Whitelaw gained international acclaim for her chilling role as Mrs. Baylock, the evil guardian of the demon child Damien in "The Omen" (1976). Her performance was considered one of the more memorable of the film, winning her the "Evening Standard" British Film Award for Best Actress. Other films included performing the voice of Aughra in "The Dark Crystal", as the hopelessly naive Mrs. Hall in "Maurice" (1987), one of two sisters, with Joan Plowright, struggling to survive in war-time Liverpool in "The Dressmaker" (1988), the fiercely domineering and protective mother of psychopathic twin murderers in "The Krays" (1990), a performance that earned her a BAFTA nomination, as the nurse Grace Poole in "Jane Eyre" (1996), and the blind laundress in "Quills" (2000). She returned to film, in a comedy turn, as Joyce Cooper in "Hot Fuzz" (2007).