Michelle Dockery
Michelle Dockery | |
---|---|
![]() Dockery at the 2013 Golden Globe Awards | |
Born |
Rush Green, London, England, UK | 15 December 1981
Occupation | Actress, singer |
Years active | 2000–present |
Known for | Downton Abbey |
Partner(s) | John Dineen (2013–2015; his death) |
Michelle Suzanne Dockery[1] (born 15 December 1981) is an English actress and singer. She is best known for her role as Lady Mary Crawley in the ITV drama series Downton Abbey (2010–2015), for which she has been nominated for three consecutive Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award. She made her professional stage debut in His Dark Materials in 2004. For her role as Eliza Doolittle in the 2007 London revival of Pygmalion, she was nominated for the Evening Standard Award.
For her role in the 2009 play Burnt by the Sun, she earned an Olivier Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Her other notable stage credits include Pillars of the Community (2005) and Hamlet (2010). She has also appeared in the films Hanna (2011), Anna Karenina (2012) and Non-Stop (2014).
Early life
Dockery was born at Rush Green Hospital in Rush Green, London,[2] to Lorraine (née Witton) and Michael Francis Dockery, a lorry driver and later an environmental analyst.[3]
She has two older sisters, Louise and Joanne. She was educated first at Chadwell Heath Academy, and later at the Finch Stage School.[4]
After her A Levels, she enrolled at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, where she was awarded the Gold Medal for Drama at her graduation in 2004.[5][6]
Career
Stage
Dockery was a member of the National Youth Theatre. She made her professional debut in His Dark Materials at the Royal National Theatre in 2004.[7] In 2006, she was nominated for the Ian Charleson Award for her performance as Dina Dorf in Pillars of the Community at the National Theatre.[8] She appeared in Burnt by the Sun at the National Theatre, for which she received an Olivier Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.[9]
She won second prize at the Ian Charleson Awards for her performance as Eliza Doolittle in Peter Hall's production of Pygmalion at the Theatre Royal, Bath, which toured the UK and transferred to The Old Vic in 2008,[10] and for the same production was nominated Best Newcomer at the Evening Standard Awards 2008.[11]
In 2010, she played Ophelia in Hamlet at the Crucible Theatre alongside John Simm.[12]
Film and television
Dockery made her television debut as Betty in Fingersmith in 2005.[13] In 2006, she starred as Susan Sto Helit in a two-part adaptation of Terry Pratchett's novel Hogfather.[14] In 2008, Dockery played Kathryn in Channel 4's The Red Riding Trilogy and played the guest lead of tormented rape victim Gemma Morrison in BBC's Waking the Dead. In 2009, she appeared in the two-part Cranford Christmas special for the BBC, and starred as the lead character in a modernised BBC adaptation of The Turn of the Screw with future Downton Abbey co-star Dan Stevens.
Dockery came to public prominence in 2010 when she played Lady Mary Crawley in Julian Fellowes' series Downton Abbey. Downton Abbey was filmed from February-August 2010-15. The series was broadcast on ITV September-November, with a special Christmas night episode for Series 2-6 in 2011-15. For her role in the series, she received three Emmy Award nominations and a Golden Globe nomination.
Her first big screen role was as False Marissa in Hanna (2011). In 2012, she appeared as Princess Myagkaya in the film adaptation of Anna Karenina and starred with Charlotte Rampling in a two-part dramatisation of William Boyd's spy thriller Restless on BBC One.[15] In January 2014, she appeared in the film Non-Stop.
In 2014, she was made Fellow of the Guildhall School in recognition of her achievements in television.[16] In 2014, Dockery was listed in The Sunday Times Britain's 500 Most Influential People, which is a compilation of the most significant individuals in the UK who have demonstrated outstanding qualities of influence, achievement and inspiration.[17][18]
In 2016 she starred in Good Behaviour, an American drama television series based on the novella series by Blake Crouch. Dockery played Letty Dobesh. Dockery also starred in the upcoming British drama film, The Sense of an Ending, based on the Booker-winning novel by Julian Barnes.
Music
Dockery trained as a singer. She sang at the 50th Anniversary of Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London and has occasionally sung with Sadie and the Hotheads, a band formed by Elizabeth McGovern, who plays her mother in Downton Abbey.[5][19] Dockery cites her musical influences as Peggy Lee, Melody Gardot and Billie Holiday in her more melancholy moods.[5]
Charity work
On World Humanitarian Day 2014, Oxfam announced Dockery as its first ever Humanitarian Ambassador.[20] Dockery is also a patron of Changing Faces[21] and supports a host of other charities.[22]
In 2014, along with 8 other A-list stars, Dockery was featured in an exclusive short film for Stand Up to Cancer, spreading the urgent message that we need to act now to accelerate new cancer treatments to UK patients and save more lives.[23]
Personal life
Dockery's Downton Abbey co-star, Irish actor Allen Leech introduced her to a friend, John Dineen, in May 2013.[24] They were first photographed in public together by paparazzi in August 2013 in Venice, Italy. There had been other public appearances of the couple, including Wimbledon, the US Open, around New York City and the Cartier Queen's Cup in 2014, where Dineen appeared thinner. Dockery herself did not speak of Dineen publicly, other than a magazine interview in 2014: "I have a wonderful man in my life from Ireland."
