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1[[quoteright:280:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lucypunch.png]]
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3Lucy Punch (born December 30, 1977 in Hammersmith, London) is a British comic actress, typically cast as dim and conceited characters who [[BreakTheHaughty deserve their comeuppance]].
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5The London-bred Punch attended UCL to study French and art history, but was offered an acting job and subsequently dropped out. That role was Eveline in the period sitcom ''Let Them Eat Cake''. The series bombed, but Lucy quickly became a known face on British TV. By 2004 she had graduated to film work, but migrated to Los Angeles to star in the short-lived sitcom ''Series/TheClass2006''.
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7Then came the rocky patch. Finding herself out of work, Punch barely scraped together cash for an economy flight to London, where Creator/WoodyAllen was holding auditions for ''Film/YouWillMeetATallDarkStranger'' after his star, Creator/NicoleKidman, dropped out due to a scheduling conflict. She nailed it; and thus began her life as a Hollywood "It" girl.
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9Is also known for being type-cast as one of Cinderella's stepsisters. In addition to the film versions of ''Film/EllaEnchanted'' and ''Film/IntoTheWoods'', there were also two obscure British film versions of the story. Keep in mind, most intended to invoke the Grimm's "beautiful, with fair faces, but evil and dark hearts" type of stepsister and not the pantomime-esque "Ugly Sister".
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11----
12!!Tropes:
13* ButIPlayOneOnTV:[[invoked]] After ''Motherland'' came out, she recalls people being quite scared of her when they saw her on the street.
14* TheDanza:[[invoked]] She plays Lucinda in ''Film/IntoTheWoods''.
15* DawsonCasting:[[invoked]] Her character Sally Peep celebrates her eighteenth birthday in ''Series/The10thKingdom''. Lucy was already 23.
16* FakeAmerican: Plays this probably more often than her own nationality.
17* PlayingAgainstType:
18** A OneSceneWonder role in ''Film/Cake2014'' has her playing a friendly nurse.
19** In ''Series/{{Poirot}}'', the episode based on ''Literature/AfterTheFuneral'', she plays a kind-hearted [[spoiler:(really, it's not a disguise)]] charity activist and missionary, with only occasional shades of HolierThanThou.
20* TypeCasting:
21** Need a ditzy social climbing floozy? Lucy Punch is the girl!
22--> "Quite often I'm the posh bitch."
23** As mentioned above, she's played one of Cindrella's stepsisters ''four times''. Besides ''Film/EllaEnchanted'' and ''Film/IntoTheWoods'', there was a television movie just called ''Cinderella'' in 2000, and a modern BBC series titled ''Fairy Tales'' in which she appears in the Cinderella episode.
24* WhatCouldHaveBeen:[[invoked]] Who knows how her career would have gone had Creator/NicoleKidman not dropped out of ''Film/YouWillMeetATallDarkStranger''. Before Lucy was cast, Carice van Houten was also in the running.
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26!!Lucy Punch's roles tend to provide examples of:
27* AlphaBitch
28* CheshireCatGrin
29* PopularIsDumb
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31!!Notable film roles include:
32* Hattie in ''Film/EllaEnchanted'' (2004)
33* Lead Stewardess in ''Film/TheLifeAndDeathOfPeterSellers'' (2004)
34* Eve Draper in ''Film/HotFuzz'' (2007)
35* Charmaine in ''Film/YouWillMeetATallDarkStranger'' (2010)
36* Darla in ''Film/DinnerForSchmucks'' (2010)
37* Amy Squirrel in ''Film/BadTeacher'' (2011)
38* Nurse Gayle in ''Film/Cake2014'' (2014)
39* Lucinda in ''Film/IntoTheWoods'' (2015)
40* Bella in ''Film/SilentNight2021'' (2021)
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42!!Notable TV roles include:
43* Queen Stephanie in ''Series/TheNewAdventuresOfRobinHood'' (TV movie, 1998)
44* Sally Peep in ''Series/The10thKingdom'' (3 episodes, 2000)
45* Shaya in ''Series/{{Dinotopia}}'' (2003, "Night of the Wartosa")
46* Elaine Denham in ''Series/DocMartin'' (2004)
47* Holly Ellenbogen in ''The Class'' (2007)
48* Sally in ''Series/TheSarahSilvermanProgram'' (2007, "Ah Men")
49* Deena Pilgrim in ''Powers'' (2012)
50* Genevieve in ''Series/NewGirl'' (2 episodes, 2016)
51* ''Series/{{Motherland}}'' (2016-), 3 seasons
52* Esme Squalor in ''Series/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents'' (2018)

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