Francesca Annis

About Francesca Annis

Francesca Annis (born 14 May 1945) is a British actress, particularly well known for her film and television appearances, most recently the BBC series, Wives and Daughters, Cranford, and Deceit.

Annis was born in Rio de Janeiro to a British father and a Brazilian-French mother, moving to England with her family at the age of 7, where she was convent educated. She began acting professionally in her teens, and made her film debut in the 1950s. In 1967 she played Estella in a television adaptation of Great Expectations. She also presented children's television programmes.

While becoming an increasingly well-known face on screen, she has enjoyed a successful stage career, playing many leading roles with the Royal Shakespeare Company. At the National Theatre in 1981 she played Natalya Petrovna in Peter Gill's production of Ivan Turgenev's A Month in the Country.