Marion Bailey

Marion Bailey (born 5 May 1951) is an English actress. She is best known for her work with her partner, filmmaker Mike Leigh, including the films Meantime, All or Nothing (2002), Vera Drake (2004), Mr. Turner (2014), for which she was nominated for Supporting Actress of the Year by the London Film Critics' Circle, and Peterloo (2018). In 2019 and 2020, she portrayed Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother in the third and fourth seasons of The Crown on Netflix, for which she won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Ensemble in 2020 and 2021. In 2024 she was given an achievement award by the Filming Italy Sardegna festival.

Personal life Bailey was born in Bushey Hospital, in Bushey, Hertfordshire, to Rose (née Timberlake) and William Bailey. She grew up in Harrow, Middlesex, and attended Pinner County Grammar School. She was a member of the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain and trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. With writer Terry Johnson, she has a daughter, the actress Alice Bailey Johnson.

Career Film Bailey has frequently collaborated with her partner Mike Leigh, such as playing Mrs Booth in Mr. Turner (2014) and Lady Conyngham in Peterloo (2018). Bailey has appeared as Mrs Peach in Debbie Isitt's Nasty Neighbours (1999), Mary in the Craig Ferguson film I'll Be There, and Mrs Adams in Toast (2010). She also appeared in The Lady in the Van (2015), Allied (2016), Dead in a Week or Your Money Back (2018), and played Dinah in Stephen Cookson's Brighton (2019). She co starred with Ben Whishaw in the 2023 short film Good Boy which was shortlisted for Best Live Action Short Film at the 96th Academy Awards.

Television Bailey's television work includes Inspector Morse, Casualty, The Bill, Holby City, Midsomer Murders, Agatha Christie's Poirot, A Touch of Frost, Dalziel and Pascoe, Big Deal, Boon, The Bretts, The Ruth Rendell Mysteries, No More Dying Then, Stay Lucky, Heat of the Sun, Micawber, New Tricks, Monday Monday, Being Human and Case Histories. In 1995, she had a recurring role as Avis in the long-running ITV series Shine on Harvey Moon. She also played leading roles in several popular 1980s TV series, including To Have and to Hold, Jury and Charlie.

In 2000, she played Wendy in Carlton's comedy-drama series The Thing About Vince... She has also appeared in many single TV dramas and films including Woyzeck, Way Upstream, Zackharov, Raspberry, Coppers, Derailed, Toast and Jane Austen's Persuasion. She played Jill in the BBC Three comedy series Him & Her, Sue in The Trials of Jimmy Rose, Ingrid in Temple, and Cara in Britannia for Sky. She played Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother in seasons 3 and 4 of the Netflix series The Crown, for which she was a recipient of two Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. She has most recently appeared in Shakespeare & Hathaway, Endeavour, and the Netflix dramas Obsession and All the Light We Cannot See.

Theatre Bailey has worked extensively in British theatre, including London’s West End, the National Theatre, the Royal Court, the Old Vic, Chichester Festival Theatre, Hampstead Theatre, the Arts Theatre, the Kiln, Bristol Old Vic and the West Yorkshire Playhouse.

In 1981 she performed in Mike Leigh's West End theatre play Goosepimples, for which she received a Plays and Players Award nomination as Most Promising Newcomer. In 2007, with the Shared Experience company she received a TMA nomination as Best Supporting Performance for her role in Kindertransport.

Bailey appeared in Mike Leigh's Grief at the National Theatre (2011/12). In 2013 she played the Queen in Handbagged at the Tricycle Theatre and in the production's subsequent West End transfer to the Vaudeville Theatre.

