Miriam Margolyes

Miriam Margolyes, (; born 18 May 1941) is an English character actress and voice artist. Her earliest roles were in theatre and after several supporting roles in film and television she won a BAFTA Award for her role in The Age of Innocence (1993) and went on to take the role of Professor Sprout in the Harry Potter film series. For many years she has divided her time between England and Australia, and she has starred in television shows in both countries, including the Australian premiere of the 2013 play I'll Eat You Last. In 2013 she became an Australian citizen, thereby holding dual British and Australian citizenship. 2Early life Margolyes was born in Oxford, England, the only child of Ruth (née Walters; 1905–1974), a property investor and developer, and Joseph Margolyes (1899–1995), a physician from Glasgow. She grew up in a Jewish family; her ancestors migrated to the UK from Poland and Belarus. Her great-grandfather, Symeon Sandmann, was born in the town of Margonin in central-western Poland, which Margolyes visited in 2013. She attended Oxford High School from 1955 until 1959, and later Newnham College, Cambridge, where she read English. There, in her twenties, she began acting and appeared in productions by the Cambridge Footlights comedy troupe. 2Acting career With her distinctive voice, Margolyes first gained recognition for her work as a voice artis