Sally Hawkins

Sally Cecilia Hawkins (born 27 April 1976) is an English actress.

She is the daughter of children's book authors and illustrators Jacqui and Colin Hawkins. Hawkins grew up in South London and attended the James Allen Girls School in Dulwich. Later she graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1998.

In 2000 she starred in Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing" and in "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Hawkins had her first major film role in Mike Leigh's All or Nothing in 2002. In the following years she starred in Vera Drake, again under the direction of Leighs, opposite Imelda Staunton. In the same year (2004) she appeared in Layer Cake.

Sally Hawkins had her first television role in the BBC film "Fingersmith" in 2005. In 2007 she starred with Ewan McGregor and Colin Farrell in Woody Allen's "Cassandra's Dream." Also in 2007 she starred in Adrian Shergold's Persuasion (based on the novel by Jane Austen), for which she received the Golden Nymph for Best Actress at the 2007 Monte Carlo TV Festival. In addition to her work as an actress, Sally Hawkins also enjoys working as a writer for comedy series such as the British BBC radio show Concrete Cow. In 2008 she starred in Mike Leigh's "Happy-Go-Lucky."

For this performance she received numerous awards, including the Silver Bear for best actress at the 2008 Berlinale, the Golden Globe and a nomination for the European Film Prize 2008. In 2009 she appeared in Sherry Hormann's film Desert Flower, in 2010 in Submarine and in 2011 in a new literary adaptation by Jane Eyre. She took on the role of Mrs Joe in Mike Newell's 2012 film adaptation of Charles Dickens' novel Great Expectations.