Tanya Reynolds
Born
Tanya Louise Reynolds

(1991-11-04) 4 November 1991 (age 32)
Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England
EducationOxford School of Drama (BA)
OccupationActress
Years active2015–present
TelevisionDelicious
Sex Education

Tanya Louise Reynolds[1] (born 4 November 1991) is an English actress. She landed her first major role as a series regular on the Sky 1 comedy-drama Delicious (2016–2019). Reynolds portrayed Lily Iglehart on the Netflix comedy-drama Sex Education (2019–2021), where she was a part of the main cast in the first three seasons. Other credits include Outlander (2017), Death in Paradise (2017), Emma (2020), Dodger (2022), The Baby (2022), I Hate You (2022), and The Decameron (2024).

In 2024, she was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, for her performance in the play A Mirror at the Trafalgar Theatre.

Early life

Reynolds was born and raised in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire.[2] Her father was a builder and her mother was a sign writer.[3] She is of half English and half Italian descent.[4] Her first experience in acting was at the age of four in the school nativity.[3] Reynolds attended the Oxford School of Drama,[5] after winning a fully-funded scholarship, and purportedly conceded that otherwise she would not have been able to afford the drama school fees.[3][6] Reynolds graduated in 2015.[6]

Career

Reynolds first appeared on screen in several short films, including Civilised People by UK comedy duo In Cahoots, which was shown at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 2015,[7][8] The Jealous Boyfriend,[8] also by In Cahoots, and Introducing Lucy. In 2016, Reynolds landed her first TV appearance in Delicious, where she played Teresa Benelli for 12 episodes.[2]

2017 saw Reynolds furthering her TV career, with parts in Outlander, playing Lady Isobel Dunsany,[9] and in the BBC thriller series Rellik, as 20 year old Sally.[10] The same year she starred as Pearl Marston in the BBC crime drama Death in Paradise in the episode: Murder from Above shown in January 2018.[2]

In 2018, Reynolds was a leading actor in the feature film Fanny Lye Deliver'd,[11] among a cast that included Charles Dance and Maxine Peake. She also played a leading role as Teresa in the Sky One comedy Delicious, alongside a cast which included Iain Glen and Dawn French.[12]

In 2019, she starred as Lily Iglehart in the Netflix comedy-drama Sex Education.[2] Initially a recurring role for series 1, but she was promoted to a main character role for two further seasons.[8][13] However, she did not return to the series for its fourth and final season.[14]

In 2020, Reynolds played Mrs. Elton in a film adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma, alongside Anya Taylor-Joy and Bill Nighy.[15] The same year, she was named as one of Screen International's Stars of Tomorrow 2020, which showcases talent within the television and film industry of Great Britain and Ireland.[16]

In 2021, Reynolds played Queen Victoria in the NBCUniversal series Dodger, alongside Christopher Eccleston as Fagin and David Threlfall as Chief of Police.[17]

In 2024, Reynolds reprised the role of Mei in the West End transfer of A Mirror at the Trafalgar Theatre.[18] For her performance, she was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.[19]

Also in 2024, she is due to appear as Porcupine in the upcoming film Harold and the Purple Crayon.[20]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2015 The Jealous Boyfriend Katie Short film[8]
2015 Civilised People Francesca Short film[7]
2015 Introducing Lucy Lucy Short film
2018 Fanny Lye Deliver'd Rebecca Henshaw[11] Film
2019 The Delivery Jana Palmer Short film
2019 For Love or Money Alexa Film
2019 Lily Meets Charlie Lily Short film
2019 Undergods Maria Film
2020 Emma Mrs. Augusta Elton Film
2021 X to X Jeanie / Layla Short film
2022 Everybody Dies... Sometimes Mara Short film
2024 The Actor TBA Film
2024 Harold and the Purple Crayon Porcupine Post-production[20]
2024 Timestalker Meg
Television
Year Title Role Notes
2016–2019 Delicious Teresa Benelli Main - 12 episodes
2017 Rellik[10] Sally 3 episodes
2017 Outlander Lady Isobel Dunsany Episode: "Of Lost Things"[9][21]
2017 Death in Paradise Pearl Marston Episode: Murder from Above
2018 The Bisexual Jill Episode: "1.5"[8]
2019 The Mallorca Files Claire Taylor Episode: "Honour Amongst Thieves"
2020 Breeders Therapist Episode: 1.6: No Taking
2019–2021 Sex Education Lily Iglehart 22 episodes[8]
2022 Dodger Queen Victoria 4 episodes
2022 The Baby Helen 3 episodes
2022 I Hate You Charlie 6 episodes
2024 The Decameron Licisca

