Blethyn, Brenda (1946– )

English stage and screen actor. A versatile performer, her roles include that of a downtrodden working-class heroine in Mike Leigh's Secrets and Lies (1996), which earned her widespread acclaim, Cordelia in the 1982 BBC production of King Lear, and a matriarch in the US feature film A River Runs Through It (1992). Her UK television credits include Chance in A Million (1986), The Buddha of Suburbia (1993), and Between the Sheets (2003).

She has also featured in the films Night Train and Girl's Night (both 1998), Saving Grace (2000), Lovely and Amazing (2001), and Blizzard (2003). She was awarded the OBE in 2002.