ACTOR · BORN 1950
Julie Walters
- Born
- 22 February 1950, Smethwick, England, UK
- Known for
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)
69 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Sep 2026
47 Interesting Facts About Julie Walters
- #002
Walters's young daughter Maisie contracted leukaemia when she was two years old. The girl made a miraculous recovery, and the experience inspired Walters to write the book "Baby Talk" (1990).
- #003
Walters wanted to keep her wand from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011), but after several people told her that props were not allowed to be kept, she left it behind. When the film was released, however, she discovered that most of her co-stars had kept some props from the production.
- #004
Walters turned down Hollywood several times. After her breakthrough role in Educating Rita (1983), she was given an agent in the United States and offered several scripts. She disliked most of them, however, and chose a career focused on stage plays and television projects in the United Kingdom. She did not begin appearing in films until the new millennium, and she took roles in several of the highest-grossing films in her native Britain, such as Billy Elliot (2000), Calendar Girls (2003) and Mamma Mia! (2008).
- #006
Her daughter's illness attracted great media attention. Several fabricated stories were created and photographers camped out on their private property. Walters eventually decided to make Maisie's illness public and auctioned off an exclusive interview, for which a London newspaper paid 30,000 dollars; the fee went directly to the Royal Marsden's children's unit. The interview earned Walters great sympathy, and even Princess Diana approached her to ask about her daughter's health.
- #007
Julie's birth was complicated. The umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck, and a priest was called to administer the Last Rites to both mother and baby. She was miraculously delivered safely and survived.
- #008
Walters played two witches: Molly Weasley in seven 'Harry Potter' films and the Witch in Brave (2012).
- #010
Walters and her husband own an organic farm in West Sussex.
- #011
Walters appeared in all but one of the Harry Potter films; the fourth entry, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), was the film in which her character was cut from the script because the screenplay was excessively long. Walters was undoubtedly hurt by the exclusion but was happy to return for the fifth instalment.
- #012
Walters based her eccentric performance in Paddington (2014) on a make-up artist from the production.
- #013
Walters appeared in three of the five highest-grossing British films at the United Kingdom box office: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001), Mamma Mia! (2008) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011). She is the only performer to have achieved this.
- #015
Walters spent seven years developing her novel "Maggie's Tree".
- #016
While filming the "Dancing Queen" musical number in Mamma Mia! (2008), Walters injured herself by tripping on some rocks on a cobblestone street. According to Meryl Streep, Walters "soldiered on" and completed the scene.
- #018
Walters came first in the Best British Film Actresses category in the 2001 Orange Film Survey.
- #019
Walters praised her mentor Sir Michael Caine for his modest beginnings as an actor.
- #020
Julie Walters had no ballet experience before playing the teacher in Billy Elliot (2000). She went through menopause during filming and therefore struggled with the movements and hot flushes. She even compared herself to the hippo in Fantasia (1940).
- #022
She was expelled from Holly Lodge Grammar School at a young age for inappropriate behaviour.
- #023
Before filming her nude scene for Calendar Girls (2003), she had minor misgivings because it emphasised the part of her body she liked least: her shoulders.
- #026
On 27 October 2009 she was given a star on the Birmingham Walk of Stars on Broad Street, the Golden Mile in Birmingham.
- #028
Burt Reynolds personally offered her the role played by Candice Bergen in Stick (1985), but she turned it down because she did not like the script.
- #030
In her first year at Holly Lodge Grammar School, she appeared on stage in the school production of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (1962).
- #031
She was included in a 2014 list compiled by Radio Times of the 30 most powerful women in British television and radio.
- #032
In an interview with a British magazine, she admitted that the worst job she had ever done was testing the faeces of sick people.
- #033
She began playing the ukulele when she was three years old.
- #035
She hosted the opening of the new breast unit at Birmingham Women's Hospital.
- #036
Her husband, Grant Roffey, has worked in various roles, including as an AA employee, a long-distance lorry driver and a sociology student.
- #037
She worked with Colin Firth on four films, making him the person she has worked with most often outside the Harry Potter series and her work with Victoria Wood.
- #039
In 2014, Julie Walters was the subject of a one-hour in-depth television special commissioned by BBC Two, Julie Walters: A Life on Screen (2014). The special aired on Christmas Eve and was watched by 1.74 million people.
- #040
In January 2016, Julie Walters unveiled a tomosynthesis machine at a special ceremony at the Royal Surrey County Hospital. The device is new 3D breast-screening equipment that is better than traditional breast imaging at detecting cancerous tumours.
- #043
Julie Walters's autobiography, "That's Another Story", earned her a record-breaking £1.6 million advance from her publisher.
- #044
Alexa Davies played the younger version of Walters's character Rose in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018). Davies prepared by watching TV interviews Walters gave in the 1980s, and also claims she has watched every one of Walters's films since she was five years old and is a huge Walters fan.
- #047
Julie Walters took a seven-year break from stage acting, largely so she could spend time with her sick daughter.
- #048
While on holiday in Corfu, Julie Walters had a near-death experience swimming out to a rock offshore where many people were sunbathing. A storm came up and, in the middle of the ocean, she felt too exhausted to finish the swim to the rock. She thought those were her final moments until a man nearby pulled her out.
- #049
Julie Walters is a popular guest on The Graham Norton Show (2007). She visited the show three times in a single year, making her the most talked-about guest of 2015. Among many notorious moments on the show, she rapped in front of the rappers Tinie Tempah and 50 Cent, and also felt the bullet wound on 50 Cent's tongue.
- #050
Julie Walters wore seven different hairstyles throughout Educating Rita (1983).
- #053
On the set of Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018), Julie Walters ran up excitedly to Cher when they met for the first time and gave her a warm hug. However, Walters's glasses became caught in Cher's white wig and darkened it, so a new one had to be used.
- #054
Around 2010, Julie Walters briefly considered the possibility of retiring until Nicholas Hytner of the National Theatre sent her the script of Stephen Beresford's debut play "The Last of the Haussmans" and offered her the role of an old hippie.
- #056
Julie Walters collaborated with director Lewis Gilbert on three films: Educating Rita (1983), Stepping Out (1991) and Before You Go (2002).
- #057
Julie Walters has at times been claimed to be confused with Jane Seymour, Dame Judi Dench and Dame Julie Andrews.
- #058
Peter Morgan wrote the role of the female lawyer in the film The Jury (2002) with Walters in mind.
- #059
Julie Walters shot three films back to back that also starred her frequent collaborator Jim Broadbent: The Harry Hill Movie (2013), Paddington (2014) and Brooklyn (2015).
- #060
Julie Walters worked extensively with Victoria Wood.
- #061
Julie Walters is the daughter of Thomas (1909-1971) and Mary Bridget Walters (née O'Brien) (1915-1989).
- #062
Julie Walters worked with producer David Heyman on ten films.
- #063
Julie Walters reportedly made Mack the Knife (1989) in order to pay off her mortgage.
- #064
It was announced that Julie Walters would reprise the role of Mrs Kehoe in a BBC-commissioned television series based on Brooklyn (2015). Production was planned to begin in 2016, but as of August 2018 there had been no further development.
- #065
While working with Bond producer Barbara Broccoli on Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool (2017), Julie Walters suggested she play the female villain in No Time to Die (2021). Reportedly, Walters never heard back.
- #066
Julie Walters took over Sharon Stone's role in King Solomon's Mines (1985).
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