Helen Grace
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Helen Grace (born Helen Scragg, August 20, 1971 in Hertfordshire) is an English actress who trained at the Drama Centre London, now part of the University of the Arts, London.
Her career began with her 1996 portrayal of Georgia Simpson in the controversial Channel 4 television soap opera Brookside, the role for which she is probably still best known. The character of Georgia Simpson was in an incestuous relationship with her younger brother and the storyline attracted considerable press attention at the time. She undertook this role "for the experience" and as a springboard for her career more than for celebrity, and was less than pleased with some of the early attention she received. However, she won her share of praise from respectable quarters for her handling of this difficult role, and at the beginning of 1997, appeared alongside fellow soap stars of the day Patsy Palmer and Tracy Shaw in a Vogue magazine issue celebrating the British woman.
Upon leaving Brookside, she appeared in two series' (1998 and 1999) of Roger Roger, a BBC1 sitcom penned by Only Fools and Horses creator John Sullivan, set in a London minicab firm.
Although much of her television work since has fallen somewhat short of her potential, roles in popular dramas such as ITV1's Bad Girls have won her new fans, and she has a well-kept website.
She recently appeared as the wife of Gregor Antonsecu (played by David Suchet) in an acclaimed revival of Terence Rattigan's Man and Boy at the Duchess Theatre, London. She has also appeared alongside Honor Blackman in Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie at the Theatre Royal York (November 1999).
As of August 2006 she can be seen playing the character of Pippa in the five sitcom Respectable.
She is married, with one daughter.
[edit] Trivia
- Grew up in Northwood, Hillingdon
- Is an only child
- Has a Psychology degree from Durham University, (1992) and A Levels in Mathematics and Sciences
- Plays the piano
- Is a talented skier
- Applied to RADA but messed up by mixing up playwrights John Osbourne and Joe Orton during her pre-audition interview
- Dream theatre role would be Beatrice Joanna in The Changeling
