The world of audiobook narration is filled with talented voices bringing stories to life for listeners. There are many skilled narrators of all backgrounds, but British women’s voices have cultivated a particularly strong presence in the field. From English literature classics to exciting thrillers and kid’s books, these female narrator’s warm tones expertly capture the spirit of the books they are reading. This list highlights 35 of the most acclaimed British female audiobook narrators.
*** Enjoy a podcast recap of this article, available through Google NotebookLM:
These female British audiobook narrator voices immerse listeners in everything from classic British audiobooks and thrilling mysteries to great non-fiction. For an enlightening auditory experience, try one of the selected works of these 35 English narrators exhibiting the very best of British female voices.
Affiliate Disclosure: We may be compensated for qualified purchases from links in this article, at no cost to you. Thank you ! You can read full disclosure, here.
British Female Audiobook Narrators
When compiling this list, we came across some interesting things of note. The largest interesting trait we found that many of these female British Audiobook Narrators is that many of them are multiple threats on the stage, small scree and large screen. They certainly do not let the moss grow under their feet !
As with all of our lists, these are in no particular order, so don’t get bent out of shape if one of your favs is not at the top of the list !
– The background images in this post are AI generated images made from NightCafe Creator AI.
Sources:
The list was compiled from the author’s own experience, and from Audible.
The information on each subject on the list comes from their Wikipedia, or IMDB page.
1. Emma Thompson
Born: London, England
Awards: Academy, BAFTA, Emmy, Golden Globe, Grammy, SAG and multiple independent awards
Performance Medium: Stage, TV, Film, Writer, Music video and Narrations
Narration Genre: Period, Children’s, Memoir
Narration Voice: Sophisticated, soothing
Must Listen:
Get audiobook here.
2. Juliet Stevenson
Born: Kelvedon, England
Awards: Critics’ Circle Theatre Award, Laurence Olivier Award and
Performance Medium: Stage, TV, Film and Narrations
Narration Genre: Classics, Period, Memoir
Narration Voice: Expressive
Must Listen:
Get audiobook here.
3. Finty Williams
Born: London, England
Performance Medium: Stage, TV, Film, Radio and Narrations
Narration Genre: Children’s, Classics, Fantasy, other
Narration Voice: Versatile, soft
Must Listen:
Get audiobook here.
4. Helen Lloyd
Born: North Wales, UK
Performance Medium: TV, Radio, Stage and Narration
Narration Genre: Classics, Period and multiple other genres
Narration Voice: Sophisticated and mature
Must Listen:
Get audiobook here.
5. Fiona Hardingham
Born: Tunbridge Wells, UK
Awards: 7 AudioFiles Earphones Awards
Performance Medium: Film, Producer and Narrator
Narration Genre: Young Adult, Thrillers, Multiple
Narration Voice: Multiple accents
Must Listen:
Get audiobook here.
6. Anna Bentinck
Born: Alton, Hampshire, England, UK
Performance Medium: Film and Narrator
Narration Genre: Classics, Period, Thriller and Fantasy (Harry Potter)
Must Listen:
Get audiobook here.
7. Samantha Bond
Born: Kensington, UK
Awards: Multiple Nominations
Performance Medium: Stage, TV, Film and Narrator
Narration Genre: Classics, Radio, Romance
Narration Voice: Rich
Must Listen:
Get audiobook here.
8. Sian Thomas
Born: Stratford-upon-Avon, UK
Performance Medium: Stage, TV, Film and Narrations
Narration Genre: Classics, Historical
Narration Voice: Rich
Must Listen:
Get audiobook here.
9. Joanna David
Born: Lancaster, UK
Performance Medium: TV and Narration
Narration Genre: Romance and historical
Must Listen:
Get audiobook here.
10. Jilly Bond
Born: London, England
Awards: 4 AudioFiles Earphone Awards
Performance Medium: Narrator
Narration Genre: Thriller
Must Listen:
Get audiobook here.
11. Lucy Scott
Born: Stradsett, UK
Performance Medium: TV, Film and Narration
Narration Genre: Classics, thrillers
Narration Voice: Smooth
Must Listen:
Get audiobook here.
12. Clare Corbett
Awards: Audie Award
Performance Medium: TV, Film, Video Games Voice Over and Narration
Narration Genre: Multiple
Must Listen:
Get audiobook here.
13. Penelope Keith
Born: Sutton, UK
Awards: Olivier Award, BAFTA
Performance Medium: Stage, TV, Film, Radio and Narration
Narration Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Narration Voice: Crisp and warm
Must Listen:
Get audiobook here.
14. Catherine Steadman
Born: England, UK
Awards: Audie Award
Performance Medium: TV, Film, Writer and Narration
Narration Genre: Thriller, Mystery
Must Listen:
Get audiobook here.
15. Rosalyn Landor
Born: Hampstead, London
Awards: Audie Award
Performance Medium: Stage, TV, Film and Narrations
Narration Genre: Historical Romance
Narration Voice: Versatile (narrates male and female voices)
Must Listen:
Get audiobook here.
16. Antonia Beamish
Born: England, UK
Performance Medium: Film and Narration
Narration Genre: Historical Romance
Must Listen:
Get audiobook here.
17. Alison Larkin
Born: England, UK
Awards: AudioFile Earphones Award
Performance Medium: Actress, Narration
Narration Genre: Classics, Children, Thriller
Narration Voice: Bright, versatile
Must Listen:
Get audiobook here.
18. Hannah Murray
Born: Bristol, UK
Awards: Multiple Nominations
Performance Medium: TV, Film and Narrations
Narration Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Must Listen:
Get audiobook here.
