Daniela Nardini

Nardini currently lives in Glasgow with her partner, Ivan Stein, a former civil servant-turned-chef, and their daughter, her eldest son Kieranzo Nardini Born in Naples and brought up in Edinburgh, Kieranzo was educated at one of Edinburgh’s top schools George Heriot’s School, he now is a Radio Producer for Capital FM and Radio X and also previously lived in Chelsea in London and now resides in Glasgow. She had previously lived in Notting Hill in London, but moved back to Scotland after the birth of her daughter.

Nardini plays Chris Guthrie's mother in the 2015 film of Sunset Song.

In late November 2012, Nardini joined the cast of BBC One's drama Waterloo Road for the third instalment of its eighth series, filming on location in Greenock, Scotland. Her character, Esther Fairclough, is a passionate, driven but maverick science teacher who has an unconventional approach to inspiring her pupils. Nardini says: "Esther is mildly dangerous with the potential to get more so. She is passionate about her cause but unfortunately doesn't know how to encourage and promote her views without getting carried away."

She played ruthless estate agent, Meredith McIlvanney, in the Annie Griffin comedy-drama New Town, shown on BBC Four in February 2009, for which she won a Scottish BAFTA. Other television appearances include Reckless (1997); Big Women (1998); Undercover Heart (1998); Love in the 21st Century (1999); Tube Tales (1999); Rough Treatment (2000); Sirens (2002); Outside the Rules (2002) and Quite Ugly One Morning (2004).

In 2007 Nardini played Servalan in B7 Productions Blake's 7 Audio adventures.

She appeared as Lady Huntly in the four-hour BBC epic Gunpowder, Treason & Plot in 2004, and played a shopaholic in Shiny, Shiny Bright New Hole in My Heart, again for the BBC, in 2006. Also in 2006, she reprised the role of Anna Forbes for the 10th anniversary reunion episode of This Life (This Life +10), which was shown on BBC Two in January 2007, and in November 2007, she read a story for Junior Jackanory on CBeebies. She appeared in an episode of the Inspector Morse spin-off series Lewis in 2008.

She has appeared in several films, including Elephant Juice (1999), written by This Life creator Amy Jenkins; Cargo (2004), and Festival (2005), a film comedy about the Edinburgh Festival. Although the film was not well received by critics and performed poorly at the box office, it was nominated for six Scottish BAFTAs. She also has extensive stage experience including the lead role in David McVicar's production of Camille at the Lyric, Hammersmith in 2003; Top Girls at the Citizens Theatre, Glasgow (2004) and Cue Deadly at the Riverside Studios (2004). In 2005, Nardini appeared in the title role in Etta Jenks at the Finborough Theatre, London. Between July and October 2009, she appeared in A Streetcar Named Desire at the Donmar Warehouse in London.

Daniela Nardini (born 26 April 1968, Largs) is a Scottish actress of Italian ancestry, who played Anna Forbes in the BBC Two television series This Life. The role earned her a BAFTA Best Actress award in 1998 and also earned her a Scottish BAFTA. She won a second Scottish BAFTA in 2009 for her role in Annie Griffin's New Town.