Joanna Lumley is a British actress and former model known for her starring role in the television drama ‘Absolutely Famous.’ She specializes in playing the role of a high-class lady with her distinctive voice throughout her career.
Lumley’s breakthrough role was as Purdey in The New Avengers (1976), a role for which over 800 girls auditioned. She is also a leading human rights activist and supporter of many charities, including animal rights charities.
Joanna Lumley Married Life Details With Husband Stephen Barlow
Joanna Lumley is married to Stephen Barlow, an English opera conductor, since 1986.
The couple officially met at a wedding when she was 31. At their first meeting, she felt that they ought to be together. However, he married a different partner but divorced and left Joanna a note one day, to which she responded by inviting him for the tea – the rest was history.
Joanna and Stephen often spend time apart from each other due to their work. Feeling lonely and hating phones, they kept in touch with each other in a rather old-fashioned and romantic way. They exchanged postcards as a means of connecting with others- it was revealed during her 2018 interview with the Mirror.
Joanna Lumley and her husband, Stephen Barlow (©: mirror.co.uk)
She also revealed that she and her husband were ‘quite romantic.’ They even write notes to each other even for the simplest things, like: “Don’t forget to take something out of the freezer for dinner!” but some are more meaningful too.
Prior to Stephen, she was in a relationship with a photographer named Michael Claydon. The ex-couple had a son named Jamie Lumley, born in 1967. Joanna also has two grandchildren, both daughters.
In May 1970, she married the comedy writer Jeremy Lloyd. Unfortunately, the marriage was dissolved after a few months, ending in September 1970.
Net Worth Of Joanna Lumley; Movies And TV Shows
Joanna Lumley has a net worth of $20 million as a British actress and producer.
During her three years of her career, Joanna Lumley worked as a photographic model, notably for Brian Duffy. Alongside, she also worked as a house model for Jean Muir. In 1966, she appeared in an early episode of the ‘Bruce Forsyth Show.’
Three years later, her career started with a small role in the movie ‘Some Girls Do,’ followed by her appearances as a Bond girl in the 1969 film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. During the 1960s, she became one of the most booked models.
Lumley went to have a brief but memorable role as Elaine Perkins in ‘Coronation Street,’ in which her character turned down Ken Barlow’s offer of marriage. In 1973, she made another big-screen appearance as Jessica Van Helsing in ‘The Satanic Rites of Dracula,’ the last Hammer Dracula film to star Christopher Lee.
In 1976-77, she gained a boost to her popularity when she was roped in for a super-agent super-agent in the sitcom ‘The New Avengers,’ as the all-powerful Purdey. She starred in the sci-fi adventure series ‘Sapphire and Steel’ between 1979 and 1982, in which she played the role of a mysterious inter-dimensional agent who is not quite human.
Lumley also made appearances in several films, including ‘Trail of the Pink Panther' (1982), Curse of the Pink Panther (1983), and a screen-stealing role in Shirley Valentine (1989)’
In 1995, Joanna voiced Annie's character, the rag doll, in the animated series ‘The Forgotten Toys.’ In 1999, she provided her voice for ‘Sims,’ the chicken, in the BAFTA award-winning animated series ‘The Foxbusters.’ She has portrayed ‘Patsy Stone in the BBC television comedy series ‘Absolutely Fabolous,’ which aired between 1992 to 2003. She won two BAFTA awards in the ‘Best Comedy Performance’ category for the same role in the series.
Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, she also worked on numerous film projects, including Cold Comfort Farm (1995), James and the Giant Peach (1996), Parting Shots (1999), Maybe Baby (2000), Ella Enchanted (2004), Corpse Bride (2005), and The Wolf of Wall Street (2013).
Joanna Lumley is widely recognized for her advocacy of various oppressed groups, including the Gurkhas, the Khonds indigenous community of India, and the exiled people of Tibet. She also backs the human rights organization Survival International, which works to secure indigenous people's rights.
Additionally, Lumley is a patron of a myriad of charity organizations: 'Population Matters,' 'Tree Aid,' 'Earth Restoration Service,' 'Born Free Foundation,' and has donated books to 'Book Aid International.'
Who Is Joanna Lumley?
Joanna Lumley, birth name Joanna Lamond Lumley was born on 1 May 1946 in Kashmir, India.
She was born to British parents, Thya Beatrice (Weir) and James Rutherford Lumley. Her father was a major in the Gurkha Rifles, and she spent most of her early childhood in the Far East, where her father was posted. She also has a sister named Aelene Frey.
After India achieved independence in 1947, her family moved to Kent, England, where she attended Mickledene School as a boarder. Afterward, she went to St. Mary’s Convent School in Sussex and then studied at the Lucie Clayton Finishing School after being turned down by the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at 16.
Her height is 5 ft 8 in, and she weighs around 58 kg.