Miriam Margolyes OBE (/ˈmɑrɡəliːz/; born 18 May 1941) is an English-Australian character actress and voice artist. Her earliest roles were in theatre and after several supporting roles in film and television she won a BAFTA Award for her role in The Age of Innocence (1993) and went on to play the role of Professor Sprout in the Harry Potter film series. For many years, she has divided her time between Britain and Australia, and she has starred in a number of critically acclaimed shows, including I'll Eat You Last.

Biography

Margolyes is a lesbian and has been with her partner Heather for more than 40 years. She mentioned her relationships with women on several occasions when she appeared on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs in September 2008. On becoming an Australian citizen, on Australia Day 2013, Margolyes referred to herself as a "dyke" live on national television and in front of the then prime minister, Julia Gillard.

She is a campaigner for a respite care charity, Crossroads.

She appeared on the British television quiz University Challenge in 1963, whilst at Cambridge University. As part of a BBC documentary, University Challenge: The Story so Far, she claimed that during her appearance she swore after getting a question wrong, although the actual word was bleeped out of the recording.

Margolyes is a lifelong admirer of the works of Charles Dickens and has performed all over the world a one-woman show, Dickens' Women, in which she plays 23 characters from Dickens' novels.

Margolyes is a Palestinian human rights activist, having been a member of the British-based ENOUGH! coalition that seeks to end the "Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip and West Bank." She is also a signatory of Jews for Justice for Palestinians.

Margolyes divides her time between homes in London, Tuscany and Robertson, New South Wales.

Author and comedian David Walliams says he used Margoyles as a model for the title character in his children's book Awful Auntie after a rude exchange with the actress during a stage production. He stresses however that he has nothing against Margoyles and is a fan of her work.

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