Claudia Jessie
Jessie in 2012
Born1989 or 1990 (age 33–34)[1]
Moseley, Birmingham, UK
OccupationActress
Years active2012–present

Claudia Jessie (born 1989/1990) is an English actress. She is known for her roles in the third series of the BBC One police procedural WPC 56 (2015) and as Eloise, the fifth Bridgerton child, in the Netflix period drama Bridgerton (2020–present). She also appeared in series 4 of Line of Duty (2017), the Dave sitcom Porters (2017–2019) and the ITV miniseries Vanity Fair (2018).

Early life

Jessie was born in Moseley,[2] and grew up on a canal boat.[1] She spent some of her childhood in London and was homeschooled from the age of 14 before returning to Birmingham when she was 17. Her family struggled financially; Jessie described the experiences that came with it, such as bailiffs coming to the door, as traumatic.[1] In addition, her parents split and her father was not around. Her single mother, Dawn, worked cleaning houses to provide for her and her brother.[3][4]

Jessie's mother also worked to afford her ballet lessons at the Challis School of Dance. She was subsequently discovered by student director Hannah Phillips who cast her in several amateur productions.[5] Jessie trained part-time at the Susi Earnshaw Theatre School and spent a year studying with the Birmingham Library Theatre Company.[6] She then signed with an agent in 2012.[2]

Career

Early work (2012–2016)

Jessie's first professional acting role was in a short film titled Rosie in 2012. She followed this with appearances in the soap operas Doctors and Casualty.[7] She appeared in an episode of House of Anubis,[8] and reprised her role as Sophie Danae in the television film Touchstone of Ra.

Between 2014 and 2016, Jessie starred in the BAFTA-winning CBBC Online web series Dixi as Shari.[9] In 2015, she was cast as WPC Annie Taylor, the lead character in the third series of the BBC One television programme WPC 56.[2][10] She was a guest in Josh, playing the protagonist's love interest. Jessie acted in the 2014 short film Copy That directed by Kingsley Hoskins which won the Best Comedic Short Film award at TSFA in New York.[11] Jessie made her feature film debut as Doris in the 2016 war film Their Finest.

Breakthrough (2017–present)

In 2017, she starred as DC Jodie Taylor in series four of Line of Duty on BBC One and Lucy in the Dave sitcom Porters, the latter of which she would return to for its second series. The following year, she played Amelia Sedley in the ITV miniseries adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray's Vanity Fair.[12][13] She also made a guest appearance in the Doctor Who episode "Kerblam!" in 2018.[14]

In 2020, Jessie began playing Eloise, the fifth Bridgerton child, in the Shondaland-produced Netflix period drama Bridgerton, an adaptation of the Regency romance novels by Julia Quinn.[15] Jessie appeared in Bali 2002 for Stan and 9Network, an Australian drama about the real life 2002 Bali bombings. Jessie portrayed real-life survivor Polly Miller, a newlywed British tourist.[16] For her performance, Jessie was nominated for the Logie Award for Most Outstanding Actress.

In 2023, Jessie narrated the audiobook The Rebound by Leeanne Slade for Audible Original. It was voted as one of Audible's best books of 2023.[17] She has an upcoming role in the Netflix series Toxic Town.

Personal life

Jessie spoke of having a boyfriend in 2015.[2][18] She has stated she is a vegan and meditates for at least an hour a day. Her aunt introduced her to Nichiren Buddhism, and Jessie has regularly practiced it since she was 17 for her mental health.[5][19] She has spoken of her experiences with panic attacks and anxiety since childhood, as well as depersonalisation disorder.[1]

Jessie is a member of the climate activist group Extinction Rebellion and considers herself a fan of George Monbiot.[20][21]

Filmography

Film

Year Show Role Notes
2012 Rosie Rosie Short film
2014 Copy That Beth Short film
2016 Their Finest Doris Cleavely / Lily
2017 Ayla: The Daughter of War Marilyn Monroe
TBD Night and Day Freya Short Film

Television

Year Show Role Notes
2012 Doctors Kate Marshall Episode (14.131): "Host Family"
2013 House of Anubis Sophia Danae Episode (3.20): "House of Eclipse"
House of Anubis: Touchstone of Ra Sophia Danae TV film
The Paradise Mrs Douglas Episode (2.8)
Casualty Jenny Anover Episode (28.11): "Crush Syndrome"
2014 Doctors Poppy Conroy Recurring role, 12 episodes
2015 WPC 56 WPC Annie Taylor Series 3, lead role, five episodes
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell Mary 4 episodes
Josh Lucy Episode: "Suited and Booted"
Bull Faye 3 episodes[10]
2016 Call the Midwife Jeanette Su Episode (5.3)
2017 Father Brown Joan Vanderlande Episode (5.2): "The Labyrinth of the Minotaur"
Carters Get Rich Charity Worker Episode: "Bad Press"
Line of Duty Detective Constable Jodie Taylor 6 episodes (series 4)
Detectorists Doctor Hoffman 1 episode
Comedy Blaps Danielle Episode: "Furious Andrew"
2017–2019 Porters Lucy Main role
2018 Lovesick Tasha Episode: "Tasha"
Vanity Fair Amelia Sedley Miniseries; main role
Doctor Who Kira Arlo Episode (11.7): "Kerblam!"
2019 Defending the Guilty Nessa Main role
2020–present Bridgerton Eloise Bridgerton Main role
2022 Bali 2002 Polly Miller Miniseries

