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Joanna Lumley

Joanna Lumley is an English actress, former model, human rights activist and animal welfare activist. Lumley began her debut in front of a camera as a photographic model and in 1969 appeared in an advertisement on television for Nimble Bread. Lumley began her acting career in an early role in the James Bond film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service as one of Blofeld’s Angels of Death. Lumley portrayed Purdey in The New Avengers and had a career boost playing Patsy Stone in Absolutely Fabulous. Since then she has worked for the successful Gurkha Justice Campaign, an effort to allow Gurkhas who served in the British Army before 1997 rights to live in the UK.

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Joanna Lumley’s Broadway debut is absolutely fabulous First the Gurkhas, now Joanna Lumley helps to save Islington theatre Lumley 'begged' PM over Gurkhas Lumley: The Green Party is the obvious choice in poll Lumley praises Brown after Gurkha victory Royal family supports me on Gurkhas, Lumley tells Commons Guessing games as stars make self-portraits

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Don't trust polls that place us below the Poles

30.09.11
Talk about unfortunate timing. Just seven days ago David Cameron was putting the Great back into Britain and trumpeting our country's virtues. Now we learn that the quality of life in Britain is the worst in Europe... more

In Smiley's day and now, we fear the fanatic

13.09.11
The suspicions of Alec Guinness loyalists towards the new film version of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy can be laid to rest. The line-up of contemporary actors is superb, and there is the added potency of nostalgia... more

The Garrick Club is no match for Joanna Lumley

25.07.11
I have never understood the appeal of private members' clubs. In my rare visits to Pall Mall's oak-panelled bastions of privilege the guests have usually been as stale as the cakes on the pudding tray... more

Planned cuts to legal aid are 'crude and brutal'

14.02.11
Proposed cuts to the legal aid budget will cost more than they save and could leave more than half a million people 'silenced in court', legal experts have warned... more

Joanna Lumley’s Broadway debut is absolutely fabulous

15.10.10
Joanna Lumley took to the stage as Princess Conti in the 17th-century French-set comedy La Bête — and went down a storm... more

Stars lend support to child sex trafficking campaign

09.08.10
Stars such as Joanna Lumley and Robert Pattinson have been lending a hand to charity in a bid to stop children being exploited... more

This is your Lifegame

09.07.10
Lifegame resembles a chat show more than a conventional drama. It’s not a new concept but its methods still seem fresh.... more

Nothing artistic about Boogie Woogie

16.04.10
Duncan Ward's black comedy about the contemporary art scene - Boogie Woogie - has Danny Huston as Art Spindle.... more

Joanna Lumley keeps her counsel over probe into Gurkha rights

18.03.10
Joanna Lumley refuses to get into a war of words today with defence minister Kevan Jones over Gurkhas' rights... more

First the Gurkhas, now Joanna Lumley helps to save Islington theatre

19.02.10
Widow of the founder of the King’s Head Theatre has bought the venue for £1.4 million — with the help of Joanna Lumley... more

Prince Charles backs Joanna Lumley's Gurkha fundraising effort

17.12.09
Video: Gurkhas champion Joanna Lumley won the backing of the Prince of Wales as she returned to the campaign trail to raise millions of pounds for elderly veterans in Nepal... more

Joanna Lumley to join TV Mistresses

27.11.09
Ab Fab star Joanna Lumley is returning to television in BBC drama Mistresses.... more

London's new influentials

10.11.09
'The 1000' - the Standard's list of the capital's top movers and shakers - is out tomorrow. Here's a preview of 25 bright sparks who make this year's selection for the first time... more

The age of the crunch funders

02.11.09
Provided they get some sort of return on their small investment - and it needn't be financial - Jasmine Gardner discovers there are fans out there who will help you start a bar, make a movie or keep on gigging... more

Joanna Lumley’s Nepal visit

27.07.09
Actress Joanna Lumley hands over a gift to Nepalese prime minister Madhav Kumar during a visit to Kathmandu... more

Lumley 'begged' PM over Gurkhas

29.05.09
Joanna Lumley had to beg Gordon Brown to allow Gurkhas the right to settle in Britain, she revealed today.... more

