The actress portrays Lady Eularia Moggerhanger in the Disney+ series
She's been vocal in the past about the lack of roles for women over 50. But as she approaches an even higher milestone, Joely Richardson is at the top of her game, with standout performances in three of this year's top new series.
And no one, it seems, is more taken aback by that than the actress herself. Asked how it feels to be in such hot demand, the actress replies: "Surprising!"
She adds: "There were years of slogging away, years of doing little parts to try and get people to see me differently, years of eating humble pie. But that's right and good for all of us, to have knocks and no one believing in you."
Joely was exclusively talking to HELLO! ahead of the premiere of the new Disney+ series Renegade Nell, at which she dazzled in a chic Hermès gown.
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Born into one of Britain's most highly regarded acting dynasties – her parents are Dame Vanessa Redgrave and director Tony Richardson – and twice nominated for a Golden Globe, Joely struggled to even get an agent after moving back to London from New York in 2009, following the death of her sister Natasha after a skiing accident.
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Now, we're not even midway through 2024 and she has already delighted fans with her performance as Helen Cope, the disapproving mother-in-law in Netflix's adaptation of , and the aristocratic Lady Sabrina in Guy Ritchie's . But it's the formidable newspaper magnate Lady Eularia Moggerhanger, fiancée of highwayman Isambard Tulley, in creator Sally Wainwright's fun and fast-paced fantasy drama, that she considers to be her best role yet.
"She's mischievous, narcissistic and a powerhouse. I loved her. In some ways, she's the best character I've ever been offered, just because she's so extreme and larger than life. She had to fight tooth and nail to get her position."
Frank Dillane, who plays Isambard, is the son of actor Stephen Dillane; Joely and Stephen's characters were embroiled in a love triangle in the 1991 period drama Heading Home. But she tells us: "Frank and I have never talked about that."
It is, she adds "really important to keep all the work separate". "Being from my family, over the years, people have always come up to me and said: 'I've worked with your mum,' or: 'I've worked with your aunty [Lynne Redgrave],' and it's quite nice if it's just fresh and there's no history or baggage."
As her only daughter Daisy Bevan, 31, from her nine-year marriage to film producer Tim, becomes the fifth generation of her family to embark on the profession, Joely says the tide does seem to be turning for women as they age.
"With women over 55, no one's like: 'Yes, I want her on my books!'" she says. "But things are slowly changing, thanks to people like Sally Wainwright and Netflix, Disney, and Apple, who are interested in older women. We do have a role to play."
Joely certainly does. She has just finished filming an Apple TV series and has never been busier.
She's also happy to take on smaller roles, such as playing widow Mrs Bolton in Netflix's 2022 film version of after playing the main character herself in the BBC's 1993 TV series.
"A lot of people might say: 'What are you doing? You played Lady Chatterley, why would you want to play Mrs Bolton?'" says Joely. "I did want to play Mrs Bolton. I love that story and it was amazing to see a new generation taking on the role of the lovers.
"It was those sorts of roles that started to open the doors. One Day, The Gentlemen and Renegade Nell were the pay-off of those decisions."
Not that she ever takes any of it for granted, telling us she still finds it "more weird for things to go well".
"I've been around long enough to know that it could all end tomorrow. If you want a long career, it will go up and down. I've been written off so many times that I'm used to it.
"It feels more scary because it's not necessarily what I know. I'm used to coping and taking the knocks."
She turns 60 in January and is doing so with an open mind – and an eagerness to learn. Currently, she's reading Yuval Noah Harari's best-selling and is intrigued by its use of the word "ignoramus".
"It used to be a mean word that you'd say to someone who wasn't very clever," she tells us. "But the meaning of ignoramus is 'to know nothing', which is a great strength because it means you're forever teachable.
"One of the things that I've learnt is to always stay open and to stay teachable."
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