Celia Imrie

After years of proving her talents in film and television, Celia Imrie became the sort of actress whose absence in a modern romantic comedy would be deemed practically inexcusable. The actress, adroit in both humorous and dramatic pursuits, built her foundation on television series like "Upstairs, Downstairs" (ITV 1971-75) and "Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV" (BBC Two 1985-87), graduating soon enough to high-profile films like "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein" (1994) and "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace" (1999). After a turn in "Bridget Jones' Diary" (2001), Imrie at last amounted the sort of repute that kept her a regular fixture of contemporaneous Hollywood. Celia Diane Savile Imrie was born on July 15, 1952, in the town of Guildford in Surrey, England. After completing her studies at the Guildford School of Acting, Imrie worked her way to the forefront of the film and television scene, starting out with supporting roles in films like the B movie "House of Whipcord" (1974) and programs including the drama "Upstairs, Downstairs" (ITV 1971-75). Imrie snagged a leading role on the sci-fi miniseries "The Nightmare Man" (BBC 1981), which led to a slew of notable recurring parts on TV projects, most formidably "Bergerac" (BBC One 1981) and the sketch comedy series "Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV" (BBC Two 1985-87). At this time, Imrie began landing attachment to high-profile movies, such as the cult classic fantasy film "Highlander" (1986). After reuniting with her eponymous "Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV" costar for the TV movie "Pat and Margaret," an installment of the anthology series "Screen One" (BBC One 1989-1993), Imrie began to lend new focus to major motion pictures. Among the lot were the Kenneth Branagh-directed productions "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein" (1994), starring Robert De Niro, and "A Midwinter's Tale" (1995), as well as the family film "The Borrowers" (1997). The roles and pictures only got bigger from there. Imrie followed these projects up with a