After The Magic: Where The Women Of Harry Potter Are Now?

Despite Professor Dumbledore being the face of Hogwarts, deputy headmistress Professor McGonagall was very much a close second.

As a loyal member of the Order of the Pheonix, Minerva watched over Harry Potter as he was taken to the Dursley’s home, and then throughout his time at Hogwarts. McGonagall was a regular feature and strong character in all but one of the franchise.

Maggie Smith’s impressive career has spanned over 66 years, appearing in over 50 films leading her to become one of Britain’s most recognized and respected actresses. Following her role in Harry Potter, Smith went on to appear in successful British period drama, Downton Abbey, for which she was awarded a Golden Globe award, two Emmy awards and a Screen Actors Guild award.

For her incredible achievements in film, Smith was made a Dame by the Queen in 1990 for services to the performing arts.

We first came across Rita Skeeter in Harry Potter and the Goblet Of Fire, as the intrusive journalist from The Daily Prophet who specialized in writing false stories and misreported interviews. Rita was even dubbed “enchantingly nasty” by Professor Dumbledore.

At the Triwizard Tournament, Skeeter painted Harry as a depressed orphan and tragic hero who was in love with Hermione Granger. Rita also wrote defaming articles about Hagrid, which led students’ parents to become concerned about his ferocity.

Despite appearing as an intrinsically nasty and deceitful individual in Harry Potter, Richardson was actually quite the opposite in real life, something that was a testament to her acting.

When cameras stopped rolling on the popular franchise, Richardson went on to play Labour politician Barbara Castle in the British film Made in Dagenham, before taking on the role of Queen Ulla in Angelina Jolie Disney movie Maleficent in 2014, but her part was cut in post-production.

The Weasley family were all a huge part in the Harry Potter films. Ron was Harry’s best friend, Ginny was his love interest, Fred and George fought for Harry and Arthur protected Harry. However, Molly Weasley was the family matriarch and kept everyone together, not to mention acting as Harry’s adopted mother.

Molly was a strong member of the revived Order of the Phoenix and went down in wizarding history as the witch who defeated Death Eater, Bellatrix Lestrange.

There is no doubt that Julie Walters is one of the best British actresses of all time with decades of film credits to her name. Walters has won two BAFTA Film Awards,four BAFTA TV Awards, the International Emmy award for A Short Stay in Switzerland in 2009, followed by receiving the BAFTA Fellowship in 2014.

Aside from Harry Potter, Walters has appeared in Calendar Girls, Brave and Mamma Mia! For her services to drama, Walters received a Damehood from the Queen in 2017.

Hermione Granger was undoubtedly the brains behind all of her dangerous adventures with Harry and Ron. The leading lady of the franchise never disappointed when it came to coming up with something brilliant or putting the boys in their place.

Hermione’s strong-willed and fearless nature proved that she was a true Gryffindor at heart and her involvement in destroying Voldemort’s Horcruxes and the triumphant Battle of Hogwarts was instrumental. Hermione eventually found love with Ron Weasley and later became the Minister for Magic.

Watson started her career in Harry Potter at the young age of 11, but her career didn’t struggle after the franchise came to a close. Watson went on to appear in My Week with Marilyn, The Perks of Being a Wallflower and The Bling Ring, before taking a hiatus from acting to attend college at Brown University.

After graduating in 2014, Watson threw herself into her career and was cast as Belle in the 2017 live action Disney adaptation of Beauty and the Beast. 

Professor of Divination, Sybill Trelawney, might have come across as a weird and eccentric character in the franchise, but she was actually an integral part in prophesying major events.

She predicted that a boy would be born in July who had the power to defeat the dark lord and speaking the famous words “either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives…” Sybill also predicted the escape of Peter Pettigrew and the return of Lord Voldemort.

Emma Thompson is truly one of the most acclaimed actresses in Britain, appearing in hugely successful films including Love Actually, Angels in America, Nanny McPhee, Stranger than Fiction, Last Chance Harvey and Men in Black 3. 

Thompson has also won two Academy Awards, and a number of BAFTA Awards. In 2013, Thompson received a number of nominations and critical acclaim for her role as P. L. Travers in Saving Mr. Banks. Later, in 2017, Thompson appeared in Disney live action movie Beauty and the Beast.

We met Dolores Umbridge Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix as the plotting and conniving Senior Undersecretary to the Minister for Magic, before being installed as the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor at Hogwarts, followed by the Hogwarts High Inquisitor.

Umbridge’s ruthless tactics and tyrannical leadership led her to fire Dumbledore and become Headmistress of Hogwarts. Umbridge despised Harry Potter and often discredited his claims, resorting to torture in one instance. However, it didn’t last and centaurs took care of her.

