Deborah Norton was born in Croydon, Surrey, in 1944. She attended a Quaker boarding school and later studied at the Drama Centre London. She worked in Britain until she toured America with The Beggar's Opera. She later returned to the UK. She has acted roles in many television productions, including Marta Dorf in the television miniseries Holocaust and roles in A Bit of Fry & Laurie, although she is perhaps best known for her role as the PM's advisor Dorothy Wainwright in Yes, Prime Minister.