Her most recent appearances were in Dominic Cooke’s production of Medea at Soho Place Theatre and Richard Bean’s To Have and To Hold directed by Terry Johnson at Hampstead Theatre.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1994 Don't Get Me Started Gill Lane 1999 Nasty Neighbours Jean Peach 2000 Offending Angels False Mentor 2002 All or Nothing Carol 2003 I'll Be There Mary 2004 Vera Drake Mrs. Fowler 2006 The Sickie Carol Short 2008 Domestic Flight Susan Short 2010 Toast Mrs. Adams Short 2014 Mr. Turner Sophia Booth 2015 Fuel to Fire Dena Monk The Lady in the Van Housekeeper in Convent National Theatre Live: The Deep Blue Sea Mrs Elton 2016 Allied Mrs. Sinclair First Julia Short 2018 Dead in a Week or Your Money Back Penny Peterloo Lady Conyngham The Therapist Lonnie Short 2019 Brighton Dinah 2022 Tommies Mrs. Willis Short 2023 Good Boy Jackie Short 2026 Tender Loving Care Post-production

Television Year Title Role Notes 1975 The Girls of Slender Means Dormitory Girl Miniseries (3 episodes) 1983 Jury Chloe McCormack Series 1, episodes 3 & 4 Meantime Barbara TV movie 1984 All the World's a Stage Extract from Woyzeck Miniseries (1 episode) Raspberry Chris TV movie Miracles Take Longer Juliet Arnold 3 episodes Charlie Susan Alexander Miniseries (4 episodes) Sakharov Ludmilla Kovalov TV movie Scene Mrs. Piper Series 17, episode 3 Big Deal Alison Diamond Series 1 (3 episodes) 1985 Summer Season Joanna Potter Series 1, episode 17 Hotel Receptionist Series 1, episode 25 1986 To Have and to Hold Ann Fletcher Miniseries (8 episodes) 1987 Way Upstream June TV movie 1988 Worlds Beyond Norma Moran Series 1, episode 12 Coppers Julia TV movie The Bretts Agnes Series 2, episode 5 1989 Inspector Morse Fran Pierce Series 3, episode 4 The Ruth Rendell Mysteries Ros Swan Series 1 (3 episodes) 1990 Stay Lucky Jane Rowlands Series 2, episode 5 Casualty Joy Waddington Series 5, episode 5 1991 Agatha Christie's Poirot Jane Mason Series 3, episode 4 1992 The Bill Dorothy Strafford Series 8, episode 26 Boon Sheila Series 7, episode 10 1993 The Chief Isabelle Melly Series 3, episode 4 1994 A Touch of Frost Eileen Grant Series 2, episode 3 The Bill Elizabeth Dreyfon Series 10, episode 17 Casualty Anna Longford Series 9, episode 10 1995 Dangerfield Angie Millwood Series 1, episode 3 Shine on Harvey Moon Avis Series 5 (7 episodes) 1997 Dalziel and Pascoe Lorraine Wildgoose Series 2, episode 2 1998 Heat of the Sun Gwladys Carstairs Miniseries (1 episode) The Bill Delia Shaw Series 14, episode 32 2000 The Thing About Vince... Wendy Skinner Miniseries (3 episodes) 2001 Shades Caroline MacIntyre Series 1, episode 6 Micawber Lady Macefield Series 1, episode 2 2005 Cherished Marion Harding TV movie Derailed Diana Kellow TV movie 2007 The Bill Jess Parker Series 23, episode 20 Persuasion Mrs. Croft TV movie New Tricks Brenda Series 4, episode 7 2008 Holby City Lesley Bingham Series 10, episode 13 Midsomer Murders Alyssa Bradley Series 11, episode 3 2009 Monday Monday Clara Series 1, episode 6 2010–13 Him & Her Jill Series 1–4 (4 episodes) 2010 Toast Mrs. Adams TV movie 2011 Being Human Ruth Series 3, episode 6 Case Histories Gloria Hatter Series 1, episodes 3 & 4 2015 The Trials of Jimmy Rose Sue Anderson Miniseries (3 episodes) 2017 SS-GB Joan Woods Miniseries (1 episode) 2019 Temple Ingrid Series 1, episode 4 Britannia Cara Series 2 (3 episodes) 2019–20 The Crown Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Series 3–4 (18 episodes) 2021 Endeavour Hilda Bruce-Potter Series 8, episode 3 2022 This Is Going to Hurt Callie's Mother Series 1, episode 1 Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators Edie Brosnan Series 4, episode 7 Drømmeren Lady Islington Series 1, episode 2 2023 All the Light We Cannot See Madame Manec Series 1, episode 1-4 Obsession Elizabeth Miniseries (3 episodes) 2025 Prisoner 951 Barbara Ratcliffe Television mini-series