Biography for
Eileen Atkins More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

16 June 1934, Clapton, London, England, UK

Birth Name

Eileen June Atkins

Height

5' 6½" (1.69 m)

Mini Biography

Eileen Atkins was born in a Salvation Army Women's Hostel in north London. Her father was a gas meter reader; her mother, a seamstress and barmaid. A drama teacher taught her how to drop her Cockney accent, and she studied Shakespeare and Greek tragedies. Her breakthrough role in "The Killing of Sister George" took her to Broadway.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Anonymous

Spouse

Bill Shepherd	(2 February 1978 - present)
Julian Glover	(1957 - 1966) (divorced)

Trivia

She was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 1990 and awarded Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2001 Queen's Birthday Honours List for her services to drama.

Co-creator (with actress Jean Marsh) of the classic British drama series "Upstairs, Downstairs" (1971) - making her wonderful presence in the Altman upstairs-downstairs movie Gosford Park (2001) particularly resonant.

She was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 1989 (1988 season) for Best Performance in a Supporting Role for Cymbeline and Mountain Language.

She was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 1999 (1998 season) for Best Actress for her performance in The Unexpected Man.

She was awarded the 2004 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Actress of the 2003 season for her performance in Honour at the Royal National Theatre: Cottesloe Stage.

She was awarded the 1992 London Critics Circle Theatre Award for Best Actress for her performance in The Night of the Iguana.

She was awarded the 1997 London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actress for her performance in A Delicate Balance.

She was nominated for a 2003 London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actress for her performance in Honour at the Royal National Theatre: Cottesloe.

She was nominated for a 1997 (1996) Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Actress in a play for her performance in John Gabriel Borkman.

2004 Tony Award nominee for Best Actress in a Play for "The Retreat from Moscow."

Won the Best Actress Award for "Honour" at the 2004 Laurence Olivier Awards.

Has been nominated for four Tony Awards: as Best Actress (Dramatic), in 1967 for "The Killing of Sister George" and in 1972 for "Vivat! Vivat Regina!; and as Best Actress (Play), in 1995 for "Indiscretions" and in 2004 for "The Retreat from Moscow."

Is a breast cancer survivor.

She has no children. She claimed in an interview with the Radio Times that she has never had any maternal instinct and put that down to the fact that she did not get on with her mother

She claims to be high-maintenance

Personal Quotes

In England, as here, there are always two kinds of audiences: the Royal Shakespeare and the West End. In the last 10 years, audiences have been changed by television. One can tell: people don't concentrate and they expect lighter fare - and I do hate disappointing the audiences. One lady came up to me afterwards here, very complimentary, and then she said 'Well, this is terrible heavy.' And I thought 'Oh dear, you think this is heavy? Because it isn't, it's just serious.

There's no such thing as a legend. Nearly everyone has forgotten Laurence Olivier. What's that dreadful word - 'dynasty', as in the Redgraves and Foxes? Acting is not in the blood - otherwise what are Judi Dench, Maggie Smith and I doing here? I'm the least well known, for a very good reason. Judi's an incredible actress who wouldn't be so popular if she hadn't been in "As Time Goes By" (1992). Maggie has always done movies, and won Oscars. I plough away at the classics.

Where Are They Now

(February 2004) She is starring with John Lithgow and Ben Chaplin in William Nicholson's drama, The Retreat from Moscow, on Broadway.

(May 2005) Appearing in "The Birthday Party" at the Duchess Theatre, London

(January 2006) She was will be replacing Tony Winner Cherry Jones in the Pulitzer Award winning drama, "Doubt" with Ron Eldard in New York City.

(July 2008) Appearing with Anna Maxwell Martin and Sophie Thompson in Joanna Murray-Smith's 'Female of the Species' at the Vaudeville Theatre in London.

(2008) Filming Wild Target with Rupert Grint and Bill Nighy.

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