Author Agatha Christie's Miss Marple is one of the most iconic and historic literary sleuths of all fourth dimension. The apprentice investigator was start introduced in the 1930 novel Murder at the Vicarage, appearing in 11 subsequent novels up until 1976. The grapheme has been portrayed on the stage, on radio, and for our purposes, on the large and small screen several times since the character'due south screen debut in 1961.

Over the past 60 years, Miss Marple has been portrayed by several actresses, many of whom hail from different parts of the globe. To see who did Miss Marple the virtually justice on screen, ringlet below.

Updated July 1st, 2022 by George Chrysostomou Agatha Christie'southward works are still influencing the industry today and Miss Marple is among her most famous creations. With the Knives Out sequel, Glass Onion, taking the audition back to the genre, it'south well worth checking out these archetype portrayals of ane of the all-time detectives out there featuring some fantastic Miss Marple actresses.

10 Inge Langen

Murder At The Vicarage (1970)

Having starred as Miss Marple in a single German production of Murder at the Vicarage in 1970, Inge Langen is the about obscure actress to play the legendary function.

Directed by Hans Quest, the film finds Marple investigating the mysterious murder of a local official who has fatigued out two simulated confessions from innocent suspects. One time Marple clears the married couple who confessed, she works her style through a throng of motivated suspects to solve the murder.

ix Julia McKenzie

Marple (2008-2013) & Masterpiece Mystery (2014)

In 2004, ITV adjusted a serial titled Agatha Christie's Marple, which ran for half-dozen seasons and a full of 23 episodes. In xi of those episodes, Miss Marple was played by British actress Julia McKenzie with a much softer and self-deprecating side.

While McKenzie is no replacement for Geraldine McEwan, who played Marple in the commencement 3 seasons and 12 episodes, she owns brings her ain trademark to the part in such heady chapters equally They Do it With Mirrors and Murder is Easy.

viii Yunjin Kim

Ms. Ma, Nemesis (2018)

Korean actress Yunjin Kim brings a refreshing wrinkle to the character of Miss Marple in the Agatha Christie mash-upwards series, Ms. Ma, Nemesis. So far, Kim has played Marple in 32 episodes and counting.

In addition to Christie's novel Nemesis, the show pulls various storylines from such other works every bit The Body in the Library, A Murder is Announced, The Moving Finger and The Mirror Crack'd From Side to Side. Kim plays Ms. Ma, a younger international spinoff of the character.

seven Ita Ever

Secret Of The Blackbirds (1983) & Miss Marple Stories (1990)

Estonian screen and stage extra Ita E'er became the third person to portray Miss Marple in a feature film. She showtime starred in the role in the Russian adaptation of A Pocket Full of Rye in 1983, which went by a different proper name.

Ever acquitted herself well enough to be asked to reprise the role in a 1990 Tv set adaptation called Miss Marple Stories. In 2005, Ever played Marple for the final time on stage in the translation of The Mirror Crack'd From Side to Side.

6 Kaoru Yachigusa

Agatha Christie'due south Swell Detectives Poirot And Marple (2004-2005)

In 39 episodes produced between 2004 and 2005, Japanese actress Kaoru Yachigusa voiced the role of Miss Marple in the animated TV series Agatha Christie'southward Great Detectives Marple and Poirot. Yachigusa excels with her experience and ability to breathe new life into the role.

Among the various novel and short stories adjusted in the series include Strange Jest, Sleeping Murder, The Bluish Geranium, Ingots of Golden, The Record Measure Murder, and several others.

5 Helen Hayes

A Caribbean Mystery (1983) & Agatha Christie's Murder with Mirrors (1985)

American extra Helen Hayes plays Marple twice on a pair of made-for-tv Christie adaptations. The first came in the 1983 telling ofA Caribbean Mystery and the second came in a 1985 redo of Murder with Mirrors.

Hayes's operation as Marple was noted for being cheery and anodyne, rather than the snarky and sarcastic crank some of the others played the character with. In 1986, Hayes also appeared in Murder is Easy, a non-Marple mystery in which she plays Lavinia Fullerton.

