Victoria Hamilton (born Victoria Sharp; born 5 April 1971) is an English actress known for her roles in theatre and period dramas. Training at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, Hamilton began appearing in productions with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre. She starred alongside Clive Owen, and later Eddie Izzard, in the London stage play A Day in the Death of Joe Egg (2002), making her Broadway debut a year later, and earned a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Play.
Hamilton has found success working in the costume drama genre. In the 1990s, she had supporting roles in three Jane Austen adaptations including Pride and Prejudice (1995), Persuasion (1995) and Mansfield Park (1999). She also played Queen Victoria in the miniseries Victoria & Albert (2001), and had roles in the series Lark Rise to Candleford (2008–2011), Doctor Foster (2015–2017), The Crown (2016–2017), and Cobra (2020–2023).
Early life and education Hamilton was born Victoria Sharp in Wimbledon, London into a non-theatrical family.
She attended St Hilary's School, an independent school in Surrey, from 1974 to 1982, then Prior's Field School, Godalming, until 1987.
She initially intended to study English at Bristol University, before opting to train at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, from which she graduated.
Career Hamilton began her acting career in classical theatre, spending the first five years appearing in productions by companies such as the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre. She stayed with the Royal Shakespeare Company for 18 months. She commented in 2001 that it was "very unfashionable" to begin a career in classical theatre, but she had sought to emulate the careers of actors like Judi Dench and Ian Holm who "started in rep and slowly built themselves into the position where they could juggle theatre and film".
Stage In 1995, Hamilton appeared in Ibsen's The Master Builder directed by Peter Hall, starring Alan Bates and Gemma Jones and performed at the Haymarket Theatre in the West End of London. The Independent described Hamilton as a "formidable talent" despite being a newcomer, and noted that she had previously appeared in two performances held at the Orange Tree Theatre in London, one of them being an adaptation of a play by James Saunders. The Master Builder earned Hamilton the Critics Circle Theatre Award for Most Promising Newcomer. She received the 2000 Critics' Circle Theatre Award for her performance in As You Like It, Crucible Theatre.
She made her Broadway debut in the 2003 play A Day in the Death of Joe Egg, co-starring alongside the comedian Eddie Izzard. She had starred with Clive Owen, and later Izzard, in a successful London production of the play the previous year, in which she and Izzard portray the parents of a girl with severe brain damage who attempt to save their marriage through jokes and black comedy. For her performance in the Broadway adaptation, Hamilton received a nomination for Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play.
The following year she appeared in Suddenly, Last Summer (2004), an adaptation of the Tennessee Williams play, performed at the Lyceum Theatre in Sheffield. For her performance, she was honoured as Best Actress by winning the Critics' Circle Theatre Award and Evening Standard Theatre Award. Her success led some of the media to brand her as "the next Judi Dench".
Hamilton took a three-year break from the stage before returning as Viola in the Shakespearean comedy Twelfth Night (2008), staged at Wyndham's Theatre in London's West End.
Television and film Hamilton is known for working in the costume drama genre. In 2001, she joked that she had been in corsets for the preceding seven years.
During the 1990s, she had supporting roles in three adaptations of Jane Austen's novels. These include the 1995 serial Pride and Prejudice as Mrs Forster, the 1995 film Persuasion as Henrietta Musgrove, and the 1999 film Mansfield Park as Maria Bertram.
She won the role of Queen Victoria in the 2001 BBC TV production Victoria & Albert, despite facing strong competition and being relatively unknown at the time. She auditioned with the director John Erman in a London hotel suite, and after reading lines from several more scenes at his prompting, was offered the part immediately. Noting that the monarch is typically depicted as stern and stout, Hamilton desired to show a younger version who "loved parties and balls and theatre and opera and new dresses" after a childhood spent in a "forbidding environment".
In 2005, she appeared in the three-part miniseries To the Ends of the Earth alongside Benedict Cumberbatch and Jared Harris. The production, an adaptation of the novels of the same name by William Golding, featured various self-absorbed characters who are forced to remain in close quarters while sailing on a ship to Australia during the Napoleonic Wars. Hamilton described the production as having "some of the most beautiful scripts I've seen", and called her character Miss Granham "one of the strongest people on the boat".
From 2008 to 2011, she appeared in the BBC One series Lark Rise to Candleford as Ruby Pratt, one of two spinster sisters who run a high fashion shop in a small 19th-century town. The Guardian deemed Ruby's rivalry with her sister Pearl (played by Matilda Ziegler) as a highlight of the series, believing both actresses portrayed their characters with "infectious relish". In 2013, Hamilton played Peggy in the BBC drama series What Remains.
In 2015, she appeared in the BBC One drama, Doctor Foster, playing Anna Baker, a woman who lived across the road from the central characters, Gemma and Simon Foster. She reprised her role in the second series of the drama in 2017. By the final episode, her character had moved away.
