Every actress who played Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple, ranked

Author Agatha ChristieMiss Marple’s is one of the most iconic and celebrated literary characters of all time, and there have been several Miss Marple actresses who have brought the character to life. The amorous investigator was first introduced in the 1930 novel Murder at the VicarageAppears in 11 subsequent novels until 1976. The character has been portrayed on stage, on radio, on the big screen, and in domestic mystery shows like Agatha Christie’s Marple Several times since the character’s screen debut in 1961.

Although recent movies have focused on Agatha Christie’s other detective, Hercule Poirot, there are still plenty of Miss Marple adaptations for fans of his earlier detective. Over the past 60 years, Miss Marple has been portrayed by some impressive actresses from all over the world. Due to the character’s age, she is Commonly played by veteran actresses with decades of experience Behind them, allowing for some truly fantastic performances. When it comes to each Miss Marple actress, they range from the most obscure to the most influential and acclaimed, but all are great for different reasons.

11

Inge Langen was the first non-English language Miss Marple

Murder in the Vicarage (1970)

Having starred as Miss Marple in a single German production of Murder at the Vicarage in 1970, Inge Langen is the darkest actress to play the legendary role. Langen, a traveling actress who has appeared in German movies and television such as The tinkerwas only 46 when she played the typically elderly role.

Directed by Hans Quest, the film finds Marple investigating the mysterious murder of a local official who elicited two false confessions from innocent suspects. Once Marple clears the married couple who confessed, she works her way through a crowd of motivated suspects to solve the murder. Langen may not be the best-remembered Miss Marple because so many of the English-language versions of the character are better known, but she was the first to portray the character in non-English-language media.

10

Julia Mackenzie starred in the series Marple

Marple (2008-2013) & Masterpiece Mystery (2014)

In 2004, ITV created its own adaptation of Agatha Christie with a series titled Agatha Christie’s Marplewhich ran for six seasons and a total of 23 episodes. In 11 of the episodes, Miss Marple was played by British actress Julia McKenzie with a much softer and self-deprecating side. McKenzie is an acclaimed theater actressWon a Tony Award and two Olivier Awards for her work in musicals.

Unfortunately for McKenzie, Geraldine McEwan, who played Marple in the first three seasons and 12 episodes, was a fan favorite in the role. Ratings declined for McKenzie’s three seasons of the show, though she brings her trademark star power to the role in such exciting chapters as They do it with mirrors And Murder is easy.

Of course, the bigger problem Christie fans have with the series isn’t the portrayal of the titular character, but that the episodes in length are so far from the source material. Miss Marple is often placed in the stories of books she did not appear in instead of using the same stories Agatha Christie wrote with the character.

9

Yunjin Kim was in the series Ms. Ma, Nemesis

Ms. Ma, Nemesis (2018)

Korean actress Yunjin Kim brings a refreshing twist to the character of Miss Marple in the Agatha Christie smash-up series, Ms. Ma, Nemesis. The series ran for 32 episodes and covered several Christie mysteries, reimagining the lead As a young South Korean mystery writer.

Kim is otherwise known for playing Sun in the American hit Lost. In addition to Christie’s novel NemesisThe show pulls various storylines from such other works as The body in the library, a murder is announced, the moving fingers And The mirror cracked from side to side. Kim plays Ms. Ma, a younger version of the character.

While fans of Christie’s work usually balk at straying too far from the source material, this version worked well because it immersed the character in Korean culture instead of simply placing the British Miss Marple in South Korea. The series provided a fresh take with a capable dramatic actor in the lead.

8

Ita has always played Miss Marple in movies and on stage

Secret Of The Blackbirds (1983) & Miss Marple Stories (1990)

Estonian screen and stage actress Ita Ever became the third person to portray Miss Marple in a feature film. She first starred in the role in the Russian adaptation of A pocket full of corn In 1983, which was under a different name. Ever, a legend of Estonian theater, has also starred in adaptations of works by Shakespeare, Steinbeck, Ibsen and more.

Ever happy enough to be asked to reprized the role in a 1990 television adaptation called Miss Marple Stories. In 2005, Ever played Marple for the last time on stage in the translation of The mirror cracked from side to side. Despite playing the character so many times, she is often overlooked by many modern Christie fans simply because other adaptations of Miss Marple’s stories overshadow her, especially when other actors played the role for longer stretches.

7

Kaoru Yachigusa was an animated Miss Marple

Agatha Christie’s Great Detectives Poirot and Marple (2004-2005)

In 39 episodes produced between 2004 and 2005, Japanese actress Kaoru Yachigusa voiced the role of Miss Marple in The animated television series Agatha Christie’s great detectives, Marple and PoirotAnd was one of the most unique of any Miss Marple actress. Yachigusa excels with her experience and ability to breathe new life into the role. The series brings together Christie’s two greatest detectives by introducing the character of Miss Marple’s great niece Maybelle West, who becomes Poirot’s assistant.

Among the various novels and short stories adapted in the series include Funny joke, sleeping murder, the blue geranium, ingots of gold, the tape measure murderand some others. Yachigusa was a veteran and award-winning Japanese actress who got her start in the Takarazuka Revue in the 1950s, and this was her only anime role.

6

Helen Hayes was Miss Marple in the 1980s

A Caribbean Mystery (1983) & Agatha Christie’s Murder with Mirrors (1985)

American actress Helen Hayes plays Marple twice in a pair of made-for-television Christie adaptations. The first came in the 1983 telling of A Caribbean mystery And the second came in a 1985 redo of Murder with mirrors. Hayes was nicknamed “the first lady of American theater” and was The first woman to win the fabled “EGOT,” Meaning her Miss Marple role came at the end of a legendary career.

