Caroline Blakiston
| Caroline Blakiston | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Caroline G. Blakiston[1] 13 February 1933 Chelsea, London, England, UK[1] |
| Occupation | actress |
| Years active | 1957–present |
| Spouse(s) | Russell Hunter (1970) (divorced) |
| Children | 2 children |
Caroline Blakiston (born 13 February 1933) is an English actress. She is best known in her native United Kingdom for her role in the television comedy series Brass, and to international audiences as Mon Mothma in the Star Wars film Return of the Jedi.
Early life
Blakiston was born in London and attended RADA.
Career
In the 1960s, Blakiston appeared in three episodes of The Avengers as well a number of ITC productions such as The Saint and the 1969 Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) episode "Never Trust a Ghost". She appeared to great acclaim as Marjorie Ferrar in the BBC Television adaptation of Galsworthy's The Forsyte Saga in 1967. In 1977 she appeared in Raffles as Lady Paulton, and also in Murder Most English as Helen Carobleat.
In 1983, Blakiston played the wayward character of Lady Patience Hardacre in the satirical Granada television series Brass, which ran for three series. She portrayed Mon Mothma, the primary political leader of the Rebel Alliance in the 1983 Star Wars film, Return of the Jedi.
In 1986, Blakiston played the villain Bess Sedgwick opposite Joan Hickson's Miss Marple, in the episode "At Bertram's Hotel" of the BBC's Miss Marple series. She also appeared as Lionel Hardcastle's ex-wife in an episode of As Time Goes By. She and Geoffrey Palmer (Lionel) had previously played estranged spouses a decade earlier in Carla Lane's series The Last Song. Since 2015, Blakiston has played Aunt Agatha in the BBC adaptation Poldark.
Personal life
In 1970, Blakiston married the actor Russell Hunter after they had played together in A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park. They had a son and a daughter together, but later divorced.[2]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | The Trygon Factor | White nun | |
| 1969 | The Magic Christian | Hon Esther Grand | |
| 1971 | Sunday Bloody Sunday | Rowing wife | |
| 1979 | Yanks | Golfing friend | |
| 1983 | Return of the Jedi | Mon Mothma | |
| 1987 | The Fourth Protocol | Angela Berenson | |
| 2006 | Scoop | Mr and Mrs Quincy | |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1961–67 | The Avengers | Various roles | 3 episodes |
| 1962 | City Beneath the Sea | Dr Ann Boyd | 7 episodes |
| 1966 | The Saint | Eleanor Bastion | Episode: The Convenient Monster |
| 1968 | The Caesars | Agrippina | 4 episodes |
| 1978 | Les Misérables | Madame Thenardier | TV film |
| 1979 | Prince Regent | Lady Frances Jersey | 3 episodes |
| 1983–90 | Brass | Lady Patience Hardacre | 32 episodes |
| 1985 | Charters and Caldicott | Margaret Mottram | 6 episodes |
| 2006 | The Line of Beauty | Lady Partridge | 2 episodes |
| 2012 | Holby City | Kathleen Pennington | Episode: Through the Darkness |
| 2013 | Agatha Christie's Poirot | Julia Carstairs | Episode: Elephants Can Remember |
| 2014 | Father Brown | Lady Lavinia Pryde | Episode: The Pride of the Pryde |
| 2015 | Poldark | Aunt Agatha | 8 episodes |
| Casualty | Frances Barrett | Episode: The Long Haul | |
References
- 1 2 "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 16 April 2011.
- ↑ "Russell Hunter : Obituaries". The Independent. 28 February 2004. Retrieved 24 December 2015.