Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton was born in London to Bridie (née McNicholas), a hairdresser, and Joseph Staunton, a road-worker and labourer. Both of her parents are first-generation Catholic immigrants from County Mayo, Ireland, with her father coming from Ballyvary and her mother from Bohola. She attended La Sainte Union Convent School, an all girl’s catholic school on the edge of Hampstead Heath, from years 7 to 11. Staunton is married to the English actor Jim Carter and they have a daughter, Bessie, born 1993.
Staunton trained for the stage at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, then spent six years in English repertory, including a period at the Northcott Theatre, Exeter where she had the title role in Shaw's Saint Joan (1979), before moving back to London. She is a three-time recipient of the Olivier Award, Britain's highest theatre honor, for roles in A Chorus of Disapproval (1985), The Corn Is Green (1985), and Into the Woods (1991), and was nominated for her performance as Miss Adelaide in the 1996 revival of Guys and Dolls at The National Theatre.
She began to receive international attention in 1993 for her performance as Margaret in the Kenneth Branagh film version of William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. Other film appearances include Peter's Friends (1992), 2003 Sense and Sensibility (1995) Twelfth Night (1996) (playing Maria), Chicken Run (2000) (as the voice of Bunty), Another Life (2001) and Bright Young Things (2003).
In 1993 she appeared on the small screen alongside Richard Briers and Adrian Edmondson in If You See God, Tell Him. She has had other television parts in The Singing Detective (1986) and the comedy drama series Is it Legal? (1995-8). She was a voice artist on Mole's Christmas (1994). She had a guest role playing Mrs. Mead in Little Britain in 2005.On radio, she has appeared in the title role of detective drama series Julie Enfield Investigates, as the lead, Izzy Comyn, in the comedy Up the Garden Path (which later moved to ITV with Staunton reprising the role), as Mrs. Blatherwick, the vile cook in Nanny McPhee, and in Diary of a Provincial Lady (from 1999) and Acropolis Now.
Staunton shared a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Performance by a Cast in 1998 for Shakespeare in Love. In 2004, she received the Best Actress honours at the European Film Awards, the BAFTAs, and the Venice Film Festival for her performance of the title role in Mike Leigh's Vera Drake, which also won Best Picture. For the same role, she received Best Actress nominations for the 2005 Golden Globes and Academy Awards.
Staunton portrayed Dolores Umbridge in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007). The Guardian described her as the "perfect choice for the part" and "one of the film's greatest pleasures," "coming close to stealing the show.” She is a fictional character from the Harry Potter series of novels by J. K. Rowling. She is portrayed by British actress Imelda Staunton in the 2007 film Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
Umbridge is a short, squat woman described in the book as resembling a large pale toad. She has a broad, flabby face, little neck, and a wide, slack mouth. Her eyes are big, round, and slightly bulging whilst she is said to have a large chest in Deathly Hallows. In Order of the Phoenix she has "short, curly, mouse-brown hair" and often wears a black velvet bow (or pink Alice band) in her hair that reminds Harry of a fly about to be caught. In Half-Blood Prince, her hair had turned "iron-colored". Her voice is high, fluttery, and girlish and Harry describes it as sounding like poisoned honey. When she wants to get someone's attention she emits a small "hem, hem" noise from her throat. She is always seen wearing at least one pink garment or accessory.
She was awarded the O.B.E. (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2006 New Year's Honours List for her services to drama.
