Joanna McCallum (born 27 June 1950) is an English theatre, film and television actress.

Early years and personal life

She is the daughter of English actress Googie Withers and Australian actor John McCallum, and was educated at St Catherine's School in Melbourne. McCallum graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in 1969. She is married to writer Roger Davenport.

Theatre

McCallum is best known for her extensive work in theatre. Notable roles include Portia in The Merchant of Venice, with Alec Guinness as Shylock (Chichester Festival Theatre, dir. Patrick Garland, 1984); heading a vast cast as Jane Marryot in Noël Coward's Cavalcade (Chichester Festival Theatre, dir. David Gilmore, 1985); and Margeurite Blakeney, opposite Donald Sinden as Sir Percy Blakeney, in The Scarlet Pimpernel (Her Majesty's Theatre, dir. Nicholas Hytner, 1985). She was Meg Page, one of The Merry Wives of Windsor, with Susannah York as Alice Ford (Royal Shakespeare Company, dir. Ian Judge, 1997); and Gertrude, alongside Mark Rylance as Hamlet, at the reconstructed Globe Theatre on London's South Bank (dir. Giles Block, 2000). McCallum played Princess Dragomiroff in the 2022 production of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express (Chichester Festival Theatre, dir. Jonathan Church).

Film and television

McCallum played the central character, Aroon, in a three part adaptation of Molly Keane's Anglo Irish novel Good Behaviour (BBC Television, dir. Bill Hays, 1983), and co-starred with Trevor Eve in A Wreath of Roses, adapted from the book by Elizabeth Taylor (Granada Television, dir. John Madden, 1987). In The Franchise Affair, a 1988 BBC Television serial, she played Marion Sharpe opposite Rosalie Crutchley and Patrick Malahide. She was writer Winifred Holtby in the last episode of Testament of Youth (BBC Television, 1979) and Virginia Woolf in the film Tom & Viv (1994). McCallum played the missionary Alicia Bassett-Hill in the 1989 TV serial The Ginger Tree, which was based on the novel of the same name by Oswald Wynd; it also starred Samantha Bond and Daisuke Ryu. Her other television appearances have included episodes of Holby City, All Creatures Great and Small, and Agatha Christie's Poirot.

Other Activities

Joanna McCallum is currently a Vice President of The Theatrical Guild, (formerly The Theatrical Ladies Guild), having previously been Chairman, and has worked with the charity for many years. She is also a Vice President of Acting For Others, and is active in fundraising work within the theatre community.

Selected Film and Television Credits

Selected Stage Work

Selected Radio Drama Appearances

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