Imelda Staunton has appeared in a number of films and theatre productions in her career, winning her four Olivier Awards, with an additional 11 nominations. For her acting, she has won a BAFTA award and had nominations for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

In her career, Imelda has appeared in films including  Nanny McPhee, Gypsy, Pride, and The Girl, amongst others. In 2017, she appeared in three movies including Paddington 2, Finding Your Feet and The Actor’s Apprenticeship.

Madam Hooch was the Quidditch instructor at Hogwarts and taught first years how to fly on broomsticks. Her opening statement when teaching first years to fly was “Flying is not unlike walking.

It’s just much more difficult, and far more dangerous.” It was in Madam Hooch’s first class that Draco Malfoy forced Harry Potter to fly alone and catch Neville Longbottom’s Remembrall, leading him to almost be expelled. However, this was the first and last film she appeared in.

Other than her appearance in Harry Potter, Wanamaker has had quite the successful career in films, appearing in the film My Week with Marilyn, as well appearing in TV shows including sitcom My Family, as well as dramas Agatha Christie’s Poirot, and Mr Selfridge. 

For her services to drama, Zoe was appointed a Commander of the British Empire in 2001. Recently, Zoe plays Gail in Girlfriends, as well as Antedia in Britannia, showing no signs of slowing down her career.

Narcissa Malfoy was the mother of Draco Malfoy and wife of Death Eater, Lucius. Narcissa made Severus Snape make the unbreakable vow to protect Draco and step in if Draco could not perform the task the Dark Lord asked him to do.

Despite associating herself with Death Eaters, Narcissa’s number one priority was her family and she even lied to Voldemort when checking if Harry Potter was in fact dead. Due to Draco being alive, she chose to protect Potter’s life.

As it turned out, McCrory was not intended to play the role of Narcissa Malfoy and she was given the part of Bellatrix Lestrange. However, this all changed when Helen fell pregnant and couldn’t play the recurring role of Bellatrix, but producers later gave her the part of Narcissa.

Since Harry Potter, McCrory has also appeared in Scorsese film Hugo, Skyfall, Peaky Blinders and Fearless. In 2017, Helen was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to drama.

Nymphadora Tonks was an Auror and in the second Order of the Phoenix, taking part in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries and the Battle of the Astronomy Tower, all while falling in love with Remus Lupin.

They had a child together, Teddy, and despite Lupin’s worries that Teddy would share his werewolf condition, he didn’t and instead inherited his mother’s metamorphic abilities. When Tonks was killed by her aunt Bellatrix Lestrange, Teddy was raised by her mother and Teddy’s godfather, Harry Potter.

Following her tragic death on Harry Potter, Natalia went full speed ahead with her career and won herself a role on hugely successful HBO show Game of Thrones, appearing as Osha.

In 2015, Natalia starred as the lead in British mini-series Residue before being cast as Sara Morten in the CBS drama Wisdom of the Crowd in 2017. When Tena is not acting, she is showing off her vocals as the lead singer in her band, Molotov Jukebox. She really is a triple threat.

Also known as the Grey Lady, Helena Ravenclaw lived in the 10th and 11th century but was murdered by the Bloody Baron when she refused to return home with him, after running away to Albania with her mother’s diadem.

Both Helena and the Bloody Baron returned to Hogwarts Castle as ghosts, and Helena proved instrumental in helping Harry Potter hunt Voldemort’s Horcruxes, one of which was her mother’s diadem. Helena made the mistake of trusting Voldemort and telling him about the diadem.

Although Kelly Macdonald only appeared in one Harry Potter film, she has appeared in many other notable movies including Trainspotting, Gosford Park, Intermission, Nanny McPhee, The Girl in the Cafe and No Country for Old Men. 

She has won a number of notable awards including an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie as well as being nominated for a Golden Globe and a BAFTA. Macdonald went on to star in Boardwalk Empire for five seasons. 

Harry Potter and the Goblet Of Fire brought in two new wizarding schools, one of which was the witches school Beauxbatons. Led by Fleur Delacour, the wizards of Hogwarts stared in awe of the girls, particularly Ron Weasley.

Fleur was a contestant in the Triwizard Tournament but failed to complete the second challenge. Fleur eventually found love with Bill Weasley and their wedding was held at the Weasley house, before being disrupted by Death Eaters.

The French actress’ career did not die down when Harry Potter came to a close, and instead she took on many film and TV roles. In the fourth season of Gossip Girl, she played Chuck Bass’ girlfriend Eva, and in 2010, Poésy appeared alongside James Franco in the Danny Boyle film, 127 Hours. 

