Joanne Whalley

Joanne Whalley (born 25 August 1961[1]), credited as Joanne Whalley-Kilmer from 1988 to 1996, is an English actress who began her career in 1974. She has appeared primarily on television, but also in nearly 30 feature films, including Dance with a Stranger (1985), Willow (1988), Scandal (1989), Storyville (1992) The Secret Rapture (1993) and Mother's Boys (1994). Following her marriage to Val Kilmer in 1988, she was credited as Joanne Whalley-Kilmer until their divorce in 1996.

Joanne Whalley
Born	25 August 1961 Salford, England
Other names	Joanne Whalley-Kilmer
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1974–present
Spouse(s)	Val Kilmer ​ ​ (m. 1988; div. 1996)​
Children	2

Whalley was nominated for the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for the 1985 BBC serial Edge of Darkness, and was nominated for a Best Actress Golden Nymph Award at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival for the 2011 series The Borgias. Her other television roles include the 1986 BBC serial The Singing Detective; playing the title role in the 2000 CBS TV film Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, Claudia, wife of Pontius Pilate in the 2015 NBC series A.D. The Bible Continues, and Sister Maggie in Daredevil.

Early life

Whalley was born in Salford, Lancashire, but brought up in Stockport, Cheshire, where she attended Bredbury Comprehensive School, before leaving to study at Harrytown Convent Girls' School in Romiley and the Braeside School of Speech and Drama in Marple.[2]

Whalley first appeared as a child in How We Used To Live and Juliet Bravo, and also had bit parts in soap operas, especially Coronation Street and Emmerdale. Her early film roles include a non-speaking part as a groupie in Pink Floyd's The Wall, and a young Beatles fan in Birth of the Beatles.

Musical career

In the post-punk era, she flirted with the fringes of the Manchester New Wave scene and was briefly a member of a Stockport-based band called the Slowguns, but left before the release of their two singles. Later, she was the lead singer of the pop group Cindy & The Saffrons; they recorded the Shangri-Las' song "Past, Present and Future" in 1982 at Abbey Road Studios and the next year they recorded "Terry" by Twinkle. The group split up soon afterward.[3] In 2003, Whalley appeared on Blink-182's song "Stockholm Syndrome", reading letters between Mark Hoppus’ grandparents.

Acting career

In 1982, she played Ingrid Rothwell in A Kind of Loving, a well-received Granada TV adaptation of Stan Barstow's three Vic Brown novels. Whalley acted in the film No Surrender (Dumbarton Films with Film Four) scripted by Alan Bleasdale, released in 1985, but the film was not successful.

Whalley came to prominence on British television as Emma Craven in Troy Kennedy Martin's Edge of Darkness (1985), then as Nurse Mills in the Dennis Potter-written serial The Singing Detective (1986)—both for BBC Television. In 1987 she played Jackie in the TV film Will You Love Me Tomorrow; she also played a role in The Good Father (1985), another Channel 4-backed film.

Whalley met the American actor Val Kilmer in 1987 while filming the fantasy adventure Willow.[4] After their marriage in 1988, she moved to Los Angeles and began using 'Joanne Whalley-Kilmer' as her professional SAG-AFTRA name. She continued filming, making more films in Hollywood than in the UK. In 1989,Whalley-Kilmer played the role of Christine Keeler in Scandal alongside stars John Hurt and Sir Ian McKellen. In 1991 she starred in the mystery noir Shattered.

In 1994, she was the lead actress in Trial By Jury, with co-stars Armand Assante and William Hurt, among others. Also in 1994, she became the second actress to play Gone with the Wind heroine Scarlett O'Hara when she appeared in a made-for-TV adaptation of the sequel novel, Scarlett. She later starred in the 1997 film The Man Who Knew Too Little.

