Maxine Peake
Biography
Maxine Peake is an English stage, radio, film, and television actress, playwright, producer, director, and political activist. Born on July 14, 1974, in Westhoughton, Lancashire, England, she made her name as Twinkle in Victoria Wood's sitcom Dinnerladies. Her television credits include playing 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. An accomplished stage actress, she played the title role in Hamlet. Her film work includes a role in the 2014 film The Theory of Everything, playing the lead in the 2018 film Funny Cow alongside Paddy Considine and Stephen Graham, and a starring role in Mike Leigh's epic Peterloo.
Career overview
Maxine Peake was born on July 14, 1974, in Westhoughton, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom. She is an English stage, radio, film, and television actress, playwright, producer, director, and political activist. Peake made her name as Twinkle in Victoria Wood's sitcom Dinnerladies. Following this breakthrough, she took on prominent television roles, playing Veronica in the Channel 4 Manchester-based drama series Shameless, barrister Martha Costello in the BBC legal drama Silk, and Grace Middleton in The Village.
In addition to her television work, Peake is an accomplished stage actress who played the title role in Hamlet. Her film career includes appearances in the 2014 film The Theory of Everything and a starring role as the lead in the 2018 film Funny Cow, performing alongside a cast that included Paddy Considine and Stephen Graham. She also secured a starring role in Mike Leigh's epic Peterloo.
Ask the Vault
Ask anything about Maxine Peake.
Frequent co-stars
Career timeline
Full Filmography
127 titles- Bait (2026) as Helen
- Last Seen (2026)
- Becoming Victoria Wood (2026) as Self
- I Swear (2025) as Dottie
- Irvine Welsh: Reality Is Not Enough (2025) as Narrator
- Words of War (2025) as Anna Politkovskaya
- Laundreams (2025)
- The Occupant of the Room (2025) as The Englishwoman (voice)
- Quiet on Set: The Class Division in the Film Industry? (2025) as Self
- Say Nothing (2024) as Older Dolours Price
- Art Matters (2024) as Self
- Secret Life of the Safari Park (2024) as Narrator
- Woken (2024) as Helen
- The Haunted Season (2024) as The Englishwoman (voice)
- Choked Up (2023) as Fiona Lacey
- Dance First (2023) as Barbara
- Tish (2023) as Tish Murtha (voice)
- Anne (2022) as Anne Williams
- Wendell & Wild (2022) as Irmgard Klaxon (voice)
- Art That Made Us (2022) as Self - Actrice (Rules of the Game, Anne)
- Rules of the Game (2022) as Sam Thompson
- Incompatible (2022) Director
- The Real Anne: Unfinished Business (2022) as Self- Presenter
- Inner Polar Bear (2022) as Narrator (voice)
- Something Out of Nothing (2022)
- Lapushka! (2022) as Scoot Piccolo
- Star Wars: Visions (2021) as Kalina Kalfus (voice)
- Where We Used to Meet (2021)
- Doughnut (2021) Thanks
- Mandy (2020) as Susan Blower
- Alan Bennett's Talking Heads (2020) as Miss Fozzard
- The Great Mountain Sheep Gather (2020) as Self - Narrator
- Surfaces (2020) as Alix
- It's Me (2020) as Miriam
- Fanny Lye Deliver'd (2019) as Fanny Lye
- Be Still My Beating Heart (2019)
- Judy (2019) as Judy
- The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer (2018) as Self - Guest
- Funny Cow (2018) as Funny Cow
- Funny Cow (2018) Executive Producer
- The Bisexual (2018) as Sadie
- Wonders of the Moon (2018) as Narrator (voice)
- Dinnerladies Diaries (2018) as Self
- Peterloo (2018) as Nellie
- Gwen (2018) as Elen
- Ceremony: The Return of Friedrich Engels (2018) as Friedrich Engels (voice)
- The Last Testament of Lillian Bilocca (2018) as Self
- The Last Testament of Lillian Bilocca (2018) Director
- The Last Testament of Lillian Bilocca (2018) Producer
- Three Girls (2017) as Sara Rowbotham
- Dispossession: The Great Social Housing Swindle (2017) as Narrator
