Joanna David

Joanna David (born Joanna Elizabeth Hacking; 17 January 1947) is an English actress, best known for her television work.^[1]

Life and career

David was born in Lancaster, England, the daughter of Davida Elizabeth (Nesbitt) and John Almond Hacking.^[2] Her first major television role was as Elinor Dashwood in the BBC's 1971 dramatisation of Sense and Sensibility followed a year later by War and Peace, in which she played Sonya. David also featured in the TV series The Last of the Mohicans (BBC), in two episodes of Colditz, (Missing presumed Dead and Odd Man In, 1972) as Cathy Carter, the wife of Flt. Lt. Simon Carter (played by David McCallum). In 1975, she played Theo Dane in the BBC's television adaptation of Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild (32 years later in 2007, Emilia Fox, David's daughter by the actor Edward Fox, her long-standing partner and now husband starred in a new adaptation of the same book, with Emma Watson). In 1979, David played the heroine of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca, opposite Jeremy Brett in the BBC miniseries of the same name. In 1987 she acted in Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple “4:50 from Paddington” as Emma Crackenthorpe. In 2005, she appeared in two episodes of Bleak House, playing Mrs. Bayham Badger, alongside Gillian Anderson, Charles Dance, Alun Armstrong and Warren Clarke. Mr. Bayham Badger was played by Richard Griffiths.

David's many other television appearances have included The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Miss Marple, Foyle's War, Rumpole of the Bailey, Inspector Morse, Midsomer Murders, The Darling Buds of May and in 2004 Rosemary & Thyme in an episode entitled "Orpheus in the Undergrowth". Recent appearances include the BBC comedy series Never Better,^[3] Mutual Friends,^[4] and Death in Paradise (2014 episode 3.8).

On stage, she played opposite Derek Jacobi in Breaking the Code. She gradually moved on to more mature parts, and appeared as Mrs. Gardiner in the acclaimed 1995 BBC TV series of Pride and Prejudice, (in which her daughter Emilia Fox had her first major television role). In 1998 she appeared in Midsomer Murders “Written in Blood” as Amy Lyddiard. In 2009, she appeared in Alan Ayckbourn's Woman in Mind.

Her film appearances have included roles in The Smashing Bird I Used to Know (1969), the horror short Sleepwalker (1984), Comrades (1986), Secret Friends (1991), Rogue Trader (1999), Cotton Mary (1999), The Soul Keeper (2002, as the mother of her real-life daughter Emilia), and These Foolish Things (2006). She played Mother Julian in Midsomer Murders “A Sacred Trust” (2011). In 2013 she appeared in Downton Abbey (TV Series) as Duchess of Yeovil in two episodes and also in Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple “Greenshaw’s Folly” as Grace Ritchie. She appeared in Agatha Raisin “Murderous Marriage” (TV Series) as Lady Derrington in 2016.

She is vice-president of the Theatrical Guild.^[5]

Selected theatre performances

• Sonia in Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov. Directed by Michael Elliott at the Royal Exchange, Manchester. (1977)
• Mary in The Family Reunion by T S Eliot. Directed by Michael Elliott at the Royal Exchange, Manchester. (1979)
• Margaret in The Ghost Train Tattoo by Simon Robson. World premiere directed by Braham Murray and Sarah Frankcom at the Royal Exchange, Manchester. (2000)
• Miss Prism in The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. Directed by Braham Murray at the Royal Exchange, Manchester. (2004)

Charity work

David is a Trustee of the National Brain Appeal, the charity dedicated to the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London.^[6] David underwent brain surgery in 1993 to correct a congenital Arnold–Chiari malformation.^[7]

In January 2013, David became a patron of Pancreatic Cancer Action, which is a charity that is focussed on raising the awareness of pancreatic cancer. David's friend Angharad Rees died from the illness in 2012.

References

External links

• Joanna David at IMDb
• Joanna David at Pride and Prejudice web site
• Selected performances listed in Theatre Archive University of Bristol