Jenna Coleman

That same year, 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.

Jenna-Louise Coleman (born 27 April 1986) is an English actress.

Jenna-Louise Coleman was born in Blackpool on 27 April 1986, the daughter of Karen and Keith Coleman.

Her father is a joiner and fitter of bar and restaurant interiors.

She has an older brother named Ben, also a joiner.

Coleman is of English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish ancestry.

Her grandmother reportedly named her after the character of Jenna Wade from the American TV series Dallas.

She attended Arnold School in Blackpool, where she was head girl.

At age 10, she performed in a professional production of Summer Holiday at the Blackpool Opera House.

While at school, she was a member of the theatre company In Yer Space, with whom 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.

She was offered a place to study English at the University of York, but turned it down in order to accept the role of Jasmine Thomas in the soap opera Emmerdale.

She began her career in television, making her acting debut as Jasmine Thomas in the soap opera Emmerdale in 2005, followed by a recurring role in the BBC school-based drama series Waterloo Road (2009).

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.

At the 2009 British Soap Awards, she was nominated for the "Best Actress", "Sexiest Female", and "Best Dramatic Performance" awards.

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.

As she was 23 at the time of her casting, Coleman found the experience of playing a schoolgirl "surreal".

After the show ended, Coleman went six months without acting work, and at one point applied to RADA, which resulted unsuccessful.

She moved to Los Angeles, to try her luck, and spent her days going to auditions.

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.

She made her film debut with a small role in the American superhero film Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), and made appearances on diverse British period miniseries, including Titanic (2012), and Death Comes to Pemberley (2013).

Coleman's breakthrough came with the role of Clara Oswald, companion to the Doctor, in the BBC One's science-fiction series Doctor Who.

In 2011, she made her feature film debut with a small role in Captain America: The First Avenger.

Coleman went back to England after being called for the role of Annie Desmond, in Julian Fellowes' four part mini-series Titanic.

She described her character as a "cheeky little Cockney" and "the Eliza Doolittle of the ship".

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.

She appeared as a regular character between 2012 and 2015, with a small cameo in 2017.

The dispute was resolved by 2012, and the show aired in two parts on 26 and 27 September 2012.

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).

The show aired on BBC Two in February 2013.

She also starred as Lydia Wickham in the adaptation of Death Comes to Pemberley.

The three episodes were shown on BBC One during Christmas 2013.

She next starred as Queen Victoria in the period drama Victoria (2016–2019), and led the crime miniseries, The Cry (2018), and The Serpent (2021).

In 2022, she portrayed Johanna Constantine in the Netflix fantasy drama series The Sandman.

Coleman's other film appearances include Neil Maskell's dark comedy Klokkenluider (2022), and Jamie Childs' thriller Jackdaw (2023).

On stage, Coleman has appeared as Ann Deever in the 2019's revival of Arthur Miller's All My Sons.

She made her West End debut, starring in the 2023's revival of Sam Steiner's Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons, alongside Aidan Turner.

She has received various accolades, including nominations for an International Emmy Award, as well as for the BAFTA Cymru and BAFTA Scotland Awards.