Hayes’s performance as Marple was noted for being cheerful and anodyne, rather than the snarky and sarcastic sick some of the others before she played the character with. In 1982, Hayes also appeared in Murder is easyA non-Marple mystery in which she plays Lavinia Fullerton. The two series were broadcast on CBS and were Hayes’ last television roles.

Although she may not be considered the definitive Miss Marple, she has a legion of fans who love her adaptations.

5

June Whitfield starred in the BBC series Miss Marple

Miss Marple (1993-2001)

One of the more overlooked adaptations of the Miss Marple stories was the BBC radio series produced from 1993 to 2001. The radio series covered all eight novels and a handful of short stories as part of the series The Saturday game.

The radio series starred June WhitfieldA famous British actress who is best known for her comic supporting role in the Absolutely fabulous Series. Using only her voice, Whitfield brought Christie’s famous character to life for almost a decade. Whitfield returned for three more short stories in a 2015 series Picture Like Miss Marple’s Last CasesMaking her arguably the most prolific of all Miss Marple actresses.

Interestingly, Whitfield also played Margaret Rutherford in another radio play, A monstrous vitality. Rutherford is one of the best-known actresses to take on the role of Miss Marple. The connection between the two has made many compare their performances as two sides of the same coin, only in different mediums.

4

Geraldine McEwan was Miss Marple in the 2000s

Marple (2004-2007)

Geraldine McEwan brought a caustic bite to her portrayal of Marple in three seasons and 12 episodes of ITV Agatha Christie’s Marple From 2005 to 2009. McEwan was a veteran British actress known for her comedic ability, who also shone in dramatic roles, winning two Olivier Awards and a BAFTA Award for her roles over the years.

In addition to providing a rich backstory, McEwan’s Marple is notable for how rigid, sterile and unfunny she is. In making a concerted effort to move away from the character’s most memorable screen performances, the lack of camp and kitsch makes McEwan one of the better Miss Marple actresses. For many modern fans of the character, McEwan is the best version of Miss Marple, but there are still a few who are even more beloved.

3

Joan Hickson played Miss Marple 12 times

Hickson portrayed the detective for the BBC between 1984 and 1992

The BBC’s rich drama history includes adaptations of all 12 Christie novels about the character in a series simply titled Miss Marple. Joan Hickson, who first played the role on stage in 1940, played Marple in all of them. Her performance was even reportedly praised by Queen Elizabeth II when Hickson received an OBE in 1987. Hickson played Miss Marple a total of 12 times:

• Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple: The Body In the Library (1984)
• The moving finger (1985)
• A murder has been announced (1985)
• A pocket full of corn (1985)
• Masterpiece mystery (1986)
• The murder in the vicarage (1986)
• Sleeping murder (1987)
• at the Bertram Hotel (1987)
• Nemesis (1987)
• 4.50 from Paddington (1987)
• A Caribbean mystery (1989)
• They do it with mirrors (1991)
• The mirror cracked from side to side (1992)

Given the sheer breadth of it Performance over eight years and 12 episode-length episodesHickson branded the character as her very own. As a result, Hickson scored back-to-back BAFTA nods in 1987 and 1988 for Best Actress as Miss Marple. Hickson also won a 1987 UK Royal Television Award for Best Performance in the Marple Series. She is easily one of the most iconic of all Miss Marple actresses to date.

Oddly enough, Hickson didn’t see himself in the role at first. Christie is rumored to have sent Hickson a note after seeing her in the stage play, revealing that she hoped to see her play the role on screen. Hickson became the oldest actor to play the role when she was cast as Miss Marple at the age of 78. Christy had already passed away eight years earlier.

2

Angela Lansbury also starred in Murder, she wrote

The Cracked Mirror (1980)

Although Angela Lansbury only played Jane Marple once through the star-studded 1980 Christie movie adaptation of The mirror crackedHer acting choices set her far apart from the pack. Lansbury was already a legend for her stage performances and appearances in classic films ranging from Gaslight to The Manchurian candidateBut she brought her all to the role of Christy’s detective.

rather than a doddering old woman, Lansbury plays Marple with a sharp-minded intelligence Which does not suffer any stupid people. She has a different take on the character that makes her version of Marple one of the most memorable, and makes audiences wish she would appear in more Christie adaptations.

Of course, you 264 episodes of Murder, she wrote As the iconic Marple-like Jessica Fletcher only bolsters her silver medal status.

1

Margaret Rutherford was an Oscar-winning actress

Murder She Said (1961), Murder at the Gallop (1963), Murder Most Foul (1964), Murder Ahoy (1964) & The Alphabet Murders (1965)

The first, most definitive, and best Miss Marple actress was Margaret Rutherford, the London-born actress who first played the role in the 1962 adaptation of The mirror cracked side to side. With no one else to compare to her performance, Rutherford owned the role in a way that was imitated for years. Rutherford received an Academy Award and a Golden Globe in 1963, but continued to return to the role of Miss Marple.

Rutherford reprized the preppy, giddy and quirky turn as Marple in several films, including Murder, she said, murder in the gallop, murder most foul, murder Ahoy!And The alphabet murders. Rutherford emphasized the comedic and “poofy” elements of Miss Marple, and even incorporated clothes from her own home into her on-screen wardrobe. while some Agatha Christie Devotees criticized Rutherford’s take on the character, she set the standard that every future Miss Marple actress would be measured against, allowing for more serious versions like Lansbury’s to shine.