Janina Ramirez

Acting

Janina Ramirez

Born July 7, 1980 · Dubai, United Arab Emirates (age 46)

Dr Janina Sara Maria Ramirez (pronounced [ja'nina]; née Maleczek; born 7 July 1980), sometimes credited as Nina Ramirez, is a British art historian, cultural historian, and TV presenter. She specializes in interpreting symbols and examining works of art within their historical context. Ramirez went to school in Slough, Berkshire. She gained a degree in English literature, specializing in Old and M…

Known For

Secrets of the Bayeux Tapestry: Inside the MuseumSecrets of the Bayeux Tapestry: Inside the Museum · 2026
Secrets of the Bayeux Tapestry: Inside the Museum
★ 7.52026
MovieDocumentaryHistory
The Bayeux Tapestry is one of the treasures of the medieval world. Across 70 metres of exquisitely embroidered scenes, it tells the story of one of the most seismic events in British history – the Norman Invasion of 1066. For the last 950 years, this crucial part of Britain's national story has remained on the other side of the English Channel, in Bayeux, Normandy, but now it’s coming back to the UK. A stellar cast of historians and experts follow the painstaking efforts to bring this priceless work of art back to the UK, where experts believe it was made, for a once-in-a-millennium exhibition at the British Museum.
The Genius of Leonardo Da VinciThe Genius of Leonardo Da Vinci · 2018
The Genius of Leonardo Da Vinci
★ 9.02018
MovieDocumentary
Janina Ramirez explores the BBC archives to create a TV history of Leonardo Da Vinci, discovering what lies beneath the Mona Lisa and even how he acquired his anatomical knowledge.
Britain's Most Fragile TreasureBritain's Most Fragile Treasure · 2011
Britain's Most Fragile Treasure
★ 6.22011
MovieDocumentaryHistory
Historian Dr Janina Ramirez unlocks the secrets of a centuries-old masterpiece in glass. At 78 feet in height, the famous East Window at York Minster is the largest medieval stained-glass window in the country and it was the creative vision of a single artist - a mysterious master craftsman called John Thornton, one of the earliest named English artists. The East Window of York Minster is far more than a work of artistic genius, it is a window onto the medieval world and the medieval mind - telling us who were once were and who we still are, all preserved in the most fragile medium of all.
Saxon Hoard: A Golden DiscoverySaxon Hoard: A Golden Discovery · 2012
Saxon Hoard: A Golden Discovery
★ 9.02012
MovieDocumentaryHistory
In 2009 metal-detecting enthusiast Terry Herbert discovered the largest collection of Anglo-Saxon treasure in the UK. Dan Snow travels across the old Kingdom of Mercia to unravel the secrets of the Staffordshire Hoard.
The Search for the Lost Manuscript: Julian of NorwichThe Search for the Lost Manuscript: Julian of Norwich · 2016
The Search for the Lost Manuscript: Julian of Norwich
2016
MovieDocumentaryHistory
In this hour-long documentary, Dr Janina Ramirez tells the incredible story of a book hidden for centuries in the shadows of history, the first book ever written in English by a woman, Julian of Norwich, in 1373. Revelations of Divine Love dared to present an alternative vision of man's relationship with God, a theology fundamentally at odds with the church of Julian's time, and for 500 years the book was suppressed. It re-emerged in the 20th century as an iconic text for the women's movement and was acknowledged as a literary masterpiece.
Women in Film: BBC Introducing ArtsWomen in Film: BBC Introducing Arts · 2021
Women in Film: BBC Introducing Arts
2021
MovieDrama
Cultural historian Janina Ramirez presents a collection of intriguing and exciting short films by emerging women directors and artists. Each film gives a female perspective on modern-day topics from body image and new love to grief and belonging. Expect honest and refreshing storytelling that will make you laugh, make you cry and make you think. In a Room Full of Sisters; Blood Stains; Bridging the Gap; Cake; Ding-Ding, Next; Fruity; In Perpetuum; Owulide; White Dwarf; Cosmic Domestic; The Dead Are Jewels to Me; The Presence of Absence
Architects of the Divine: The First Gothic AgeArchitects of the Divine: The First Gothic Age · 2014
Architects of the Divine: The First Gothic Age
★ 6.02014
MovieDocumentaryHistory
Medieval historian Dr Janina Ramirez looks back to a time when British craftsmen and their patrons created a new form of architecture. The art and architecture of France would dominate England for much of the medieval age. Yet British stonemasons and builders would make Gothic architecture their own, inventing a national style for the first time – Perpendicular Gothic – and giving Britain a patriotic backdrop to suit its new ambitions of chivalry and power. From a grand debut at Gloucester Cathedral to commemorate a murdered king to its final glorious flowering at King’s College Chapel in Cambridge, the Perpendicular age was Britain’s finest.
Illuminations: The Private Lives of Medieval KingsIlluminations: The Private Lives of Medieval Kings · 2012
Illuminations: The Private Lives of Medieval Kings
★ 4.52012
SeriesDocumentary
Through this three part series Art Historian Dr Janina Ramirez tells the story of the Medieval monarchy as preserved through stunning illuminated manuscripts from the British Library's Royal Manuscripts collection.

Filmography

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Architects of the Divine: The First Gothic AgeArchitects of the Divine: The First Gothic Age · 2014
Architects of the Divine: The First Gothic Age
★ 6.02014
MovieDocumentaryHistory
Medieval historian Dr Janina Ramirez looks back to a time when British craftsmen and their patrons created a new form of architecture. The art and architecture of France would dominate England for much of the medieval age. Yet British stonemasons and builders would make Gothic architecture their own, inventing a national style for the first time – Perpendicular Gothic – and giving Britain a patriotic backdrop to suit its new ambitions of chivalry and power. From a grand debut at Gloucester Cathedral to commemorate a murdered king to its final glorious flowering at King’s College Chapel in Cambridge, the Perpendicular age was Britain’s finest.

Writer