In 2012, Poésy made her Broadway debut in Cyrano de Bergerac, playing the role of Roxane and most recently in 2013, she took the lead role in Sky Atlantic/Canal+ series The Tunnel.

While Hagrid was the first half-giant we came across in Harry Potter, the second was the headmistress of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, Olympe Maxime.

Hagrid did everything possible to try and impress Olympe, from taming his hair, putting on his best clothes and revealing the secret Triwizard dragons. However, being a half-giant was something that Maxime fiercely denied and said that she was just “big boned.” Maxime and Hagrid later toured Europe to stop the giants from joining Voldemort’s army.

Frances managed to fool audiences into believing that she was French, but she is actually a British actress. Following her role as a half-giant, Frances appeared in a number of critically acclaimed films including Tim Burton ‘s Alice in Wonderland in 2010, The Book of Eli and Hugo.

In 2013, she took on another role of a headmistress in BBC sitcom Big School and in 2016, she joined the second season of Outlander. Frances has won three Olivier awards, one Tony award and had numerous BAFTA nominations.

Mrytle Warren, most commonly known after her death as ‘Moaning Myrtle’ was a ghost that haunted the second-floor girls’ bathroom at Hogwarts. We later found out that Myrtle was the student killed after finding the Chamber of Secrets by Salazar Slytherin’s Basilisk, under the orders of Voldemort.

Myrtle was often heard crying in the bathroom, hence her nickname, and when she wasn’t, she was crushing on Harry Potter. Myrtle proved to be very useful when figuring out clues for the Triwizard Tournament.

Shirley Henderson was a well established actress even before her role in Harry Potter, and she was a main part in Bridget Jones’s Diary and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. In 2008, Henderson appeared in Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, and in 2017 she appeared in the Netflix film Okja. 

In addition, the Scottish actress won a BAFTA nomination for her role in the miniseries Southcliffe. Recently, Shirley switched from the silver screen to the stage and she began appearing in a number of theatre productions.

Although Harry Potter was filled with action, there were still plenty of romances and love interests. Harry Potter’s first crush was Cho Chang, but the Ravenclaw student had eyes for Triwizard contestant Cedric Diggory.

The two were dating in her fifth year until Cedric was tragically killed by Peter Pettigrew. Following this, Cho joined Dumbledore’s army, led by Harry, and the two shared their first kiss in the Room of Requirement. However, Cho and Harry didn’t last, and they found love elsewhere.

When Harry Potter finished, Katie Leung admitted that she was unsure whether she wanted to continue her career in acting. However, after attending a drama school, she gained a new found love and went on perform in some stage shows.

In 2012, Leung starred in a drama series called Run, as well as BBC‘s crime drama series Father Brown crime drama series. It wasn’t until 2017 that Leung headed back into feature films as she co-starred with Jackie Chan and Pierce Brosnan in The Foreigner.

Lily Evans was a muggle-born before discovering that she was a witch. We later found out that it was Severus Snape who introduced her to this world, but Lily eventually found love with James Potter at Hogwarts.

The two were married and had one son, Harry, but shortly after his birth, Lily and James were murdered by Voldemort after defying him three times. Lily appeared in the movies through her Patronus and talking to Harry before sacrificing himself to Voldemort.

Despite the vast majority remembering Geraldine as Lily Potter, the British actress has appeared in a number of notable films, making her name recognizable even outside of the Potter franchise. Geraldine was most commonly known for her role as Detective Sergeant Jane Penhaligon in Cracker, for which she was nominated for a BAFTA.

She later appeared in films including My Week with Marilyn in 2011, and Grace of Monaco, in 2014 where she took on the starring role of Princess Antoinette of Monaco.

Madam Professor Pomona Sprout was not only the Head of Hufflepuff house, she was also the Head of the Herbology department at Hogwarts.

Sprout was another Hogwarts professor who opposed Lord Voldemort and the Mandrakes that she grew became the cure for those students who had been petrified Slytherin’s Monster. Although Madam Sprout did not have a huge part in the franchise, she was present at the Battle of Hogwarts, protecting the school and fighting the Death Eaters.

The younger generation might only recognize Miriam Margolyes from her role in Harry Potter, she has actually been in the industry for over five decades. In recent years, she appeared in The Real Marigold Hotel, alongside eight celebrities, where they traveled to India to discover whether retirement would be better there, or in the UK.

For her services to acting, she was appointed Order of the British Empire, but in 2013, she became an Australian citizen, therefore holding dual citizenship.

