Sophie Thompson (born 20 January 1962) is an English actress, best known for playing evil Stella Crawford in EastEnders.

Early life[link]

The second daughter born in 1962,^[1] to actress Phyllida Law and actor Eric Thompson, Sophie is the younger sister of twice Academy Award-winning actress and screenwriter Emma Thompson.

Career[link]

Sophie Thompson has worked in film, television, theatre and radio, and has narrated a number of audiobooks. She made her debut in 1978, at the age of 16, starring in A Traveller in Time, before going on to study at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.^{[citation needed]}

Film[link]

Big-screen roles include Four Weddings and a Funeral, "Eat, Pray, Love", Emma, Dancing at Lughnasa, Gosford Park, Fat Slags, Relative Values and Morris: A Life with Bells On. Thompson appeared in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in 2010, as Mafalda Hopkirk and Hermione Granger disguised as Hopkirk.

Television[link]

Thompson starred alongside popular British comedians Alan Davies, in Jonathan Creek, and Lee Evans in So What Now? She has also appeared in Persuasion, Midsomer Murders, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, A Harlot's Progress and Magnolia. She played Miss Bartlett in Andrew Davies' 2007 adaptation of E.M. Forster's A Room with a View and also appeared in the last episode of series 4 of Doc Martin.

Thompson played the role of child abuser Stella Crawford in the BBC One soap opera EastEnders. She came into show as Phil Mitchell's lawyer and they gradually developed a romantic link. Stella later became jealous of Phil's relationship with his son Ben and began to emotionally and physically abuse him — becoming one of soaps most-hated villains. Thompson left EastEnders on 20 July 2007, after the exposure of Stella's evil ways on her wedding day led to the character's suicide.

In 2009, Thompson appeared in the BBC One comedy series Big Top.

Thompson was also a main part in the three part television series 'Love Life' on ITV in 2012.

Theatre[link]

In 1996, Thompson played the role of Amy in Sam Mendes' acclaimed Donmar Warehouse revival of Company, receiving an Olivier Award nomination for her performance. She also appeared as the Baker's Wife in the Donmar's revival of Into The Woods, which garnered her the 1999 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical.

She also played Ophelia in the Renaissance Theatre Company production of Hamlet in 1988 in Birmingham, later touring around England. That production was directed by Sir Derek Jacobi and starred Kenneth Branagh as Hamlet, Richard Easton as Claudius and Dearbhla Molloy as Gertrude. A film documentary called Discovering Hamlet was made of the process of producing and rehearsing this play. It was released in 1990, and a DVD version was released in 2010.

Although she won critical acclaim for her performances in both Clybourne Park (Royal Court) and She Stoops to Conquer (National Theatre) critics of both productions suggested her slight tendency towards over-acting unbalanced the pieces and detracted from the plays.

Personal life[link]

Sophie Thompson has been married to actor Richard Lumsden since 1995. They have two sons — Ernie James (born 1997) and Walter Eric (born 2000) — and live in London.^[2] Thompson is a charity ambassador of Child In Need India (CINI) which helps poor mothers and children in India and ran the 2010 London Marathon for the charity.^[3]

Filmography[link]

Film[link]

• The Missionary (1982) … Mission Girl (uncredited)
• Twenty-One (1991) … Francesca
• Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) … Lydia
• Persuasion (1995) … Mary Musgrove
• Emma (1996) … Miss Bates
• Relative Values (2000) … Dora Moxton
• Gosford Park (2001) … Dorothy
• Nicholas Nickleby (2002) … Miss Lacreevy
• Fat Slags (2004) … Tracey
• Morris: A Life with Bells On (2009) … Glenda
• Eat Pray Love (2010) … Corella
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2010) … Mafalda Hopkirk

Television[link]

• A Traveller in Time (1978) … Penelope; 5 episodes
• Hammer House of Horror (1980) … First Girl in "Guardian of the Abyss";
• Casualty (1987) … Judy Wilson in "Cross Fingers"; 1 episode
• Boon (1991) … Vicky 'Mouthpiece' in "Help Me Make It Through the Night"; 1 episode
• The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes (1992) … Agatha in "The Master Blackmailer"
• Comedy Playhouse (1993) … Val in "The Complete Guide to Relationships"
• Performance (1994) … Gillian Player in "Message for Posterity"
• Nelson's Column (1994-95) … Clare Priddy
• Mr. Bean (1995) … Girlfriend "Torvill and Bean"; 1 episode
• The Railway Children (2000) … Mrs Perks
• So What Now? (2001) … Heather
• Jonathan Creek (2003) … Dorothy Moon in "Angel Hair"; 1 episode
• The Young Visiters (2003) … Bessie Topp
• Midsomer Murders (2006) … April Gooding in "Dead Letters"; 1 episode
• Magnolia (2006) … Marjorie Forsyth
• A Harlot's Progress (2006) … Jane Hogarth
• Doctors … (2006) Rachel Barton in "Rabbitgate"; 1 episode
• EastEnders … (2006–07) Stella Crawford
• A Room with a View (2007) … Charlotte Bartlett
• Big Top (2009) … Aunty Helen
• May Contain Nuts (2009) … Sarah McDonald
• Agatha Christie's Poirot (2010) … Mrs Reynolds in Halloween Party
• Whistle and I'll Come to You (2010) as Carol, the hotel proprietor
• Love Life (2012) as Penny

Theatre[link]

• Hamlet … Ophelia; Renaissance Theatre Company; 1988
• As You Like It … Rosalind; Royal Shakespeare Company; 1989/90
• All's Well That Ends Well … Helena; Royal Shakespeare Company; 1992/93
• Company - Amy; Donmar/Albery; 1996
• Into the Woods - The Baker's Wife; Donmar; 1998-9 (Olivier Award)
• Measure For Measure … Isabella; Globe Theatre, London; 2004
• Female of the Species - London; 2008
• Clybourne Park … Bev; Royal Court Theatre, London; 2010
• She Stoops to Conquer - Mrs Hardcastle; National Theatre, London; 2012

References[link]

External links[link]

• Sophie Thompson at the Internet Movie Database