Miranda Richardson’s off-screen appearance is strikingly similar to her Harry Potter character. But, fortunately, they are nothing alike, and the real-life Miranda wouldn’t be caught dead wearing that awful green jacket that Rita adores so much. Like many others on this list, Miranda began her career on stage long before appearing on screen, and has since piled up quite the few memorable performances, including The King and I, The Hours, The Prince and Me, Belle, and recently, 2017’s historical drama, Churchill.
Richardson has also lent her talents to various TV shows, such as The Crying Game, The Lost Prince, Merlin and more. Last year she took part in the short-lived show, Girlfriends, along with her fellow Harry Potter star, Zoe Wanamaker. We expect to see lots more of you soon, Miranda!
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.
Imelda Staunton as Dolores Umbridge
To say that we hate Dolores Umbridge would be an understatement. If you ever had a teacher whom you felt was simply out to get you, then you may be able to understand the disappointment we feel towards this woman, who has the audacity to call herself an educator. We first met (and thankfully parted with) Professor Umbridge in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, when Umbridge was just an ordinary worker in the Ministry of Magic.
However, continuously losing trust in Albus Dumbledore, Cornelius Fudge, head of the Ministry of Magic, assigned Professor Umbridge to Hogwarts as the High Inquisitor, which later turned into Headmistress. Lucky for everyone, that didn't last too long, and the Centaurs took care of her.
Imelda Staunton Now
Even though it's hard to picture Imelda Staunton's face without confusing it with her Harry Potter character, she is by no means a one-trick pony. In fact, the English actress began her acting career in the ‘70s, as a musical theater actress, after making her acting debut at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Imelda took on various triple-threat acting roles in a number of award-winning musicals, including Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd, The Wizard of Oz, Guys and Dolls, and more.
Since then, she has appeared in a number of major motion pictures, such as Nanny McPhee, Gypsy, Pride, and of course, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. In the last two years, Mrs. Staunton appeared in three movies, including Paddington 2, Finding Your Feet and The Actor's Apprenticeship. She is also rumored to appear in next year's film opening of Maleficent 2.