19. Gemma Whelan
Born: Leeds, UK
Awards: Funny Women Award, WFTV Award
Performance Medium: TV, Film and Narrations
Narration Genre: Multiple
Narration Voice: neutral
Must Listen:
Get audiobook here.
20. Moira Quirk
Born: Rutland, England
Awards: 4 Audie Awards
Performance Medium: Film, TV, Video Game and Audiobook Narrations
Narration Genre: Thriller, Adventure and Comedy
Must Listen:
Get audiobook here.
21. Louise Brealey
Born: Bozeat, UK
Performance Medium: Stage, TV, Film, Radio and Narrations
Narration Genre: Mystery, Comedy
Narration Voice: Confident
Must Listen:
Get audiobook here.
22. Natalie Dormer
Born: Reading, UK
Awards: EWwy Award, NewNowNext Award, Empire Award, CinEuphoria Award
Performance Medium: TV, Film, Video Games, Narrations
Narration Genre: Fantasy
Must Listen:
Get audiobook here.
23. Olivia Colman
Born: Norwich, UK
Awards: a bunch – Academy Award, British Academy TV Award, British Academy Film Award, British Independent Film Award, Golden Globe, Emmy Award, SAG Award
Performance Medium: Stage, TV, Film and Narration
Narration Genre: Various
Narration Voice: Neutral RP, friendly
Must Listen:
Get audiobook here.
24. Florence Pugh
Born: Oxford, UK
Awards: British Independent Film Award
Performance Medium: Film, TV, Music and Narrations
Narration Genre: Classics, Thriller
Narration Voice: RP
Must Listen:
Get audiobook here.
25. Tamsin Greig
Born: Kent, England
Awards: Royal Television Society Award, Critics’ Circle Theatre Award, Olivier Award, WhatsOnStage Award
Performance Medium: Stage, TV, Film, Radio, Narration
Narration Genre: Children’s
Must Listen:
Get audiobook here.
26. Tilda Swinton
Born: Cambridge, UK
Awards: Academy Award, multiple British and European Film and TV Awards, Saturn Award and Volpi Cup Award
Performance Medium: Stage, Film and Narration
Narration Genre: Classic, Nature
Must Listen:
Get audiobook here.
27. Billie Piper
Born: Swindon, UK
Awards: National Television Award, Laurence Olivier Award
Performance Medium: Stage, TV, Film, Music and Narration
Narration Genre: Classic, fantasy
Must Listen:
Get audiobook here.
28. Gemma Arterton
Born: Gravesend, UK
Awards: Empire Award, Glamour Award, Evening Standard Theatre Award, The WIFTS Foundation International Visionary Awards
Performance Medium: Stage, TV, Film and Narration
Narration Genre: Children’s, Thrillers
Must Listen:
Get audiobook here.
29. Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Born: Oxford, England
Awards: Multiple International Film Festival Awards
Performance Medium: Stage, TV, Film, Radio and Narration
Narration Genre: Classic
Must Listen:
Get audiobook here.
30. Hayley Atwell
Born: London, UK
Awards: Ian Charleson Award
Performance Medium: Stage, TV, Film, Radio, Video Game and Audiobook Narrations
Narration Genre: Various
Must Listen:
Get audiobook here.
31. Helena Bonham Carter
Born: London, UK
Awards: BAFTA, Critic’s Choice, International Emmy, SAG Award
Performance Medium: TV, Film and Narrations
Narration Genre: Classics
Narration Voice: Versatile
Must Listen:
Get audiobook here.
32. Jodie Comer
Born: Liverpool, UK
Awards: BAFTA, Primetime Emmy Award, Tony Award, Laurence Olivier Award
Performance Medium: Stage, TV, Film, Video Game and Audiobook Narrations
Narration Genre: Classic Literature
Must Listen:
Get audiobook here.
33. Kate Winslet
Born: Reading, UK
Awards: Academy Award, Primetime Emmy Award, Grammy, BAFTA and Golden Globe
Performance Medium: TV, Film and Narrations
Narration Genre: Children’s
Must Listen:
Get audiobook here.
34. Claire Foy
Born: Stockport, UK
Awards: Emmy, Golden Globe, Independent Spirit, SAG, Broadcasting Press Guild Award
Performance Medium: Stage, TV, Film and Narration
Narration Genre: Thriller, Classical Literature
Narration Voice: Queen’s English
Must Listen:
Get audiobook here.
35. Zawe Ashton
Born: Hackney, London, UK
Performance Medium: Stage, TV, Film and Narration
Narration Genre: Horror, Thriller
Must Listen:
Get audiobook here.
Final Thoughts: British Female Audiobook Narrators
British female narrators have made an indelible impact in the audiobook world. Their vocal talents have brought many wonderful stories to life for listeners to savor.
We hope you enjoyed this list, more importantly, we hope you find a new narrator to add to your list of favorites.
Affiliate Disclosure: We may be compensated for qualified purchases from links in this article, at no cost to you. Thank you ! You can read full disclosure, here.
Frequent Questions About British Female Audiobook Narrators:
Who are some of the most popular British female audiobook narrators?
The most popular British female audiobook narrators are found on the above list. We scoured every relevant list to compile this, and we got most of them.
What are some of the best audiobooks narrated by British women?
The best audiobooks narrated by British women are on this list. We found most of the top narrators, and then added the top reviewed books by each narrator.
What makes a good British female audiobook narrator?
The qualities that make a good British female audiobook narrator are the same that make any narrator good – practice, dedication and execution.
Related Posts:
Katy B. Rutland
My name is Katy, and storytelling is pretty much my jam. Snuggling up with a good book and escaping into a thrilling movie has been my addiction since I was a little kid. I studied English Lit in college which was literally heaven for a word nerd like me. Since graduating I've focused my passion and energy on writing my own novels and screenplays.