Jodie Whittaker

Jodie Whittaker
Whittaker at the Moet BIFA British Independent Film Awards, December 2014
Born	(1982-01-03) 3 January 1982 Skelmanthorpe, West Yorkshire, England
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2005–present
Spouse(s)	Christian Contreras (2008–present)

Jodie Auckland Whittaker (born 3 January 1982) is an English actress. She first came to prominence for her work in the film Venus (2006) and has since starred in films such as St Trinian's (2007), Good (2008), St Trinian's 2 (2009), and Attack the Block (2011). She has also starred in the television series Tess of the D'Urbervilles (2008), Wired (2008), Return to Cranford (2009), Marchlands (2011), Broadchurch (2013), and The Assets (2014).

Early life

Whittaker was born in Skelmanthorpe where she initially attended Shelley College, West Yorkshire. She then trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, graduating in 2005 with the gold medal for acting.^[1]

Career

Whittaker made her professional debut in The Storm at Shakespeare's Globe in 2005.^[1] She has since worked in film, television, radio and theatre. In 2007 she stood in at short notice for an unwell Carey Mulligan in the Royal Court's production of The Seagull, and appeared in a fundraising play at the Almeida Theatre.

In Whittaker's first major role, she co-starred as Jessie / Venus in the film Venus. Her radio credits include a 2008 adaptation of Blinded by the Sun by Stephen Poliakoff^[2] and Lydia Bennett in Unseen Austen, an original drama by Judith French. In 2009, she worked on the film Ollie Kepler's Expanding Purple World, the BBC2 drama Royal Wedding,^[3] and the short film Wish 143, which was nominated for the Academy Award for Live Action Short Film at the 83rd Academy Awards.

In 2010, Whittaker appeared in the film The Kid and co-starred in BBC1's Accused. She appeared in the 2009 Irish comedy crime film Perrier's Bounty. In 2011, she appeared as Viv in the BBC adaptation of Sarah Waters's novel The Night Watch and the cult film Attack the Block. In 2012, she starred in the musical comedy-drama Good Vibrations.

In March–April 2013, Whittaker starred in the high-profile ITV detective drama Broadchurch. In January 2014, she starred in the reality-based spy drama miniseries The Assets on ABC.

Personal life

Whittaker has been married to American actor Christian Contreras since 2008.^[4] Her nephew played Leo Goskirk in Emmerdale before his death at the age of three in 2014.^[5][6]

The media reported in January 2015 that Whittaker was pregnant with her first child; she gave birth in April 2015.^[7]

Filmography

Film

Television

Stage

Radio

References

External links

• Jodie Whittaker at the Internet Movie Database
• Jodie Whittaker at BFI Film & TV Database