Lesley Nicol (actress)

Lesley Nicol
Nicol in November 2014
Born	c. 1953 (age 63–64) Manchester, England
Nationality	British
Education	Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1982–present
Known for	Beryl Patmore in Downton Abbey
Awards	Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series, 2012, 2014-2015

Lesley Nicol (born c. 1953 in Manchester) is an English actress and three-time SAG Award-winner who is best known for her starring role as Beryl Patmore in the ITV and PBS drama TV series Downton Abbey.

She is also known for her roles as Mrs. Beaver in the 1988 BBC adaptation of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and as the Queen Giant in The Silver Chair (1990).

Nicol graduated from Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London in the early 1970s.

On stage, Nicol appeared as Rosie in the second and third years of the original West End production of the international hit musical Mamma Mia! from 2000 to 2002. She also starred as Auntie Annie in East is East at London's Royal Court Theatre, and later reprised her role in the hugely popular BAFTA Best British Film of 1999 award-winning version of the play, also titled East Is East. Subsequently, she appeared in the film sequel, West is West.

Nicol has guest-starred on numerous British and American TV series. She made a guest appearance on an episode of The CW's Supernatural, playing a German child-eating witch. She also appeared as a guest star on CBS-TV's reboot of The Odd Couple (2015 TV series) and multiple episodes of ABC-TV's The Catch (TV series), in a recurring role playing the matriarch of a vicious London gangland family.