Penelope Wilton OBE (born 3 June 1946) is an English actress and comedienne.
Sister of Lindy Wilton and mother of Alice Massey.
Daniel Massey (I) married Penelope's sister Lindy Wilton, after he divorced Penelope Wilton.
She was awarded the O.B.E. (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2004 New Year's Honours List for her services to drama.
Niece of actor Bill Travers (I) and actress Linden Travers
She was awarded the 1981 London Critics' Circle Theatre Award (Drama Theatre Award) for Best Actress of 1980 for her performance in Much Ado About Nothing.
Cousin of the actor Richard Morant
She was awarded the 1981 London Critics' Circle Theatre Award (Drama Theatre Award) for Best Actress of 1980 for her performances in Much Ado About Nothing and Man and Superman.
She was awarded the 1993 London Critics Circle Theatre Award (Drama Theatre Award) for Best Actress for her performance in The Deep Blue Sea. Her former husband, Ian Holm (I) , was awarded Best Actor for his performance in Moonlight at the same awards.
She was nominated for a 2001 London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actress for her performance in The Little Foxes at the Donmar Warehouse.
She was once married to Ian Holm (I), who played Frodo Baggins in a BBC Radio 4 dramatization of The Lord of the Rings. In Shaun of the Dead (2004), her husband is played by Bill Nighy, who played Sam Gamgee opposite Holm in the same Radio 4 production.
In the 1970s she married actor Daniel Massey (I), by whom she had one daughter. Before that she lost a baby boy, born very premature.
Appeared on the BAFTA Film shortlist for Best Supporting Actress in the following roles: 1986 for Clockwise, 1987 for Cry Freedom and 1994 for The Secret Rapture.
Appeared on the BAFTA Television shortlist for Best Actress in the following roles: 1985 for Ever Decreasing Circles, 1987 for The Monocled Mutineer, 1993 for The Borrowers, 1999 for Talking Heads 2: Nights in the Gardens of Spain and 2006 for Falling.
Nominated for the 1981 Laurence Olivier Award - Actress of the Year in a Revival for "Man & Superman" at the National Theatre (Olivier).
Nominated for the 1988 Laurence Olivier Award - Actress of the Year in a New Play for "The Secret Rapture" at the National Theatre (Lyttelton). She played the same character (Marion French) in the film adaptation of David Hare (I)'s play in 1993.
Nominated for the 1994 Laurence Olivier Award - Best Actress in a Play for "The Deep Blue Sea" at the Almeida and the Apollo Theatres in the West End.
Ex-stepmother of Melissa Holm, Barnaby Holm, Harry Holm, Jessica Holm and Sarah-Jane Holm.
