Jenna Coleman

Jenna-Louise Coleman (born 27 April 1986),[2] credited since 2013 as Jenna Coleman,[1] is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Jasmine Thomas in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale, Clara Oswald in the BBC science fiction series Doctor Who, Queen Victoria in the ITV period drama Victoria, and Melia Antiqua in the Monolith Soft video game Xenoblade Chronicles.

Jenna Coleman
Coleman at the 2016 MagicCity ComicCon
Born	Jenna-Louise Coleman[1] (1986-04-27) 27 April 1986 Blackpool, Lancashire, England
Education	Arnold School
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1996–present
Partner(s)	Tom Hughes (2016–present)

Coleman was born in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, and began her acting career at an early age as a member of a theatre company called In Yer Space.[3] While auditioning for drama schools in 2005, she was chosen to play Jasmine Thomas in Emmerdale. She received critical acclaim for her performance and was nominated for the Most Popular Newcomer award at the 2006 National Television Awards.[4] Coleman went on to play "hard girl" Lindsay James in the BBC school-based drama series Waterloo Road (2009), Susan Brown in a BBC Four television adaptation of the John Braine novel Room at the Top (2012), Annie Desmond in Julian Fellowes' four-part miniseries Titanic (2012) and Rosie in Stephen Poliakoff's original drama series Dancing on the Edge (2013).[5] In 2018, she portrayed the role of Joanna Lindsay in the BBC miniseries The Cry, for which she was nominated for the International Emmy Award for Best Actress.

Early life

Coleman was born in Blackpool, Lancashire,[6] the daughter of Karen and Keith Coleman. She has an older brother named Ben.[7] She attended Arnold School, where she was head girl.[8] She has stated that she regrets not having a conventional university experience. While at school, Coleman was a member of the theatre company In Yer Space, with which she performed in the play Crystal Clear at the Edinburgh Festival. She won an award for her performance, and the play was also received favourably.[9]

In an interview with The Radio Times in 2015, she revealed that her grandmother had named her Jenna after the character of Jenna Wade played by Priscilla Beaulieu Presley in the 80s American TV drama series Dallas.[10]

Career

Coleman at the 72nd Annual Peabody Awards Luncheon (2013)

While auditioning for drama schools, Coleman landed the part of Jasmine Thomas in Emmerdale in 2005. At the British Soap Awards 2007, she was nominated for the "Best Newcomer" award, and at the National Television Awards 2006, she was nominated for the "Most Popular Newcomer" award.[4] At the 2009 British Soap Awards, she was nominated for the "Best Actress", "Sexiest Female", and "Best Dramatic Performance" awards.[11] She received a nomination for the "Best Actress" award from the TV Choice Awards. In May 2009, it was announced that Coleman would be joining BBC school-based drama series, Waterloo Road, as "hard girl" Lindsay James.[5] As she was 23 at the time of her casting, Coleman found the experience of playing a schoolgirl "surreal".[12]

In December 2010, it was announced that Coleman would be playing Susan Brown in a BBC Four television adaptation of the John Braine novel Room at the Top.[13][14] The adaptation was originally intended to air in April 2011, but this was cancelled due to a rights dispute between the production company and Braine's estate. The dispute was resolved by 2012, and the show aired in two parts on 26 and 27 September 2012.[3] In 2011, she made her feature film debut in Captain America: The First Avenger. She also landed the part of Annie Desmond in Julian Fellowes' four part mini-series Titanic, describing her character as a "cheeky little Cockney" and "the Eliza Doolittle of the ship".[15]

Coleman provided the voice for the character Melia in the English dub of the 2011 video game Xenoblade Chronicles. In 2012, Coleman was cast as Rosie in Stephen Poliakoff's original drama series Dancing on the Edge, which follows the fortunes of a black jazz band in the 1930s. The show aired on BBC Two in February 2013. She starred as Lydia Wickham in the adaptation of Death Comes to Pemberley.[16] The three episodes were shown on BBC One during Christmas 2013.[17]

In December 2017, it was announced that Coleman would be the narrator for a Royal Caribbean UK advertising campaign.[18] On 8 January 2018, Coleman was confirmed to play Joanna in the four-part BBC drama The Cry, an adaptation of the 2013 novel by Helen FitzGerald.[19]

In September 2018, the Old Vic Theatre announced on their website that Coleman would star in a new production of All My Sons in 2019.[20][21]

