She was born in Sacriston, County Durham, and began her career in British films of the late 1950s appearing in films such as The Servant. However, it was in British sitcoms of the 1960s and 1970s that she became a household name, usually playing a scatty middle-class housewife. She went from the BBC's Not in Front of the Children (1967) to ITV's And Mother Makes Three (1971) (in which she played a single parent), which later evolved into And Mother Makes Five. Then came Butterflies (1978), a more off-beat comedy on BBC2.
Wendy Craig branched out into TV drama with Nanny in 1981, and currently plays a hospital matron in ITV's The Royal. However, she continues to be associated with comedy, having taken one of the leading roles in Brighton Belles, the UK's short-lived version of The Golden Girls.