Keeley Hawes

Early life and education

Clare Julia Hawes was born on 10 February 1976 in London, and grew up in a council flat in Marylebone. She is the youngest of four children.

Hawes attended Sylvia Young Theatre School, where she became friends with singer Emma Bunton and actress Kellie Bright. In her teenage years she worked in various part-time jobs including at Sainsbury's and McDonald's. At age 17 she was approached on Oxford Street by a modelling scout, and signed up by Select Model Management. After numerous features for teen magazine Shout, Hawes became a fashion intern for Cosmopolitan. During this period, she was first asked to audition for a film. We're not an acting family, but my parents have always encouraged me. I'm sure my dad spreads the word about my programmes to everyone who gets in his cab, which must help the ratings!

Career

Hawes first came into the public eye in the 1990s, having supporting roles in Troublemakers, Dennis Potter's Karaoke (1995), Heartbeat (1995) and The Beggar Bride (1997). Hawes's first film role was in the 1998 film The Avengers, in which she played Tamara.

Hawes appeared in several BBC adaptations of classic and modern literature, including Our Mutual Friend (1998), The Cater Street Hangman (1998), Wives and Daughters (1999) and as the young Diana Dors in the biopic The Blonde Bombshell (1999).

In the late 1990s, Hawes featured in four music videos, "Saturday Night" by Suede, "Marvellous" by The Lightning Seeds, "Come Around" by The Mutton Birds, and "She's a Star" by James.

In 2002, Hawes appeared in the BBC drama Tipping the Velvet. From 2002 to 2004, she appeared as Zoe Reynolds in the spy drama series Spooks. In 2003, she appeared in the BBC's re-telling of The Canterbury Tales. In 2006, Hawes replaced Jonell Elliott as the voice of Lara Croft in the action-adventure video game, Tomb Raider: Legend. She appeared as Rosie in the British comedy The Vicar of Dibley from 2006 to 2007. Also in 2007, Hawes appeared as Jane in the comedy Death at a Funeral. She reprised her voiceover role as Lara Croft in the video games Tomb Raider: Anniversary, a remake of the original Tomb Raider, released in 2007, followed by 2008's Tomb Raider: Underworld.

In April 2008, Hawes began filming the BBC drama Mutual Friends, and appeared in That Mitchell and Webb Look. From 2008 to 2010, she appeared in Ashes to Ashes, the spin-off from the hit BBC series Life on Mars, as Alex Drake, a police officer in London's Metropolitan Police. For her portrayal of Alex Drake, Hawes was granted the Best UK Television Actress Award in 2008 by the Glamour Awards.

In 2009, Hawes portrayed Detective Superintendent Martha Lawson in a six-episode ITV series, Identity. The 2010 release of the isometric Tomb Raider spin-off game, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, again featured Hawes as the voice of Lara Croft. In December of that year, she starred as Lady Agnes Holland in the three-episode relaunch of Upstairs, Downstairs.

On 25 April 2011, Hawes narrated the documentary Kate and William: A Royal Love Story on BBC One, prior to the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. That June, she also narrated the ITV1 documentary Four of a Kind as part of ITV's Extraordinary Families season.

Hawes appeared as Catherine Mundi in 2014's fantasy adventure film Mariah Mundi and the Midas Box. She also guest-starred in 2014 as Ms. Delphox in the eighth series of Doctor Who, and returned as Lara Croft in the voiceover role for that year's release of the game Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris. Her performance as Detective Inspector Lindsay Denton in the BBC Two drama Line of Duty (2014–2016), was described in The Daily Telegraph as "the performance of 2014", and garnered her a nomination for the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress. In October 2014, Hawes was made an Honorary Graduate by the University of Suffolk.

From 2016 to 2019, Hawes played the main role of Louisa Durrell in ITV's popular comedy-drama The Durrells. She appeared in 2018's TV series Bodyguard, in which she played Home Secretary Julia Montague, and was nominated for a BAFTA for the role. Also in 2018, Hawes played Dorothy Wick in Mrs Wilson, opposite Iain Glen. Hawes came in at number 38 on the 2018 Radio Times TV 100 list, determined by television executives and broadcasting veterans. She has since appeared in Traitors and Summer of Rockets, both in 2019.