After her divorce from Kilmer in 1996, for personal and professional reasons, she changed her surname back to Whalley. Whalley played the title character in the 2000 television film Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis. She later collaborated with the pop-punk band Blink-182, reading a letter at the beginning of the song "Stockholm Syndrome". In 2005, she appeared as Queen Mary I in The Virgin Queen, a BBC serial about the life of Queen Elizabeth I which also starred Anne-Marie Duff and Tara FitzGerald. That same year she filmed Played which also starred her ex-husband Val Kilmer. However, the two did not share any scenes together. In 2006, she appeared in Life Line, a two-part drama on BBC1, starring opposite Ray Stevenson.

In February 2008, she appeared on stage in Billy Roche's Poor Beast in the Rain presented by the Salem K. Theatre Company at the Matrix Theatre, Los Angeles, California.[5][6] In that same year, Whalley was also a regular in the ITV mini series Flood with Robert Carlyle amongst others.

In 2011, Whalley played one of the female leads, Vannozza dei Cattanei, mistress of Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia, future Pope Alexander VI, in the Showtime historical drama The Borgias.[7] She guest-starred as Princess Sophie in season 4 of Gossip Girl. With the cast of 44 Inch Chest, she shared the Best Ensemble Award at the San Diego Film Critics Society Awards 2010. The film reunited her with John Hurt, with whom she had done two previous films. In 2014 she played Aunt Patience in Jamaica Inn for BBC One. In 2015, she played Claudia, the wife of Pontius Pilate, in A.D. The Bible Continues, and Queen Catherine of Aragon in the BBC miniseries Wolf Hall.

In 2018, she appeared in the third season of Daredevil as Sister Maggie.

In 2020, Whalley starred in the Eleanor Coppola film Love Is Love Is Love. It was scheduled to have its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2020, but the festival was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film is rescheduled for its world premiere at the Deauville American Film Festival in September.[8][9]

Personal life

Whalley met the American actor Val Kilmer while filming the movie Willow.[4] The couple married in 1988. Whalley took a break from filming to bring up her two children with Kilmer. Mercedes was born on 29 October 1991 in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and her son Jack was born on 6 June 1995. Shortly after that, the pair separated. Whalley filed for divorce on 21 July 1995, citing irreconcilable differences.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1982	Pink Floyd – The Wall	Groupie
1985	Dance with a Stranger	Christine
	No Surrender	Cheryl
	The Good Father	Mary Hall
1988	Willow	Sorsha
	To Kill a Priest	Anna
1989	Scandal	Christine Keeler	as Joanne Whalley-Kilmer
	Kill Me Again	Fay Forrester	as Joanne Whalley-Kilmer
1990	Navy SEALs	Claire Varrens	as Joanne Whalley-Kilmer
	The Big Man	Beth Scoular	as Joanne Whalley-Kilmer; also known as Crossing the Line
1991	Shattered	Jenny Scott	as Joanne Whalley-Kilmer
	Storyville	Natalie Tate	as Joanne Whalley-Kilmer
1993	The Secret Rapture	Katherine Coleridge	as Joanne Whalley-Kilmer
1994	Mother's Boys	Colleen 'Callie' Harland	as Joanne Whalley-Kilmer
	A Good Man in Africa	Celia Adekunle	as Joanne Whalley-Kilmer
	Trial by Jury	Valerie Alston	as Joanne Whalley-Kilmer
1997	The Man Who Knew Too Little	Lori
1999	A Texas Funeral	Miranda
2000	The Guilty	Natalie Crane
	Breathtaking	Caroline Henshow
2002	Before You Go	Mary
	Virginia's Run	Jessie Eastwood
2005	The Californians	Luna
2006	Played	Maggie
2007	Flood	Commissioner Patricia Nash
2009	44 Inch Chest	Liz Diamond
2011	Golf in the Kingdom	Agatha McNaughton
	Twixt	Denise
2017	Muse	Jacqueline
2018	Paul, Apostle of Christ	Priscilla
2020	Love Is Love Is Love	Joanne

