The Biography

Fenella Woolgar – English actress, born 4 August 1969 in Hillingdon, London, England. Trained at RADA, graduating in 1999. Spent her early childhood (ages 3–6) in New Canaan, Connecticut, USA. She is the sister of barrister Dermot Woolgar and artist Claudia Woolgar. Her most notable film roles include Agatha in Bright Young Things (2003, nominated for the BAFTA for Most Promising Newcomer), Hester in Vera Drake (2004, Mike Leigh), Jane Cook in Scoop (2006, Woody Allen), Jane in You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (2009, Woody Allen), Nancy Dakin in Cheerful Weather for the Wedding (2012), Elizabeth Eastlake in Mr. Turner (2014, Mike Leigh), Miss Crummock in Swallows and Amazons (2016), Miss Phipps in Victoria & Abdul (2017), and Margaret Hamilton in Judy (2019). On television she is best known for Sister Hilda in Call the Midwife (2018–present), Agatha Christie in Doctor Who (2008, "The Unicorn and the Wasp"), Alison Scotlock in Home Fires (2015–2016), Lady Angela Hope in Spies of Warsaw (2013), Lady Brightlingsea in The Buccaneers (2023), and Margaret Thatcher in The Reckoning (2023). She is also active on stage (National Theatre, Old Vic, Royal Court) and on BBC Radio 4, where she voiced Rosemary Kennedy in An American Rose (2013, nominated for Best Actress on Radio).