Hawes later played Detective Chief Inspector Caroline Goode in the 2020 miniseries Honour which was based on the real life murder of Banaz Mahmod. She also appeared in the films Misbehaviour and Rebecca that year. In 2021, Hawes co-created, served as an executive producer and starred in the ITV comedy-drama Finding Alice as Alice Dillion. It was later announced that there would be a second series. In 2021, Hawes appeared in the Russell T. Davis five-part drama It's a Sin as Valerie Tozer. The series follows five 18-year-olds who move to London in 1981 and have their lives turned upside down by the AIDS crisis. It aired on Channel 4 and on HBO Max in the United States. Critics and viewers praised her performance in the final episode as "outstanding and magnificent" and a "masterclass". Similarly, the Radio Times described her performance as "stunning" and "heartbreaking." Critics and viewers also expressed their desire for Hawes to win BAFTAs for her performance. The following month, Hawes appeared as actress Patricia Neal in 2021 film To Olivia, which revolves around her marriage to Roald Dahl and the death of their daughter.

In June 2022, Hawes appeared in a leading role as Dr. Susannah Zellaby in Sky Max science fiction horror drama The Midwich Cuckoos based on the novel of the same name.

In 2025, Hawes starred in The Assassin, a crime thriller television series created by Harry and Jack Williams with Freddie Highmore, for Amazon Prime Video.

Philanthropy

Hawes began working with UNICEF in 2012; in 2017 she became a UNICEF ambassador. Her main focus has been visiting Syrian refugee children and families living in the Za’atari refugee camp and host communities in Amman.

Personal life

Hawes married cartoonist Spencer McCallum in December 2001; their son had been born in August. She married Matthew Macfadyen, her co-star in Spooks, in November 2004 and their daughter was born the following month. Their son was born in September 2006.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Video games