Doctor Who

Coleman at the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con

On 21 March 2012, Doctor Who producer Steven Moffat confirmed at a press conference that Coleman would play the companion of the Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith).[22] Moffat chose her for the role because she worked the best alongside Smith and could talk faster than he could.[23] She auditioned for the role in secret, under the pretense of auditioning for Men on Wavies' (an anagram for "Woman Seven": she would first appear in the show's seventh series).[24]

Although originally announced as beginning her run as companion in the Christmas special in 2012, Coleman made a surprise appearance on 1 September 2012 in the first episode of the seventh series as Oswin Oswald, a guest character who dies at the conclusion of the episode.[25] Coleman subsequently debuted as a series regular in the Christmas special episode "The Snowmen" as Victorian governess and barmaid Clara Oswin Oswald; like Oswin Oswald, she died. At the end of that episode, Coleman is seen playing a third version of the character, a resident of contemporary London named simply Clara Oswald. Beginning in "The Bells of Saint John", this version begins her travels as the Doctor's regular companion,[26] including after his regeneration into the Twelfth Doctor, played by Peter Capaldi, in the 2013 Christmas special episode "The Time of the Doctor."[27] In the 2014 Christmas special episode "Last Christmas", it was revealed that Coleman would remain in the role of Clara for Series 9.[28] However, the ninth series was her last, as Coleman had decided to leave the show to take on a role as Queen Victoria in an ITV production.[29][30] In "The Zygon Invasion" and "The Zygon Inversion", Coleman also played the role of Bonnie, the Zygon leader who took the form of Clara Oswald. She returned to the show for Twelfth Doctor's last episode "Twice Upon a Time" where she made a cameo appearance; that episode, Doctor Who's 2017 Christmas special, aired the same evening as the first Christmas special for Victoria.

She was first credited on screen as Jenna Coleman in Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor, which aired on 4 August 2013.[31][1]

Victoria, The Cry, and return to the theatre

In 2016 Coleman starred in ITV's eight-part drama following the reign of the British monarch and Empress of India, Queen Victoria. The actress confessed that she was not totally informed about Victorian history, but researched the role. When interviewed for BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour, Coleman expressed her admiration for the monarch.[32]

She argues that this role meant she was able to break out of her supposed 'box' as a northern working-class character that Emmerdale put her in.[32] Victoria premiered on 28 August 2016 on ITV,[33] and in September 2016, ITV renewed Victoria for a second series.[34] A Christmas special for 2017 was also commissioned and a third series was announced in December 2017.[35] The third series debuted first on PBS Masterpiece in January 2019, followed by a belated broadcast debut on ITV in late March 2019.

Prior to filming the third series of Victoria, Coleman took the lead role in The Cry, a four part Scottish-Australian co-production adapting Helen FitzGerald's crime novel about the search for a missing baby. The production was filmed in Australia and Scotland from February to May 2018. It aired on BBC One from September to October 2018, and on ABC from January to February 2019.

In September 2018, the Old Vic theatre in London's West End announced that Coleman had joined the cast of a production of All My Sons, which ran from 13 April to 8 June 2019[36] and included a cinema screening via National Theatre Live on 14 May 2019.[37]

In February 2019, it was announced that Coleman would make a guest appearance in an episode of the comedy series Inside No. 9, with an expected broadcast date later in the year.[38] The episode, entitled "Death Be Not Proud," aired on Feb. 10, 2020.

In a 11 May 2019 interview with Graham Norton on his BBC Radio 2 program, Coleman indicated her intent to return to Victoria for a fourth series should it be renewed by ITV, but stated that the show will be taking "a bit of a breather" before production resumes.[39]

On 9 September 2019, it was announced that Coleman had been cast as Marie-Andrée Leclerc in the Netflix and BBC drama The Serpent, a dramatization of the life of convicted serial killer Charles Sobhraj.[40] A few days later, Corporate Monster, a short psychological horror film from director Ruairi Robinson, was released on YouTube by Robinson; the film had been shot in 2010-11 during Coleman's sojourn in the US, and its release delayed.

Production of The Serpent began in Bangkok in September 2019 and continued into 2020, with an expected BBC broadcast later in the year.[41] As with most other film and television production, work on The Serpent was suspended in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic; its actual broadcast date will depend on when filming resumes.

