Portrait of Lesley Manville

Birthday profile

Lesley Manville

British actress (born 1956)

Born
March 12, 1956
Age in 2026
70
Zodiac sign
Pisces
Birth year
1956

About Lesley Manville

Lesley Ann Manville (born 12 March 1956) is an English actress. Known for her performances on stage and screen, her accolades include a Tony Award and two Laurence Olivier Awards, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award, two British Academy Film Awards, five British Academy Television Awards, a Golden Globe Award and two Primetime Emmy Awards. She has acted in eight of Mike Leigh's films, including Grown-Ups (1980), High Hopes (1988), Secrets & Lies (1996), Topsy-Turvy (1999), All or Nothing (2002), Vera Drake (2004), Another Year (2010) and Mr. Turner (2014). For her role in the Paul Thomas Anderson romance drama Phantom Thread (2017) she was nominated for an Academy Award and BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actress. She has also acted in the films Dance with a Stranger (1985), High Season (1987), Maleficent (2014), Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019), Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris (2022) and Queer (2024). On television, she acted in Emmerdale Farm (1975–1976) and Cranford (2007). She garnered five British Academy Television Award nominations for her roles in River (2015), Mum (2016–19), Sherwood (2022–24) and The Crown (2022–23). She was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her portrayal of Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon in the Netflix historical drama series The Crown. A prolific stage performer, she has won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress twice for Ghosts (2014) and Oedipus (2025). Manville also won a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for the latter when she reprised her performance on Broadway (2026). In 1994, Manville starred in the first series of the BBC sitcom Ain't Misbehavin'. A four-time Laurence Olivier Award nominee, she has won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress twice for Ghosts (2014) and Oedipus (2025). Known for her performances on stage and screen, she has received various accolades, including two Laurence Olivier Awards and nominations for an Academy Award, two British Academy Film Awards, five British Academy Television Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Lesley Manville timeline

  1. In 1994, Manville starred in the first series of the BBC sitcom Ain't Misbehavin'.
  2. A four-time Laurence Olivier Award nominee, she has won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress twice for Ghosts (2014) and Oedipus (2025).

The world when Lesley Manville was born

Lesley Manville was born in 1956. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1956

  • #1 song"Heartbreak Hotel" – Elvis Presley
  • Top movieAround the World in 80 Days
  • Top TV showI Love Lucy
  • Best-selling bookPeyton Place – Grace Metalious

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentDon Larsen pitches a perfect game in the World Series
  • Top headlineElvis Presley takes America by storm
  • Technology milestoneFirst transatlantic telephone cable (TAT-1)
  • Defining fadElvis Presley mania
  • Notable inventionHard disk drive (IBM)
  • World population2.82 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderDwight D. Eisenhower
  • Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
  • Also wonPhiladelphia Warriors (NBA)
  • U.S. population168.1M

1956 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Lesley Manville's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19562026
Gas$0.30$3.45/gal
Average home$11,700$435,000
Average income$6,500$67,500
Minimum wage$1.00$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.50$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population168.1M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, IMDb. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.