It was reported that the couple were engaged on Valentine's Day 2015.[25] She wore her engagement ring two days later during the first table script read of series six of Downton Abbey on 16 February. Someone on the set then leaked to the media that Dockery was showing her engagement ring to fellow cast mates and "was over the moon". Dockery's spokesman never made an announcement regarding this. Despite the engagement, the couple was not publicly photographed together at all in 2015.
In December 2015, Dockery and other castmates made several appearances on American talk shows to promote the final season of Downton. On 9 December, she suddenly left her U.S. media tour and was photographed by paparazzi arriving at a London airport on 10 December by herself. She skipped the 11 December appearance on The View where host Joy Behar, unaware that Dockery had flown to her fiancé's deathbed, asked an uncomfortable Allen Leech about "playing Cupid" and setting Dockery up with his friend, Dineen. Leech made no mention of Dineen's illness or grave condition. On 13 December 2015, Dineen died from a rare cancer, which had been diagnosed earlier in the year, and for which he had sought experimental treatment in Germany while Dockery was filming Downton Abbey. The type of cancer was not disclosed.
Dineen died in Marymount Hospice, Curraheen, County Cork, two days before Dockery's 34th birthday and four days before what would have been his 35th birthday, with Dockery and his family at his bedside. A private funeral was arranged on the day between Dockery and Dineen's birthdays. Dockery sang "The Folks that live on the Hill" and told the mourners that Dineen had been "my friend, my hero, my king, my everything".[26]
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2010 | Spoiler | Goth Girl | Short film |
2010 | Shades of Beige | Jodie | Short film |
2011 | Hanna | False Marissa | |
2012 | Out of Time | Christine | Short film[27][28] |
2012 | Anna Karenina | Princess Myagkaya | |
2012 | A Poem Is.. | Narrator | Voice |
2012 | Angelic Voices: The Choristers of Salisbury Cathedral | Narrator | Documentary |
2014 | Non-Stop | Nancy Hoffman | |
2014 | Tough Justice | Connie Tough | Short film |
2015 | Self/less | Claire Hale | |
2015 | Many Beautiful Things | Voice of Lilias Trotter | Documentary |
2015 | District Zero: What's Hidden Inside the Smartphone of a Refugee | Narrator | Documentary |
2016 | The Sense of an Ending | Susie Webster | Post production |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2005 | Fingersmith | Betty | TV series |
2006 | Hogfather | Susan / Death of Rats | Television film |
2007 | Consent | Television film | |
2007 | Dalziel and Pascoe | Aimee Hobbs | 2 episodes |
2008 | Heartbeat | Sue Padgett | Episode: "Take Three Girls" |
2008 | Poppy Shakespeare | Dawn | Television film |
2009 | Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1974 | Kathryn Taylor | Television film |
2009 | Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1983 | Kathryn Taylor | Television film |
2009 | The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler | Ewa Rozenfeld | Television film |
2009 | The Turn of the Screw | Ann | Television film |
2009 | Waking the Dead | Gemma Morrison | 2 episodes |
2009 | Return to Cranford | Erminia Whyte | 2 episodes |
2010–2015 | Downton Abbey | Lady Mary Crawley | All 6 seasons |
2012 | Restless | Ruth Gilmartin | Miniseries |
2012 | American Dad! | Margaret Watkins | Voice 1 episode |
2012 | Henry IV, Parts I and II | Lady Kate Percy | Television film |
2013 | Family Guy | British Woman | Voice 1 episode |
2015 | Japan: Earth's Enchanted Islands | Narrator | BBC2 Documentary Series |
2016 | Good Behavior | Letty Raines | All 10 episodes of Season 1 |
2017 | Godless | Alice Fletcher | Post production |
Stage
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2004 | His Dark Materials | Jessie | National Theatre |
2005 | Henry IV, Parts I & II | Carrier | National Theatre |
2005 | The UN Inspector | Female activist | National Theatre |
2005 | Pillars of the Community | Dina | National Theatre |
2007 | Dying for It | Kleopatra | Almeida Theatre |
2007 | Pygmalion | Eliza Doolittle | UK tour |
2008 | Uncle Vanya | Yelena | UK tour |
2008 | Pygmalion | Eliza Doolittle | Old Vic Theatre |
2009 | Burnt by the Sun | Maroussia | National Theatre |
2010 | Hamlet | Ophelia | Crucible Theatre, Sheffield |
Awards and nominations
Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
2005 | Ian Charleson Awards | Best Actress | Pillars of Community | Nominated |
2007 | Ian Charleson Awards | Best Performance by an Actor - 2nd Prize | Pygmalion | Won |