Lavender Brown was a student at Hogwarts and sorted into the Gryffindor house. Once she began studying divination, she became increasingly close with Professor Sybill Trelawney. Despite Brown initially shooting down claims that Voldemort had returned, she later joined Dumbledore’s Army, led by Harry Potter.

Lavender became obsessed with Ron Weasley and they were seen kissing in public a lot once they started dating. Ron quickly drew tired of her and they eventually broke up. Brown was later killed by werewolf Fenrir Greyback.

Following her role as Lavender in Harry Potter, Cave made her West End debut in a revival of Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia. She went on to appear in Breed, for which she won the Off West-End stage award.

In 2015, Cave published a book of cartoons called Lovesick and then went into fashion, creating a range of boho style pants, appropriately called “Cave Pants.” In 2016, she had a small role on Call the Midwife and recently, she has been doing stand up comedy shows.

The Fat Lady was a portrait that guarded the entrance to the Gryffindor Tower at Hogwarts. The Fat Lady would request Gryffindor students to say the password before she opened up the portrait so that they could go to their dorms.

When Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban and headed to Hogwarts, he pulled the portrait off the wall but it was later restored by Argus Finch, the caretaker. The Fat Lady was seen sobbing when Snape killed Dumbledore.

British actress, writer, and comedian, Dawn French has had a hugely successful career and was best known for starring as Geraldine Granger in the sitcom The Vicar of Dibley, as well as writing for the comedy sketch show French and Saunders with comedy partner Jennifer Saunders.

French has been nominated for seven BAFTA’s and won a BAFTA Fellowship together with Saunders. Recently, she has been starring as Gina Benelli in Delicious as well as continuing to star in French and Saunders. 

Charity Burbage was the Professor of Muggle Studies at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Burbage believed that muggles were not so different from wizards and witches, something that she also taught her students.

Charity wrote an article in the Daily Prophet about her views during the Second Wizarding War, which inevitably led to her death by Lord Voldemort at a death eater meeting at Malfoy Manor. When Burbage begged Snape to tell the Dark Lord that they were friends, he denied.

After appearing in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, Pickles went on to star in many TV series. She played Mrs. Gulliver in Land Girls, Maureen Riley in Law & Order, and had a number of roles on EastEnders, Holby City and Doctors.

Recently, Pickles has had a recurring role on Broadchurch since 2013, playing Maggie Radcliffe, and in 2018, she played Rita Fenton on the TV series Vera. One of Carolyn’s daughters, Lucy, followed in her mother’s footsteps and went into acting.

Parvati Patil attended the Yule Ball with Harry Potter, and her twin sister, Padma, went with Ron. Despite the two dressing and looking the same, Parvati was sorted into Gryffindor house while Padma was sorted into Ravenclaw.

When Potter started Dumbledore’s Army to defeat Lord Voldemort and the death eaters, Parvati attended all of the training and was an active member in the army in the Battle of Hogwarts. It seemed that Dean Thomas took a liking to her.

Chowdhury was born in Denbigh, Wales to Bangladeshi parents who migrated to the U.K. in 1980. She went to acting school before being cast in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. 

Although Afshan Azad played her twin in the movies, they were not related in real life and just good friends. In 2015 she was cast in two short films, titled I Am The Doorway and Heist: Jane.

Marjorie Dursley was the older sister of Vernon Dursley and aunt of Dudley. She had a career in breeding bulldogs and wouldn’t go anywhere without her favorite ferocious dog, Ripper. When Marjorie visited the Dursley’s for tea, she enraged Harry Potter by speaking badly of his parents, leading him to use magic outside of Hogwarts.

As a result, Marjorie’s body inflated and she flew away from the Dursley’s house. Her memory was later erased by the Ministry Of Magic.

Pam Ferris was no stranger to playing a nasty woman in movies as she took on the role of Miss. Trunchbull in the Roald Dahl movie adaptation of Matilda. Between 2010 and 2011, Ferris made an appearance on a number of TV shows including the sitcom Grandma’s House, as well as Midsomer Murders and Luther.

Later on from 2012 until 2016, she played the role of Sister Evangelina in the series Call The Midwife, and in 2015, she was a guest on BBC’s Essential Classics.

Pansy was a student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and sorted into Slytherin house, where she became a prefect in fifth year. When the Second Wizarding War broke out, Pansy spoke out and wanted to turn Harry Potter over to Lord Voldemort to save the rest of them.

It was Professor McGonagall that made the decision to send Slytherin to the dungeons in the outbreak of the war, so it was assumed they stayed there and survived.

After appearing in the last few Harry Potter films, Scarlett went on to play the role of Brittany in Lake Placid: The Final Chapter, followed by appearing in short videos for Jessie Cave’s website Pindippy.

