Annette Crosbie

Annette Crosbie (born 12 February 1934) is a Scottish actress. She is best known for her role as Margaret Meldrew in the BBC sitcom One Foot in the Grave (1990–2000). She twice won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress, for The Six Wives of Henry VIII in 1971 and in 1976 for Edward the Seventh.

Also in 1976, Crosbie was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for the 1976 film The Slipper and the Rose and she won the award for Best Actress at the Evening Standard British Film Awards for the same role. Her other film appearances include The Pope Must Die (1991), Shooting Fish (1997), The Debt Collector (1999), Calendar Girls (2003) and Into the Woods (2014).

Early life and career Crosbie was born in Gorebridge, Midlothian, Scotland, as Annette Ross Mcleod Crosbie to Presbyterian parents who disapproved of her becoming an actress. Nevertheless, she joined the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School while still in her teens. She began her career with the Glasgow Citizens' Theatre Company in 1956. She was educated at Boroughmuir High School in Edinburgh. Her big break came in 1970 when she was cast as Catherine of Aragon in the BBC television series The Six Wives of Henry VIII, for which she won the 1971 BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress. In 1973, she starred alongside Vanessa Redgrave in the BBC serial A Picture of Katherine Mansfield.

In 1975, Crosbie made a similar impact as another queen, Queen Victoria, in the ITV period drama Edward the Seventh, for which she won the 1976 BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress. She played Cinderella's fairy godmother in The Slipper and the Rose, which was chosen as the Royal Film Première for 1976. In that film, Crosbie sang the Sherman Brothers' song, "Suddenly It Happens". Crosbie voiced the character of Galadriel in Ralph Bakshi's animated movie, The Lord of the Rings, filmed in 1978. In 1980, she played the abbess in Hawk the Slayer. In 1986, she appeared as the vicar's wife in Paradise Postponed.

Personal life Crosbie was married to Michael Griffiths from 1961 until their divorce in 1985. The marriage produced two children, a son and a daughter. Their daughter Selina Griffiths, is also an actress.

Crosbie is a campaigner for greyhound welfare. From 2003 to 2006, she was president of the League Against Cruel Sports. In 2014, she was a vice-president. She was an honorary vice-president of the Scottish SPCA.

Crosbie lives in Wimbledon, London.

Filmography

Film

Television

Radio Appearances Good Behaviour (2014) on BBC Radio 4 One Foot in the Grave (1995) 4 episodes adapted from the British television sitcom of the same name, first aired between 21 January 1995 and 11 February 1995 on BBC Radio 2. The episodes are "Alive and Buried", "In Luton Airport, No One Can Hear You Scream", "Timeless Time" and "The Beast in the Cage". They are repeated regularly on BBC Radio 4 Extra. Old Harry's Game as Edith Cordelia Barrington (from series 6 onwards) on BBC Radio 4 The Price of Fear - Episode: To My Dear, Dear Saladin (6 June 1983) on BBC Radio 4 The works of Robert Burns (2016) for BBC Radio Scotland

Awards and nominations