If you thought Hagrid, our friendly half-giant gatekeeper, was a surprisingly large sort of fellow, then lean back in your seats, because he is nothing compared to the size of Beauxbatons giant French headmistress – Madame Maxime. We were introduced to Olympe in the fourth book, just before the Triwizard Tournament, when the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons schools of magic sent their contestants to compete for the winning cup at Hogwarts.
At the time, Madame Maxime claimed that she was simply ‘big boned.’ Yeah, okay. Although everybody knows you never ask a woman about her height…or her figure, for that matter. She later joined Hagrid on a mission through Europe, to persuade the giants from joining Voldemort. Romantic? Maybe…
Zoe Wanamaker as Madam Hooch
"Up, up, up, up!" That was us practicing our magic abilities on the kitchen broom. Hey, Harry's first time didn't go so smoothly either. But once in the air, the boy really knew how to fly! OK, not at first. See? There is still hope for us all! All we need is a flying class with Madam Hooch. Unfortunately, the legendary flying instructor is employed elsewhere, at some school called Hogwarts, and we're still waiting for our acceptance letter.
Until then, we will have to make do with occasional screenings of our favorite sport - Quidditch. From the very first year at Hogwarts, Madam Hooch makes sure Harry and the others know how to mount a broom and learn to fly. She also discovered Harry's incredible snitch-catching abilities, and even refereed his first Quidditch game. Go, Gryffindor!
Zoe Wanamaker Now
From her 1970's performance as Hermia, in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Zoe Wanamaker has come a long way. After moving to the UK from the United States when she was just 3-years-old, she knew she wanted to be on stage, on screen or just up there with the stars. As a starting actress, she joined the Royal Shakespeare Company and national theater, and before she knew it, the offers were just rolling in. The Harry Potter franchise is one of her few movie appearances, along with My Week With Marilyn, Babs, and a few others.
But her true talents lie in original theater work, and the extensive TV show appearances she's done, such as in Mr. Selfridge, My Family and more. She has even won an Olivier award for best actress, in the Broadway hit show - Electra.
Frances de la Tour Now
As many would believe, reasonably so, (due to her name and performance as Olympe Maxime), Frances de la Tour is not French. In fact, she's actually an English actress, born and raised. Over the course of her career, Frances de la Tour has won a Tony Award for her stage performance in The History Boys, and not one, but three Olivier awards for theater productions. Recently, de la Tour has taken part in the TV show, Who Do You Think You Are?, which allows celebrities to discover their extended family tree.
Through this show, she discovered that she was related to an old aristocratic family. She is also famous for her roles in Alice in Wonderland, Mr. Holmes, and others. Next year, she plans to do the voice-over for one of the animals in The Voyage of Doctor Doolittle.
Miranda Richardson as Rita Skeeter
The phony, fake and evil Rita Skeeter - ‘journalist' from the Daily Prophet - reminds us all of a fame-hungry paparazzi writer who will take our words and twist them as horribly as possible, just for the attention. She's not a very likable character. We first meet Rita Skeeter in Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire, when she "interviews" Harry and the other Triwizard Tournament champions while using her Quick-Quotes Quill.
We quickly discover that not only is she far less respectable than she comes across, but she is also an unregistered and illegal Animagus, breaking Wizarding Law and getting her stories by eavesdropping on everybody's private conversations. Thankfully, Hermione Granger put a stop to that.