Zoe Wanamaker
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Biography
American-born character player Zoe Wanamaker, daughter of actor-director Sam Wanamaker, moved at the age of three to England, where her father championed the rebuilding of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London. Not blessed with the cute nose or sensual mouth of the ingenue, she put her "interesting" looks to good service in repertory of the highest possible standard, performing extensively at the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre, in roles ranging from classical (Viola in "Twelfth Night") to musical comedy (Adelaide in "Guys and Dolls"). American audiences cheered her as Toine in "Piaf" (1981) and as Fay in "Loot" (1986), both performances earning her Tony nominations as Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play.
One of Wanamaker's earliest appearances on American TV was as Annemarie Kempf in the NBC miniseries "Inside the Third Reich" (1982), and her British TV series "Paradise Postponed" (1986) aired on "Masterpiece Theatre" (PBS). She became a national favorite in the UK for her continuing role opposite Adam Faith in the BBC-1's "Love Hurts" (1992-1994) and co-starred as the girlfriend of a possible killer in the first installment of the popular "Prime Suspect" series, seen in the USA in 1992 on PBS' "Mystery!." Wanamaker then went on to act in three "Masterpiece Theatre" productions, "Memento Mori" (1992), "The Countess Alice" and "The Blackheath Poisonings," as well as in the "Fat Chance" episode of the "Inspector Morse" series on "Mystery!" (all 1993).
Her work for the screen not withstanding, Wanamaker has remained first and foremost a stage actor. She lent her strong persona to a London production of Arthur Miller's "The Crucible" and reinterpreted the role of Amanda Wingfield in an acclaimed 1995 revival of "The Glass Menagerie." After collecting three nominations for the Olivier Award, the actress finally took home 1998's honor for Best Actress in a Play as Sophocles' "Electra" (1997). Though her appearances in features have been relatively infrequent, 1997 saw her in two, "Swept From the Sea" and "Wilde," for which she received a BAFTA nomination as a witty member of Oscar Wilde's circle who supported the writer and his family after accusations of gross indecency precipitated his fall from grace. She was also on hand that year for the official opening of the Globe Theatre, delivering a short prologue honoring the realization of her father's lifelong dream. In 2001, Wanamaker played Madame Hooch, the Quidditch referee, in "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone."
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1952
Moved with her family to England at the age of three (date approximate)
1981
Nominated for a Featured Actress Tony for her performance as Toine in "Piaf", an RSC production which moved to New York
1982
Portrayed Annemarie Kempf in ABC miniseries "Inside the Third Reich"
1986
Received second Tony nomination playing Fay in "Loot"
1986
Acted in Thames TV series "Paradise Postponed"
1987
Appeared in NBC miniseries "Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story"
1988
Portrayed Elle in Bob Hoskins' feature "The Raggedy Rawney"
1988
Starred as May Daniels in London production of Kauffman and Hart's "Once in a Lifetime", taped for PBS' "Great Performances"
1991
Co-starred in Granada TV's award-winning four-hour drama "Prime Suspect", featuring Helen Mirren as Det. Chief Insp. Jane Tennison; seen in this country on PBS' "Mystery!"
1992
Acted in "Masterpiece Theatre" (PBS) performance of "Memento Mori" along with Maggie Smith and Michael Horden
1992
Starred opposite Adam Faith in BBC-1 series "Love Hurts"; applauded for presenting a careful observation of a forty-something character struggling to combine late motherhood and a career
1993
Played Connie, middle-aged daughter to Wendy Hiller's Countess Von Holzendorf, in "The Countess Alice" on "Masterpiece Theatre"; also hosted
1993
Provided voice of Lady Macbeth in "Macbeth" for HBO's "Shakespeare: The Animated Tales"
1995
Appeared as Amanda Wingfield in London stage production of Tennessee Williams' "The Glass Menagerie"
1997
Appeared in four-part miniseries "A Dance to the Music of Time", based on the Anthony Powell novel; originally broadcast in the UK on Channel 4
1997
Delivered a short prologue before the grand premiere of the Globe Theatre in London
1997
Acted in two feature films, "Wilde" and "Swept From the Sea"
1997
Portrayed Sophocles' "Electra" on the London Stage
1998
Reprised "Electra" opposite Claire Bloom at the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, New Jersey and later on Broadway
2001
Played Madame Hooch in "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone"
2001
Acted in the British TV series "Adrian Mole: The Cappucino Years"
2001
Had leading role in the London premiere of David Mamet's play "Boston Marriage"
Family
Companions
