STORY SO FAR: Zoe Wanamaker

Currently starring in Kay Mellor’s latest series Girlfriends (9pm, ITV), Zoe, 68, has had a remarkably diverse career on both stage and screen…

Crossing the pond: Zoe was born in New York City in 1949, the daughter of Canadian actress Charlotte Holland and American actor and director Sam Wanamaker. The family moved to England in 1952 and, after school, Zoe enrolled in the Central School of Speech and Drama in London.

Setting the scene: Zoe’s first work was in the theatre; she joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1976, and has two Olivier Awards to her name – for Once In A Lifetime in 1979 and for Electra in 1998. In 1997, she was the first person to speak on stage at the opening of Shakespeare’s Globe on London’s

South Bank – a nod to her father’s long quest, begun in 1970, to create the replica theatre; sadly, he died before it was completed. Branching out: By the 1980s, Zoe was making a name for herself on television, and appeared in acclaimed dramas such as Edge Of Darkness

(1985), Prime Suspect (1991), Inspector

Morse (1991) and Gormenghast (2000). Playing Susan Harper, the mum in My Family (2000-11), brought her to a wider audience, as did the roles of Ariadne Oliver in Agatha Christie’s Poirot (2005-13) and Princess Marie in Mr Selfridge (2015). Screen queen: As well as Girlfriends,

Zoe is currently starring as Queen

Antedia in Sky Atlantic’s new historical drama Britannia (9pm, Thursdays; all episodes are available on demand).