ABSTRACT
Eileen Atkins was born in London in 1934. She debuted in London as Jacquenetta in Love's Labour's Lost, followed by repertory seasons, including several years with the RSC. Subsequently Atkins played the Queen in Richard II, Miranda in The Tempest, and Viola in Twelfth Night at the Old Vic. Her contemporary roles include Semi-Detached with Laurence Olivier, Exit the King with Alec Guinness, The Cocktail Party and The Killing of Sister George for which she won her first Evening Standard Best Actress Award, and which also marked her debut on the New York stage. Atkins won a Variety Club Award for her performance in Vivat! Vivat! Regina. Other London credits include St. Joan at the Old Vic and Medea at the Young Vic, and Nell in Passion Play for the RSC at the Aldwych. For the National Theatre, Atkins played Hesione in John Scheslinger’s production of Heartbreak House, and leading roles in Cymbeline and Pinter’s Mountain Language and Richard Eyre’s productions of The Night of the Iguana and John Gabriel Borkman. She received an Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress in Peter Hall’s production of The Winter's Tale.
