Actor

1973-07-03 · United Kingdom · Female

15 series in the catalog

Emma Cunniffe (born 3 July 1973) is an English film, stage and television actress.

Early life

Cunniffe was raised in Frodsham, Cheshire.

Career

Her television credits include H is for Hawk, Marble Hall Murders, A Very Royal Scandal, The Lakes, Biddy in the BBC adaptation of Great Expectations, All the King's Men starring alongside Maggie Smith and David Jason, Clash of the Santas, alongside Robson Green and Mark Benton, Clocking Off (BBC), and Flesh and Blood

She also appeared in the sixth series Doctor Who episode "Night Terrors", alongside the Eleventh Doctor played by Matt Smith. She appeared in the BBC documentary The Genius of Mozart as Constanze, Wolfgang's wife. In 2009, she played Carol Boynton in the ITV adaptation of Appointment with Death, in series 11 of Agatha Christie's Poirot. In mid-2014, she played DS Hawthorn in Coronation Street, investigating the circumstances of the attack on and subsequent death of Tina McIntyre (Michelle Keegan).

Other tv credits include Roadkill with Hugh Laurie, and The Mezzotint directed by Mark Gatiss,

On stage, she won the UK Theatre Awards for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her performance as Hilda in The Master Builder and received a commendation for the same role at the Ian Charleson Awards in 1999. Her other stage work includes Tales from Hollywood at the Donmar Warehouse, The Entertainer at The Old Vic, Losing Louis at the Trafalgar Studios in London and in 2006 Women Beware Women for the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon. She was nominated for "what's on stage" award in 2011 for her role as Elizabeth Proctor in The Crucible at Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park.

She played Nora in Ibsen's A Dolls House in 2011 at The Lowry theatre in Manchester.

She has worked at The Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester in various productions including Twelfth Night, Major Barbara, Three Sisters, Edward II and The Importance of Being Earnest.

In 2015, she starred as Queen Anne the eponymous monarch and received critical acclaim in the RSC's production of Helen Edmundson's Queen Anne. This production transferred to the Haymarket theatre in the West End in 2017.

Personal life

Cunniffe lives in London. She married Rufus Jones in 2008.