Frances de la Tour (born 30 July 1944) is an English actress, known for her role as Miss Ruth Jones in the television sitcom Rising Damp from 1974 until 1978. She is a Tony Award winner and three-time Olivier Award winner.

She played Mrs. Lintott in the play The History Boys in London and on Broadway, winning the 2006 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play. She reprised the role in the 2006 film. Her other film roles include Madame Olympe Maxime in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010). Other television roles include Emma Porlock in the Dennis Potter serial Cold Lazarus (1996), Violet Crosby in the ITV sitcom Vicious (2013–) and Ms Baron in the BBC sitcom Big School (2013–2014).

Biography

Politically, de la Tour is a socialist and was a member of the Workers' Revolutionary Party in the 1970s.

De la Tour has two brothers, the elder Simon and the younger Andy.