I can’t promise anything, but you just might bump into some famous people from Suffolk. Here are a few names that were either born or have homes in Suffolk.
This article has been updated, thanks to you for letting us know of the notable people that were missing.
Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Fiennes was born in Ipswich in 1962 and grew up in the area with his five siblings. He went on to be a multi-award winning actor staring in films such as Schindler’s List, The Constant Gardener, The Grand Budapest Hotel, the Harry Potter and James Bond film series.
Ruth Rendell
Ruth Rendell, the famed author, best known for her crime series featuring Chief Inspector Wexford lived in Polstead, and in 1997 and later became Baroness Rendell of Babergh (of Aldeburgh in the County of Suffolk).
Suffolk features in many of Ruth’s including Make Death Love Me begins and the robbery of the Anglia Victoria. Sudbury was the setting for Gallowglass. Whilst in the book No Night is Too Long, she wrote about Orford and Aldeburgh. Polstead and Nayland for A Fatal Inversion and also Bury St Edmunds and the surrounding area for The Brimstone Wedding.
George Orwell
George Orwell is best know for his works Ninteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm. His father set up the family home in Southwold . George spent many years there during his youth. The family was well established within community with his sister Avril running tea house in the town. In 1935 he published A Clergyman’s Daughter, based on his life as a teacher and his experiences in Southwold.
Griff Rhys Jones
Star of stage and screen, Griff Rhys Jones has a home in Holbrook on the banks of the River Stour, at the Shotley Peninsular in Suffolk. Rising to comedic fame with Mel Smith in Not The Nine O’clock News and Alas Smith and Jones, Griff went on to be a presenter and documentary maker. A avid sailor and yachtsman, Griff gave us the TV series Three Men in a Boat and River Journeys featuring Pin Mill and the River Orwell. Over the years some of his boats are based at Shotley Marina.
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran moved with his parents at a young age to Framlingham, Suffolk. There he learned guitar and began writing songs whilst at Thomas Mills High School in Framlingham. His big break was in 2011 with his
debut single “The A Team” reaching number 3 in the UK chart. He has since
sold over 45 million albums and 100 million singles worldwide. The 2016 single Castle on the Hill is a reference to Framlingham Castle.
Benjamin Britten
Benjamin Britten, the famous composer, conductor and pianist was born in Lowestoft in 1913. He went to school at the Old Buckingham Hall School, Brettenham in Suffolk, starting private music lessons 1927, marking the beginning of his famous musical career. Benjamin wrote Peter Grimes in 1945 and went on to write 14 more operas, establishing himself as one of the leading 20th-century composers. He founded the Aldeburgh Festival in 1947, a classical music English arts festival and later became Baron Britten of Aldeburgh. He died in 1976 and is buried St. Peter and St. Paul’s Church, Aldeburgh. Oh, and check your loose change – you might just have a Benjamin Britten 50 pence coin which were minted in his honour in 2013.
Bob Hoskins
Bob Hoskins was actually born in Bury St Edmunds in 1942 after his mother was evacuated to Suffolk from London as a result of the heavy bombings. His acting career started in the 1960’s and he went on to be well known and award-winning actor often cast into the role of a tough Cockney gangster. His best know films are The Long Good Friday, Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Mona Lisa.
Sir Peter Hall CBE
Another child of Bury St Edmunds, Sir Peter Hall CBE was born in 1930. Peter best known for founding the Royal Shakespeare Company in the late 1960’s, originally he made his mark 1955 where is he produced the Samuel Beckett play Waiting for Godot. In 1974, Peter made the film ‘Akenfield’ based on the Ronald Blythe book ‘Akenfield: Portrait of an English Village’.
Described as a work of rural realism and based East Anglia, the film saw appearances from both Ronald and Peter as well as real-life villagers who improvised their own dialogue.
Anthony Horowitz
Anthony Horowitz, the novelist and screenwriter specialising mystery and suspense, described his perfect day in an interview with The Daily Mail as:
“I’d start with scrambled eggs at Orford with Jill and our sons Nicholas, 24, and Cassian, 22. I’d write until midday then walk along the coast, ending at Orford Castle.”
June Brown
Although famous for playing the Eastender, Dot Cotton for 27 years, actress June Brown was born in Needham Market in 1927. She went to St John’s Church of England school in Ipswich and later Ipswich High School. At the British Soap Awards in 2005, June won Best Actress and the Lifetime Achievement award.
Simon Mayo
The well know longstanding BBC radio 1 & 2 presenter, Simon Mayo has a home in Walberswick, Suffolk. He has been on our radios since 1982 and brought us ‘Confessions’ where members of the public sought absolution for their (often frivolous or humorous) “sins”. He was influenced by the local Suffolk churches for characters in his series of books.