2008 | Evening Standard Award | Outstanding Newcomer | Pygmalion | Nominated |
2010 | Laurence Olivier Award | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | Burnt by the Sun | Nominated |
2011 | Monte-Carlo Television Festival | Outstanding Actress Drama Series | Downton Abbey | Nominated |
2012 | Monte-Carlo Television Festival | Outstanding Actress Drama Series | Downton Abbey | Nominated |
Critics' Choice Television Award | Best Drama Actress | Downton Abbey | Nominated | |
Glamour Awards | Editor's Special Award | N/A | Won | |
Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series | Downton Abbey | Nominated | |
Satellite Awards | Satellite Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama | Downton Abbey | Nominated | |
2013 | Golden Globe Award | Best Actress – Television Series Drama | Downton Abbey | Nominated |
Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series | Downton Abbey | Nominated | |
Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Downton Abbey | Won | |
Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series | Downton Abbey | Nominated | |
Huading Awards | Best Global Actress | Downton Abbey | Won | |
Online Film and Television Association Awards | Best Actress in a Drama Series | Downton Abbey | Nominated | |
2014 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series | Downton Abbey | Nominated |
Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Downton Abbey | Won | |
2015 | Harper's Bazaar Women of the Year Awards | Television Icon Award | N/A | Won |
2015 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Downton Abbey | Won |
References
- ↑ Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.; at ancestry.com
- ↑ Gore, Alex (31 August 2013). "Your number's up". The Sun. London, UK.
- ↑ "Real secrets of Downton's girls", DailyMail.co.uk, October 2011; accessed 7 April 2016.
- ↑ "Company Members – Michelle Dockery". National Theatre. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
- 1 2 3 "Michelle Dockery: What's an Essex girl doing at Downton Abbey?". Daily Mail. London, UK. 9 September 2011.
- ↑ "Masterpiece: Downton Abbey". PBS. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
- ↑ Inverne, James (30 November 2004). "Previews for Second Part of His Dark Materials Begin Nov. 30". Playbill. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
- ↑ "Recent awards for drama graduates". Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Archived from the original on 1 April 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
- ↑ "Olivier awards nominations". guardian.co.uk. London: Guardian News and Media. 8 February 2010. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
- ↑ Dockery review in Pygmalion, Guardian.co.uk, 17 May 2008.
- ↑ The 2008 ES Theatre Awards shortlist, thisislondon.co.uk, 24 November 2008 Archived 13 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ First Night: Hamlet, Sheffield Crucible, independent.co.uk, 23 September 2010.
- ↑ "Michelle Dockery". IMDb. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
- ↑ O'Sullivan, Michael (7 March 2008). "'Hogfather': Low-Budget Hogwash". Washington Post. p. T 39.
- ↑ Michaels, Adrian (28 December 2012). "Restless, BBC One, review". dailytelegraph.co.uk. London, UK. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
- ↑ , gsmd.ac.uk; accessed 6 July 2016.
- ↑ "Britain's 500 most influential". The Sunday Times. 26 January 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
- ↑ Profile, debretts.com; accessed 6 July 2016.
- ↑ The Times, 6 November 2010
- ↑ Felicity Thistlethwaite. "From Downton to charity: Michelle Dockery Oxfam's first Humanitarian Ambassador". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
- ↑ "Changing Faces". Retrieved 4 January 2016.
- ↑ "Michelle Dockery: Charity Work & Causes". Look to the Stars. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
- ↑ "Stars Unite in Exclusive Stand Up to Cancer Film". Stand Up to Cancer UK. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
- ↑ "The cast of 'Downton Abbey' on The View (Dec 11th, 2015)". YouTube. 11 December 2015.
- ↑ "Abbey ever after: Downton's Michelle Dockery 'engaged' to Irish PR beau John Dineen". evoke.ie. 15 February 2015.
- ↑ Hutch, Eleanore (15 December 2015). "Downton Abbey star Michelle Dockery left devastated by Irish fiance's death". Evoke.ie.
- ↑ Rothman, Lily (15 March 2012). "TIME Style and Design: Futuristic London Fashion". TIME magazine. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
- ↑ "Out of Time". Josh Appignanesi. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
External links
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