Maxine Peake

About

Notable for her role as Elaine Mason in the 2014 film The Theory of Everything, she is perhaps best known for her television roles in the British series Shameless, Silk, dinnerladies and The Village.

Before Fame

Beginning in her early teens, she performed with the Octagon and Royal Exchange Youth Theatres. She later attended both the University of Salford and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

Trivia

Also a theater actress, she received a Manchester Theatre Award for her performance in a 2012 stage production of August Strindberg's play Miss Julie. She joined the Communist Party in her early adulthood years and, in 2014, was the recipient of the Bolton Socialist Club's "Outstanding Contribution to Socialism" award.

Family Life

The daughter of Glynis and Brian Peake, she grew up in Westhoughton, England, and spent a portion of her teenage years in the care of her grandfather, who encouraged her artistic talents.

Associated With

She and Colin Salmon were both in the cast of the 2008 film Clubbed.