Joanna Lumley

• Television role: Plays Hester Frump - Morticia Addams' mother and Wednesday/Pugsley's grandmother, billed as Grandmama - in Wednesday Season 2 (2025); Netflix's copy (quoted by the Mirror) calls her the 'fabulously wealthy mogul behind Frump Mortuaries,' 'immaculately coiffed, emotionally cold, and armed with a razor-sharp tongue.'
• Signature television role: Patsy Stone in the BBC sitcom Absolutely Fabulous (1992-2012), the role for which she is best known in the UK and which earned her two BAFTA Awards, per the Mirror and Forbes.
• Film role: Aunt Emma in Martin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), named among her major film credits by the Mirror.
• Voice role: Maudeline Everglot in Tim Burton's Corpse Bride (2005), noted by Forbes among her film credits; Lumley reunites with Burton on Wednesday.
• Recent television: Judith Burkett in the Netflix/ITV thriller Fool Me Once (2024) and Felicity Sanderson in Amandaland (2025), per the Mirror and Forbes.

Performance style

• Velvet-steel matriarch — Netflix's own character copy (quoted by the Mirror) describes Hester as 'immaculately coiffed, emotionally cold, and armed with a razor-sharp tongue... calculated in everything she does, from running her empire to managing her family's legacy.' Tim Burton told the Mirror Lumley 'brings so much to it... she's smart, easy and fun to work with.'

Reception

• Wednesday Season 2 (2025): Forbes frames Grandmama as 'one of the many new characters welcoming viewers' and a figure who 'adds a new dimension to the Addams Family'; press positioned the role as a high-profile family-dynamics addition. No negative critique of Lumley's casting was captured in the fetched Tier 1/2 coverage.

Cast they appear alongside

• Catherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia Addams (Wednesday) — Hester Frump's daughter; the two clash in Season 2.
• Luis Guzman as Gomez Addams (Wednesday) — Hester Frump's son-in-law within the Addams family.
• Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams (Wednesday) — Hester Frump's granddaughter; title lead.
• Isaac Ordonez as Pugsley Addams (Wednesday) — Hester Frump's grandson.
• Steve Buscemi as Barry Dort (Wednesday) — Fellow Season 2 cast addition (new principal).
• Christina Ricci as Marilyn Thornhill (Wednesday) — Fellow Addams-family-verse cast member in Season 2.

Who plays Grandmama in Wednesday?

Joanna Lumley plays Hester Frump, billed on screen as Grandmama - Morticia Addams' mother - as a guest star in Season 2 (2025).

What is Hester Frump's connection to the Addams family?

She is Morticia Addams' mother and therefore Wednesday and Pugsley's grandmother (Grandmama). Forbes and the Mirror present her as the wealthy mogul behind Frump Mortuaries who clashes with Morticia.

Is Joanna Lumley a regular or a guest on Wednesday?

She is a guest star in Wednesday Season 2, per Deadline's official cast announcement (which lists her among the Season 2 guest stars as Grandmama).

What is Joanna Lumley best known for?

She is best known as Patsy Stone in the BBC sitcom Absolutely Fabulous (1992-2012), and for film roles including Aunt Emma in The Wolf of Wall Street and the voice of Maudeline Everglot in Corpse Bride.

Does Grandmama appear across both parts of Wednesday Season 2?

Yes. Grandmama is introduced as part of the expanded Addams family in Season 2; the Mirror notes she arrives as Morticia's mother and stirs family conflict, and Tudum includes her in the Season 2 character guide.

• Wednesday — show hub
• Wednesday cast guide
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