Actually, “Famous people born in Wessex” would be a more suitable title for this page. An accident of birth does not automatically create a loyalty to a place. For example, the actor Anthony Head (Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer) was born in London, but moved to Wessex out of love for the region, whereas Julie Burchill left her native Bristol at the earliest opportunity, and rarely misses an opportunity to disparage her home town. I would say that Head is far more deserving of being called a Famous Wessaxen than Burchill. However, birthplaces are far easier to research than attitudes towards a place, so Burchill is in and Head is out. The only exception is the First Doctor himself, William Hartnell, who always listed his birthplace as Seaton in Devon, but was later found to have been born in London. His desire to be a Wessaxen went above and beyond the call of duty, so I have posthumously granted him his wish (sort of).

The following list has two sources: the Biographies section of the Internet Movie Database (whose reach extends beyond the movie industry— those who have appeared as themselves in newsreels and documentaries, and authors whose works have been filmed, are also included) and the Birthplaces of Famous People pages of the Readers Digest Atlas of the British Isles. I also added Sir Francis Drake myself as he was noticeable by his absence. Please report any other errors and omissions at the e-mail address below.

Two groups of people deserve to be mentioned en masse. The first is the Royal Family, which claims descent from the House of Wessex, and many of whose members throughout history have been born in Windsor Castle. Slightly closer to our own era, it would be too time-consuming to list the practitioners of the so-called “Bristol Sound” (e.g. Massive Attack, Portishead) individually. If you are interested, I recommend Phil Johnson’s excellent book Straight Outa Bristol.Having got all that out of the way, let’s start the list with Caroline Munro Actress & Bond Girl (1950-) - Windsor

Sir Winston Churchill, Prime Minister (1874-1965)

- Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire

Jenny Agutter
Actress (1952-) - Taunton

Holly Aird
Actress (1969-) - Aldershot, Hampshire

Ronald Allen, Actor (1930-1991) - Reading

Heather Angel
Actress (1909-1986) - Oxford

Trevor Bannister,
Actor (1936-) - Durrington, Wiltshire

Ralph Bates,
Actor (1940-1991) - Bristol

Judy Bowker,
Actress (1954-) - Shawford, Hampshire

Felix Bowness,
Actor - Harwell, Berks

Christopher Cazenove, Actor (1945-) - Winchester

John Cleese, Actor/Writer (1939-) - Weston-Super-Mare

Denise Coffey,
Actress (1936-) - Aldershot, Hampshire

Michael Crawford,
Actor (1942-) - Salisbury

Anthony Daniels,
Actor (1946-) - Salisbury

Arthur English,
Actor (1919-1995) - Aldershot, Hampshire

Alice Evans,
Actress (1971-) - Bristol

Joseph Feinnes,
Actor (1970-) - Salisbury

Colin Firth, Actor (1960-) - Grayshott, Hampshire

Gabrielle Glaister, Actress ("Bob" in Blackadder) (1960-) - Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire

Cary Grant,
Actor (1904-1986) - Bristol

Rupert Graves,
Actor (1963-) - Weston-Super-Mare

Charles Gray,
Actor (1928-2000) - Bournemouth

Richard Greene,
Actor (1918-1985) - Plymouth

Robert Hardy,
Actor (1925-) - Cheltenham

William Hartnell,
Actor (1908-1975) – "Seaton, Devon"

Amanda Holden, Actress (1971-) - Bishops Waltham, Hampshire

Tom Hollander,
Actor (1969-) - Oxford

Julian Holloway,
Actor (1944-) - Watlington, Oxfordshire

Wilfred Hyde-White, Actor (1903-1991) - Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire

Sir Henry Irving,
Actor (1838-1905) - Keinton Mandeville, Somerset

Geraldine James, Actress (1950-) - Maidenhead

Martin Jarvis,
Actor (1941-) - Cheltenham

Milton Johns,
Actor (1938-) - Bristol

Mark Lester,
Actor (1958-) - Oxford

Nicholas Lyndhurst, Actor (1961-) - Emsworth, Hampshire

Patrick Malahide, Actor (1945-) - Berkshire

Jack May,
Actor (1922-1997) - Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire

Mandy Miller,
Actress (1944-) - Weston-Super-Mare

Robert Morley,
Actor (1908-1992) - Semley, Wiltshire

Robert Newton, Actor (1905-1956) - Shaftesbury, Dorset

Billie Piper,
Singer/Actress (1982-) - Swindon

Michael Praed,
Actor (1960-) - Gloucestershire

Dave Prowse,
Actor (Darth Vadar) (1935-) - Bristol

James Purefoy, Actor (1964-) - Taunton

Ralph Reader,
Actor (1903-1982) - Crewkerne, Somerset

Michael Redgrave, Actor (1908-1985) - Bristol

John Rhys-Davies, Actor (1944-) - Salisbury

Sir Ralph Richardson,
Actor (1902-1983) - Cheltenham

Arnold Ridley, Actor/Writer (1896-1984) - Bath

Laura Sadler,
Actress (1980-2003) - Ascot, Berks

Peter Sellers,
Actor (1925-1980) - Southsea, Hampshire

Sir Donald Sinden, Actor (1923-) - Plymouth

Nigel Terry,
Actor (1945-) - Bristol

David Tomlinson, Actor (1917-2000) - Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire

Richard Vernon,
Actor (1925-1997) - Reading

Rachel Ward,
Actress (1957-) - Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire

Emma Watson,
Actress (1990-) - Oxford

Kate Winslet,
Actress (1975-) - Reading

Agatha Christie, Author (1890-1976) - Torquay

Samuel_Taylor_
Coleridge,
Author (1772-1834) - Ottery St. Mary, Devon

Charles_Dickens,
Author (1812-1870) - Portsmouth

Henry_Fielding, Author (1707-1754) - Sharpham Park, Somerset

Thomas_Hardy,
Author (1840-1928) - Upper Bockhampton, Dorset

John Le Carre
, Author (1931-) - Poole, Dorset

Nick Hornby, Author (1957-) - Maidenhead

P D James, Author (1920-) - Oxford

Charles Kingsley, Author (1819-1875) - Holne Vicarage, Devon

Dick King-Smith, Author (1922-) - Bitton, Gloucestershire

Stephen Leacock, Author (1869-1944) - Swanmore, Hampshire

Laurie Lee, Author (1914-1997) - Stroud

Philip Massinger, Author (1583-1640) - Salisbury