Dame Julie Walters and Grant Roffey. | Source: Getty Images
Julie Walters has a shelf full of awards, from Emmys to Golden Globes to BAFTAs, but her greatest treasure is husband Grant Roffey, whom she met in a pub in 1985.
British actress Julie Walters is a familiar face to fans of the "Harry Potter" franchise, and the "Mamma Mia" movies. She was dubbed a Dame of the British Empire by the late Queen Elizabeth II in 2017.
She has an enviable list of credits and awards for her work in TV, film and theater, including two Academy Award nominations, but her greatest pride and joy are her husband Grant Roffey and her daughter, Maisie Mae Roffey.
Julie Walters at the EE British Academy Film Awards in 2015 in London, England. | Source: Getty Images
Dame Julie Walters was born in England in 1950. She wanted to be an actress, and her mother wanted her to be a nurse. Walters started studying nursing, but ended up trading it in for acting.
Walters broke into film in 1983 with the lead role in "Educating Rita" opposite Sir Michael Caine, earning herself an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. She had originated the role in the theater, and it swept her into international stardom.
Hollywood beckoned, but Walters ended up turning down roles that would go to actresses like Sharon Stone. She said:
“I did have plenty of offers then but I don’t ever regret not taking them. Because I’m British, I guess, and I like British writing and British work, and I love it here."
Even if she did turn down plum Hollywood roles, she landed yet another Academy Award nomination in 2001, this time as Best Supporting Actress for her role as Sandra Wilkinson in "Billy Elliot."
Her more recent work includes the role of Molly Weasley in the "Harry Potter" movies--where she co-starred with Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, and Daniel Radcliffe--and the 2018 musical "Mary Poppins Returns."
She played Meryl Streep's whacky lovestruck friend in "Mamma Mia," and reprised the role in "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again!" but her favorite role is that of wife to her husband of over three decades, Grant Roffey.
Julie Walters and Grant Roffey at the Moet British Independent Film Awards in 2013 in London, England. | Source: Getty Images
It Was Love at First Sight When Julie Walters Met Her Husband Grant Roffey
Walters met her husband when she was 37, and he was 29. The couple met at a pub in London, and she fell head-over-heels for the AA patrol man.
She had been drinking with a friend, and started discussing politics. Walters shouted that there probably wasn't a single Labour supporter in the pub, and Roffey stepped forward. She would reveal years later:
"I thought, if it doesn't work out with this man, how could it work with anyone? I have a lot to thank him for.”
She invited him to her apartment to fix her washing machine, and he never left. The two were swept up in a whirlwind romance. A little over a year after they met, they welcomed their daughter, Maisey Mae, but only married in 1997.
Julie Walters and Grant Roffey at the world premiere of 'Becoming Jane' in 2007 in London, England. | Source: Getty Images
Julie Walters' Husband Is Not in Show Business
When Julie Walters met Grant Roffey, she was already an established actress with several prestigious awards (including a Golden Globe for Best Actress and an Academy Award nomination under her belt.
Fans might have expected Julie Walters to marry an actor, a director or an artist, but she fell for a regular guy from the same working-class background she came from.
There are rumors that there is a third "Mamma Mia!" movie in the works, and Julie Walters has hinted that she would be eager to rejoin the cast.
The actress explained that Roffey is a breath of fresh air and common sense, after all the hype and drama she is exposed to in the entertainment business. Roffey keeps her grounded, and secure.
Julie Walters and husband Grant Roffey at the world premiere of "Paddington" 2014 in London, England. | Source: Getty Images
Julie Walters Confessed to Turning Down Movie Roles to Spend More Time at Home
Walters and Roffey now live in Sussex on a 70-acre organic farm, and the actress is reluctant to spend time away from her husband. She explained:
"Scripts come my way but it has to be something I really want because mostly I prefer being at home. It's the place where I feel most content and happiest."
On the farm and with the down-to-earth Roffey, Walters has the tranquility and sheer happiness that is an antidote to the high pressure of the entertainment industry.
The nearby village of Plaistow provides any first-necessity Walters might need, allied to anonymity. There are only 2000 villagers, and she passes as Mrs. Roffey.
Julie Walters, husband Grant Roffey, and daughter Massie at the Bristish Comedy Awards in 2005. | Source: Getty Images
Julie and Grant Have a Daughter Maisie Mae Roffey, Who Suffered from Leukemia in Her Childhood
Walters and Roffey welcomed their only child, Maisie Mae Roffey, on April 26, 1988. But the couple's joy in their baby girl was marred when she was diagnosed with lymphoblastic leukemia at the age of two.
Roffey and Walters endured the agony of uncertainty until Maisie was given the all-clear at age six. Walters poured her anguish and her enduring fear of losing her child into her first novel, "Maggie's Tree." She said:
"Obviously, when my daughter was ill and in hospital, I knew lots of people who had lost children. I witnessed that."
Her heroine does lose her child, and Walter transmits her heartrending pain with disturbing realism. She knew that fear, and had witnessed first hand other parents' loss.
Julie Walters with husband Grant Roffey at the world premiere of "Paddington 2" in 2017 in London, England. | Source: Getty Images
Grant Roffey Was Julie Walters’ Main Support during Her Secret Cancer Battle
But the fight for Maisie's life wasn't the last bout the family would have with cancer. In 2018, Walters felt ill, complaining of stomach pain, heartburn and nausea and Roffey convinced her to go to the doctor. The news wasn't good.
A scan revealed dark masses in her digestive tract, and the doctor told Walters she had Stage III bowel cancer and that she would have to undergo surgery and chemotherapy.
The good news in the bad news was that they had caught her cancer relatively early, and the prognosis for a positive outcome was good. Nevertheless, Walters admitted she was terrified:
“You hold on to the positive, which was that [the doctor] said, ‘We can fix this’.”
The surgery--which removed 30 cm of her colon--and the treatments were secret, and Walters and her husband told no one, not even their daughter Maisie, about the diagnosis.
Her daughter, family, friends and the press only learned about Walters' cancer battle after the war was won and she was declared free of the disease.
Walters confessed that she didn't want to "frighten" anyone, least of all her child, so she and Roffey faced her battle with cancer alone. Of course, the diagnosis impacted her work.
At the time, Walters was filming "The Secret Garden," and the director had to use a body double in certain scenes. The treatments also forced her to skip the premiere of "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again!"
Roffey was there for her, every step of the way, and he was as Walters would say, her rock. It was Roffey who persuaded Walters to undergo chemotherapy, which she described as horrific. Walters shared:
“I took the first lot and I was shaking. I felt like I was killing myself. My tongue swelled up – and I was doing a voice-over.”
Julie Walters Doesn't Think She'll Go Back to Acting Fulltime
The grueling treatments and the toll they took on her body forced Walters to turn down two major projects. Through it all, her husband was her strength. The actress confessed:
"His support over the years has been everything to me."
In 2020, the veteran actress revealed that she didn't feel she could return to acting full time, with the demanding schedule a big production entails, and the extended periods away from her peaceful life on the farm with Roffey.
Nevertheless, there are rumors that there is a third "Mamma Mia!" movie in the works, and Julie Walters has hinted that she would be eager to rejoin the cast, alongside Christine Baranski, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård and Pierce Brosnan one more time.
ncG1vNJzZmimlazAb63MqKSapZFjsLC5jm1naWphanqovsCnq2aqn5uzpsWMoqpmoqWhtqZ51pqjrZ2iqHqpwdKbmKecXp3Brrg%3D