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Linda Bassett

Linda Bassett

Birthday: 1950-02-04 | Place of Birth: Pluckley, Kent, England, UK

Linda Bassett was born in the Kentish village of Pluckley - location for the television series The Darling Buds of May (1991). She was brought up in Pimlico, South London, by her typist mother and police officer father. She became interested in acting as a child when she was frequently taken to see plays in London, most notably at the Old Vic, the famous classical theater. On leaving school, Linda went to work at the Old Vic as an usherette and catering manager, before going to read English at Leeds University. However, she dropped out after a year and became involved in a local drama group which put on plays in community-based locations, such as schools. She regards this as her theatrical schooling, having had no formal training. She made her London stage debut at the age of 32 in 1982 and, in 1991, joined the Royal Shakespeare Company. Although she was a well-regarded stage performer, it was the 1999 film version of the play East Is East (1999) (in which she had been an original stage cast member) which brought her to a larger audience and, throughout the 2000s, she has been a familiar face in a variety of films and television series. In the late 1980s, she returned to live in Pluckley.

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Known For

Acting

Year
Title

Role

2017
Carnage: Swallowing the Past

as    Dr Yasmine Vondenburg

2013
Spies of Warsaw

as    Malka Rosen

2012
Call the Midwife

as    Phyllis Crane

2011
West Is West

as    Ella Khan

2010
Grandma's House

as    Grandma

2008
Cass

as    Doll

2008
Sense and Sensibility

as    Mrs. Jennings

2006
Kinky Boots

as    Mel

2005
Separate Lies

as    Maggie

2005
Colour Me Kubrick

as    Trolley Lady

2004
Spivs

as    Auntie Vee

2002
The Hours

as    Nelly Boxall

2001
The Martins

as    Anthea

1999
East Is East

as    Ella Khan

1997
Oscar and Lucinda

as    Betty Stratton

1996
Haunted

as    Madame Brontski

1996
Mary Reilly

as    Mary's Mother

1995
Loved Up

as    Mum

1987
Waiting for the Moon

as    Gertrude Stein