Jennifer Jane Saunders is an English comedienne, screenwriter, singer and actress. She has won two BAFTAs, an International Emmy Award, a British Comedy Award, a Rose d'Or Light Entertainment Festival Award, two Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards, and a Peoples Choice Award.
She first came into widespread attention in the 1980s and early 1990s when she became a member of The Comic Strip after graduating from the Central School of Speech and Drama. Along with her comedy partner Dawn French, she writes and stars in their eponymous sketch show, French & Saunders, and has received international acclaim for writing and playing the lead role of Edina Monsoon in the BBC sitcom Absolutely Fabulous.
In her other work, she has guest starred in the American sitcoms Roseanne and Friends, and won the American People's Choice Award for voicing the wicked Fairy Godmother in DreamWorks' animated Shrek 2. More recently, she wrote and starred in Jam & Jerusalem and The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle.
Known For
Shrek 2
(2004)
Fairy Godmother (voice)
Coraline
(2009)
April Spink (voice)
Sing 2
(2021)
Nana (voice)
Sing
(2016)
Nana (voice)
Death on the Nile
(2022)
Marie Van Schuyler
Minions
(2015)
Reine Elizabeth II (voice)
Muppet Treasure Island
(1996)
Mrs. Bluveridge
Spice World
(1997)
Fashionable Woman
Isn't It Romantic
(2019)
Natalie's Mother
Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie
(2016)
Edina Monsoon
Patrick
(2018)
Maureen
Stick Man
(2015)
Narrator (voice)
Sumotherhood
(2023)
DI Brookes
Allelujah
(2023)
Sister Gilpin
Coraline: The Making of 'Coraline'
(2009)
Self
Eat the Rich
(1987)
Lady Caroline
Full Filmography
Acting
The Comic Strip
(1981)
Five Go Mad in Dorset
(1982)
Anne
Bad News Tour
(1983)
Sally
War
(1983)
Various Roles
The Beat Generation
(1983)
Anne
Five Go Mad on Mescalin
(1983)
Anne
Summer School
(1983)
Liz
A Fistful of Travellers' Cheques
(1984)
Shona
Eddie Monsoon - a Life?
(1984)
Doreen
Dirty Movie
(1984)
June
Susie
(1984)
Lorna
Gino: Full Story and Pics
(1984)
Angie
Slags
(1984)
Little Sister
The Supergrass
(1985)
Lesley Reynolds
Dangerous Brothers Present: World of Danger
(1986)
Consuela (or, The New Mrs Saunders)
(1986)
Jessica
Private Enterprise
(1986)
Debbie
Eat the Rich
(1987)
Lady Caroline
Mr Jolly Lives Next Door
(1988)
Monica
The Strike
(1988)
Meryl Streep as Mrs Scargill
More Bad News
(1988)
Sally
An Audience With Victoria Wood
(1988)
Herself
The Secret Policeman’s Biggest Ball
(1989)
Herself
GLC: The Carnage Continues
(1990)
Brigitte Nielsen as Margaret Thatcher, The Ice Maiden
The Tale of Little Pig Robinson
(1990)
Dorcas
French & Saunders LIVE
(1990)
South Atlantic Raiders: Part 1
(1990)
Cathy
South Atlantic Raiders: Part 2 Argie Bargie!
(1990)
Cathy
Oxford
(1990)
Hannah
Spaghetti Hoops
(1990)
Maria
Amnesty International's Big 30
(1991)
Self
Red Nose of Courage
(1992)
Margaret Thatcher
Wild Turkey
(1992)
Neighbour
Space Virgins from Planet Sex
(1993)
Needle
Prince Cinders
(1993)
Fairy (voice)
French & Saunders: At the Movies
(1993)
Demonella
(1993)
The Devil
Jealousy
(1993)
Jane/Margory
Dusty
(1994)
Self - Presenter
In the Bleak Midwinter
(1995)
Nancy
How to Be Absolutely Fabulous
(1995)
Self / Edina "Eddy" Monsoon (archive footage)
Muppet Treasure Island
(1996)
Mrs. Bluveridge
Absolutely Fabulous: The Last Shout
(1996)
Edina Monsoon
Spice World
(1997)
Fashionable Woman
Absolutely Fabulous: A Life
(1998)
Edina "Eddy" Monsoon
Four Men in a Car
(1998)
Helen
Fanny & Elvis
(1999)
Roanna
French & Saunders - Live
(2000)
Various roles
Mirrorball
(2000)
Vivienne Keill
Absolutely Fabulous
(2001)
Une spectatrice du défilé
Kirsty: The Life and Songs of Kirsty MacColl
(2001)
Self
The Best of French & Saunders
(2002)
Various
Shrek 2
(2004)
Fairy Godmother (voice)
Remember the Secret Policeman's Ball?
(2004)
Self
L'Entente cordiale
(2006)
Gwendoline McFarlane
French and Saunders: Still Alive
(2008)
Herself
Coraline
(2009)
April Spink (voice)
Coraline: The Making of 'Coraline'
(2009)
Self
The Hunt for Tony Blair
(2011)
Lady Thatcher
Gentlemen Prefer French & Saunders
(2011)
French & Saunders: The Ingenue Years
(2011)
The Spice Girls Story: Viva Forever!
(2012)
Self
Five Go to Rehab
(2012)
Anne
30 Years of Comic Strip
(2012)
The Boy in the Dress
(2014)
Miss Windsor
Minions
(2015)
Reine Elizabeth II (voice)
Stick Man
(2015)
Narrator (voice)
Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie
(2016)
Edina Monsoon
Sing
(2016)
Nana (voice)
British Sitcom: 60 Years of Laughing at Ourselves
(2016)
Comedy Role (archive footage) (uncredited)
300 Years of French & Saunders
(2017)
Joanna and Jennifer: Absolutely Champers
(2017)
Herself - Presenter
Comic Relief: Red Nose Day
(2017)
Self
Patrick
(2018)
Maureen
Grandpa's Great Escape
(2018)
Miss Dandy
Lady Windermere's Fan
(2018)
The Duchess of Berwick
Chuck Steel: Night of the Trampires
(2018)
Dr. Alex Cular
Isn't It Romantic
(2019)
Natalie's Mother
Completely Bad News
(2019)
Sally
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Yet Again
(2019)
Meryl Streep / Cher
French & Saunders: Funny Women
(2021)
Herself
Sing 2
(2021)
Nana (voice)
Death on the Nile
(2022)
Marie Van Schuyler
Allelujah
(2023)
Sister Gilpin
Sumotherhood
(2023)
DI Brookes
imagine... French & Saunders: Pointed, Bitchy, Bitter
(2023)
Self - featured artist
Dawn French Is a Huge Tw*t
(2023)
Self (uncredited)
Man and Witch: The Dance of a Thousand Steps
(2024)
The Goose (voice)
Chinatown: A World in the Heart of the City
(2024)
Self (Archive Footage)
200% Wolf
(2024)
(voice)
Writing
The Comic Strip
(1981)
Writer
Slags
(1984)
Writer
Consuela (or, The New Mrs Saunders)
(1986)
Writer
How to Be Absolutely Fabulous
(1995)
Writer
Absolutely Fabulous: The Last Shout
(1996)
Writer
Absolutely Fabulous: A Life
(1998)
Writer
French & Saunders - Live
(2000)
Writer
Mirrorball
(2000)
Writer
Absolutely Fabulous
(2001)
Writer
The Best of French & Saunders
(2002)
Writer
French and Saunders: Still Alive
(2008)
Writer
Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie
(2016)
Screenplay
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Yet Again
(2019)
Writer
Crew