Anne Reid Biography

Fast Facts

• Was awarded a Member of the Order of the British Empire for her services to Drama in 2010
• Won an ALFS Award at the London Critics Circle Film Awards for British Actress of the Year for "The Mother" in 2004
• Discovered acting at the age of 12 when she took elocution lessons at her boarding school
• Started out as a stage manager and worked in repertory theatre before getting her first TV job doing "Benny Hill" sketches
• Quote: "My teacher at RADA said I was going to have trouble when I left because I wasn't an obvious juvenile lead although I could do both comedy and drama․ But I understood enough to know that my career was going to be a marathon, not a sprint․"
• Quote: "I remember when I was․․․12, learning the lines of a play and thinking, '․․․I can do this better than other people․' You do know when an inner talent gives you that ease․ It's not a remarkable thing - just a knack that has given me a very nice life․"
• Best known for her role as the title character in "The Mother" and as Valerie Barlow in "Coronation Street․"
• She was in two different adaptations of "Bleak House," one in 1985 and the other in 2005, and she played a different character in each one
• She has twice appeared in "Doctor Who:" once in the classic series in 1989 and again in the revival series in 2007