Hannah Waddingham (born 28 July 1974)[1] is a British actress and singer. She is known for playing Jane in Not Going Out and Rebecca Welton in the Apple TV+ comedy series Ted Lasso (2020–present), for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2021 and the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2021 and 2022.[2] She has also appeared in a number of West End shows, including the production of Spamalot, the 2010 Regent's Park revival of Into the Woods, and The Wizard of Oz as the Wicked Witch of the West; and has received three Olivier Award nominations for her work.
Hannah Waddingham | |
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![]() Waddingham in 2010 | |
Born | (1974-07-28) 28 July 1974 (age 48) Wandsworth, London, England |
Education | Academy of Live and Recorded Arts |
Occupation |
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Years active | 2000–present |
Children | 1 |
Her other work includes appearing as an ensemble member in the 2012 film adaptation of Les Misérables, and joining the cast of the fifth season of the HBO series Game of Thrones as Septa Unella in 2015.[3] She co-starred in the 2018 British psychological thriller Winter Ridge, and has had a supporting role on the series Sex Education since 2019.
Waddingham was born in Wandsworth in London. Her mother, Melodie Kelly, was an opera singer as were both her maternal grandparents.[4] Her mother joined the English National Opera when Waddingham was eight years old, and she grew up around the theatre.[4][5]
Waddingham is a graduate of the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts.[6] She has a four octave vocal range.[7] She started out in dinner theatre, performing in the interactive comedy Joni and Gina's Wedding.[4][8]
Waddingham has been a stage actress on both London's West End and New York's Broadway.[4] She performed as Starbird in Space Family Robinson (Julian & Stephen Butler, 2002)[6] and Suzanne Valadon in Lautrec.[9]
Waddingham portrayed the Lady of the Lake in Spamalot, both in the London production and then on Broadway. She received an Olivier Award nomination for the role.[4] She received outstanding reviews for her portrayal of Desirée Armfeldt in Trevor Nunn's revival of A Little Night Music, including being described by one critic as the "Joanna Lumley of musical theatre".[10] Waddingham subsequently received a further Olivier Award nomination in 2010 for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance in Night Music.[11]
In mid-2010, Waddingham played the Witch in the production of Into the Woods at London's Open Air Theatre.[12][13] She originated the role of The Wicked Witch of the West in the West End production of The Wizard of Oz, which opened on 1 March 2011 at the London Palladium[14] and was the first to perform the new Lloyd Webber and Rice song "Red Shoes Blues".[4][15] She left the production on 4 September 2011.[16] Waddingham won the whatsonstage.com Theatergoers Choice Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical for her performance.[17]
Waddingham appeared in the concert premiere of Styles and Drew's Soho Cinders at the Queens Theatre, London in 2011, and was replaced by Jenna Russell for the show's first fully staged production in 2012.[citation needed]
In 2012, Waddingham starred in Chichester Festival Theatre's revival of Kiss Me, Kate.[18] The show transferred to the Old Vic Theatre on London's South Bank in November 2012.[19]
In 2011, Waddingham appeared in Season 4, Episode 3 of the hit BBC sitcom, Not Going Out. She played the role of Jane, an actress in an adult film being recorded in the show.[citation needed]
She had a small role in the 2012 film Les Misérables,[4] and in 2014, starred on the ITV comedy Benidorm.[7]
Waddingham portrayed the "Shame Nun", Septa Unella, in season 5 and 6 of Game of Thrones. She started filming nine weeks after giving birth to her daughter, and did her own stunts for a scene in which she is waterboarded.[4][8][20] She was given the role's iconic "shame bell" as a parting gift.[4][21] She also has a recurring role on the Netflix series Sex Education as Jackson's overbearing mother, Sophia Marchetti.[4][22]
Since 2020, Waddingham has portrayed Rebecca Welton, the owner of AFC Richmond on the Apple TV+ series Ted Lasso.[5] The show has been praised for its "refreshing" portrayal of a supportive female friendship between Rebecca and Juno Temple's character, Keeley.[5][23][24][25] She does her own singing in the season one episode "Make Rebecca Great Again" and the season two episodes "Carol of the Bells" and "No Weddings and a Funeral".[26] In 2021, she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series and the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for the role.[2]
Waddingham also appears as the character Mother Witch in Hocus Pocus 2, Disney's sequel to Hocus Pocus released on Disney+ on September 30, 2022.[27] The actor's time on screen has been described as an "Oscar-worthy performance" and "[F]rom the moment she enters, she commands the screen with unquestionable authority."[28]
She will portray Lady Bellaston in the ITV drama miniseries Tom Jones, based on Henry Fielding's 1749 novel.[29][22]
