(1934– )
an English actor who has played many leading roles in the plays of Shakespeare, especially with the Royal Shakespeare Company . She has also appeared in several television series and films, including A Room with a View (1986), Mrs Brown (1997) in which she played the part of Queen Victoria and Iris (2001) in which she played Iris Murdoch . She received an Oscar for Shakespeare in Love (1999). She was made a dame (2) in 1988.