- 2007: Played Aishwarya Rai's cellmate in "Provoked"
- 2006: Cast in Richard E. Grant's directorial debut, the autobiographical "Wah-Wah"
- 2006: Co-starred with Bill Nighy in BBC America's romantic drama "Gideon's Daughter" helmed by Stephen Poliakoff
- 2004: Portrayed Madame Giry in Andrew Lloyd Webber's screen adaptation of "The Phantom of the Opera"
- 2004: Portrayed Queen Mary in the BBC movie "Lost Prince"; received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress
- 2002: Cast as the evil queen in ABC's live-action remake of "Snow White: The Fairest of Them All"
- 2002: Co-starred in "The Hours" as Virginia Woolf's sister Vanessa Bell
- 2002: Appeared as a schizophrenic's mother in "Spider"
- 2000: Co-starred with Sylvester Stallone in the remake of "Get Carter"
- 2000: Provided a character voice for the animated feature "Chicken Run"
- 1999: Had supporting role in "The Big Brass Ring"; screened at festivals before premiering on Showtime
- 1999: Played the Queen of Hearts in the NBC miniseries "Alice in Wonderland"
- 1999: Returned to the London stage co-starring with Glenne Headly in "Aunt Dan and Lemon"
- 1999: Appeared in the short film "Blackadder Back and Forth"; premiered at the Millennial Dome in Greenwich
- 1999: Co-starred as Christina Ricci's stepmother in "Sleepy Hollow"
- 1998: Appeared as Queen Mab and the Lady of the Lake in the NBC miniseries "Merlin"
- 1997: Acted in the acclaimed British TV adaptation, "A Dance to the Music of Time"
- 1997: Had featured role in Robert Duvall's "The Apostle"
- 1996: Had major roles in Robert Altman's "Kansas City" and Robert Harling's "The Evening Star"
- 1996: Co-starred opposite Mike Nichols in the London stage production of Wallace Shawn's "The Designated Mourner"
- 1994: Made guest appearance on the British sitcom "Absolutely Fabulous" as a overwrought new mother
- 1994: Co-starred in the HBO made-for-cable movie "Fatherland"
- 1994: Earned second Oscar nomination playing Vivienne Haigh-Wood, wife of poet T. S. Eliot in "Tom and Viv"
- 1993: Hosted NBC's "Saturday Night Live" (March 20)
- 1993: Appeared in three episodes of the British series "The Comic Strip"
- 1992: Earned first Oscar nomination playing the long-suffering wife of Jeremy Irons in Louis Malle's "Damage"
- 1992: Co-starred in hit film "The Crying Game", playing a tough IRA operative
- 1991: Reteamed with Mike Newell for "Enchanted April" (released in the USA in 1992)
- 1990: Made first guest appearance on the British variety series "The Comic Strip"
- 1990: Played an aspiring actress who turns to pornography and prostitution in the stage play "Etta Jenks"
- 1989: Played Nurse Fletcher-Brown in an episode of "Blackadder Goes Forth"
- 1988: Co-starred with Julian Wadham in "The Changeling" at the Royal National Theatre
- 1988: Reprised her role as Queen Elizabeth I in "Blackadder's Christmas Carol" (BBC)
- 1987: Appeared in "Sorrel & Son" (aired in the USA on PBS' "Masterpiece Theater")
- 1987: Returned to the London stage in Sam Shepard's "A Lie of the Mind", co-starring Will Patton and Geraldine McEwan
- 1987: First US feature film, Steven Spielberg's "Empire of the Sun"
- 1986: Played Queen Elizabeth I in the British comedy "Blackadder II" (BBC)
- 1986: Acted in the British telefilm "After Pilkington"
- 1985: Starred in David Mamet's "Edmond" on the British stage
- 1985: Breakthrough film role, Ruth Ellis in "Dance With a Stranger", directed by Mike Newell
- 1984: US TV debut in British-made miniseries, "A Woman of Substance
- 1984: First collaboration with Mike Newell, the stage play "Life of Einstein" in Lancaster, England
- 1984: Film acting debut, "The Innocent"
- 1982: Worked in repertory companies in England, acting in such plays as "All My Sons" and "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolfe?"
- 1981: Made her London West End debut at Queen's Theater in "Moving"
- 1979: Professional stage debut with the Manchester Library Theater
- Raised in Southport, an English seaside town
- Studied to be a veterinary surgeon but dropped out to study acting
- Made British TV debut as a pregnant au pair in the comedy series, "Agony"