Billed simply as Hannah, Waddingham placed "Our Kind of Love" in the UK Singles Chart in October 2000, where it peaked at No. 41.[30]
She later sang the role of Starbird on the soundtrack recording of Space Family Robinson (composers: Julian Butler[31] & Stephen Butler), released by Pop! Records in May 2002, coinciding with the stage production (also featuring Waddingham as Starbird) which ran for three weeks at London's Pleasance Theatre.[32]
She played the role of Christine in the Andrew Lloyd Webber and Ben Elton musical The Beautiful Game in London's West End, and sings the role in the cast recording.[citation needed]
Waddingham was in a relationship with Italian businessman Gianluca Cugnetto.[citation needed] Their daughter (born 2014)[citation needed] has an autoimmune disease, Henoch–Schönlein purpura.[4][33] She keeps her Emmy award in her daughter's bedroom to remind her that "mummy will only ever be away when it's for a really, blooming good reason."[4]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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2008 | How to Lose Friends & Alienate People | Elizabeth Maddox | |
2012 | Les Misérables | Factory Worker | |
2018 | Winter Ridge | Joanne Hill | |
2019 | The Hustle | Shiraz | |
2022 | Hocus Pocus 2 | Mother Witch | |
2024 | The Fall Guy | Filming | |
Garfield | (voice) | In production |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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2002 | Coupling | Jenny Turbot | |
2002 | Brookside | Georgina Savage | 1 episode |
2003, 2006 | My Hero | Lula / Miranda / Thermowoman | |
2005 | William and Mary | Penelope | |
Footballers' Wives | Jools | ||
Hollyoaks: Let Loose | Mrs. Robertson | ||
2006 | The Only Boy for Me | Melissa | Television film |
2008 | Doctors | Dixie Deadman | |
2009 | M.I. High | Alannah Sucrose | 1 episode |
2010 | Marple | Lola Brewster | 1 episode |
2010–2011 | My Family | Katie | 3 episodes |
2011 | Agatha Christie's Marple | Lola Brewster | 1 episode |
Not Going Out | Jane | 1 episode | |
2012 | Bad Education | Loretta | 1 episode |
2014 | Our Gay Wedding: The Musical | Herself | |
2014 | Benidorm | Tonya Dyke | Main role, 7 episodes (Season 6) |
2015 | Partners in Crime | Blonde Assassin | 3 episodes; miniseries |
2015–2016 | Game of Thrones | Septa Unella | 8 episodes |
2016 | The Entire Universe | Herself | |
Josh | Phillipa | ||
2017 | 12 Monkeys | Magdalena | |
2018–2019 | Krypton | Jax-Ur / Sela-Sonn | Recurring (season 1); starring (season 2) |
2019–present | Sex Education | Sofía Marchetti | Supporting role (11 episodes) |
2020–present | Ted Lasso | Rebecca Welton | Main role |
2021 | Midsomer Murders | Mimi Dagmar | 1 episode (Season 22) |
2022 | RuPaul's Drag Race UK | Guest judge | Series 4 |
Year | Title | Role | Theatre | Location |
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2000–2001 | The Beautiful Game | Christine | Cambridge Theatre | West End |
2002 | Space Family Robinson | Starbird | Pleasance Theatre Islington | London |
2006 | Bad Girls: The Musical | Nikki Wade | West Yorkshire Playhouse | Leeds |
2006–2007 2008 | Spamalot | Lady of the Lake | Palace Theatre, West End Shubert Theatre | Broadway |
2009 | A Little Night Music | Desirée Armfeldt | Garrick Theatre | West End |
2010 | Into the Woods | The Witch | Regent's Park Open Air Theatre | London |
2011 | The Wizard of Oz | Miss Gulch / Wicked Witch | London Palladium | West End |
2012 | Kiss Me, Kate | Lilli Vanessi / Katharina Minola | The Old Vic | Off-West End |
Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Refs. |
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2007 | WhatsOnStage Awards | Best Actress in a Musical | Spamalot | Nominated | [34] |
Laurence Olivier Awards | Best Actress in a Musical | Nominated | [35] | ||
2010 | WhatsOnStage Awards | Best Actress in a Musical | A Little Night Music | Nominated | [36] |
Laurence Olivier Awards | Best Actress in a Musical | Nominated | [37] | ||
2013 | Kiss Me, Kate | Nominated | [38] | ||
WhatsOnStage Awards | Best Actress in a Musical | Nominated | [39] | ||
2021 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series | Ted Lasso | Nominated | [40] |
Critics' Choice Television Awards | Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series | Won | [41] | ||
Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards | Best Supporting Actress in a Streaming Series, Comedy | Won | [42] | ||
International Online Cinema Awards | Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series | Won | |||
Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series | Won | [43] | ||
Television Critics Association Awards | Individual Achievement in Comedy | Nominated | [44] | ||
Golden Globes | Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film | Nominated | |||
2022 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series | Nominated | [45] | |
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series | Won | ||||
Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series | Nominated | [46] |
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National libraries | |
Other |
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