During the pandemic, it was announced that Coleman would participate in The Remote Read, a planned series of online drama performances to raise funds for theatrical workers left unemployed by the pandemic.[42] The first production under this banner, an adaptation of Tom Stoppard's A Separate Peace, was transmitted via the Zoom platform on 2 May 2020.[43]

Nine years after its original English release, Coleman reprised her role as Melia in the video game Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition which features a brand new epilogue taking place after the main story.[44]

Personal life

Coleman has been in a relationship with her Victoria co-star Tom Hughes since 2016.[45]

She has previously dated actors Richard Madden[46] and Karl Davies.[47]

Coleman has been involved with charity work in South Africa raising awareness of HIV with One To One Children's Fund, for which she is an ambassador.[48] She is also an ambassador for Place2Be, a charity providing emotional and therapeutic services in schools.[49]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2011	Captain America: The First Avenger	Connie
2016	Me Before You	Katrina Clark
2019	Corporate Monster	Ellen	Short film; shot as Imaginary Forces

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2005–2009	Emmerdale	Jasmine Thomas	Series regular
2009	Waterloo Road	Lindsay James	9 episodes
2012	Titanic	Annie Desmond	4 episodes
2012	Room at the Top	Susan Brown	2 episodes
2012–2015, 2017	Doctor Who	Clara Oswald	Main role (Series 7–9), 2017 Special; 38 episodes[50]
2013	Dancing on the Edge	Rosie Williams	5 episodes
2013	The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot	Herself	Doctor Who comedy spoof
2013	Death Comes to Pemberley	Lydia Wickham	3 episodes[51]
2016–present	Victoria	Queen Victoria	Main role; 25 episodes[52]
2016	Thunderbirds Are Go	Baines	Voice; 1 episode[53][54]
2018	The Cry	Joanna Lindsay	4 episodes
2020	Inside No. 9	Beattie	1 episode
TBA	The Serpent	Marie-Andrée Leclerc	8 episodes

Web

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2020	A Separate Peace	Nurse Maggie Coates	Virtual play[43][55]

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2010	Xenoblade Chronicles	Princess Melia Antiqua	English dub
2015	Lego Dimensions	Clara Oswald	Main game and Doctor Who expansion
2020	Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition	Princess Melia Antiqua	English dub, includes new "Future Connected" epilogue

Audio

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2013	The Secret Garden		Abridged reading[56]
2013	Doctor Who: Destiny of the Doctor	Alice Watson / Eleventh Doctor	Episode: "The Time Machine"
2016	A Christmas Carol	Belle	Digital only release
2020	Pressures, Residential		Esquire's Summer Fiction series, in aid of Unicef UK
2020	The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies		Beatrix Potter: The Complete Tales

Stage

Year	Title	Role	Theatre
1996	Summer Holiday	Bridesmaid	[57][58]
2004	Crystal Clear	Thomasina	In Yer Space[59]
2009	Jack and the Beanstalk	Princess Apricot	Theatre Royal, Nottingham[60]
2019	All My Sons	Ann Deever	Old Vic Theatre[61]

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
2006	National Television Awards	Most Popular Newcomer	Emmerdale	Nominated
	The British Soap Awards	Best Newcomer		Nominated
2009		Best Dramatic Performance[62]		Nominated
		Sexiest Female[62]		Nominated
		Best Actress[62]		Nominated
2013	Behind the Voice Actors Awards	Best Female Vocal Performance in a Video Game	Xenoblade Chronicles	Nominated
		Best Vocal Ensemble in a Video Game		Nominated
	NAVGTR Awards	Supporting Performance in a Drama		Nominated
	Nickelodeon UK Kids' Choice Awards	Favourite UK Actress	Doctor Who	Nominated
	TV Choice Awards	Best Actress		Nominated
2014	Glamour Awards	UK TV Actress		Won
2015	BAFTA Cymru	Best Actress[63]	Doctor Who: "Kill the Moon"	Nominated
	Saturn Awards	Best Supporting Actress on Television[64]	Doctor Who	Nominated
	TV Choice Awards	Best Actress		Nominated
2017	Golden Nymph Awards	Outstanding Actress in a Drama TV Series[65]	Victoria	Won
	National Television Awards	Best Drama Performance		Nominated
2018	Movieguide Awards	Grace Award for Most Inspiring Performance for TV[66]		Nominated
	National Television Awards	Best Drama Performance		Nominated
	Harper's Bazaar Women of the Year Awards	TV Actress of the Year[67]	The Cry	Won
	I Talk Telly Awards	Best Dramatic Performance[68]		Won
2019	Logie Awards	Most Outstanding Actress		Won
		Most Popular Actress		Nominated
	BAFTA Scotland Awards	Best Actress in Television		Nominated
	International Emmy Awards	Best Actress		Nominated
	AACTA Awards	Best Lead Actress in a Television Drama		Nominated
2020	National Television Awards	Drama Performance	Victoria	Longlisted

