# Charlotte Attenborough **Charlotte Attenborough** (full name Charlotte Isabel Attenborough) is a British actress, born in 1959 in London, England, and the daughter of the actor and director [Richard Attenborough](https://www.edgepedia.org/richard-attenborough) and the actress [Sheila Sim](https://www.edgepedia.org/sheila-sim). She trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and has worked in film and television, with credits including *Jane Eyre* (1996), *Jeeves and Wooster* (1990), and *Ultraviolet* (1998).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0041002/bio/) • [2](https://www.rada.ac.uk/profiles/charlotte-attenborough/) | Key fact | Detail | |---|---| | Born | 1959, London, England, UK; birth name Charlotte Isabel Attenborough[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0041002/bio/) | | Parents | Richard Attenborough (actor and Oscar-winning director) and actress Sheila Sim[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0041002/bio/) | | Training | Acting (RADA Diploma), Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, year of graduation 1983[2](https://www.rada.ac.uk/profiles/charlotte-attenborough/) | | Known for | *Jane Eyre* (1996) as Mary Rivers, *Jeeves and Wooster* (1990), *Ultraviolet* (1998) as the Clinic Manager[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0041002/bio/) • [3](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/charlotte-attenborough/3030224188/) | | Marriage | Married Graham Sinclair in 1993; the marriage lasted until his death on 24 June 2021; two children[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0041002/bio/) | | Siblings | Michael Attenborough and Jane Attenborough[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0041002/bio/) • [4](https://www.ancientfaces.com/surname/attenborough-family-history/145065) | ## Family Charlotte Attenborough belongs to a prominent British theatrical family. Her father, Richard Attenborough, was an Oscar-winning director of *Gandhi* (1982) and an actor whose films included *Brighton Rock* (1947) and *Jurassic Park* (1993); her mother, Sheila Sim, was an actress who appeared with him in the original stage production of *The Mousetrap* in 1952. The couple married in 1945 and had three children: Michael, Jane, and Charlotte.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0041002/bio/) • [5](https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/remembering-richard-attenborough) • [6](https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/richard-samuel-attenborough) Her uncle is the naturalist and broadcaster [David Attenborough](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-attenborough), and a second uncle by marriage, the actor Gerald Sim, was the brother of her mother.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0041002/bio/) A 1972 profile of the family recorded the children as Michael, 22, Jane, 16, and Charlotte, 12, which is consistent with her 1959 birth year.[7](https://mcmweb.co.uk/tvtimes/1972/Feb%2019th%201972%20NFPA.pdf) The family was struck by tragedy on 26 December 2004, when her sister Jane, her mother-in-law Jane Holland, and her niece Lucy were killed by the tsunami while vacationing in Phuket, Thailand; another niece, Alice, was seriously injured.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0041002/bio/) ## Training and career She trained at RADA, graduating in 1983 with the Academy's acting diploma.[2](https://www.rada.ac.uk/profiles/charlotte-attenborough/) Acting runs in the family on both sides: like her parents, she followed the RADA route into the profession, and she took roles in both theater and screen work.[8](https://spectrumfm.net/richard-attenborough-children/) Her earliest screen appearance was a brief cameo in *Oh! What a Lovely War* (1969), the First World War musical satire that was her father's directorial debut; her uncle Gerald Sim also appeared in the film.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0041002/bio/) As an adult she appeared in television and film through the 1990s. Her credits include the role of Mary Rivers in [Franco Zeffirelli](https://www.edgepedia.org/franco-zeffirelli)'s *Jane Eyre* (1996), the Clinic Manager in the 1998 television series *Ultraviolet*, and appearances in *Jeeves and Wooster* (1990) and *Screen Two*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0041002/bio/) • [3](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/charlotte-attenborough/3030224188/) • [9](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/jane_eyre_1996/cast-and-crew) A family retrospective also lists her among the screen adaptations of *An Inspector Calls*.[8](https://spectrumfm.net/richard-attenborough-children/) A Russian filmography database additionally credits her as Margaret Froelich in *Sherlock Holmes and the Leading Lady* (1991).[10](https://kinorole.ru/people/sharlotta-attenboro) ## References 1. [Charlotte Attenborough – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0041002/bio/) 2. [Charlotte Attenborough – RADA Student & Graduate Profiles](https://www.rada.ac.uk/profiles/charlotte-attenborough/) 3. [Charlotte Attenborough – TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/charlotte-attenborough/3030224188/) 4. [Attenborough Family History, AncientFaces](https://www.ancientfaces.com/surname/attenborough-family-history/145065) 5. [Remembering Richard Attenborough, BFI](https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/remembering-richard-attenborough) 6. [Richard Samuel Attenborough, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/richard-samuel-attenborough) 7. [TV Times, 19 February 1972](https://mcmweb.co.uk/tvtimes/1972/Feb%2019th%201972%20NFPA.pdf) 8. [Richard Attenborough children: a look at the family behind the fame, Spectrum FM](https://spectrumfm.net/richard-attenborough-children/) 9. [Jane Eyre (1996) Cast and Crew, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/jane_eyre_1996/cast-and-crew) 10. [Шарлотта Аттенборо – фильмография, KinoRole.ru](https://kinorole.ru/people/sharlotta-attenboro) --- *Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › English actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames A to B* *Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 20, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 20, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 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