Age, Biography, and Wiki
Joanna Lumley was born on May 1, 1946, in Srinagar, India, during the British Raj. Her mother, Thyra Beatrice Rose, was English, while her father, Major James Rutherford Lumley, was Indian-born with English and Scottish ancestry. At the age of eight, Lumley decided to stay in England after initially visiting with her parents on leave. As of 2025, she is 79 years old.
| Occupation | Soap Opera Actress |
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| Date of Birth | 1 May 1946 |
| Age | 79 Years |
| Birth Place | Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, British Raj |
| Horoscope | Taurus |
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Height, Weight & Measurements
Joanna Lumley is known for her distinctive presence, but specific details about her height, weight, and measurements are not widely documented.
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Dating & Relationship Status
Information about Joanna Lumley's current dating status is not readily available. She has been married to Stephen Barlow since 1986.
Her mother, Thyra Beatrice Rose (née Weir), was English. Her grandfather Lieutenant Colonel Leslie Weir had been born in Ghazipur and served as an army officer in Kashmir; he was a close friend of the 13th Dalai Lama.
The family went "home" on leave to England, travelling on the HMT Empire Windrush. When her parents returned to Asia, she stayed, boarding at Mickledene School in Rolvenden, Kent. She was eight years old, which she later described as "paralysingly young". From 11 to 17 she attended Holmhurst St Mary's Convent School, the Ridge, run by Community of the Holy Family:
Lumley is also known for her support for Gurkhas, the exiled Tibetan people and government, the Khonds indigenous people of India and the Prospect Burma charity, which offers grants to Burmese students, for whom she broadcast a BBC Radio 4 charity appeal in 2001. Her father was a commanding officer of a troop of Gurkhas who fought in World War II.
Lumley has a long association and interest in Nepal and its people that grew out of her father's service as an officer in 6th Gurkha Rifles. She agreed to become a Vice Patron of The Gurkha Welfare Trust in 2009.
His father is photographer Michael Claydon. She was briefly married to actor Jeremy Lloyd between 1970 and 1971. She married the conductor Stephen Barlow in 1986; they live in Central London. They also own a house near the village of Penpont, Dumfriesshire, in Scotland.
In July 2008, she was awarded an Honorary Doctor of the University (Hon DUniv) by Queen's University Belfast, and in March 2019, she and her husband were both awarded honorary doctorates by the University of Chester.
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| Husband | Jeremy Lloyd (m. 1970-1971) Stephen Barlow (m. 1986) |
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Net Worth and Salary
As of 2025, Joanna Lumley's net worth is estimated to be approximately $25 million. Her earnings come from a successful acting career spanning decades, including roles in "Absolutely Fabulous," "The Wolf of Wall Street," and extensive voice-over work. Additionally, she has been involved in various television projects and advocacy work.
Career, Business, and Investments
Joanna Lumley's career in the entertainment industry began in the late 1960s with early roles in films like "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" and "The Satanic Rites of Dracula". She gained widespread recognition for her portrayal of Patsy Stone in "Absolutely Fabulous," which earned her two BAFTA TV Awards. Lumley is also known for her activism, particularly in advocating for the rights of Gurkhas and environmental causes. Recent projects include hosting travel documentaries such as "Joanna Lumley's Hidden Caribbean".
Lumley did not receive any formal training at drama school. Her acting career began in 1969 with a small, uncredited role in the film Some Girls Do, and as a Bond girl in On Her Majesty's Secret Service, in which she had two lines as the English girl among the villainous Ernst Stavro Blofeld's "Angels of Death". Lumley went on to have a brief but memorable role as Elaine Perkins in Coronation Street, in which her character turned down Ken Barlow's offer of marriage, as well as roles in other popular television series such as Are You Being Served?, Steptoe and Son and The Protectors. In 1973, she made another big screen appearance as Jessica Van Helsing in The Satanic Rites of Dracula, the last Hammer Dracula film to star Christopher Lee. She also had a role in the comedy film Don't Just Lie There, Say Something! (1974) alongside Leslie Phillips and Joan Sims.
Lumley has specialised in upper-class parts throughout her career, thanks to her voice and accent. Lumley's first major role was as Purdey in The New Avengers, successor to the secret agent series The Avengers, a role she played in all twenty-six episodes from 1976 to 1977.
Over a decade later Lumley's career was boosted by her portrayal of the louche, selfish and frequently drunk fashion director Patsy Stone, companion to Jennifer Saunders's Edina Monsoon in the BBC comedy television series Absolutely Fabulous (1992–1996, 2001–2004, 2011–2012). Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie was released in 2016.