4 Geraldine McEwan

Marple (2004-2007)

Geraldine McEwan brought a caustic seize with teeth to her delineation of Marple on three seasons and 12 episodes of ITV'southward Agatha Christie's Marple from 2005 to 2009.

In addition to being given a rich backstory, McEwan's Marple is notable for how stern, sterile, and unfunny she is. In making a concerted effort to movement away from the most memorable of screen performances of the character, the lack of camp and kitsch makes McEwan one of the virtually unique Marples of all.

iii Joan Hickson

Agatha Christie'south Miss Marple: The Body In The Library (1984), The Moving Finger (1985), A Murder Is Announced (1985), A Pocket Full Of Rye (1985), Masterpiece Mystery (1986), The Murder At The Vicarage (1986), Sleeping Murder (1987), At Bertram'south Hotel (1987), Nemesis (1987), four.fifty From Paddington (1987), A Caribbean Mystery (1989), They Exercise It With Mirrors (1991) & The Mirror Crack'd From Side To Side (1992)

The BBC once adapted all 12 Christie novels almost the character in a series but titled Miss Marple. Joan Hickson, who starting time played the function on stage in 1940, played Marple in all dozen.

Given the sheer breadth of her performance over eight years and 12 feature-length episodes, Hickson branded the character as her very own. As a result, Hickson scored back-to-back BAFTA nods in 1987 and 1988 for Best Actress equally Miss Marple. Hickson likewise won a 1987 Great britain Royal Boob tube Award for All-time Performance in the Marple series. She is easily one of the nearly iconic Miss Marple actresses to appointment.

2 Angela Lansbury

The Mirror Crack'd (1980)

Although Angela Lansbury only played Jane Marple one time via the star-studded 1980 adaptation of The Mirror Crack'd, her interim choices made set her far apart from the pack.

Rather than a doddering elderly woman, Lansbury plays Marple with sharp-minded intelligence who doesn't suffer fools easily. Of course, her 264 episodes ofMurder, She Wrote as the iconic Marple-similar Jessica Fletcher only bolsters her silver medal status.

1 Margaret Rutherford

Murder She Said (1961), Murder At The Gallop (1963), Murder Most Foul (1964), Murder Ahoy (1964) & The Alphabet Murders (1965)

The showtime, best, and most definitive portrayal of Miss Marple belongs to Margaret Rutherford, the London-born extra who offset played the office in the 1962 adaptation of The Mirror Crack'd Side to Side. With no one else to compare her performance, Rutherford owned the role in a mode that was imitated for years.

Rutherford reprised the frumpy, dizzy, and quirky turn equally Marple in several films, including Murder, She Said, Murder At the Gallup, Murder Most Foul, Murder Ahoy!, and The Alphabet Murders.

Side by side: 10 Most Common Tropes in Murder Mystery TV Shows

Next 10 Non-British Actors Who Would Be Great As James Bail

Nearly The Writer

Jake Dee (1281 Articles Published)

A Senior Listing Writer covering a wide array of topics who has been with Screen Rant since September of 2019, Jake Dee has written movie news and reviews since 2008, working primarily with OMG Horror (IGN), JoBlo.com, and Arrow in the Head as a freelance reporter based in Los Angeles. A hopeless cinephile, social media Luddite, certified Nic Cage doppelganger, and a big Weekend At Bernie's fan, Jake tin oft be found tucked away in a dark corner watching an old horror moving picture. Born and raised in California, Jake has a Available'due south Caste in Picture show & Digital Media from the University of California Santa Cruz with an accent on theory and criticism, is the author of several "WTF Happened To This Moving-picture show" and "WTF Actually Happened To This Picture show" videos on YouTube, and has covered everything in the entertainment industry from set visits, studio luncheons, and cerise rug interviews to wrap parties, motion-picture show premieres, private screenings, talent interviews, and more than.

More From Jake Dee