References

1. Jones, Paul. "Jenna Coleman and the mystery of the missing Louise". Radio Times. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
2. Jeffery, Morgan (21 March 2012). "Jenna-Louise Coleman: Ten Things about the new 'Doctor Who' star". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
3. Jeffrey, Morgan (29 May 2012). "'Room at the Top': BBC Four drama to air following legal dispute". Digital Spy. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
4. Wilkes, Neil; Welsh, James (31 October 2006). "National TV Awards 2006: Full winners list". Digital Spy. Hachette Filipacchi UK. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
5. Green, Kris (13 May 2009). "Ex-'Emmerdale' actress joins 'Waterloo Road'". Digital Spy. UK. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
6. Lewis, Tim (10 November 2013). "Jenna Coleman: just what the Doctor ordered". The Guardian – via The Guardian.
7. "Jenna-Louise Coleman: The life and time travels of Doctor Who's sexy new sidekick", Mirror.co.uk, 6 April 2013, retrieved 14 May 2014
8. Lockyer, Daphne (21 August 2016). "Jenna Coleman on playing Queen Victoria: 'We certainly don't shy away from the fire and the passion'". The Telegraph.
9. "Blackpool soap star needs your help". Blackpool Gazette. 31 July 2006. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 2 September 2007.
10. "Jenna Coleman's exclusive 2012 interview on auditioning for Doctor Who". Radio Times. 24 March 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
11. Green, Kris; Kilkelly, Daniel (10 May 2009). "British Soap Awards 2009: The Winners". Digital Spy. Hachette Filipacchi UK. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
12. Kilkelly, Daniel (29 October 2009). "Coleman: 'Waterloo Road is surreal'". Digital Spy. UK. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
13. "Stars in city to remake classic film". The Bradford Telegraph & Argus. UK. 27 December 2010. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
14. "Casting Unveiled on Room at the Top". UK: Screen Yorkshire. 22 December 2010. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
15. Conner, Megan (11 March 2012). "Why we're watching: Jenna-Louise Coleman, actor". The Observer. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
16. Lazarus, Susanna (18 June 2013). "Jenna-Louise Coleman, Penelope Keith and Rebecca Front join Death Comes to Pemberley". Radio Times. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
17. Lazarus, Sussana (26 December 2013). "Death Comes to Pemberley's Matthew Rhys: "The best thing about playing Mr Darcy is that shirt"". Radio Times. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
18. Kemble, Harry (19 December 2017). "Royal Caribbean ad campaign makes "groundbreaking" switch from TV". Travel Weekly. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
19. "Jenna Coleman to star in new BBC drama". BBC News. 2018. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
20. "Jenna Coleman joins All My Sons for Old Vic season". BBC News. BBC. 14 September 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
21. "Jenna Coleman: 'Being me makes me feel self-conscious'". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
22. "Doctor Who's latest companion is unveiled". BBC News. 21 March 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
23. Jeffery, Morgan (21 March 2012). "'Doctor Who': Jenna-Louise Coleman – The press conference in full". Digital Spy. Retrieved 27 March 2012.
24. Gallagher, William (27 March 2012). "Doctor Who's secret history of codenames revealed". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 28 March 2012. Retrieved 27 March 2012.
25. Brown, David (1 September 2012). "Doctor Who – a message from Steven Moffat and Jenna-Louise Coleman about tonight's surprise". Radio Times. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
26. Steven Moffat (writer), Colm McCarthy (director), Denise Paul (producer) (30 March 2013). "The Bells of Saint John". Doctor Who. Series 7. Episode 7. BBC. BBC One.
27. Steven Moffat (writer), Jamie Payne (director), Marcus Wilson (producer) (25 December 2013). "The Time of the Doctor". Doctor Who. Series 7. BBC. BBC One.
28. Dan Martin (25 December 2014). "Doctor Who recap: Last Christmas". the Guardian.
29. "Jenna Coleman is Leaving Doctor Who". BBC. 18 September 2015. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
30. Barraclough, Leo (18 September 2015). "Jenna Coleman Leaving 'Doctor Who' to Play Queen Victoria". Variety. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
31. "Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor". BBC One. BBC. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
