Sophie McShera

Sophie McShera

McShera at an event for Downton Abbey cast and creators, May 2014.
Born (1985-01-01) 1 January 1985
Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, UK
Nationality British
Occupation Actress
Years active 2007–present
Known for

Sophie McShera is an English actress. She is known for playing 6th Form student Ros McCain in the fifth series (2009–2010) of BBC drama Waterloo Road and for playing kitchen maid Daisy Robinson (later Daisy Mason) in Golden Globe winning period drama Downton Abbey.

Early life and education

McShera was born on 1 January 1985 in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England,[1] into a large Irish family.[2] Her mother is a teacher and her father is a teacher turned financial adviser.[3] At an early age, her family moved to nearby Eccleshill, West Yorkshire, also in Bradford, where she attended St Joseph's College.

After high school, she attended the Footsteps Theatre School before getting her stage break at the age of twelve in the comedy The Goodbye Girl. She followed this up with a stint on tour with Annie before completing her GCSEs and A-levels and going to Brunel University, London, where she earned a degree in drama.[4]

Career

McShera's acting career started after university in 2007, with roles in the soap operas Emmerdale and Doctors and the drama Survivors in 2008. In 2009 she joined the regular cast of BBC school drama Waterloo Road, playing A-level student Ros McCain for the entirety of the fifth series. Ros' storylines revolved around her trying to fulfil her academic potential and also questioning her sexuality.[5] Following her departure from Waterloo Road, McShera became part of the cast of Julian Fellowes ITV costume drama Downton Abbey as Daisy, the kitchen maid.[6] The show has attracted critical and popular success.[7][8] McShera, alongside Hugh Bonneville, made a personal thank you to the audience after Downton Abbey won Most Popular TV Drama at the 2012 National TV Awards.[9] Since 2013 McShera has played Job Centre regular Bryony in ITV2 sitcom The Job Lot.[10][11] McShera played stepsister Drisella Tremaine in Disney's 2015 film Cinderella.[12] She displayed her singing skills as lady's maid Gwynne in the ABC musical comedy series Galavant.

Her stage roles include playing the eponymous role in the pantomime Cinderella at the West Yorkshire Playhouse between December 2009 and January 2010,[13] In 1998 she appeared as Annie alongside Paul O'Grady for the show's London run and subsequent tour.[14] In 2011 she joined the cast of Jez Butterworth's award winning stage play Jerusalem playing the role of Pea for the play's return to London's West End at the Apollo Theatre.[15][16]

Filmography

Year Film and Television Role Notes
2007 Emmerdale Danielle Hollywell TV series (2 episodes)
2008 Doctors Mandy Fairfield TV series (1 episode: "One Dog Day")
2008 Survivors Cathy TV series (1 episode: "#1.1")
2009 Waterloo Road Ros McCain TV series (19 episodes: 2009-2010)
2010–2015 Downton Abbey Daisy Robinson, later Daisy Mason TV series (52 episodes: 2010–2015)
2013–present The Job Lot Bryony TV Series
2013 Highway to Dhampus Ginny Topham post-production
2013 Bradford: A City of Dreams Narrator Factual TV series
2015 Cinderella Drisella Tremaine Film
2015 Galavant Gwynne TV series
2015 Inside No. 9 Tina TV series

References

  1. ↑ "Sophie McShera". TVGuide.com. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
  2. ↑ Hoggard, Liz (16 December 2011). "Interview: Downton's Sophie McShera". London Evening Standard.
  3. ↑ "Interview: Downton's Sophie McShera". The Evening Standard. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  4. ↑ Jim Greenhalf. "Newspaper profile of McShera". Bradford Telegraph and Argus.
  5. ↑ "Ros McCain". BBC. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
  6. ↑ Radford, Ceri (24 September 2010). "Downton Abbey, ITV1, review". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
  7. ↑ Guinness Book of Records: Downton Abbey is most critically acclaimed show on television The Telegraph, 15 September 2011
  8. ↑ "Downton Abbey: How Hollywood is snapping up our bright TV drama stars". The Daily Mirror. 7 November 2010. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  9. ↑ Wightman, Catriona (26 January 2012). "National Television Awards 2012 - Live Blog". Digital Spy. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
  10. ↑ Reid-Smith, Tris (26 April 2012). "Gay actor Russell Tovey to star in new ITV sitcom". Retrieved 26 April 2012.
  11. ↑ http://www.itv.com/presscentre/press-releases/vicious-job-lot-and-plebs-return-itv#.UvjrKvl_vRU
  12. ↑ 'Downton Abbey' Star in Talks to Join Disney's 'Cinderella' (Exclusive) Retrieved 11 June 2013
  13. ↑ Clayton, Emma (24 December 2009). "Sophie's got her eye on the ball". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. Retrieved 4 February 2011.
  14. ↑ "Friends Reunited".
  15. ↑ Hoggard, Liz (16 December 2011). "Interview: Downton's Sophie McShera". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
  16. ↑ "Sophie McShera joins Jerusalem".

External links

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