Miranda Hart

Miranda Katherine Hart Dyke (born 14 December 1972) is an English actress, comedian, and writer. She is best known for creating, writing, and starring in her semi-autobiographical BBC sitcom Miranda (2009–2015). For her work on the series, she won three Royal Television Society awards and four British Comedy Awards, alongside earning four BAFTA nominations. Her other prominent television roles include playing Camilla "Chummy" Fortescue-Cholmondeley-Browne in the drama series Call the Midwife.

Hart was born in Torquay, Devon, to Diana Margaret (née Luce) and Captain David Hart Dyke, a Royal Navy officer. She has a younger sister named Alice. Although Hart comes from an aristocratic background, she does not consider herself upper class. She grew up in Petersfield, Hampshire, and attended Downe House, an independent boarding school in Berkshire, where she was a classmate of Clare Balding. She earned a 2:1 degree in political science from the University of the West of England, Bristol, before completing a postgraduate acting course at the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts.

Hart began her career performing character-based comedy and theatre material, including solo shows at the Edinburgh Fringe. Prior to launching her own series, she appeared in various British sitcoms. She earned a British Comedy Award nomination for her role as Teal in Hyperdrive (2006–2007) and played the regular role of Barbara in Not Going Out (2006–2009). She also made appearances in shows such as The Vicar of Dibley, French & Saunders, Nighty Night, Lead Balloon, Smack the Pony, and Monday Monday.

In 2008, Hart wrote and starred in the BBC Radio 2 comedy Miranda Hart's Joke Shop, which was developed into her television series Miranda. The sitcom ran from 2009 to 2015, followed by a 10th anniversary special filmed at the London Palladium. Alongside her sitcom success, she portrayed Chummy in Call the Midwife from 2012 to 2015. In 2017, she presented the Royal Variety Performance, becoming the first solo female presenter of the event in 105 years, and was cast as Miss Hannigan in a West End production of Annie.

Hart's film credits include roles in The Infidel, Magicians, World of Wrestling, and 12 in a Box. She made her Hollywood debut in the 2015 action comedy Spy and appeared as Miss Bates in the 2020 adaptation of Emma. In 2014, she undertook an arena stand-up tour titled My, What I Call, Live Show across the UK and Ireland. She has also authored several books, including Is It Just Me? (2012), Peggy and Me (2016), and her 2024 memoir I Haven't Been Entirely Honest With You.

Hart has participated in numerous charitable projects for Comic Relief and Sport Relief, winning a Red Nose Day edition of Celebrity MasterChef in 2011. In her personal life, she married Richard William Fairs in July 2024. In 2024, she revealed that she had been diagnosed with Lyme disease, which resulted in ME/CFS. She is a Christian and resides in Hammersmith, West London.