Brenda Blethyn - UK actress, born 20th February 1946, Ramsgate, Kent. Brenda has had a long and successful career as an actress on the British stage and in television, but it was Mike Leigh's film 'Secrets and Lies' (1996) that gave her fame as a movie actress. She was awarded the O.B.E. (Officer of the British Empire) in the 2002 New Year's Eve Honours List.