In 2016 and 2017, she appeared in the first two seasons of the Netflix series The Crown as Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. The series, which was about the life and reign of Queen Elizabeth II, spanned six seasons between 4 November 2016 and 14 December 2023.
Since 2020, she has starred in the Sky drama Cobra as Anna Marshall, the Downing Street Chief of Staff.
Personal life Hamilton met actor Mark Bazeley while co-starring in a 2005 production of Tennessee Williams' Suddenly Last Summer. They became engaged on a beach in Greece, and married in 2008. They have two sons.
Filmography Film Year Film Role Notes Ref 1995 Persuasion Henrietta Musgrove 1996 The Merchant of Venice Nerissa TV film 1999 Mansfield Park Maria Bertram 2002 A Day in the Death of Joe Egg Sheila TV film Before You Go Catherine Goodbye, Mr. Chips Kathie TV film 2003 In Search of the Brontës Charlotte Brontë TV film 2005 A Very Social Secretary Kimberly Quinn TV film 2006 Scoop Jan Wide Sargasso Sea Aunt Cora TV film 2008 French Film Cheryl 2010 Toast Mum TV film 2016 The Circuit Helene TV film Our Ex-Wife Hillary TV film 2019 The Vanishing Princess Narrator Short film 2020 Albion Audrey Walters TV film 2021 The Trick Ruth Jones TV film
Television Year Film Role Notes Ref1995 Screen Two Henrietta Musgrove Episode: "Persuasion" Pride and Prejudice Mrs. Forster Miniseries; 3 episodes 1995–1996 Cone Zone Zandra Regular role; 10 episodes 1998 Performance Cordelia Episode: "King Lear" 2000 Midsomer Murders Hilary Inkpen Episode: "Garden of Death" 2001 Victoria & Albert Queen Victoria Miniseries; 2 episodes The Savages Jessica Savage Regular role; 6 episodes 2001–2002 Babyfather Lucy Fry Recurring role; 5 episodes 2005 Twisted Tales Jessie Vasquez Episode: "The Magister" To the Ends of the Earth Miss Granham Miniseries; 3 episodes Jericho Miss Greenaway Episode: "To Murder and Create" 2006 The Shell Seekers Nancy Miniseries; 2 episodes 2007 Trial & Retribution Suzy MacDonald Episode: "Curriculum Vitae" The Time of Your Life Esther Regular role; 6 episodes 2008–2011 Lark Rise to Candleford Ruby Pratt Regular role; 31 episodes 2013 What Remains Peggy Scott Miniseries; 4 episodes 2014 The Game Sarah Montag Regular role; 6 episodes 2015 Call the Midwife Iris Willens Episode: "Christmas Special 2015" 2015–2017 Doctor Foster Anna Baker Regular role; 8 episodes 2016–2017 The Crown Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Main role (Seasons 1–2)17 episodes 2019 Urban Myths Joan Collins / Alexis Episode: "The Trial of Joan Collins" Deep State Senator Meaghan Sullivan Regular role; 8 episodes 2020 Life Belle Stone Regular role; 6 episodes 2020–present COBRA Anna Marshall Regular role; 12 episodes 2024McDonald & Dodds Dora Lang Guest Role2025UnforgottenJuliet CooperRegular role; 6 episodes (a lecturer facing a formal complaint from a student) Slow HorsesDodie GimballGuest role2026The Teacher Helen Simpson Lead role; 4 episodes
Selected theatre credits Year Title Role Venue 2003 Sweet Panic Clare Duke of York's Theatre, London 2004 Suddenly Last Summer Catharine Holly UK Tour 2005 Once in a Lifetime May Daniels Olivier Theatre, London 2008 Twelfth Night Viola Wyndham's Theatre, London 2012 Love, Love, Love Sandra Royal Court Theatre, London 2017, 2020 Albion Audrey Walters Almeida Theatre, London
Awards and nominations Television YearAwardCategoryWorkResult2016Screen Actors Guild AwardOutstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama SeriesThe Crown2017
Theatre YearAwardCategoryWorkResultRef.2000Critics’ Circle Theatre AwardBest ActressAs You Like It2002Laurence Olivier AwardBest ActressA Day in the Death of Joe Egg2003Tony AwardBest Actress in a PlayDrama League AwardDistinguished PerformanceOuter Critics Circle AwardOutstanding Actress in a PlayTheatre World Award2004Evening Standard Theatre AwardBest ActressSuddenly Last SummerCritics’ Circle Theatre AwardBest Actress2005Laurence Olivier AwardBest Actress2017Evening Standard Theatre AwardBest ActressAlbionCritics’ Circle Theatre AwardBest Actress
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