Jennifer Saunders

Acting • Born 1958-07-06

Acting2Sleaford, Lincolnshire, England, UK

Biography

Jennifer Jane Saunders (born 6 July 1958) is an English comedienne, screenwriter, singer and actress. She has won two BAFTAs, an International Emmy Award, a British Comedy Award, a Rose d'Or Light Entertainment Festival Award, two Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards, and a Peoples Choice Award. She first came into widespread attention in the 1980s and early 1990s when she became a member of The Comic Strip after graduating from the Central School of Speech and Drama. Along with her comedy partner Dawn French, she writes and stars in their eponymous sketch show, French & Saunders, and has received international acclaim for writing and playing the lead role of Edina Monsoon in the BBC sitcom Absolutely Fabulous. In her other work, she has guest starred in the American sitcoms Roseanne and Friends, and won the American People's Choice Award for voicing the wicked Fairy Godmother in DreamWorks' animated Shrek 2. More recently, she wrote and starred in Jam & Jerusalem and The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle.

Filmography

184 credits

Shrek 2

Movie • 2004

Fairy Godmother (voice)

Muppet Treasure Island

Movie • 1996

Mrs. Bluveridge

L'Entente cordiale

Movie • 2006

Gwendoline McFarlane

Allelujah

Movie • 2023

Sister Gilpin

Sumotherhood

Movie • 2023

DI Brookes

In the Bleak Midwinter

Movie • 1995

Nancy

Coraline

Movie • 2009

Miss April Spink / Other Spink (voice)

Remember the Secret Policeman's Ball?

Movie • 2004

Self

Kirsty: The Life and Songs of Kirsty MacColl

Movie • 2001

Self

Sing 2

Movie • 2021

Nana (voice)

Absolutely Fabulous

Movie • 2001

Une spectatrice du défilé

We Work for the Dead

Movie • 2024

The Mother (voice)

The Hunt for Tony Blair

Movie • 2011

Lady Thatcher

French and Saunders: Still Alive

Movie • 2008

Self

The Secret Policeman’s Biggest Ball

Movie • 1989

Self

The Supergrass

Movie • 1985

Lesley Reynolds

An Audience With Victoria Wood

Movie • 1988

Self

Comic Relief: Red Nose Day

Movie • 2017

Self

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Yet Again

Movie • 2019

Meryl Streep / Cher

The Best of French & Saunders

Movie • 2002

Various

French & Saunders LIVE

Movie • 1990

Absolutely Fabulous: The Last Shout

Movie • 1996

Edina Monsoon

The Spice Girls Story: Viva Forever!

Movie • 2012

Self

How to Be Absolutely Fabulous

Movie • 1995

Self / Edina "Eddy" Monsoon (archive footage)

Absolutely Fabulous: A Life

Movie • 1998

Edina "Eddy" Monsoon

Demonella

Movie • 1993

The Devil

Summer School

Movie • 1983

Liz

Jealousy

Movie • 1993

Jane/Margory

Five Go Mad in Dorset

Movie • 1982

Anne

Four Men in a Car

Movie • 1998

Helen

Eddie Monsoon - a Life?

Movie • 1984

Doreen

War

Movie • 1983

Various Roles

The Beat Generation

Movie • 1983

Anne

Five Go Mad on Mescalin

Movie • 1983

Anne

Dirty Movie

Movie • 1984

June

Susie

Movie • 1984

Lorna

Gino: Full Story and Pics

Movie • 1984

Angie

Slags

Movie • 1984

Little Sister

Consuela (or, The New Mrs Saunders)

Movie • 1986

Jessica

Private Enterprise

Movie • 1986

Debbie

South Atlantic Raiders: Part 1

Movie • 1990

Cathy

South Atlantic Raiders: Part 2 Argie Bargie!

Movie • 1990

Cathy

Oxford

Movie • 1990

Hannah

Red Nose of Courage

Movie • 1992

Margaret Thatcher

Spaghetti Hoops

Movie • 1990

Maria

Wild Turkey

Movie • 1992

Neighbour

Five Go to Rehab

Movie • 2012

Anne

Dawn French Is a Huge Twat

Movie • 2023

Self (uncredited)

imagine... French & Saunders: Pointed, Bitchy, Bitter

Movie • 2023

Self - Featured Artist

30 Years of Comic Strip

Movie • 2012

The Boy in the Dress

Movie • 2014

Miss Windsor

Amnesty International's Big 30

Movie • 1991

Self

Chuck Steel: Night of the Trampires

Movie • 2018

Dr. Alex Cular

Minions

Movie • 2015

Reine Elizabeth II (voice)

Eat the Rich

Movie • 1987

Lady Caroline

Sing

Movie • 2016

Nana (voice)

200% Wolf

Movie • 2024

Max (voice)

Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie

Movie • 2016

Edina Monsoon

Stick Man

Movie • 2015

Narrator (voice)

The Comic Strip

Movie • 1981

French & Saunders - Live

Movie • 2000

Various roles

Mr Jolly Lives Next Door

Movie • 1988

Monica

Comedians Do It On Stage

Movie • 1986

Self

British Sitcom: 60 Years of Laughing at Ourselves

Movie • 2016

Comedy Role (archive footage) (uncredited)