Awards and nominations

References

References

1. Calkin, Jessamy. (28 March 2020). "Keeley Hawes: 'Just watching the news taints my faith in human nature'". The Telegraph.
2. Lewis, Roz. (4 September 2011). "Time and place: Keeley Hawes". The Sunday Times.
3. "Alumni". [[Sylvia Young Theatre School]].
4. Layton, Caitlin. (14 March 2014). "10 Things About... Keeley Hawes".
5. "From McDonald's to Lara Croft: Keeley Hawes Speaks". Go Think Big.
6. (18 September 2014). "Keeley Hawes: TV's toughest detective". The Evening Standard.
7. Graham, Jane. (20 April 2017). "Keeley Hawes: "I felt very out of place. A bit of an ugly duckling thing"".
8. (11 March 2006). "Keeley Hawes: Life after Spooks".
9. "Spooks – Keeley Hawes – Actor Info". BBC.
10. "Suede - Saturday Night (1996)". BFI.
11. (30 December 2016). "'There's a lot of love at the moment.' Ian Broudie on Liverpool, punk and the return of the Lightning Seeds". The Herald.
12. (23 June 2023). "Yeah Nah: 5 NZ songs to make you smile". New Zealand Herald.
13. (7 November 2018). "Can you spot the pre-fame celebrities in these music videos?". BBC Music.
14. Waters, Sarah. (2018-01-20). "‘It was an electric time to be gay’: Sarah Waters on 20 years of Tipping the Velvet". The Guardian.
15. Seitz, Matt Zoller. (2007-08-17). "Death ’n’ Yucks, Hallucinogens ’n’ Stiff Upper Lips". The New York Times.
16. Bellafante, Ginia. (2009-03-06). "Eight Years Into the Future From That Last Trip to the Past". The New York Times.
17. Wollaston, Sam. (2010-05-21). "Ashes to Ashes ends and everything becomes less clear". The Guardian.
18. "All the winners from the Glamour Women of the Year Awards 2008".
19. Stanley, Alessandra. (2011-04-07). "Like Old Times, Almost, in an English Household". The New York Times.
20. Dawtrey, Adam. (11 April 2012). "Aneurin Barnard tapped for 'Mariah Mundi'". Variety.
21. (14 March 2014). "Series 8: Keeley Hawes cast as Ms Delphox". Doctor Who TV.
22. (11 February 2014). "Line of Duty series 2 on BBC Two". [[Northern Ireland Screen]].
23. Raeside, Julia. (2015-05-06). "Bafta TV awards 2015: who should win best actress?". The Guardian.
24. Anonymous. (4 July 2016). "Keeley Hawes".
25. Ramaswamy, Chitra. (2019-04-07). "The Durrells review – a welcome vacation from our island of nightmares". The Guardian.
26. Thorpe, Vanessa. (2018-11-10). "Ruth Wilson: ‘It’s daunting, making a drama out of my family’s mysteries’". The Observer.
27. Lazarus, Susanna. (21 August 2018). "Olivia Colman tops Radio Times TV 100 2018: full list revealed".
28. Nicholson, Rebecca. (2019-03-08). "Traitors: the snappy, sexy spy drama where the women have all the fun". The Guardian.
29. Saner, Emine. (2019-05-22). "Summer of Rockets review – Poliakoff has pulled it off at last!". The Guardian.
30. Lawson, Mark. (2020-09-24). "‘Murdered for wanting a life’: Banaz Mahmod ‘honour killing' comes to TV". The Guardian.
31. Dargis, Manohla. (2020-09-24). "‘Misbehaviour’ Review: Pretty Women, Some Pretty Angry". The New York Times.
32. Scott, A. O.. (2020-10-21). "‘Rebecca’ Review: A Classic Tale, but There’s Only One Hitch". The New York Times.
33. Stroude, Will. (2021-01-15). "It's a Sin: Meet the characters of Russell T Davies' powerful Aids drama".
34. (26 January 2021). "It's A Sin Viewers Call For Keeley Hawes to 'Win A Bafta' After 'Outstanding And Magnificent' Performance".
35. Leaver, Joel. (27 January 2021). "North Wales beach featured in Keeley Hawes' acclaimed It's a Sin scene".
36. "It's A Sin episode 5 recap: Keeley Hawes shocks in series finale {{!}} Radio Times".
37. (21 January 2021). "Olly Alexander on ''It's A Sin'': 'There's not been a British AIDS drama on this scale ever'".
38. Kennedy, Lisa. (2022-04-14). "‘To Olivia’ Review: Roald Dahl and Patricia Neal Cope With Tragedy". The New York Times.
39. "Midwich Cuckoos cast {{!}} Full list of Sky drama characters {{!}} Radio Times".
40. "KEELEY HAWES UNICEF UK AMBASSADOR". UNICEF.
41. (13 July 2014). "Worlds apart ... but working together". The Herald.
42. "Soccer Aid 2016 raises record amount for Unicef UK". ITV.
43. Das, Lina. "Traumatic love".
44. (2016). "Robot of Sherwood, Listen and Time Heist". Doctor Who: The Complete History.
45. Hoggard, Liz. (11 March 2006). "Keeley Hawes: Life after Spooks". The Independent.
46. Hoggard, Liz. (1 April 2010). "Ashes to Ashes star Keeley Hawes on surviving a showbiz marriage". London Evening Standard.
47. (11 January 2007). "Matthew Macfadyen and Keeley Hawes welcome second child".
48. Tartaglione, Nancy. (6 February 2023). "'Scoop': Gillian Anderson, Rufus Sewell & More Join Prince Andrew Bombshell BBC Interview Movie At Netflix".
49. "When is Finding Alice released? What's it about?".
50. "Keeley Hawes confirmed to lead cast of major new BBC One drama Crossfire". BBC.
51. "ITV commissions real life drama, Stonehouse, starring Matthew Macfadyen and Keeley Hawes". ITV.
52. "BBC to air Miss Austen, starring Keeley Hawes and Rose Leslie". BBC.
53. Molander, Joe. (24 April 2025). "Filming begins on Jack Thorne drama Falling".
54. Rosser, Michael, (6 October 2008). "[http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/multi-platform/news/morse-author-honoured-at-crime-thriller-awards/1888307.article Morse author honoured at Crime Thriller Awards]". ''[[Broadcast (magazine). Broadcast]]'' (Emap Media). Retrieved 16 April 2021.
55. "2008 Awards".
56. Allen, Kate. (7 September 2009). "Coben, Cole, Atkinson vie for crime awards". The Bookseller.
57. "Crime Thriller Awards Press Release". ITV.
58. Ritman, Alex. (8 April 2015). "BAFTA TV Awards: Benedict Cumberbatch Gets Third Nomination for 'Sherlock'". The Hollywood Reporter.
59. (10 May 2015). "Bafta TV awards 2015: Winners in full". BBC News.
60. (12 February 2015). "Benefits Street up for Broadcasting Press Guild award". BBC News.
61. "The Night Manager, Keeley Hawes and Robbie Coltrane win big at Broadcasting Press Guild Awards".
62. "Killing Eve and A Very English Scandal win big at Broadcasting Press Guild Awards 2019".
63. (12 May 2019). "Bafta TV Awards 2019: Full winners and nominees list". BBC News.
64. "Golden Nymph Awards Nominees".
65. (18 June 2019). "'Escape At Dannemora', 'On The Spectrum', 'The Good Doctor' & 'My Brilliant Friend' Among Monte-Carlo Fest Winners". Deadline Hollywood.
66. (4 March 2020). "Edinburgh TV Awards 2021".
67. (21 October 2021). "RTS Programme Awards 2022".