Joanna Lumley is a multi-talented film and television star. She is a former model, an award-winning actress, a TV presenter, voice-over artist, writer, and activist. She is well known for her long-term portrayal of the character Patsy Stone on the BBC hit sitcom, Absolutely Fabulous. Her impeccable delivery throughout the extended run of the show earned her 2 BAFTA TV Awards.
Lumley also has many other television credits to her name including The New Avengers and Sapphire & Steel, both of the 1970s, as well as Sensitive Skin and Jam & Jerusalem, both of the 2000s. She equally has a countless number of movie credits across diverse genres including the James Bond film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Ella Enchanted, and The Wolf of Wall Street.
Also a brilliant stage actress, this talented former model received a Tony Award nomination for her performance in the 2010 Broadway revival of La Bête and, she is also a recipient of the BAFTA Fellowship award. In addition to her brilliant showbiz career, Joanna Lumley has released several memoirs among other writings. Back in 1995, she was honored with the Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) title.
Joanna Lumley Biography (Age)
Joanna Lamond Lumley was born on the 1st day of May 1946 in Srinagar, a city in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, in the then British Empire of India. Her father Major James Rutherford Lumley was an officer in the British Indian Army at the time. Growing up, her family lived in different parts of the world including Kent, England; Hong Kong, China; as well as the Malay Union (present-day Malaysia).
Lumley had her high school education at The Convent of Our Lady School located in Hastings, East Sussex and she later trained at the Lucie Clayton Finishing School in Kensington, London. She had a 3-year career as a photographic model during which she recorded notable collaborations with portrait photographer, Brian Duffy.
Joanna Lumley had a couple of minor acting roles in the earlier years of her career including the Bond girl role in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969), the 6th film in the James Bond series. In 1973, she got her first notable television role as Elaine Perkins in the soap opera, Coronation Street. The talented actress was also featured in the action series, The New Avengers (1976-77) followed by a lead role opposite David McCallum in the Sci-Fi series, Sapphire & Steel (1979-1982). Just as her TV credits continued to soar, she was equally featured in films like The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973), Trail of the Pink Panther (1982), Curse of the Pink Panther (1983), and Shirley Valentine (1989).
In the early 1990s, Lumley got her career-defining role as Patsy Stone in the British TV sitcom, Absolutely Fabulous (1992-96, 2001-04, 2011-12). Her portrayal of the character during the long and sporadic run of the show endeared her to TV audiences and also earned her 2 BAFTA Awards out of a total of 5 nominations. She also reprised the character in the film adaptation of the TV show – Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie (2016).
Joanna Lumley was also on the main cast of the comedy series, Class Act (1994-95) and Sensitive Skin (2005-07), though they were both short-lived. In addition, the multitalented actress has featured in numerous telefilms and equally headlined a series of TV documentaries. Lumley also has several notable stage credits to her name and her ever-increasing array of acting credits also include films like Cold Comfort Farm (1995), The Cat’s Meow (2001), Ella Enchanted (2004) as well as the box-office hit, The Wolf of Wall Street (2013).
Her Net Worth
With an illustrious and longrunning showbiz career behind her, it is very much expected that Joanna Lumley has amassed a lot of wealth. The multifaceted nature of her talents has ensured that her career has remained as busy as ever. Lumley’s net worth is pegged at an enviable sum of $16.5 million (£11.8 million).
Beyond her life of luxury, the Absolutely Fabulous star is known to be a major contributor and patron of several charity organizations.
Husband – Stephen Barlow, and Son
Joanna Lumley’s husband of over 3 decades, Stephen Barlow, is an orchestra conductor and music composer. The couple got married on October 23, 1986, and have remained inseparable ever since. They have no child together, however, Lumley has one child from a previous relationship. Her son Jamie Lumley was born on October 16, 1967, during her relationship with photographer Michael Claydon.
