Joanna Lumley was born on 1 May, 1946 in Kashmir, India, to British parents, Thya Beatrice Rose (Weir) and James Rutherford Lumley. Her father was a major in the Gurkha Rifles, and 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 London's swinging 1960s, where she was photographed by the greats, including her friend, the late Patrick Lichfield. She was designer Jean Muir's muse and house model for several years before carving a career as a freelance model where she became one of the top ten most-booked models of the 1960s.
Lumley's breakthrough role was as Purdey in The New Avengers (1976), a role for which over 800 girls auditioned. Purdey propelled Lumley to instant fame and created one of the "must-have" hairstyles of the 1970s -- 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) opposite David McCallum -- a sci-fi precursor to The X-Files (1993) and 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 1980s, Lumley returned to the theater, making notable appearances as "Hedda Gabler" and as "Elvira" in "Blithe Spirit" -- a role that seems tailor-made for her. Lumley also made appearances in several films, including Trail of the Pink Panther (1982), Curse of the Pink Panther (1983), and 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 Absolutely Fabulous (1992) is regarded as one of the greatest female comic performances ever, earning Lumley a stream of awards, including several BAFTAs. Since Absolutely Fabulous (1992), Lumley has cemented her role as one of the UK's most-loved & respected actresses. She is rarely off UK TV screens and 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, and the recent Sensitive Skin (2005).
In 2007, she returned to the stage for the first time in over a decade in a production of Anton Chekhov'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.
She was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1995 Queen's New Year Honours List for her services to drama and charity.
She went into modeling after failing her audition at Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. She was told she was "Too fat and too ugly!".
Has one son, Jamie Lumley, born in 1967, from a relationship with photographer Michael Claydon.
Received an honorary doctorate of letters from the University of Kent at Canterbury in July 1994 "for her contribution to the entertainment industry and her active charitable work".
Her grandfather was Colonel Leslie Weir, CIE, a political officer of the British Raj in India, were she was born. Joanna recreated the trip he and his wife made in 1931 to visit the King of Bhutan in Joanna Lumley in the Kingdom of the Thunderdragon (1997).
Received an honorary doctorate from Oxford Brookes University in 2002.
In an episode of Absolutely Fabulous (1992), her character claims to have been a Bond Girl, then says "Julian Bond". Lumley actually was a Bond Girl in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969).
Is one of the most respected British actresses despite the fact she has had no acting training.
Received an honorary doctorate from the University of St Andrews in 2006.
In 1991, an Oxford University college changed the name of its common room from Nelson Mandela to Joanna Lumley.
The BBC programme Girl Friday (1994) in which Lumley was left to fend for herself on a desert island for 10 days, heralded a new reality television genre, which spawned "Shipwrecked", "Survivor", etc.
Despite having a very small role 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.
Is a self-confessed huge fan of James Bond and of his creator Ian Fleming, being very proud of her role as a Bond Girl.
In April 2009, she became the spokeswoman for the Gurkhas in the United Kingdom and was instrumental in persuading the British government to allow Gurkhas who had served in the Army the right to settle in the United Kingdom. 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.
Is also "the voice" of AOL in Great Britain. She greets subscribers when they "log on", tells them they have mail, and says goodbye when they "log off". She revealed this on The Graham Norton Show (2007) a couple of years back.
Grandmother to Alice Daisy (born April 2003) and Emily Kate (born October 2004) via son Jamie Lumley.
She has Scottish, English, Danish (from a maternal great-grandfather), and Irish ancestry.
She played the English Girl in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) and Irma Bunt in the 2014 BBC Radio 4 adaptation "On Her Majesty's Secret Service".
Provided the inspiration for Glenn Close's 'vocal' portrayal of Cruella De Vil in 101 Dalmatians (1996).
As Patrick Macnee's female sidekick in The New Avengers (1976), she mentioned Honor Blackman as her favorite among Macnee's partners in the original show, The Avengers (1961).
Lumley conceived the controversial Garden Bridge project, a planned memorial to Princess Diana intended to take the form of a bridge lined with trees between the north side of the Thames and the South Bank. First approved by London Mayor Boris Johnson, the project was terminated in 2017 by his successor Sadiq Khan, who cited "multiple serious issues". £37 million of public money had been spent without any building taking place.
In an episode of The New Avengers (1976), she punches ten times Edward Petherbridge.
Daughter of James (1917-1999) and Thyra (née Weir) Lumley (1920-2005).
At boarding school I even kept mice in my underclothes drawer. It made me smell most attractive, as you can imagine.
Giraffes are completely tranquil-they have no predators as adults because there's not an animal in the jungle stupid enough to go for them.
Giraffes are fairytale animals, almost heraldic-as if from the land of fables. They have extremely beautiful faces, huge eyes, very sensitive nostrils and Oh, blue tongues!
Hundreds of political prisoners still suffer in Tibetan prisons. Freedom of speech is not allowed in any sense. It is illegal to possess a photo of the Dalai Lama.
I can't see any difference in having your hair dyed, your teeth fixed, your nose done, or your face smoothed out or lifted.
I like to keep up the image of smoking, only because it's getting such a bad press!
When you are in a country where nobody has ever seen television, people look at you with eyes that don't know who you are.
I don't think men are that attracted by glamour. I think women are attracted by glamour. I think men are attracted by a sense of friendship.
I've got lots of good friends. I could have affairs. I can read a book all night, put the cat on the end of the bed. I can pick up my passport and go to France. I don't have to ask anybody.
You have to feel more involved than just writing out a cheque. Charity is almost the wrong word - I think people are beginning to feel more responsible for the world.
"Ayo Gorkhali" (Nepalese: "The Gurkhas are coming") - traditional Nepalese rallying cry to celebrate the UK government's decision to give all Gurkhas who served in UK armed forces the right to live in Britain.