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref.
2020 Screen International Stars of Tomorrow 2020 Won [16]
2021 Pena de Prata Best Ensemble in a Comedy Series (shared) Sex Education Nominated [22]
2023 Kino London Short Film Festival Best Performance in a Comedy Everybody Dies... Sometimes Won [22][23]
2024 Laurence Olivier Awards Best Actress in a Supporting Role A Mirror - Trafalgar Theatre Nominated [19]

References

  1. ^ "Tanya Louise Reynolds - Birth Records". Ancestry.com. Ancestry.com. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d "Tanya Reynolds Credits". tvguide.com. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  3. ^ a b c "Sex Education's Tanya Reynolds interview: 'This play beautifully illustrates what so many women are questioning'". standard.co.uk. 20 January 2020.
  4. ^ "Il cast di Sex Education gioca a Italians do it better | Netflix Italia". Netflix Italian. 19 January 2020.
  5. ^ "Oxford School of Drama Notable Alumni". oxforddrama.ac.uk. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Student stories - Tanya Reynolds". Oxford Drama. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  7. ^ a b "Civilised People - Short Film on vimeo". vimeo.com. 2015.
  8. ^ a b c d e f "Actor - Tanya Reynolds". ajmanagement.co.uk. 20 January 2019. Archived from the original on 4 September 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  9. ^ a b "Outlander casts two new very important season 3 roles". Radio Times. 11 January 2016.
  10. ^ a b "Rellik Episode 2". BBC. 18 September 2017.
  11. ^ a b "British Film Directory - Fanny Lye Deliver'd". film.britishcouncil.org. 23 September 2018.
  12. ^ "'Delicious' star Tanya Reynolds". bbc.co.uk. 5 February 2019.
  13. ^ "Sex Education: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  14. ^ Jeffery, Morgan (13 July 2022). "Tanya Reynolds won't appear in Sex Education season 4 as Lily". Radio Times. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  15. ^ "Tanya Reynolds on Jane Austen's Emma & Netflix's Sex Education". crookesmagazine.com. 13 February 2020.
  16. ^ a b "Stars of Tomorrow 2020: Tanya Reynolds (actor)". screendaily.com. 28 September 2020. Archived from the original on 25 October 2020.
  17. ^ "Christopher Eccleston and David Threlfall star in new BBC drama Dodger". bbc.com. 5 May 2021.
  18. ^ "Jonny Lee Miller, Tanya Reynolds and Samuel Adewunmi to star in West End transfer of A Mirror". Bestoftheatre.co.uk. 28 November 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  19. ^ a b Megan Bull (14 April 2024). "Olivier Awards 2024: Full winners list revealed". msn.com.
  20. ^ a b Grobar, Matt (2 May 2022). "Tanya Reynolds Joins 'Harold And The Purple Crayon'; 'The Throwback' Adds Gregg Sulkin". Deadline. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  21. ^ Petski, Denise (10 November 2016). "Outlander Season 3 Casts The Dunsany Sisters, Geneva & Isobel". Deadline Hollywood.
  22. ^ a b "Tanya Reynolds Awards". imdb.com (Index source only). Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  23. ^ "Our Awards Gala was held on April 30th at the Garden Cinema and the Winners are". kinoshortfilm.com. Retrieved 11 March 2023.

External links

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