Bill Nighy
Bill Nighy lives in Aldeburgh. He is best known for Love Actually, Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and has won many awards over his long career. When speaking to the Telegraph about Suffolk he said “I generally go to the Suffolk coast. We used to spend all our summers there, particularly when our daughter was small. I love the area with all my heart: Dunwich for dramatic cliffs; Aldeburgh for tea and world-class fish ‘n’ chips and Walberswick for sandy beaches and crabbing.”
Twiggy
Twiggy was at the peak of her career during the mid 1960’s. However, it was in Southwold that her modelling career was relaunched with a chance encounter in a pub with Marks & Spencer’s executive marketing director. She now has a home in Southwold with her husband Leigh Lawson. You even might spot her shopping for food at the Suffolk markets.
Maggie Hemingway
Maggie Hemingway (Margaret Joan Hemingway) was a British writer born in Orford in 1946. A distant relative of Ernest Hemingway, she earned an MA from the University of Edinburgh before establishing herself as a novelist. She won the Royal Society of Literature’s Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize for the best regional novel of the year, a work set around Southwold and Dunwich that explored the life and artistic struggles of impressionist painter Philip Wilson Steer. This novel was later adapted into a 1992 film starring Saskia Reeves, filmed in Walberswick and Southwold, Suffolk. Hemingway also collaborated with composer David Matthews during her career. Tragically, she passed away in 1993 in her late 40s due to a rare blood disorder, a condition eerily reminiscent of the so-called “Hemingway curse.”
Thomas Gainsborough
Thomas Gainsborough (1727–1788) was an English painter born in Sudbury, Suffolk, known for his elegant portraits and landscapes. A founding member of the Royal Academy, he painted works like The Blue Boy and Mr. and Mrs. Andrews, blending Rococo influences with a love for nature. Though famous for portraits, he preferred landscapes, capturing light and texture masterfully. His work remains influential and is displayed in major galleries worldwide.
Cardinal Thomas Wolsey
Cardinal Thomas Wolsey (c. 1473–1530) was a powerful English statesman and churchman who served as Lord Chancellor to King Henry VIII. Born in Ipswich, Suffolk, he rose from humble origins to become one of the most influential figures in Tudor England. As Archbishop of York and later a cardinal, he played a key role in diplomatic and political affairs, overseeing England’s foreign policy and legal system. However, his failure to secure Henry VIII’s annulment from Catherine of Aragon led to his downfall. Stripped of power, he was arrested but died of illness before facing trial. His legacy includes the foundation of Christ Church, Oxford, and Ipswich School.
Sir Alfred Munnings
Sir Alfred Munnings (1878–1959) was a renowned British painter, famous for his vibrant depictions of horses and rural life. Born in Mendham, Suffolk, he showed artistic talent from an early age and trained at the Norwich School of Art. Munnings gained recognition for his equestrian paintings, capturing movement and energy with bold brushstrokes. He served as President of the Royal Academy from 1944 to 1949 and was a strong critic of modern art. His works remain highly valued and are displayed in major galleries, including the National Gallery and the Tate Britain.
Jeremy Wade
Jeremy Wade is a British biologist, TV presenter, and extreme angler, best known for hosting River Monsters, a wildlife documentary series that explored mysterious freshwater fish. Born on March 23, 1956, in Ipswich, Suffolk, Wade developed a passion for fishing along the River Stour in his childhood. He later earned a degree in zoology from the University of Bristol and a postgraduate teaching certificate in biological sciences from the University of Kent. His career has taken him around the world, from the Amazon to the Congo, searching for rare aquatic species. In addition to his television work, Wade has authored books such as Somewhere Down the Crazy River (1994) and River Monsters (2011). He continues to explore underwater mysteries through his show Mysteries of the Deep
Reece Ritchie
Reece Ritchie is an English actor born on July 23, 1986, in Lowestoft, Suffolk. He is best known for his roles in The Lovely Bones (2009), Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010), and Hercules (2014), where he played Hercules’ nephew Iolaus. Ritchie studied at the Benjamin Britten Music Academy and later joined the National Youth Theatre, which helped launch his acting career. He has also appeared in stage productions, including A Midsummer Night’s Dream. His heritage is mixed, with an Afro-South African father and an English mother.
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (1836–1917) was a pioneering English physician and the first woman in Britain to qualify as a doctor. Born in Whitechapel, London, but raised in Aldeburgh, Suffolk, she defied societal norms by obtaining her medical education through private study and passing the Society of Apothecaries’ exam in 1865. She later co-founded the London School of Medicine for Women and became the first female mayor in England, serving in Aldeburgh. Her efforts helped pave the way for women’s acceptance into the medical profession.
John Constable
Last and most certainly not least, we come to John Constable. The famous English landscape painter and the reason why Suffolk is known as “Constable Country”. Born in East Bergholt in 1776 and having said himself “I should paint my own places best”, his landscape paintings of Dedham Vale which is his home area surrounding area, sums up the stunning beauty of Suffolk.
