Born in London in 1956, Imelda Staunton is a British actress and singer, trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). Her versatile career spans theatre, film, and television. In theatre, she is one of the most acclaimed performers in the West End, having won four Laurence Olivier Awards for iconic roles such as Mama Rose in *Gypsy*. On screen, she gained international acclaim for *Vera Drake* (2004), a performance that earned her a BAFTA Award, the Volpi Cup in Venice, and an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. She is widely known to the public for portraying the despotic Dolores Umbridge in the *Harry Potter* series and, more recently, Queen Elizabeth II in the series *The Crown*, a role for which she received Golden Globe and Emmy nominations. Other notable films include *Pride* (2014) and *Shakespeare in Love* (1998).