April Pearson facts for kids

Quick facts for kids April Pearson
Pearson at a Skins party in 2007
Born	April Janet Pearson (1989-01-23) 23 January 1989 (age 36) Bristol, England
Nationality	British
Education	Colston's Girls' School Bristol Old Vic Young Company
Occupation	Actress writer producer
Years active	1998–present
Spouse(s)	Jamie Patterson ​ (m. 2017)​
Children	1

April Janet Pearson (born 23 January 1989) is an English actress. She grew up in Bristol and loved acting from a young age. She started acting in local plays as a child.

April first appeared on TV in 1998, when she was nine years old. This was in the British medical drama series Casualty. She became widely known for her role as teenager Michelle Richardson in the E4 teen drama series Skins (2007–2008). For her work on Skins, she was nominated for an award at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival.

Later, she acted in her first movie, a comedy-horror film called Tormented (2009). She also performed in plays at the Bristol Old Vic theatre, like Suspension (2009) and Negative Space (2009), where she received good reviews.

April then started working more in horror and independent films. These included Fractured (2016) and Caught (2017), where she was praised for her role as Mrs. Blair. Her part as Amy in Dark Beacon (2017) won her two "Best Actress" awards at American horror film festivals. She also played Isla Crane in the play The Case of the Frightened Lady, where her performance was well-received.

Early Life and School

April Pearson was born and grew up in Bristol, England. She went to Colston's Girls' School in Bristol. In 2007, she was chosen as the "head girl" at her school, which is a leadership role. She was also part of the Bristol Old Vic Young Company, a theatre group for young people.

Both of April's parents worked in the television industry. Her father still works on the British medical drama series Casualty.

Acting Career

Starting Out and Skins (1998–2008)

April joined a theatre group in Bristol when she was just three years old. She was one of the first members. As she grew up, she acted in many plays with her drama group and at school.

When she was nine, April made her first TV appearance in the British medical drama Casualty in 1998. In 2006, while still a student at Colston's Girls' School, she was chosen for the TV show Skins. The casting director visited her school and asked her to audition after seeing her in a drama class.

Skins became a very popular show. April appeared in the first two seasons. Her acting was well-liked, and her character, Michelle Richardson, was popular with viewers. April said she enjoyed playing Michelle because the character was very different from her in real life. After the first season, April found it strange to be recognized by people, but she tried to be friendly to everyone.

Skins won an award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). April was nominated for the Golden Nymph Award for Best Actress in a Drama Series. April has said that her time on Skins taught her a lot about acting and working on a TV set. She feels very proud of the show's success.

First Films and Theatre (2009–2012)

After Skins, April had a small role in Casualty again. Then, she made her first appearance in a full-length movie. This was Tormented (2009), a comedy-horror film where she played Natasha Cummings. She worked with some of her Skins co-stars in this film. April said in an interview that she enjoys acting in all kinds of movies and doesn't want to stick to just one type.

In 2009, April returned to the theatre. She starred in the play Suspension at the Bristol Old Vic. Critics praised her performance in the play. Later that year, she played a kidnapped teenager named Callie in another play called Negative Space (2009). Reviewers were very impressed with April's acting, saying she was convincing as a much younger girl.

In 2011, April appeared in Casualty once more and in a short film called Will You Marry Me?. In 2012, she co-starred in a short comedy-drama film called My Brother's Keeper (Or How Not To Survive The Apocalypse). In this film, she played Jess, who is trying to look after her brother during a zombie apocalypse. Critics enjoyed the funny and touching relationship between April's character and her brother.

More TV and Working with Jamie Patterson (2013–2015)

In 2013, April worked again with Bryan Elsley, who helped create Skins. She had a small role in his TV series Dates. She also appeared in other TV shows like Casualty and Comedy Feeds, and in a TV movie called Unknown Heart (2014).

April also acted in a short film called Circle of Truth. This film explored the challenges people with multiple sclerosis (MS) face when deciding whether to tell their colleagues about their condition. MS is a disease that affects the brain and spinal cord. April also appeared in a sequel to this film, Working It Out.

