Profile Text
Colman – Moet British Independent Film Awards 2015 – Arrivals – Old Billingsgate Market – London, UK – Photo Credit: Landmark / PR Photos
Birth Name: Saran Caroline Colman
Place of Birth: Acle, Norfolk, England, U.K.
Date of Birth: 30 January, 1974
Ethnicity: English, as well as Irish, Welsh, distant Scottish, French, and Saint Helenian
Olivia Colman is an English actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for The Favourite (2018). Her roles also include the films Confetti (2006), Hot Fuzz , Le Donk & Scor-zay-zee , Tyrannosaur , The Iron Lady , Hyde Park on Hudson , I Give It a Year , Locke (2013), Cuban Fury , The Lobster , London Road , Murder on the Orient Express (2017), Them That Follow , The Father (2020), The Mitchells vs. the Machines , Mothering Sunday , The Lost Daughter , Ron’s Gone Wrong , Joyride (2022), Empire of Light , Scrooge: A Christmas Carol , Pus in Boots: The Last Wish , Wicked Little Letters , Wonka , Paddington in Peru , Jimpa , The Roses , and The Fox (2025); the series Bruiser , The Mitchell and Webb Situation , Peep Show , Green Wing , Look Around You , That Mitchell and Webb Look , The Time of Your Life , Beautiful People , Rev. , Twenty Twelve , Broadchurch , Mr. Sloane , Thomas & Friends , Flowers , The Secret Life of the Zoo , Fleabag , The Night Manager , Watership Down , Les Misérables , The Crown , Becoming You , Trip Hazard: My Great British Adventure , Landscapers , Heartstopper , Great Expectations , Secret Invasion , and The Bear ; and the made-for-tv movie The Thirteenth Tale .
Olivia is the daughter of Mary, a nurse, and Keith Colman, a chartered surveyor. She is married to actor Ed Sinclair, with whom she has three children.
Through her mother, Olivia’s six times great-grandfather was merchant and politician John Bristow, MP.
Olivia’s paternal grandfather is named Percy Colman.
Olivia’s paternal grandmother is named Caroline.
Olivia’s maternal grandfather was Alexander Graham Leakey (the son of Alexander Bazett Leakey and Gwladys Elizabeth/Eliza Thomas). Olivia’s grandfather Alexander was born in Willesden, Middlesex, England. Olivia’s great-grandfather Alexander was born in Parracombe, Reading, Berkshire, the son of Peter Nettleton Leakey and Mary Emily Louisa Bazett, who herself was born in Kumaul, West Bengal, India. Mary’s own mother, Olivia’s great-great-great-grandmother Harriot Slessor, was the daughter of an English father, William Edward Slessor, who had Scottish roots. Harriot’s mother was speculated to have been Indian during Olivia’s appearance on the show Who Do You Think You Are? , 2018, but she was evidently named Seraphina Donclere. Olivia’s great-grandmother Gwladys was born in Maesteg, Glamorganshire, Wales, the daughter of William Hopkin Thomas and Eliza Arundel.
Olivia’s grandfather also had ancestors who were born and lived on Saint Helena, a tropical island in the South Atlantic Ocean, at least one of whom had worked for the East India Company. Her ancestor, Capt. Anthony Beal/Beale, was Governor of Saint Helena, from 1672 to 1673.
Olivia’s maternal grandmother was Patricia Wiggins (the daughter of John Wiggins and Bridget O’Callaghan). Patricia was born in Maidenhead, Berkshire, England. Bridget was born in Derryorgan, Ballyclogh, County Cork, Ireland.
Sources: Family histories of Olivia Colman – http://www.ipswichstar.co.uk https://droitwichstandard.co.uk https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk https://www.facebook.com
Genealogy of Olivia Colman (focusing on her mother’s side) – https://www.geni.com
Marriage record of Olivia’s maternal great-grandparents, Alexander Bazett Leakey and Gwladys Elizabeth/Eliza Thomas – https://www.familysearch.org