Lumley: The Green Party is the obvious choice in poll

27.05.09
Joanna Lumley is urging voters to shun mainstream politicians and instead back the Greens in next week’s Euro elections... more

Lumley praises Brown after Gurkha victory

21.05.09
Gurkha campaigner Joanna Lumley praises PM as she hails the decision to allow all Gurkha veterans to come to Britain... more

Lumley bust-up with Minister over Gurkha 'betrayal'

07.05.09
Furious Joanna Lumley clashed with a minister after five former Gurkhas were told they could not settle in Britain... more

Lumley: PM gave pledge over Gurkhas

06.05.09
Gordon Brown promised concessions for the Gurkhas by the end of the month during talks with actress Joanna Lumley... more

Royal family supports me on Gurkhas, Lumley tells Commons

05.05.09
Joanna Lumley claimed she has won royal support for the campaign to allow Gurkha veterans to live in Britain... more

Joanna Lumley's Gurkas triumph is no surprise

01.05.09
It was Lumley wot won it. Years of government intransigence over the rights of Gurkhas was finally overturned this week by an actress most famous for playing the reeling, chain-smoking, toyboy-shagging drunk Patsy in Absolutely Fabulous... more

Lumley: Gurkha plight is a stain on our nation

17.03.09
Joanna Lumley has accused ministers of leaving a "stain on our national character" by failing to honour a court ruling that gives Gurkha veterans the right to settle in Britain... more

Merton and Sugar compete to be our favourite Londoner

08.10.08
From a millionaire businessman from Hackney to a comedian who took his stage name from the borough he grew up in, they share their love of the capital... more

Guessing games as stars make self-portraits

10.09.08
Forty writers, actors, musicians and artists, from Eric Clapton to Joanna Lumley, have produced an unusual self-portrait for an exhibition opening... more

'LBD' gets a show of its own

19.06.08
The history of the little black dress is being told in a new exhibition... more

Deckchairs unfold the art of relaxation

29.05.08
The Royal Parks have commissioned dozens of colourful deckchairs designed by leading names in art and culture... more

Joanna Lumley gives an Absolutely Fabulous lesson in ageing gracefully

22.04.08
Her Ab Fab alter ego Patsy Stone may have been a plastic surgery aficionado, but thankfully Joanna Lumley hasn't followed suit. The 61-year-old proved to be a stunning example of how to ageing gracefully at the BAFTAs on Sunday night, wearing her laughter lines with pride as she took to the red carpet in an elegant orange gown and lashings of red lipstick. Many of her A-list contemporaries have succumb to the temptation of too much botox, nipping and tucking - sometimes with disastrous results - making the actress something of a rarity... more

BAFTA TV Awards 2008: Glamorous Kelly Brook is a style winner but Joanna Lumley and Tess Daly clash with the carpet

21.04.08
As the stars arrived for the BAFTA Television Awards, it was already clear who were the winners and losers in the sartorial stakes. Kelly Brook was the obvious front-runner, channelling vintage Hollywood glamour in a floor-skimming silk navy-blue gown and white fur shrug ... more

Rankin gives South Bank a facelift

27.02.07
A giant frieze featuring some of London's most influential cultural figures is to be unveiled outside the Royal Festival Hall.... more

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  • Facts
  • Lumley was born in the Princely State of Jammu and Kashmir in 1946, before moving to Malaysia (when it was called Malaya) and finally Kent.
  • Lumley provided the voice-over for the UK edition of AOL. When UK users log on to AOL, it is Lumley’s voice that greets them with ‘Welcome to AOL’ and ‘You have email’.
  • In 2005, Lumley published No Room For Secrets, her autobiography which became serialised by The Times.
  • Lumley is an animal rights activist and a vegetarian, supporting various animal welfare groups such as Viva! and CWIF.
  • Lumley supports Burma Campaign UK, a pro-democracy human rights group advocating the cessation of the oppression of the Burmese people by the current military regime.
  • Lumley has been awarded the following honours: An OBE in 1995, she is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, an honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of Kent, an honorary degree from the University of St Andrews and an honorary Doctorate from Queen’s University Belfast.

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