Celia Imrie

Born: July 15, 1952
Where: Guildford, Surrey, UK

An accomplished actress and comedienne, Celia's comic timing and sympathetic performances have ensured that she has become a fixture on our screens.

Well known through her association with the work of Victoria Wood, Celia's CV encompasses rich and varied film and television work, from Absoutely Fabulous to Bridget Jones's Diary.

Celia's early roles on TV included the Jersey-based detective series Bergerac and To The Manor Born but it was with Victoria Wood's work in the mid-eighties that she first found fame.

She inhabited Wood's comic creation Miss Babs in the spoof soap Acorn Antiques in Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV, working alongside Julie Walters' hilarious character Mrs Overall.

Celia reteamed with the Victoria Wood crew for the more serious one-off film Pat & Margaret, about estranged sisters leading different lives and the hit comedy series Dinnerladies.

But she also took dramatic roles, such as in the award winning adaptation of Jeanette Winterson's novel Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit, and of Nancy Mitford's Love in a Cold Climate.

Returning to comedy, Celia landed the role as Jennifer Saunder's arch enemy, competative PR woman Claudia Bing in Absolutely Fabulous.

Celia starred in the BBC's lavish production of fantasy drama Gormenghast in 2000 as Lady Gertrude Groan, an aristocrat who is more interested in her cats than her husband.

Among Celia's many film credits are roles in Hilary and Jackie as the mother of the musicans afflicted by sibling rivalry, and as gravy-obsessed Una Alconbury in Bridget Jones's Diary.

Celia has recently appeared in a plethora of TV drama, including Wuthering Heights inspired Sparkhouse, Churchill drama The Gathering Storm and George Eliot adaptation Daniel Deronda.

She's also appearing in Calendar Girls, a film about the 12 Women's Institute members who decided to pose naked for a charity calendar.

Perhaps her most intriguing roles was a brief appearance as Fighter Pilot Bravo 5 in blockbuster Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. So fleeting you could easily miss it!

Accomlished in the theatre too Celia has been directed by Oscar-winner Sam Mendes in Habeas Corpus at the Donmar Warehouse.

She won the Clarence Derwent Award for her role in The Sea at the Royal National Theatre.

Celia is a keen dancer, proficient in ballet, flamenco and Greek dancing and she has a son, Angus with actor Benjamin Whitrow.