Maxine Peake
Acting
Biography
Maxine Peake (born 14 July 1974) is an English stage, radio, film and television actress, playwright, producer, director and political activist, who made her name as Twinkle in Victoria Wood's sitcom Dinnerladies. She has since played Veronica in Channel 4's Manchester-based drama series Shameless, barrister Martha Costello in the BBC legal drama Silk and Grace Middleton in The Village. She is also an accomplished stage actress, having played the title role in Hamlet, and had a role in the 2014 film The Theory of Everything. In 2018 she played the lead in the film Funny Cow and had a starring role in Mike Leigh's epic Peterloo, a film very close to her heart.
Filmography 122
Movies (76)
Becoming Victoria Wood2026Self
Laundreams2025
The Occupant of the Room2025The Englishwoman (voice)
Irvine Welsh: Reality Is Not Enough2025Narrator
I Swear2025Dottie
Quiet on Set: The Class Division in the Film Industry?2025Self
Words of War2025Anna Politkovskaya
Art Matters2024Self
Woken2024Helen
Tish2023Tish Murtha (voice)
Dance First2023Barbara
Choked Up2023Fiona Lacey
Wendell & Wild2022Irmgard Klaxon (voice)- Inner Polar Bear2022Narrator (voice)
Lapushka!2022Scoot Piccolo
Something Out of Nothing2022
Incompatible2022Directing
The Real Anne: Unfinished Business2022Self- Presenter
Where We Used to Meet2021
Surfaces2020Alix
The Great Mountain Sheep Gather2020Self - Narrator
It's Me2020Miriam
Fanny Lye Deliver'd2019Fanny Lye- Be Still My Beating Heart2019
Judy2019Judy
Peterloo2018Nellie
The Last Testament of Lillian Bilocca2018Self
Gwen2018Elen
Ceremony: The Return of Friedrich Engels2018Friedrich Engels (voice)
Funny Cow2018Funny Cow
Shows (46)
Last Seen2026
Bait2026Helen
The Haunted Season2024The Englishwoman (voice)
Say Nothing2024Older Dolours Price
Secret Life of the Safari Park2024Narrator
Art That Made Us2022Self - Actrice (Rules of the Game, Anne)
Rules of the Game2022Sam Thompson
Anne2022Anne Williams
Star Wars: Visions2021Kalina Kalfus (voice)
Mandy2020Susan Blower
Alan Bennett's Talking Heads2020Miss Fozzard
The Bisexual2018Sadie
Dinnerladies Diaries2018Self
The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer2018Self - Guest
Three Girls2017Sara Rowbotham
We Have Been Watching2017Self- Artsnight2015Self - Presenter
Inside No. 92014Nadia
The Village2013Grace Middleton
Room at the Top2012Alice Aisgill
The Hollow Crown2012Doll Tearsheet
Black Mirror2011Bella
Silk2011Martha Costello QC
Red Riding2009
The Devil's Whore2008Elizabeth Lilburne
Little Dorrit2008Miss Wade
Criminal Justice2008Juliet Miller
Fairy Tales2008Cindy Mellor- The Alan Titchmarsh Show2007Self
The Graham Norton Show2007Self