# Anna Madeley
**Anna Madeley** is an English actress who first gained prominence on the stage before branching out into film and television. Born in 1976 in London, she began acting as a child, trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama, and has since worked across theater, television, and film, with leading television roles including Mrs. Hall in *All Creatures Great and Small* and [Clarissa Eden](https://www.edgepedia.org/clarissa-eden) in *The Crown*.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/anna_madeley)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1976, London, England[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/anna_madeley) |
| Training | Central School of Speech and Drama[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/anna_madeley) |
| Early start | First appeared onscreen at age 9 in the film *Claudia* (1985)[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/anna_madeley) |
| Stage career | Two seasons with the Royal Shakespeare Company (2001-2002, 2003-2004); Broadway debut in *The Philanthropist* (2009)[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/anna_madeley) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534777) |
| Signature TV role | Mrs. Hall in *All Creatures Great and Small*, 42 episodes from 2020 to 2025[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534777) |
| Other notable TV | Clarissa Eden in *The Crown*; Mary Melrose in *Patrick Melrose*; Kate Kendrick in *Deadwater Fell*[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/anna_madeley) • [3](https://www.metacritic.com/person/anna-madeley/) |
| Film ratings | Highest rated on Rotten Tomatoes: *Fatherland* (2026) at 96%; lowest: *The Nutcracker and the Four Realms* (2018) at 32%[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/anna_madeley) |
## Early life and training
Madeley grew up in London and attended North London Collegiate School, where she began acting while still a student. She first appeared onscreen at the age of 9, in the film *Claudia* (1985), and later trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/anna_madeley) After training, she found work on British television, appearing in *Cold Feet* (ITV), *Dad* (BBC1), and *An Unsuitable Job for a Woman* (ITV).[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/anna_madeley)
## Stage career
**Royal Shakespeare Company.** Madeley spent two seasons with the [Royal Shakespeare Company](https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-shakespeare-company), in 2001-2002 and 2003-2004, appearing in a production of *The Roman Actor* opposite Sir Antony Sher.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/anna_madeley) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534777)
**2005 and Coram Boy.** In 2005 she appeared in three off-West End productions: [Laura Wade](https://www.edgepedia.org/laura-wade)'s *Colder Than Here* at Soho Theatre, and *The Philanthropist* and *The Cosmonaut's Last Message to the Woman He Once Loved in the Former Soviet Union*, both at the Donmar Warehouse. She closed the year starring as Aaron and Young Alexander Ashbrook in the original [Royal National Theatre](https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-national-theatre) production of Helen Edmundson's *Coram Boy*.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534777) • [4](https://www.whatsonstage.com/stage-names/anna-madeley/)
**Later theater.** In February 2007 she played Nina in a production of *The Seagull* for a time after the lead actress fell ill.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534777) In 2009 she made her Broadway debut reprising her role in *The Philanthropist*, the only original cast member to appear in the revival.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/anna_madeley) Her subsequent stage work includes *The Turn of the Screw* at the Almeida, *The Crucible* at the Old Vic, *Les Blancs*, *A Midsummer Night's Dream* and *The Little Foxes* at the Young Vic, *The Height of the Storm* at Wyndham's Theatre, and *Contractions* at the Royal Court.[4](https://www.whatsonstage.com/stage-names/anna-madeley/) The British Theatre Guide's Philip Fisher has described her as one of the United Kingdom's "brightest and most versatile young actresses".[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534777)
## Television
In 2006 Madeley starred in two BBC TV films, as the title character in *The Secret Life of Mrs Beeton* and in the original drama *Aftersun*, and appeared in ITV's *The Outsiders*.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534777) Later television credits include Lucy in *[Doctor Foster](https://www.edgepedia.org/doctor-foster-tv-series)*, Mary Melrose in *Patrick Melrose*, Kate Kendrick in *[Deadwater Fell](https://www.edgepedia.org/deadwater-fell)*, Anne Warren in *Time*, Ellie Frisk in *[Anatomy of a Scandal](https://www.edgepedia.org/anatomy-of-a-scandal)*, Pamela Lawton in *Secret Invasion*, and a narrator role in *A Gentleman in Moscow*.[3](https://www.metacritic.com/person/anna-madeley/) She appeared as Clarissa Eden in Netflix's *The Crown*.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/anna_madeley)
**Mrs. Hall.** Madeley plays housekeeper Audrey Hall in *All Creatures Great and Small*, the adaptation of [James Herriot](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-herriot)'s books about country vets in 1930s and 1940s [Yorkshire](https://www.edgepedia.org/yorkshire), appearing in 42 episodes from 2020 to 2025.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534777) The character appears only lightly in the books and the earlier television adaptation, and Madeley has described the 2019 production as an opportunity to create a character audiences had never met before, a warm and loving woman with her own backstory and storylines who can "say it how it is" with Siegfried Farnon.[5](https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/clips/all-creatures-great-and-small-s1-the-women-of-all-creatures-great-and-small/) On Metacritic, *All Creatures Great and Small* is her highest-scoring television credit at 84, against a low of 52 for *Anatomy of a Scandal*.[3](https://www.metacritic.com/person/anna-madeley/)
## Film
Madeley took a small role in [Martin McDonagh](https://www.edgepedia.org/martin-mcdonagh)'s debut feature film *In Bruges* (2008), which holds an 84% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/anna_madeley) In 2018 she played Marie Stahlbaum, the late mother of the protagonist Clara and queen of the magical land Clara discovers, in Disney's *The Nutcracker and the Four Realms*, her lowest-rated film on the site at 32%.[6](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Anna-Madeley/) • [1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/anna_madeley) Her other film credits include *Brideshead Revisited*, *[The Little Stranger](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-little-stranger-film)*, *The Mercy*, *The Ones Below*, and *Strawberry Fields*.[7](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/anna-madeley/) Her highest-rated film is Pawel Pawlikowski's *Fatherland* (2026), at 96%.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/anna_madeley) • [7](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/anna-madeley/)
## References
1. [Anna Madeley, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/anna_madeley)
2. [Anna Madeley, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534777)
3. [Anna Madeley, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/person/anna-madeley/)
4. [Who is Anna Madeley? Stage career, theatre and more, WhatsOnStage](https://www.whatsonstage.com/stage-names/anna-madeley/)
5. [The Women of All Creatures Great and Small, PBS Masterpiece](https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/clips/all-creatures-great-and-small-s1-the-women-of-all-creatures-great-and-small/)
6. [Anna Madeley, BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Anna-Madeley/)
7. [Anna Madeley, Independent Talent](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/anna-madeley/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › English actors: 2000s onward › Surnames L to Mb*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license