Introduction
Penny Downie (born 1954) is an Australian actress, noted for her appearances on British television.
Professional career
She began her career in Australia, initially in Brisbane at Twelfth Night Theatre and Brisbane Arts Theatre. Downie was a student of noted theatre director, Joan Whalley. She trained at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), Sydney. After graduation she appeared in TV series such as The Box, Bellbird, The Sullivans, Prisoner and Learned Friends.
She moved to the United Kingdom during the early 1980s. In 1984 when she appeared as Dee Rogers in the Minder episode "If Money Be the Food of Love, Play On". Other UK TV credits include: Inspector Morse, Kavanagh QC, The Cazalets, The Inspector Lynley Mysteries, Spooks, Trial & Retribution, New Street Law, Poirot, The Ice House, Lost for Words and New Tricks.
She also appeared in The Girl in the Cafe, alongside Bill Nighy, Kelly Macdonald and Anton Lesser.
She is also an accomplished stage actress. She is an associate artist of the Royal Shakespeare Company where she has played roles such as Lady Anne in Richard III alongside Antony Sher, and Hermione and Perdita in The Winter's Tale. She appeared in the premiere of Nick Dear's play The Art of Success in Stratford in 1986 and later at the Barbican Theatre, London, alongside Michael Kitchen and Simon Russell Beale.
In 2008 she played opposite David Tennant and Patrick Stewart as Gertrude, in the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Hamlet which was subsequently adapted for BBC television and aired in late 2009. Downie played the title character in Euripides' Helen at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in 2009.
In 2009 she played Mrs. Pienaar in the Clint Eastwood film Invictus.
In 2013 she appeared as Rev Mother Augustine in the Father Brown episode "The Bride of Christ". Downie also played the title role in A Storm in a Flower Vase, a play based on the life of Constance Spry, which held its West End debut at the Arts Theatre.
In 2014, Downie starred in an episode of Suspects as Fiona Sullivan, and appeared as Lady Sinderby, mother of Atticus Aldridge, in series five of Downton Abbey.