Lumley, who has one of the most recognised voices in the UK, has gained prominence as a voice-over artist. Users of AOL in the United Kingdom are familiar with Joanna Lumley's voice. She recorded the greetings "Welcome", "You have email" and "Goodbye" for that company.
The Johnson-chaired Transport for London body initiated a competition for a new central London cross-river footbridge. Three firms were invited to submit proposals and Heatherwick Studios won the competition despite having never previously built a bridge on the proposed scale unlike the losing practices which had built very many. This outcome proved highly controversial. Equally the subsequent funding arrangements for the bridge attracted criticism. These included: "Unorthodox" circumvention of official procedures for public money use by then Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne. A £10,000 taxpayer-funded trip by Johnson, Heatherwick and Sir Edward Lister to Apple Computer in San Francisco seeking sponsorship for the bridge (the bid failed). Escalating cost estimates for the project topped out at around £200 million leading to withdrawal of pledged private sponsorship.
This together with strong opposition from local residents created ever-greater scrutiny of the proposals. It became clear that the bridge would be closed at night, involve the felling of 30 mature trees and effectively privatise long-held public space in central London. Lumley also reversed her position on cycleway provision for the bridge.
Johnson continued to support the failing project until his very last day in office; attempting to shore up its funding with last minute manoeuvring to guarantee public money for the by then £70m shortfall.
£46.4m of public money had been spent. A Khan-commissioned report concluded that the "business case for the bridge was flimsy and that the procurement process in which Heatherwick Studio won the contract was “not open, fair or competitive”.
Social Network
Joanna Lumley maintains a strong public presence through her work and activism. However, she does not have an official social media profile.
Lumley has long been a supporter of Survival International and the cause of indigenous rights, and narrated Survival's documentary, Mine: Story of a Sacred Mountain. The film tells the story of the remote Dongria Kondha tribe in India and their battle to stop a vast bauxite mine from destroying their land and way of life. In defence of the Dongria, she has said, "'It greatly disturbs me that a British company will be responsible for the destruction of these wonderful people. I urge the public to support the Dongria, who simply want to be allowed to live in peace. Unlike so many of India's rural poor, the Dongria actually live very well in the Niyamgiri hills, and it's a terrible irony that what Vedanta is proposing to do in the name of 'development' will actually destroy this completely self-sufficient people.'" Lumley also contributed her writing for the book We Are One: A Celebration of Tribal Peoples, released in October 2009 with profits going in support of Survival. A collection of photographs, statements from tribal people and essays from international authors, the book explores the richness of the cultures of indigenous peoples around the world and the risks to their existence. In her essay for the book, Lumley speaks of the Dongria way of life and the threats they face in the name of corporate interests, and calls for action to stop such decisions.
Lumley made little comment on the fiasco until in 2017, interviewed by The Times newspaper she stated that the cancellation was “absolutely shattering, devastating... The negativity troubles me in my heart. I hope we’re not turning into the sort of country that instantly says no before it considers saying yes. A nation that just pulls the shutters down. The silent majority still love the bridge, but of course they were not asked what they think." Murdoch was on record as having supported both Johnson and the bridge project.
In May 2009 Lumley supported the Green Party during the 2009 European Elections campaign. For Lumley, the work of Green MEPs in the European Parliament in pursuing human rights and animal rights made the Green Party "the obvious choice" and urged UK voters "to cast a positive vote for a better future by voting Green in the European Elections." Lumley also appeared in literature to support changing the British electoral system from first-past-the-post to alternative vote for electing Members of Parliament to the House of Commons in the Alternative Vote referendum in 2011.
Education
After being turned down by the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at the age of 16, Joanna Lumley attended the Lucie Clayton Finishing School in London. This education in etiquette and acting laid the groundwork for her subsequent career as a model and actress.
* "I especially loved my second boarding school, an Anglo-Catholic convent in the hills behind Hastings. The nuns wore blue stockings and were brainy and lovely. There were 70 boarders and I was happy as a clam."
From 1994 to 1995, Lumley starred alongside Nadine Garner and John Bowe in the British television show Class Act, playing the part of Kate Swift, an upper-class lady who had fallen on hard times.
Lumley is Patron of the UK charity Trust in Children which aims to help children from poor backgrounds to access education and opportunities for non-academic development.
In 1996, the Lumley Research Fellowship was established at Green College, University of Oxford. Sponsored by Friends Provident financial group, it was for a young researcher on "major environmental or wildlife issues, with particular reference to Africa". The candidates were interviewed by Lumley.
Elected a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (FRGS), Lumley was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters (Hon. D.Litt.) by the University of Kent in July 1994. In 2002, she was awarded an honorary degree by Oxford Brookes University. In 2006, she was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters (Hon. D.Litt.) by the University of St Andrews.