Web

Year Show Role Notes
2014–2016 Dixi Shari Main role

Audio

Year Show Role Notes
2017 Tolkien in Love Edith Radio 4 Drama[22]
2023 The Rebound Kitty Harris Audible Original[23]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Work Result Ref.
2021 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Bridgerton Nominated [24]
2023 Logie Awards Most Outstanding Actress Bali 2002 Nominated

References

  1. ^ a b c d Basham, Megan. "Vanity Fair's Claudia Jessie: I never want anything to do with that corset again". Belfasttelegraph. Archived from the original on 16 February 2019. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d Laws, Roz (14 November 2014). "Birmingham actress Claudia Jessie is the new WPC 56 in 1950s police drama". Birmingham Mail. Reach. Archived from the original on 12 September 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  3. ^ Gibb, Bill (2 September 2018). "My success is down to the dedication of amazing mum, says Vanity Fair star Claudia Jessie". The Sunday Post. Archived from the original on 8 January 2021. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  4. ^ Gibb, Bill. "Actress Claudia Jessie will savour her biggest acting moment tonight as she stars in ITV's latest period blockbuster Vanity Fair". sundaypost.com. DC Thomson Publishing – The Sunday Post. Archived from the original on 17 February 2019. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
  5. ^ a b "Vanity Fair's Claudia Jessie: 'Buddhism has helped me to go for what I want'". You. 26 August 2018. Archived from the original on 25 December 2020. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  6. ^ "Claudia Jessie". Spotlight. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  7. ^ Laws, Roz (9 April 2017). "Meet the Brummie actress at the heart of BBC1's Line of Duty". Birmingham Mail. Reach. Archived from the original on 7 May 2019. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  8. ^ "Nickelodeon announces House of Anubis special, Touchstone of Ra". vimn.com. Viacom Paramount Media. Archived from the original on 12 July 2019. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
  9. ^ Barraclough, Leo (24 November 2014). "Warner Bros. 'Lego Movie' Takes BAFTA Kids' Award". variety.com. Variety Media. Archived from the original on 17 February 2019. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
  10. ^ a b "Claudia Jessie - Biography". DAA Management. 6 February 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  11. ^ "Copy That". vimeo.com. Vimeo, Inc. Archived from the original on 18 March 2016. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
  12. ^ "Porters: Claudia Jessie Interview". British Comedy Guide. 18 September 2017. Archived from the original on 11 January 2021. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  13. ^ "Chasing the wind". world.wng.org. WORLD News Group. Archived from the original on 16 February 2019. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
  14. ^ Potts, Lianne (18 November 2018). "Doctor Who: 'Kerblam!' – Who is Claudia Jessie?". blgtorwho.com. DT Forum Ltd. Archived from the original on 17 February 2019. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
  15. ^ "The 'Bridgerton' Cast Questionnaire: Claudia Jessie Elaborates on Eloise Bridgerton". Shondaland. 25 December 2020. Archived from the original on 27 December 2020. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  16. ^ Quinn, Karl (3 March 2022). "Bali bombing series underway starring Bridgerton's Claudia Jessie". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 18 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  17. ^ "Audible Best Audiobooks of 2023". audible.co.uk. Audible.
  18. ^ "Everything you need to know about Claudia Jessie – the new woman on the beat in WPC 56". BBC. 9 March 2015. Archived from the original on 6 February 2021. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  19. ^ Studarus, Laura (14 January 2021). "Claudia Jessie on Buddhism, Yoga, and The Art of Looking Out Windows". Shondaland. Archived from the original on 3 February 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  20. ^ Mussen, Maddy (15 March 2023). "Bridgerton's Claudia Jessie on corsets, class and activism: 'Eloise would be in Extinction Rebellion in 2023'". Evening Standard. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  21. ^ Hogan, Michael (20 March 2022). "Claudia Jessie: 'What's the appeal of Bridgerton? It's a sexy cuddle'". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  22. ^ "BBC Radio 4 - Drama, Sean Grundy - Tolkien in Love". Archived from the original on 9 June 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  23. ^ "Audible acquires two books from debut romance author Slade". Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  24. ^ Oganesyan, Natalie; Moreau, Jordan (4 February 2021). "2021 SAG Awards: The Complete Nominations List". Variety. Archived from the original on 5 February 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2021.

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