She attended Lewiston Convent School in Sherbourne, Dorset, England and
passed her A-level examinations in 1982. She trained at the Central
School of Speech and Drama in London.
Her mother is the actress Penelope Munday and she has three sisters; Victoria,
Kate and Lucy. She has two children with husband actor James Nesbitt,
Peggy (b. 1998) and Mary (b. 2001)
Has an uncredited cameo in the extended edition of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey as Bilbo's mother, Belladonna Took.