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1974, 1976	Coronation Street	Pamela Graham	3 episodes
1975	Joby	Molly McLeod	ITV Yorkshire television film
1976, 1978	Crown Court	Janice Scott/Linda Mason	3 episodes
1977	Emmerdale Farm	Angela Read	6 episodes
1976–79	How We Used to Live	Marjorie Dawson/Sarah Hughes	20(?) episodes
1978	The One and Only Phyllis Dixey	Doris	ITV television film
1979	Omnibus	Little Red Riding Hood/Madge	2 episodes
1980	ITV Playhouse	Lindsey	Episode: "Too Close to the Edge"
	Juliet Bravo	Maureen Maskell	Episode: "Shot Gun"
	Scene	Evelyn	Episode: "And Mum Came Too"
1980–81	Coming Home	Travel agent	2 episodes
1981	The Gaffer	Nancy	Episode: "The Trouble with Women"
	Noddy	Mary	Television film
1982	A Kind of Loving	Ingrid Rotherwell (Brown)	Main role, 8 episodes
	The Gentle Touch	Dany	Episode: "Dany"
1983	Bergerac	Christine Bolton	Episode: "Always Leave Them Laughing"
	Reilly, Ace of Spies	Ulla	ITV television miniseries; episode: "The Visiting Fireman"
1984	A Christmas Carol	Fan (Ebenezer's sister)	CBS television film
1985	Edge of Darkness	Emma Craven	6 episodes
1986	The Singing Detective	Nurse Mills	6 episodes
1987	Screen Two	Jackie	Series 3, TV film: "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?"
1994	Scarlett	Scarlett O'Hara	CBS television miniseries; Lead role; as Joanne Whalley-Kilmer
2000	Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis	Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis	CBS television film
	Run the Wild Fields	Ruby Miller	Showtime Original television film
2005	The Virgin Queen	Mary I	Television miniseries
	Child of Mine	Tess Palmer	TV film
2009	Diverted	Marion Price	CBC television miniseries
2011–12	Gossip Girl	Princess Sophie Grimaldi	7 episodes
2011–13	The Borgias	Vanozza Cattaneo	Main role, 25 episodes
2013	The Challenger Disaster	Gweneth Feynman	BBC television film; also known as The Challenger Disaster
2014	Jamaica Inn	Patience Merlyn	BBC One television miniseries
2015	Wolf Hall	Catherine of Aragon	BBC Two television miniseries
	The Ark	Emmie	BBC One television film
	A.D. The Bible Continues	Claudia, wife of Pontius Pilate	Main role, 12 episodes
2016	Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands	Rheda	Main role, 13 episodes
2017	The White Princess	Margaret, Duchess of Burgundy	Television miniseries
2018	Daredevil	Sister Maggie[10]	Main role, season 3
2020	Tin Star	Mary James

References

1. "Now and Then – Stockport Local Heritage Library Newsletter – Autumn 2010", Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council, archived from the original on 19 February 2013, retrieved 6 August 2013; John Patterson (27 January 2010), "Joanne Whalley: Here comes trouble", The Guardian, retrieved 9 March 2011; "A star with a child in her eyes". The Times. London. 12 November 2005.
2. "Joanne Whalley-Kilmer – Celebrity information". Mysticgames.com. Retrieved 25 December 2010.
3. from The Great Rock Discography via Google Books – link broken 17.4.10
4. Val Kilmer at tribute.ca
5. Gene Franklin Smith. "Salem K Theatre Company – Poor Beast in the Rain". Salemktheatreco.org. Archived from the original on 19 July 2008. Retrieved 25 December 2010.
6. "**Exclusive Allrounder**, Joanne Whalley Photos". Hollywood.premiere.com. Retrieved 25 December 2010.
7. "Showtime Taps Cox, Linney for Two New Series". TVGuide.com. 12 June 2010.
8. Fleming, Mike Jr. (10 September 2020). "Eleanor Coppola's Deauville Festival World Premiere 'Love Is Love Is Love:' Watch Exclusive Film Clips".
9. Goodfellow, Melanie (21 July 2020). "'First Cow', 'Kajillionaire', 'Last Words' head to Deauville". Screen.
10. Patten, Dominic (25 January 2018). "'Daredevil' Adds Joanne Whalley For Season 3 Of Marvel & Netflix Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 27 January 2018.

External links

• Joanne Whalley at IMDb