Freema Agyeman facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Freema Agyeman
Agyeman at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con
Born	Frema Agyeman (1979-03-20) 20 March 1979 (age 46) London, England
Education	Middlesex University (BA)
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2001–present
Television	Doctor Who Law & Order: UK Little Dorrit New Amsterdam Sense8 The Carrie Diaries

Freema Agyeman (born 20 March 1979) is an English actress. She became famous for playing Martha Jones, a companion to the Doctor, in the BBC science fiction show Doctor Who from 2007 to 2010. She also appeared in its spin-off show, Torchwood.

Agyeman is also known for her roles as Crown Prosecutor Alesha Phillips in the crime show Law & Order: UK (2009–2012) and Dr. Helen Sharpe in the medical drama New Amsterdam (2018–2023). She also played Amanita "Neets" Caplan in the Netflix science fiction series Sense8 (2015–2018).

In 2013, she appeared in her first American TV show, The Carrie Diaries, where she played a magazine editor named Larissa Loughlin. She has also acted in movies, including North v South (2015), Eat Locals (2017), and The Matrix Resurrections (2021).

Early life

Freema Agyeman was born in Hackney, a part of East London, on March 20, 1979. Her mother, Azar, is Iranian Kurdish, and her father, Osei, is Ghanaian. Her parents divorced when she was a child. Freema has an older sister named Leila and a younger brother named Dominic.

Agyeman grew up as a practising Roman Catholic and went to a Catholic school. In 1996, she attended the Anna Scher Theatre School to study acting. She later studied performing arts and drama at Middlesex University and graduated in 2000.

Career

Early Acting Roles

When Agyeman started her acting career, she changed the spelling of her first name from "Frema" to "Freema" to help people say it correctly.

Before her big break in Doctor Who, Agyeman's most well-known role was Lola Wise in the soap opera Crossroads. She was nominated for a British Soap Award for Best Newcomer in 2003. She also had small roles in other TV shows like Casualty and The Bill. In 2006, she acted in her first movie, an independent drama called Rulers and Dealers.

Doctor Who and Torchwood

Agyeman auditioned for three different parts in the 2006 series of Doctor Who. She was first cast as a character named Adeola Oshodi, who appeared in the episode "Army of Ghosts".

The producers were very impressed with her acting. They asked her to audition again to be the Doctor's new companion. For her final audition, she acted with David Tennant, who played the Tenth Doctor. On July 5, 2006, it was announced that Freema would play the new companion, Martha Jones.

Agyeman at a screening for the third series of Doctor Who in 2007

Agyeman first appeared as Martha Jones on March 31, 2007, in the episode "Smith and Jones". In the show, it was explained that her first character, Adeola, was Martha's cousin. Agyeman played Martha in every episode of the third series. She also voiced Martha in the animated series The Infinite Quest.

For her role as Martha, Agyeman won Best Newcomer at the Glamour Women of the Year Awards in 2007. She also won Favourite Female TV Star at the Screen Nation Film & TV Awards.

She returned as Martha in five episodes of the fourth series of Doctor Who in 2008. She also appeared in David Tennant's final episode, "The End of Time". Agyeman also played Martha in three episodes of the Doctor Who spin-off, Torchwood. She has continued to play Martha in several Torchwood and Doctor Who audio dramas produced by Big Finish Productions.

Other TV and Film Work

Agyeman on the set of Old Jack's Boat in 2012

From 2009 to 2012, Agyeman played Crown Prosecutor Alesha Phillips in Law & Order: UK. She was a big fan of the original American Law & Order series. To prepare for the role, she watched real trials and talked to her sister, who has a law degree.

In 2013, she starred in the American TV show The Carrie Diaries as Larissa Loughlin. She also played Shelley in the CBeebies show Old Jack's Boat.

From 2015 to 2018, Agyeman was a main character in the Netflix series Sense8. She played Amanita "Neets" Caplan, the girlfriend of one of the main characters.

In 2018, she joined the main cast of the American medical drama New Amsterdam as Dr. Helen Sharpe. She played this role for four seasons. After leaving the show, she starred in the comedy-drama Dreamland in 2023.

Personal life

Agyeman has a tattoo on her upper arm of a butterfly with the Persian word "raha," which means "free." This tattoo is a symbol of her Iranian background.

Agyeman is a Roman Catholic. She has said that she believes doing good things for others is her way of expressing her faith. After working in the United States for many years, she moved back to England.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

See also

In Spanish: Freema Agyeman para niños