Spice World

Movie • 1997

Fashionable Woman

The Strike

Movie • 1988

Meryl Streep as Mrs Scargill

Patrick

Movie • 2018

Maureen

Grandpa's Great Escape

Movie • 2018

Miss Dandy

300 Years of French & Saunders

Movie • 2017

Lady Windermere's Fan

Movie • 2018

The Duchess of Berwick

More Bad News

Movie • 1988

Sally

Bad News

Movie • 1983

Sally

Space Virgins from Planet Sex

Movie • 1993

Needle

Joanna and Jennifer: Absolutely Champers

Movie • 2017

Self - Presenter

Dusty

Movie • 1994

Self - Presenter

Fanny & Elvis

Movie • 1999

Roanna

Dangerous Brothers Present: World of Danger

Movie • 1986

Isn't It Romantic

Movie • 2019

Natalie's Mother

Death on the Nile

Movie • 2022

Marie Van Schuyler

GLC: The Carnage Continues

Movie • 1990

Brigitte Nielsen as Margaret Thatcher, The Ice Maiden

Completely Bad News

Movie • 2019

Sally

The Tale of Little Pig Robinson

Movie • 1990

Dorcas

Gentlemen Prefer French & Saunders

Movie • 2011

French & Saunders: The Ingenue Years

Movie • 2011

Coraline: The Making of 'Coraline'

Movie • 2009

Self

Prince Cinders

Movie • 1993

Fairy (voice)

Mirrorball

Movie • 2000

Vivienne Keill

French & Saunders: At the Movies

Movie • 1993

A Fistful of Travellers' Cheques

Movie • 1984

Shona

Man and Witch: The Dance of a Thousand Steps

Movie • 2024

The Goose (voice)

French & Saunders: Funny Women

Movie • 2021

Self

The Magic Faraway Tree

Movie • 2026

Grandma Thompson

Kirsty MacColl at the BBC

Movie • 2024

Self (archive footage)

Employees From Hell

Movie • 1989

Communicators From Hell

Movie • 1989

Absolutely Fabulous: Inside Out

Movie • 2024

Self / Edina "Eddie" Monsoon

We Love Sitcom

Movie • 2016

Night & Day

Movie • 2026

Mrs Hilbery

The Silurian Disruption

Movie • 1987

Silurian #2

It’s Lulu

Movie • 1999

Self

The Best Birthday Ever

Movie • 2022

Mother (voice)

Bottom Mindless Violence

Movie • 2004

Helen Mucus / Anita Harris (archive footage) (uncredited)

Becoming Victoria Wood

Movie • 2026

Self

Happy Families

Movie • 1985

Granny / Cassie / Madeleine / Joyce / Roxanne Fuddle

The Storyteller: Sapsorrow

Movie

Badsister 1

Customer Service From Hell

Movie • 1989

Colleagues From Hell

Movie • 1989

French And Saunders - Christmas Special '88

Movie • 1988

Various Characters

French and Saunders' Christmas Carol

Movie • 1994

Various Roles

French & Saunders

TV • 1987

Various Characters

Let Them Eat Cake

TV • 1999

Going Live!

TV • 1987

Self

Friends

TV • 1994

Andrea Waltham

Girls On Top

TV • 1985

Jennifer

Mel Giedroyc: Unforgivable

TV • 2021

Self

The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle

TV • 2007

The Secret Policeman's Ball

TV • 1976

Self

The Young Ones

TV • 1982

Sue

Absolutely Fabulous

TV • 1992

Edina Monsoon

The Magician's House

TV • 1999

The Rat (voice)

Omnibus Presents Comic Relief

TV • 1986

The Young Ones

TV • 1982

Helen Mucus

Happy Families

TV • 1985

Granny Fuddle

Blandings

TV • 2013

Lady Constance Keeble

A Bucket O' French and Saunders

TV • 2007

Pongwiffy

TV • 2002

Comic Relief

TV • 1988

TV • 1990

Gogglebox

TV • 2013

Self

Wogan

TV • 1982

Self

The Storyteller

TV • 1988

Badsister 1

Insert Name Here

TV • 2016

Self - Panelist

Have I Got a Bit More News for You

Self - Presenter

Have I Got a Bit More News for You

Self - Panellist

The Great Comic Relief Bake Off

TV • 2013

Self - Contestant

The Great Sport Relief Bake Off

TV • 2012

Self - Host

Celebrity Antiques Road Trip

TV • 2011

Self - Participant

Let's Sing and Dance for Comic Relief

TV • 2017

Self - Judge

Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen

TV • 2009

Self - Guest

The Stranger

TV • 2020

Heidi Doyle

The Simpsons

TV • 1989

Phoebe Pratt (voice)

Fantasy Football League

TV • 2022

Themselves

Dead Boss

TV • 2012

Governor Margaret

The Comic Strip Presents...

TV • 1982

Maria

Josh

TV • 2015

Judith

The Dangerous Brothers

TV • 1986

The Comic Strip Presents...

Have I Got News for You

TV • 1990

Self

Have I Got News for You

TV • 1990

Self - Hostess

Richard Osman's House of Games Night

TV • 2020

Self

The Claudia Winkleman Show

TV • 2026

Self