Penny Downie is an Australian actress known for her stage and television appearances in the United Kingdom. From 2017 until 2021 she played Ellen in the British TV sitcom Back. She plays the US ambassador’s house manager Frances Munning in the 2023 Netflix political thriller series The Diplomat.

Early life and education

Penny Downie was born in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. She trained at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), Sydney. Downie was a student of theatre director, Joan Whalley.

Career

Downie began her career in Australia, initially in Brisbane at Twelfth Night Theatre and Brisbane Arts Theatre.

TV and film

After graduation she appeared in Australian TV series such as The Box, Bellbird, The Sullivans, Prisoner, and Learned Friends. She moved to the United Kingdom in the early 1980s. In 1984 she appeared as Dee Rogers in the Minder episode "If Money Be the Food of Love, Play On". Her many UK TV credits include Inspector Morse, Kavanagh QC, The Inspector Lynley Mysteries, Spooks, and New Tricks. She also appeared in The Girl in the Cafe. 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". 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. In 2016, Downie played Home Secretary Rose Kenter in American action thriller London Has Fallen, and portrayed Janet Lee Bouvier, mother of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in the Pablo Larrain-directed historical drama Jackie. She also appeared on television in British-Canadian co-production Houdini & Doyle as Mrs. Sulzbach, and featured in three episodes of the 2016 BBC1 espionage drama The Secret Agent, where she played Lady Blackwood. In 2017, she had a supporting role as Tid in biographical drama Breathe, as well as a six-episode stint on Channel 4 sitcom Back as Ellen. She reprised her role for a further six episodes in 2021. In 2019, she appeared in BBC Radio 4 horror podcast series The Lovecraft Investigations as Barbara, and played Valerie Chandris in three episodes of American thriller drama series Absentia. She also starred in nine episodes of Netflix series The Crown as Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester. From 2023, Downie played Frances Munning in four episodes of American political thriller The Diplomat. In 2024, she featured in four episodes of British limited series A Gentleman in Moscow as Countess Rostova, based on the novel by Amor Towles. The series premiered on Paramount+ on 29 March 2024.

Stage

Downie is an associate artist of the Royal Shakespeare Company, where she has played roles such as Lady Anne in Richard III in the 1984 production featuring Antony Sher in the lead, 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 also played the title character in Euripides' Helen at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in 2009. Downie 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 2016, Downie appeared as Nat in Rabbit Hole at the Hampstead Theatre, replacing Alison Steadman. In 2019, she starred as Helen Alving in a Royal & Derngate production of Ibsen's Ghosts, opposite James Wilby. The production garnered critical acclaim, with Downie's performance being lauded by various critics as "towering", "mesmerising" and "quietly devastating". In 2021, she played Esther in The Lodger, which premiered at the Coronet Theatre in September 2021.

Filmography

Film

Television