Whitelaw, Billie (1932– )

English actor. Noted for her interpretation of roles by the Irish dramatist Samuel Beckett, she performed in his Play (1964), Not I (1973), Footfalls (1976), and Happy Days (1979). Other work includes modern theatre, television appearances such as Firm Friends (1992–94), and films, notably The Krays (1990). Her autobiography Billie Whitelaw – Who He? was published in 1995.

Whitelaw was born in Coventry, West Midlands, and made her London debut in Georges Feydeau's Hotel Paradiso (1956). She joined the National Theatre in 1964, and the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1971, returning to the National in 1973 to play Mouth in Not I. Her films include The Omen (1976) and The Water Babies (1979)