32. "BBC Radio 4 - Woman's Hour, Jenna Coleman as young Queen Victoria". BBC.
33. Furness, Hannah (12 August 2016). "Jenna Coleman plays Queen Victoria as she's never been seen before – a lusty teenager who gains the throne". The Telegraph. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
34. Martin, William (23 September 2016). "Jenna Coleman's 'Victoria' will return for a second season". CultBox. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
35. Clarke, Stewart (12 December 2017). "Jenna Coleman Returning for 'Victoria' Season 3". Variety. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
36. "All My Sons". oldvictheatre.com. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
37. "All My Sons - National Theatre Live". ntlive.nationaltheatre.org.uk. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
38. Bley Griffiths, Eleanor (18 February 2019). "Doctor Who and Victoria actress Jenna Coleman to guest star in Inside No 9". Radio Times. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
39. Ben Allen, Eleanor (13 May 2019). "Victoria will "take a break" following series 3 finale says Jenna Coleman". Radio Times. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
40. "Jenna Coleman cast in The Serpent".
41. "BBC Media Centre: First pictures of The Serpent are released". bbc.co.uk. 16 January 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
42. Wood, Alex (8 April 2020). "Jenna Coleman, David Morrissey and Denise Gough to perform virtual play readings for charity". What's on Stage. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
43. "David Morrissey, Denise Gough and More to Headline Tom Stoppard's A SEPARATE PEACE Virtual Play Reading". Broadway World. 24 April 2020. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
44. "Yes, Jenna Coleman Does Reprise Her Role In Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition". Nintendo Life. 28 May 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
45. Day, Elizabeth (16 September 2018). "Jenna Coleman: 'Being me makes me feel self-conscious'". The Guardian. The two of them, rumoured to have met on set, have been dating since 2016.
46. "Doctor Who star Jenna Coleman in love split...but Who made it happen?". 5 June 2015.
47. "What I know about women". The Scotsman. 14 January 2008.
48. "Jenna Coleman Video". onetoonechildrensfund.org. Archived from the original on 9 January 2015.
49. "Actress Jenna Coleman becomes ambassador for Place2Be". Place2Be. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
50. Count does not include several additional "mini-episodes" produced for DVD and special events.
51. "Jenna Coleman to star in Death comes to Pemberley", Doctor Who (blog), UK: The BBC, 18 June 2013
52. "Jenna Coleman to star as Queen Victoria in major new ITV drama Victoria". ITV Media Centre. 18 September 2015. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
53. "Check out Jenna Coleman's American accent in Thunderbirds Are Go". Retrieved 16 January 2017.
54. "News – Thunderbirds Are Go". Retrieved 16 January 2017.
55. Read, The Remote. "A Separate Peace". The Remote Read.
56. Audiobooks & Original Audio Shows - Get More from Audible.
57. "Jenna-Louise Coleman: 'I couldn't get auditions' | Drama | The Guardian". amp.theguardian.com. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
58. Mirror.co.uk, by; 08:30, 6 Apr 2013Updated08:46 (6 April 2013). "Jenna-Louise Coleman: The life and time travels of Doctor Who's sexy new sidekick". mirror. Retrieved 10 October 2019.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
59. "Blackpool soap star needs your help - Blackpool Today". 28 September 2007. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
60. "Jack and the Beanstalk".
61. Gans, Andrew (3 December 2018). "London Revival of All My Sons, Starring Sally Field and Bill Pullman, Will Be Broadcast Internationally". Playbill.
62. Green, Kris; Kilkelly, Daniel (10 May 2009). "British Soap Awards 2009: The Winners". Soaps News. Digital Spy. London: Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
63. "Winners Announced – British Academy Cymru Awards 2015". bafta.org. 27 September 2015.
64. "The Academy of Science Fiction Fantasy and Horror Films". saturnawards.org.
65. "Golden Nymphs Awards Winners". www.tvfestival.com. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
66. "2018 Movieguide Awards Nominations". The Movieguide® Awards. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
67. "Women of the Year 2018: winners portfolio". Harper's BAZAAR. 30 October 2018. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
68. "Awards 2018". I Talk Telly | by Elliot Gonzalez. Retrieved 9 December 2018.

External links

• Jenna Coleman on IMDb