Hannah Waddingham, a London native, whose work encompasses television, film, and musical theater, received her first Golden Globe nomination this year for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role on Television. She plays Rebecca Welton, the new owner of AFC Richmond, in the Apple TV+ comedy series and Golden Globe winner Ted Lasso.
Born in the summer of 1974, Waddingham says this in her Instagram Bio: “Player of Septas, witches, bitches and loving it!” Indeed, the British actress has pursued a variety of roles. Though her recurring role in Ted Lasso brought her newfound global fame, Waddingham has been widely known for the role of “Shame Nun” Septa Unella, in the fifth and the sixth seasons of HBO’s Game of Thrones. She’s also been shining in Sex Education, the comedy-drama streamed by Netflix.
Waddingham started her cinematic journey as a factory laborer in the 2012 adaptation of Les Misérables. Before that, she had an extensive career in musical theater, garnering three nominations for Best Actress in a Musical at London’s Lawrence Olivier’s Awards: in 2007 for Spamalot, in 2010 for A Little Night Music and in 2013 for Kiss Me, Kate.
British theatergoers know Waddingham for her well-received performances in two particular works: the 2010 revival of Into the Woods and, as Wicked Witch of the West, in The Wizard of Oz. Despite never having had any formal singing lessons, this graduate from the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts has a four-octave vocal range. Music is in her DNA. She grew up around the musical theater. Both maternal grandparents were opera singers. The actress’s mother, Melodie Kelly, sang with the English National Opera for 27 years.
Waddingham’s upcoming acting credits include Hocus Pocus 2, to be released in 2022. She will share the screen with the brilliant acting trio of the original movie – Golden Globe winner Sarah Jessica Parker, Golden Globe winner Bette Midler and Kathy Najimy. She is also working on the adaptation of Tom Jones, the literary classic from 1749 about class struggle, vanity, virtue and quite a few broken hearts.