Geraldine Somerville, the daughter of a retired financial expert and an antique dealer, was born in Co. Meath, Ireland. She went to dance classes from the age of six and, at the tender age of eight, was sent to a boarding school in Tring, Hertfordshire. There she was taught ballet. She left at 16, but continued her studies in London and ended up at the Guildhall Drama School (1989) in London. She was virtually unknown as an actress. She spent three years there, where she always seemed to play old ladies. She did some stage work and appeared on TV in episodes of Poirot and Casualty (1993) before landing the role of Penhaligon or Panhandle, in Cracker with Robbie Coltrane Fitz (Rubeus Hagrid in Harry Potter). Red-haired Geraldine - has never spoken about her noble family or the bloodline that links her with the Queen. She has dumped her double-barreled surname and has kept quiet about the regal role of honour that marks her family tree We can reveal that Geraldine - is descended from past Kings of England, Scotland, and France - is a distant relation of the current British Royal Family, has ancestors who once ruled the ancient kingdom of the Isle of Man, where her parents still live. Geraldine's forebears must be proud to see her take acting honours in some of the most harrowing scenes ever screened on BBC TV. Geraldine's father is baronet Sir Quentin Charles Agnew-Somerville and her mum is the Hon Lady April Agnew-Somerville. Her huge family house, Mount Auldyn, is in the quaint seaside port of Ramsey. Her mother runs her own exclusive antiques shop and Geraldine flew from her London home for the opening earlier in 1995.

Geraldine has an elder sister, Amelia, 38, who runs a restaurant with her husband in the Australian rain forest, and a younger brother, Lockett, 34, who works in Hong Kong. Geraldine was one of the guests at her sister's marriage in 1992, which was billed as the Wedding of the Year in the Isle of Man. The actress, wearing a beautiful sexy black bodice and flowing dress, read a poem by C. Day-Lewis at the ceremony - which was extensively reported in the island's society magazine, Manx Life.
Graduated from Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1989. Worked with the Royal National Theatre, at the Bristol Old Vic. She has son, Caspar William (born 2002).