Donna Edwards (actress)

Donna Edwards (born 1963)[1] is a Welsh actress. Edwards is a Bafta Cymru award-winning for Best Actress.[2]

Donna Edwards
Born
Donna Edwards

1963 (age 60–61)
OccupationActress
Years active1978–present
Notable workDinas
Belonging
Pobol y Cwm Stella
SpouseRay Borja
Children2

Early life and education

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She was born in Merthyr Tydfil and raised in the village of Trefechan.[3] She was a pupil at Vaynor and Penderyn High School where she took an early interest in drama. At 14 she was chosen as the lead role of Myfanwy Llewellyn in Off to Philadelphia in the Morning, a 1978 BBC drama series about the composer Joseph Parry. She studied Welsh and Drama at Aberystwyth University and graduated in 1984.[4]

Career

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In 1985 she was given the role of Miriam Ambrose in the Welsh-language TV drama Dinas. She has appeared in other Welsh-language productions such as Tair Chwaer and Yr Aduniad, although she may be most famous for playing Britt Monk in Pobol y Cwm.[5]

She has also starred in a number of Welsh-based TV dramas in English such as Nuts and Bolts on ITV Wales and Belonging on BBC Wales. She has also appeared in the BBC comedy Gavin & Stacey. She has appeared in plays at the Royal Court, Clwyd Theatr Cymru and the Sherman in Cardiff.[5]

In 2012 she played 'Mo the Bap' in the Sky1 TV comedy drama series Stella. She reprised this role for the second series. Two of her daughters have also acted, Lucy Borja who played Chloe Branagh in the first two series of Young Dracula and Sophie Borja who appeared in series four and five of The Story of Tracy Beaker as Roxy Wellard.

In 2015 she played Yvette in the National Theatre Wales production of Mother Courage at Merthyr Tydfil Labour Club.

Awards

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She has won the BAFTA Cymru Best Actress Award twice – for her roles in Tair Chwaer and Belonging.[6]

Personal life

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She lives in Dinas Powys, Cardiff with her husband Ray Borja, a photographer, and two children. She has two brothers twenty years her senior; John, a policeman and Ken. She is an ambassador for the learning disability charity Mencap Cymru.[1]

Filmography

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Year Title Character Production Notes
1978 Off to Philadelphia in the Morning Myfanwy Llewellyn BBC Wales
1985–1991 Dinas Miriam Ambrose HTV Wales for S4C
1987 Heaven on Earth Sophie Payne BBC/CBC Television
1997–1999 Tair Chwaer Sharon Ffilmiau Gaucho for S4C 3 series
2000 Nuts and Bolts Andrea Griffiths ITV Wales
2002– Pobol y Cwm Britt Monk BBC Wales for S4C
2003–2009 Belonging Ruth BBC Wales 7 series
2008 Gavin & Stacey Sian (midwife) BBC Three Episodes 2.3 and 2.7
2012–2013 Stella Mo the Bap Sky 1 Series 1 and 2

Film

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Year Title Character Production Notes
1992 Rebecca's Daughters Bessy
1997 House of America Receptionist
1998 Yr Aduniad (The Reunion) TV film for S4C
1999 Cymer dy Siâr Sharon TV film for S4C Film concluding the TV series Tair Chwaer
2000 Very Annie Mary Mrs. Bevan

References

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  1. ^ a b "For the love of Ken". WalesOnline. 23 September 2006. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  2. ^ Lucy, Sophie. "Donna Edwards, actress with a connection to Wales (Merthyr Tydfil, Cardiff)". The Original Welsh Famous Website. Retrieved 27 February 2021. Donna represents the very best of modern Welsh acting talent
  3. ^ "3 Lle: Tri hoff le Donna Edwards". Daily Post (in Welsh). 23 October 2010. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  4. ^ "South East Wales Unitarian News Informal interviews with local Unitarians" (PDF). unitarian.org.uk. November 2010. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  5. ^ a b Price, Karen (17 August 2007). "The good, the bad and the ugly opinions". What's On. WalesOnline. Archived from the original on 13 October 2012. Retrieved 27 January 2011.
  6. ^ "Emptage Hallett -Donna Edwards". Retrieved 18 March 2016.
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