In 2014, April starred in a romantic comedy short film called The Engagement. Later that year, she played Beth Prince in the romantic comedy movie Home for Christmas (2014). This film was directed by Jamie Patterson, who she would work with many times later.

In 2015, April was in the music video for The Wombats' song "Greek Tragedy". She played a very big fan of the band. She also appeared in the action film Age of Kill (2015) and the psychological horror film Tank 432 (2015). Even though Tank 432 didn't get great reviews, the actors were praised.

Focus on Horror and Independent Films (2016–Present)

In 2016, April starred in Fractured, a film about a couple's weekend getaway that goes wrong. She worked with her Home for Christmas co-star Karl Davies and director Jamie Patterson again. For her role in Fractured, April won the Best Actress Award at the British Horror Film Festival. She also appeared in the short film Cuttings (2016).

April worked with Jamie Patterson once more in Caught (2018). She played Mrs. Blair, one half of a mysterious couple who visit a journalist couple. Critics highly praised April's performance as Mrs. Blair. Many reviewers noted her ability to show a lot of emotion and character without saying many words.

April's next film was the horror thriller Dark Beacon (2017). She played Amy Wilcock, a character with strong feelings for another woman. Her performance was well-received, and she won "Best Actress" awards from the American Horror Film Festival and the Upstate NY Horror Film Festival for this role.

In 2018, April played Isla Crane in the play The Case of the Frightened Lady. Her performance was met with excitement, with critics saying she brought "youthful vibrancy" to the role.

She reunited with Skins co-creator Bryan Elsley for a third time, appearing briefly as Polly in the TV series Kiss Me First. April also starred as Lily in Patterson's comedy-drama film Tucked (2018). In 2018, April also helped write and starred in Patterson's independent comedy-drama film Tracked. In this film, a young couple tries to fix their relationship by traveling around Europe. The film was shown at the Raindance Film Festival, and April's acting was praised.

In 2020, she appeared in a short romantic comedy film called One Year Later. She also joined the cast of the British science fiction comedy Star Dogs, playing Cass Rio. April was also in Disconnected, an experimental drama series filmed remotely by actors during the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2021, she appeared in an episode of the BBC soap opera Doctors.

Upcoming Projects

April Pearson will next appear as Eva in the black comedy film Sideshow. She will also be working with director Jamie Patterson again in the romantic crime film God's Petting You and the psychological thriller The Kindred.

Personal Life

April Pearson has been involved in campaigns to encourage children to read. She is a fan of Spanish cinema and the books by Malorie Blackman, especially her Noughts and Crosses series. April lives in Brighton.

In 2014, April started her own theatre company called Laboratory Theatre Company with film director Jamie Patterson. This company combines theatre and film. April and Jamie Patterson began a relationship after meeting on the set of Home for Christmas (2014). They got married in 2017.

Since 2020, April has hosted a podcast called Are you Michelle from Skins?, where she interviews celebrities. She has mentioned that her acting heroes include Bernadette Peters, Nicole Kidman, Julie Walters, and Judi Dench. On 8 December 2021, April announced that she was expecting her first child.

Filmography

Film

Key

Denotes films that have not yet been released

Year	Title	Role	Director	Notes
2009	Tormented	Natasha Cummings	Wright, JonJon Wright
2014	Home for Christmas	Beth Prince	Jamie Patterson
2015	Age of Kill	Lexi	Neil Jones
2015	Tank 432	Annabella	Nick Gillespie
2016	Fractured	Rebecca	Jamie Patterson	Also producer
2017	Caught	Mrs. Blair	Jamie Patterson
2017	Dark Beacon	Amy Wilcock	Coz Greenop
2018	Tucked	Lily	Jamie Patterson
2018	Tracks	Lucy	Jamie Patterson	Also writer and makeup designer
2021	Sideshow	Eva	Adam Oldroyd
2021	The Kindred	Helen Tullet	Jamie Patterson	Post-production; also executive producer
TBA	God's Petting You	Advisor Sue	Jamie Patterson	Post-production

Television

Short film

Music videos

Theatre

See also

In Spanish: April Pearson para niños