Joanna Lumley was born in Kashmir, India on 1 May 1946. Her father was a major in the Gurka Rifles & she spent most of her early childhood in the Far East where her father was posted.

An aspiring actress, she first came to fame as a model in the 'swinging' 60s London where she was photographed by the greats, including her friend the late Lord Lichfield. She was the designer Jean Muir's muse & house model for several years before carving a career as a freelance model where she became one of the top 10 most-booked models of the 60s.

Lumley's breakthrough role was as Purdey in 'The New Avengers' (1976-77), a role 800+ girls had auditioned for. Purdey propelled Lumley to instant fame & created one of the 'must-have' hairstyles of the 70s - the 'Purdey' bob. Lumley became a pin-up figure for a generation of British males who grew up watching her as the high-kicking action girl.

Other roles followed, most notably as Sapphire in 'Sapphire & Steel'(1979-1982) opposite David McCallum - a sci-fi precursor to the X-Files - an under-rated gem of a series which has gained a cult following in recent years, despite the fact it has only ever been shown ONCE on terrestrial TV.

During the 80s Lumley returned to the theatre, making notable appearances as Hedda Gabler, & as Elvira in Blithe Spirit - a role that seemed tailor-made for her. Lumley also made cameo appearances in several films, including 2 Pink Panther films & a screen-stealing role in 'Shirley Valentine'(1989).

It was her reinvention as a comic actress in 'Absolutely Fabulous' (1992) that shot Lumley to wider international acclaim. Her role as Patsy in AbFab is regarded as one of the greatest female comic performances ever, earning Lumley a stream of awards, including several BAFTAs.

Since AbFab, Lumley has cemented her role as one of the UK's most-loved & respected actresses. She is rarely off UK TV screens & has also built a successful film career as a character/voice-over actress.

She recently teamed up with the writer/director Hugo Blick for the series of acclaimed monologues 'Up In Town' (2002) which were critically regarded as the performance of a lifetime, & the recent 'Sensitive Skin' (2005).

It has been announced that she will be making a return to the stage for the first time in over a decade in 2007 in a new production of Chekov's 'The Cherry Orchard' directed by Sir Jonathan Miller.



Is a vegetarian and an active crusader for animal rights. Her father was a major in the Gurkha Rifles. After Joanna failed her RADA audition she went into modeling. She was told she was "Too fat and too ugly!". Received an Honorary Doctorate of Letters in 1994 from Kent University in Canterbury "for her contribution to the entertainment industry and her active charitable work." Has an honorary degree From Oxford Brookes University. Is one of the most respected British actresses despite the fact she has had no acting training. In 1991, an Oxford University college changed the name of its common room from Nelson Mandela to Joanna Lumley. Despite having a very small part in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), she spent two months on the production, dubbing the voices of a whole line up of international beauties in German, Chinese and Norwegian accents. In April 2009 she became the spokeswoman for the Gurkhas in the UK and was instrumental in persuading the British government to allow Gurkhas who had served in the Army the right to settle in the UK. When she visited Nepal in July 2009 she was treated as a heroine and a goddess by crowds of people on the street, and was thanked by Nepal's President and Prime Minister for her work in championing the Gurkhas' cause.