Hildegard Hope Zimmermann (20 May 1939 – 19 September 2023), also credited as Hildegard Neil, was an English actress.
Career Born in South Africa, she came to England in 1961 and went to RADA for two years. Neil first appeared on television in a BBC schools' television production of Julius Caesar in 1963 and after that appeared mostly as a guest artiste in a variety of television series over the next 40 years. She has also appeared in several films and on stage, both in the West End and touring.
Personal life Neil was married to actor Brian Blessed and had a daughter with him, Rosalind, who is also an actress and represented by the same agent as her mother. On 23 May 2009, Neil appeared with her husband on the ITV entertainment show, All Star Mr & Mrs, on which it was established that she was a keen Liverpool F.C. supporter.
Hildegarde Neil died of cancer on 19 September 2023, at the age of 84.
Stage appearances Neil spent a season at the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1969-70, playing a variety of roles. Neil played Lady Macbeth in Ewan Hooper's production of Macbeth at the Greenwich Theatre, which opened on 18 February 1971. Neil directed Roan School for Girls' production of Much Ado about Nothing in 1971 and As You Like It in 1972.
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes1970Eve Pelham1972Antony and CleopatraCleopatra1973Gloria Blackburn1973England Made MeKate Farrant1978Barbara Kirstenburg1980Lady Foxcroft"Murder at Midnight"1994Seaview KnightsThe Psychiatrist1996Queen Eleanor1997Macbeth1st Witch1999King LearThe Fool2005UpstagedAunt Mary2009Mr. BojagiThe WomanShort2016Leni. Leni.Leni RiefenstahlShort20??Previous VengeanceBeatkaAnnounced
Television Year Title Role Notes1963Julius CaesarCalpurniaTV miniseries1964No Hiding PlaceAnn"Aftertaste"1968Dixon of Dock GreenJean Holden"The Prospective Candidate"1968ResurrectionMarietteTV miniseries1969Imperial PalaceGracie Savott"Arrivals", "Departures"1969Marylou Plessy"The Green Mamba"1969Dorothy Hamilton"A Family Affair"1969W. Somerset MaughamLady Kastellan"A Casual Affair"1969ITV PlayhouseMarion"Double Agent"1970Mystery and ImaginationThe Woman in Black"The Suicide Club"1970DoomwatchDr. Stella Robson"Project Sahara"1970CodenameZeta Baker"Come Home to Paradise"1970Ace of WandsMadame Midnight"One and One and One Are Four: Parts 2 & 3"1970Mrs. Arborel"The Higher the Fewer"1970Ursula Findon"Settlement Day"1970Happily Ever AfterMary Wilshaw"Don't Walk Away"1970Put Out More FlagsAngela LyneTV film1970Man at the TopLiz Gilbert"It's All Perfectly True"1971Jason KingLyra Delon"Flamingos Only Fly on Tuesdays"1972Six FacesHelen Barlow"Commonwealth of Malignants", "Around the Child"1973Play for TodayDiana"Access to the Children"1973Irena Gayevska"The Last Frontier"1974Orson Welles Great MysteriesThe Lady"Compliments of the Season"1974Boy DominicEmma BulmanTV series1974Colette HydeTV miniseries1975Whodunnit?Audrey Baxter"Final Drive"1976CouplesDiana Lawson"1.52", "1.53", "1.54"1977Crown CourtVirginia Matheson"Such a Charming Man: Part 1"1977Space: 1999Elizia"Devil's Planet"1977Van der ValkElse Rokin"Accidental"1978Sara"Close Quarters"1979ITV PlayhousePhilippa"Saint Vitus' Dance"1981VirginiaTV miniseries1981DiamondsMargaret ColemanMain role1984A Talent for MurderSheila McClainTV film2007Hotel BabylonMarchioness of Telford"2.3"2007DoctorsNellie Shamus"Flights of Fantasy"2009DoctorsShelia Bardock"Vera Pym"2010Above SuspicionFlorence Pennel"The Red Dahlia: Part 1"2012DoctorsRosie Bryer"The Well Spoken Man"
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