Miriam Margolyes made her debut in the Episode: "Enter Solly Gold" of the British television drama anthology series ‘Theatre 625’ in 1965. Following her debut, she went on to appear in television series like ‘Boy Meets Girl’ (1967), ‘Jackanory’ (1968), and ‘Dixon of Dock Green’ (1968). She made her first big-screen appearance in the 1969 British comedy film ‘A Nice Girl Like Me’ directed by Desmond Davis. In 1975, she starred as ‘Dorothy Wordsworth’ in the Raúl daSilva-directed film ‘Rime of the Ancient Mariner.’ The film was a photo animated-live action visualization of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem of the same name. The following year, she was seen playing the role of ‘Mrs. Doe’ in the television series ‘Kizzy.’ She appeared in 2 episodes of the series. She went on to appear in television series like ‘Crown Court’ (1976), ‘The Water Margin’ (1976), ‘Monkey’ (1978), ‘Tales of the Unexpected’ (1980), ‘A Kick Up the Eighties’ (1981), ‘The Black Adder’ (1983), ‘Oliver Twist’ (1985), ‘A Little Princess’ (1986), and ‘Mr Majeika’ (1988).
In 1990, she starred in the American psychological thriller film ‘Pacific Heights’ directed by John Schlesinger. The film received a mixed response from critics and was a financial success. The following year, she was seen playing the role of ‘Gina’ in the American romantic comedy film ‘The Butcher's Wife’ directed by Terry Hughes. The film opened to negative reviews, earning an approval rating of 25% on Rotten Tomatoes. Margolyes next appeared in films like ‘Dead Again’ (1991), ‘The Age of Innocence’ (1993), ‘Ed and His Dead Mother’ (1993), ‘Immortal Beloved’ (1994), and ‘Balto’ (1995). In 1995, she voiced the character ‘Fly the Female Sheepdog’ in the comedy-drama film ‘Babe’ directed by Chris Noonan. The film opened to universal acclaim and was a massive box office success, grossing over $254.1 million against a budget of $30 million. She next appeared in films like ‘Different for Girls’ (1996), ‘Romeo + Juliet’ (1996), ‘Babe: Pig in the City’ (1998), ‘End of Days’ (1999), ‘Cats & Dogs’ (2001), ‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets’ (2002), and ‘Ladies in Lavender’ (2004).Â
Margolyes voiced the character ‘Mrs. Astrakhan’ in the 2006 computer-animated musical comedy film ‘Happy Feet’ directed by George Miller. The film received a positive response from critics and was a major box office, grossing over $384.3 million against a budget of $100 million. In 2008, she starred as ‘Mrs Kowalski’ in the British comedy film ‘How to Lose Friends & Alienate People’ directed by Robert B. Weide. The film opened to a negative reception and was a box office bomb. In 2010, she appeared in the British film ‘A Closed Book’ where she played the role of ‘Mrs. Kilbride.’ The film received a mixed response from critics. She went on to star in films like ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2’ (2011), ‘The Wedding Video’ (2012), ‘The Guilt Trip’ (2012), ‘Maya the Bee’ (2014), ‘The Man Who Invented Christmas’ (2017), and ‘Early Man’ (2018).Â
She was last seen in the 2020 Australian mystery adventure film ‘Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears’ directed by Tony Tilse. The film was met with mixed reviews from critics. She is all set to appear in the upcoming Animated TV Series ‘Rex & Fly's Doggy Penthouse.’
