Miranda Richardson was born in England on March 3rd 1958. She comes from Southport in Lancashire (near Liverpool), and has one sister, eight years her senior. Her parents and sister are not involved in the performing arts. At an early age, she performed in school plays, having shown a talent and desire to 'turn herself into' other people. She left school (Southport High School for Girls) at the age of 17, and originally intended becoming a vet. She also considered studying English literature in College, but decided to concentrate on drama and enrolled at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School (as did many well-known British actors). After three years she graduated and moved into repertory theatre.

Her many other theatre credits include such plays as "Orlando," "Einstein," "Insignificance," "Educating Rita," "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?," "Stags and Hens," "Sisterly Feeling," "Tom Jones," "All My Sons," "Savage Amusement," "The Maids," "Edmond," "A Lie of the Mind" and "Etta Jenks." She has been honored for her work in both film and television. In 1995, she earned Academy Award?, BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations for Best Actress for her performance in "Tom & Viv." Two years earlier, she had been acknowledged for her roles in three different films, garnering Oscar?, BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations for Best Supporting Actress for Louis Malle's "Damage," in addition to winning a Best Actress Golden Globe Award for Mike Newell's "Enchanted April" and receiving a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actress for Neil Jordan's "The Crying Game." In 1998, she was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for her performance in Robert Duvall's "The Apostle."

Richardson more recently starred with Johnny Depp in Tim Burton's "Sleepy Hollow." Her other film credits include the voice of Anna in the animated "The King and I," "All For Love," "The Evening Star," Robert Altman's "Kansas City," Mike Newell's "Dance With a Stranger," and Steven Spielberg's "Empire of the Sun." Also recognized for her work on television, Richardson won a Golden Globe Award for her performance in the telefilm "Fatherland," and earned two more Golden Globe nominations for the Showtime movie "The Big Brass Ring," and the NBC miniseries "Merlin." She more recently starred as the Queen of Hearts in the Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation of "Alice in Wonderland," and includes among her other credits "Christopher Columbus ? The Great Adventure," "The Storyteller: The Three Ravens," "Sweet as You Are," "The Master Builder," "After Pilkington," "A Woman of Substance," "Lost Property," "Sorrel & Son," "Lucky Jim," "Blackadder," "Death and the Heart" and "The Demon Lover."