Juliet Aubrey

Although best known for her role as Dorothea Brooke on the British television adaptation of "Middlemarch" (BBC 1994), English actress Juliet Aubrey carved out a long and prolific acting career in both TV and movies. In addition to "Middlemarch," Aubrey appeared, usually as strong, outspoken women, in films like "Go Now" (1995), "Still Crazy" (1998), and "Iris" (2001), the latter of which racked up three Academy Award nominations. Despite having spent most of her career performing in British-centric films and TV shows, Aubrey had some crossover success in the States. She appeared alongside Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz in the Academy Award-nominated thriller, "The Constant Gardener" in 2005, yet turned down countless similar offers by Hollywood studios for fear of losing her privacy.

Born and raised in Fleet, Hampshire, a small town located about 40 miles southwest of London, Juliet Aubrey always had a desire to act. At the age of four, Aubrey would crawl around her house on all fours as a dog, while demanding to be served her dinner on the ground. It was an unusual way for any small child to behave, but the acting bug never quite left Aubrey, even as she pursued a degree in archaeology and classics at Kings College in London. Once calling her decision to study archaeology as "impulsive," Aubrey eventually gave up the academic life altogether, and moved to Italy to pursue her acting passion in earnest.

While living in the country, Aubrey joined a traveling theater company, honing her craft for an entire year before enrolling in the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. While attending drama school, Aubrey appeared in a multitude of plays, most notably as Miranda in the Oxford Stage Company's production of Shakespeare's "The Tempest." Her role as Miranda was also Aubrey's first paid acting gig, meaning it was only a matter of time before she made a name for herself as a screen actress as well.

Aubrey's first big break came in 1994 when she was cast as the idealistic Dorothea Brooke in the BBC's adaptation of George Elliot's classic novel "Middlemarch." Aubrey's performance in the seven-part miniseries earned her a 1995 BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress, as well as countless offers from major Hollywood studios. However, rather than cash in on her recent streak of luck, Aubrey loathed the attention and retreated to India to escape the public spotlight. She would stay in India for a year, turning down one lucrative offer after the next, albeit much to the chagrin of her agent, while choosing to act in smaller, more personal films, like "Go Now," "Food of Love" (1997), and the Academy Award-winning "Iris."

Aubrey continued to appear regularly in movies and TV shows throughout the 2000s, with recurring roles on the BBC's crime drama "Dalziel and Pascoe" (1996-2007) and "Criminal Justice" (BBC 2008-09), before earning a second wave of critical acclaim for her starring turn as the time-traveling wife of a professor on the science-fiction drama "Primeval" (ITV, 2007-11; Watch, 2011). Although beloved by both critics and ardent fans, "Primeval" was cancelled after its fifth season due to low ratings. Undeterred, in 2013 Aubrey landed a recurring part as the Countess of Warwick on the 10-part historical drama "The White Queen" (BBC One 2013).