In 2015, Byrne joined the cast of The Vampire Diaries and went on to have an important role in twelve episodes of the show, before being killed off. That same year, it was announced that Byrne was engaged to Hugh Hefner’s son, Cooper.

Padma Patil was Ron Weasley’s date to the Yule Ball, after her sister went with Harry Potter. Ron seemed like he wasn’t remotely interested in Padma, and his eyes were constantly diverted at Hermione Granger, who was Viktor Krum’s date.

Padma and her twin sister ended up leaving Ron and Harry for boys from Beauxbatons. Padma was a Ravenclaw and later became a prefect, before becoming a part of Dumbledore’s Army and fighting in the Battle of Hogwarts.

Following her part as Padma Patil in Harry Potter, Azad made some friends for life in the cast and told the press that  Bonnie Wright, Katie Leung, Evanna Lynch, and Scarlett Byrne were some of her best friends.

She also admitted that she was close to her on-screen twin sister, Shefali Chowdhury despite them not being related in real life. When Azad was just 22-years-old, she was attacked by her brother and father for being in a relationship with a non-muslim man.

Petunia Dursely was the muggle-born sister of Lily Potter and became Harry Potter’s legal guardian. Petunia neglected Harry and together with her husband Vernon and son, Dudley, they used Harry as their housekeeper, even making him sleep in the cupboard under the stairs.

When Hagrid arrived to tell Harry that he had been accepted to Hogwarts, Petunia became angry and all was revealed about his magical parents and the truth about their death. Petunia and her family later left their home to escape Voldemort.

It seems that starring in supernatural movies suited Shaw and following Harry Potter, she went on to star in the fourth season of True Blood as well as Dorian Grey. 

Nevertheless, Shaw made the successful transition from the screen to the stage and she has worked extensively with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre and became a two time Olivier award winner. It is safe to say that Shaw will always be remembered as the calculating Petunia Dursley.  

Bellatrix Lestrange was one of the most loyal, dangerous and sadistic Death Eaters, and she had a thirst for half-bloods and Muggle-borns. Bellatrix managed to escape Azkaban in the breakout of 1996 and made it her mission to murder anyone who was a member of the Order of the Phoenix.

Bellatrix inflicted pain and torture upon anyone involved with Harry, including Hermione, and even killed Harry’s Godfather Sirius Black and the kind-hearted free-elf, Dobby. She was killed by Molly Weasley.

Carter’s brilliant acting in Harry Potter managed to terrify audiences in many of the films. Helena seems to have a gift in playing evil, intimidating and unusual characters, taking on roles in many of her ex-husband, Tim Burton’s movies including Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Alice in Wonderland and Corpse Bride.

Helena’s acting has earned her a number of impressive awards, as well as an Academy Award nomination. The British actress will soon take to the screen in the highly anticipated Ocean’s 8. 

We first came across Ginny Weasley in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone when she wished Harry “good luck” when running onto Platform 9 and 3/4. Ginny reappeared when she attended Hogwarts and was sorted into Gryffindor, all while developing a huge crush on Harry.

The attraction between the two grew in the films, making brother Ron very uncomfortable, and Ginny even fought alongside Harry in the Battle of Hogwarts. Ginny and Harry were later married and they had three children together.

While filming Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 and Part 2, Wright attended London’s University of the Arts to study as a Film and Television Production Manager due to her desire to work behind-the-scenes after Harry Potter came to a close.

Bonnie then created her own production company, Bon Bon Lumiere , writing and directing a number of short films. In addition, Bonnie was signed to a modeling agency, participating in shows at London Fashion Week and modeling for magazines and different campaigns. 

At Hogwarts, many people perceived Luna Lovegood to be quite strange, but there was actually a method to her madness. Despite Luna’s eccentricities, she was an important part of the uprising against the Dark Lord, participating in both the Battle of the Department of Mysteries and the Battle of the Astronomy Tower.

Luna also co-led and reconstituted Dumbledore’s army, before being captured by Death Eaters and held ransom in Malfoy Manor, before being rescued by Dobby. Luna found love with Neville Longbottom.

Following Lynch’s work on the Harry Potter franchise, she went on to appear in teen comedy G.B.F., before going on to appear in British stage production Houdini, as the wife and assistant of famous magician Harry Houdini.

In 2014, it was announced that Lynch would take on a starring role in the Irish-produced film My Name Is Emily, and in 2017, Lynch won the part to star in a revival of Enda Walsh‘s Disco Pigs. She is also a member of the Harry Potter Alliance (HPA.)