- Men Who Sleep in Cars (2017) as Sarah
- We Have Been Watching (2017) as Self
- Bunch of Kunst - A Film About Sleaford Mods (2017) as Self (archive footage)
- Unseen (2017) as Emma
- Cake (2017)
- The Priest (2017)
- The Priest (2017) Writer
- Red Top (2016) as Rebekah Brooks
- Generation '66 (2016) as Narrator
- A Midsummer Night's Dream (2016) as Titania
- I Wish For You (2016) as Grown Up Mia
- Artsnight (2015) as Self - Presenter
- The Shuttleworths (2015) as Helen Bach
- The Falling (2015) as Eileen Lamont
- Strange Weather (2015) as Jane
- Hamlet (2015) as Hamlet
- Inside No. 9 (2014) as Nadia
- The Theory of Everything (2014) as Elaine Mason
- Run & Jump (2014) as Vanetia
- Keeping Rosy (2014) as Charlotte
- The Village (2013) as Grace Middleton
- Svengali (2013) as Angie
- The Heart Fails Without Warning (2013) as Mother
- Keeping Up with the Joneses (2013) as Celia
- The Hollow Crown (2012) as Doll Tearsheet
- Best Laid Plans (2012) as Isabel
- Room at the Top (2012) as Alice Aisgill
- Private Peaceful (2012) as Hazel Peaceful
- Black Mirror (2011) as Bella
- Silk (2011) as Martha Costello QC
- DeafBlind (2011) as Maggie
- Imaginary Friend (2010) as Pauline
- The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister (2010) as Anne Lister
- Edge (2010) as Elly
- Red Riding (2009)
- Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1980 (2009) as Helen Marshall
- Little Dorrit (2008) as Miss Wade
- Criminal Justice (2008) as Juliet Miller
- The Devil's Whore (2008) as Elizabeth Lilburne
- Fairy Tales (2008) as Cindy Mellor
- Hancock & Joan (2008) as Joan Le Mesurier
- Clubbed (2008) as Angela
- Bike Squad (2008) as WPC Kate McFay
- The Graham Norton Show (2007) as Self
- The Alan Titchmarsh Show (2007) as Self
- Confessions of a Diary Secretary (2007) as Tracey Temple
- The 50 Greatest Television Dramas (2007) as Self
- I Am Bob (2007) as Marilyn Monroe Lookalike/Compere's Assistant
- Would Like To Meet (2007) as George's Mum
- The One Show (2006) as Self - Guest
- The Street (2006)
- The Fear of Trilogy (2006)
- The Madness of the Dance (2006)
- See No Evil: The Moors Murders (2006) as Myra Hindley
- Faith (2005) as Linda
- Frozen (2005) as Ticket Attendant
- Shameless (2004) as Veronica Fisher
- Christmas Lights (2004) as Pauline
- Comedy Connections (2003)
- Early Doors (2003) as Janice
- Timeshift (2002) as Self - Narrator
- All or Nothing (2002) as Party girl
- Hamilton Mattress (2002) as Lulu (voice)
- Messiah (2001) as DS Vickie Clarke
- Linda Green (2001) as Receptionist
- Clocking Off (2000) as Marie Leach
- Victoria Wood with All the Trimmings (2000) as Self
- Sunburn (1999) as Sue
- dinnerladies (1998) as Twinkle
- Girls' Night (1998) as Sharon
- Jonathan Creek (1997) as Marion Cretiss
- Hetty Wainthropp Investigates (1996) as Photocopy Assistant
- ChuckleVision (1987)
- Twisting My Melon as Linda Ryder
- First Day on Earth as Helen
- The Bright Side Running Club
Frequently Asked Questions
What movies or TV shows is Maxine Peake best known for?
Maxine Peake is widely recognized for notable roles and projects including Bait (2026), A Monster Calls (2016), I Swear (2025), Wendell & Wild (2022).
When and where was Maxine Peake born?
Maxine Peake was born on July 14, 1974 in Westhoughton, Lancashire, England, UK.
How many credits does Maxine Peake have?
Maxine Peake has accumulated over 127 film and television credits across a career spanning from 1987 to 2026.
What is Maxine Peake's background in cinema and television?
Maxine Peake is an English stage, radio, film, and television actress, playwright, producer, director, and political activist. Born on July 14, 1974, in Westhoughton, Lancashire, England, she made her name as Twinkle in Victoria Wood's sitcom Dinnerladies. Her television credits include playing Veronica in Channel 4's ...