won a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Other films were An American Werewolf in London (1981) and The Survivor (1981).

Return to British Television

In 1990, Agutter moved back to the UK. She wanted to spend more time with her family. Her work then focused more on British television. In the 1990s, she was in a TV show based on Jeffrey Archer's book Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less. She also played Idina Hatton in the BBC miniseries The Buccaneers. She made guest appearances in TV shows like Red Dwarf and Heartbeat.

In 2000, she starred in a third TV version of The Railway Children. This time, she played the mother. Since then, Agutter has had regular roles in several TV series. These include Spooks, The Invisibles, and The Alan Clark Diaries. In 2012, Agutter returned to Hollywood films. She appeared as a member of the World Security Council in The Avengers. She played this role again in Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014). Since 2012, Agutter has played Sister Julienne in the BBC TV drama Call the Midwife.

Theatre Performances

Jenny Agutter has performed in many theatre plays since 1970. She worked at the Royal National Theatre in 1972–73. She played the main role in a version of Hedda Gabler in 1980. She also worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1982–83. There, she played Alice in Arden of Faversham and Regan and Fontanelle in different plays called Lear. In 1987–88, Agutter was on Broadway in the play Breaking the Code. This play was about the computer pioneer Alan Turing. In 1995, she was in a Royal Shakespeare Company play called Love's Labour's Lost in Tokyo. She also supports the Shakespeare Schools Festival. This charity helps school children in the UK perform Shakespeare in real theatres.

Audio Work and Music

In 2008, Jenny Agutter was a guest star in the Doctor Who audio drama The Bride of Peladon. She also played a scientist in The Minister of Chance. She has appeared as a guest character named Fiona Templeton in the Radio 4 comedy Ed Reardon's Week.

Agutter's voice can also be heard in music. She speaks the words "I want to have you" on the 1990 Prefab Sprout song "Wild Horses".

Personal Life and Charity Work

In 1989, Jenny Agutter met Johan Tham at an arts festival in Bath, Somerset. Johan Tham was a Swedish hotel manager. They got married in August 1990. Their son, Jonathan, was born on 25 December 1990. Jenny Agutter lives in London. She also loves Cornwall and used to own a second home there.

She was given the Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) award in 2012. This was for her work supporting charities.

Agutter has been involved with several good causes. She has worked to raise awareness about cystic fibrosis. She believes this illness caused the deaths of two of her siblings. Her niece also has the disease. Because of Agutter's suggestion, an episode of Call the Midwife focused on cystic fibrosis. She also supports other charities, especially the Cystic Fibrosis Trust. She is a patron of this trust and carries the genetic change for the disease.

Political Views

In August 2014, Jenny Agutter was one of 200 public figures who signed a letter to The Guardian newspaper. The letter shared their hope that Scotland would vote to stay part of the United Kingdom. This was for the 2014 Scottish independence referendum in September 2014.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and Nominations

Images for kids

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  Jenny Agutter in 2014

See also

In Spanish: Jenny Agutter para niños