Kathy Burke

Katherine Lucy Bridget Burke (born 13 June 1964) is an English actress, comedian, playwright and theatre director. She became known for her regular appearances in the sketch shows French and Saunders (1988–99), Harry Enfield's Television Programme (1990–92) and Harry Enfield and Chums (1994–98), and for her recurring role as Magda in the BBC sitcom Absolutely Fabulous (1992–96). For her role as Valerie in the film Nil by Mouth, she won Best Actress at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role.

Burke made her film debut in Scrubbers in 1983, and played Mary I in the 1998 film Elizabeth. Her other film appearances include Dancing at Lughnasa (1998), This Year's Love (1999), Kevin & Perry Go Large (2000), The Martins (2001), and Anita and Me (2002). From 1999 to 2001, she starred as Linda La Hughes in the BBC sitcom Gimme Gimme Gimme, for which she received two of her five BAFTA TV Award nominations. Having spent most of the 2000s concentrating on her work as a director, she returned to film roles in the 2010s with Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), Pan (2015) and the upcoming Ab Fab: The Movie (2016).