Jenna Coleman facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jenna Coleman
Coleman at the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con
Born	Jenna-Louise Coleman (1986-04-27) 27 April 1986 (age 39) Blackpool, Lancashire, England
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1996 2004–present
Partner(s)	Richard Madden (2011–2015) Tom Hughes (2016–2020) Jamie Childs (2020–present)
Children	1

Jenna-Louise Coleman (born 27 April 1986) is an English actress. She is known for playing important characters in popular TV shows. She started her career playing Jasmine Thomas in the soap opera Emmerdale and later appeared in the school drama Waterloo Road.

Coleman became famous worldwide for her role as Clara Oswald in the science-fiction series Doctor Who. She was the companion to the Eleventh Doctor and the Twelfth Doctor from 2012 to 2015. After that, she starred as the young Queen Victoria in the historical drama Victoria.

She has also appeared in movies like Captain America: The First Avenger and TV shows like The Sandman, where she played Johanna Constantine. Besides acting on screen, Coleman has performed in plays and voiced characters in video games, such as Melia in the Xenoblade Chronicles series.

Early Life and First Roles

Jenna-Louise Coleman was born in Blackpool, England, on April 27, 1986. Her parents are Karen and Keith Coleman. Her father builds and installs the interiors of bars and restaurants. She has an older brother named Ben.

Coleman attended Arnold School in Blackpool, where she was chosen as head girl. She started acting at a young age. When she was 10, she performed in a professional play called Summer Holiday. While in school, she was part of a theater group called In Yer Space. She performed with them in a play at the famous Edinburgh Festival and won an award for her acting.

She was offered a place at the University of York to study English. However, she decided to turn it down to take a role in the TV show Emmerdale.

Career

Early Career: 2005–2012

Coleman in November 2013

In 2005, Coleman got the part of Jasmine Thomas in the TV soap opera Emmerdale. Her performance earned her nominations for several awards, including "Best Newcomer" and "Best Actress".

In 2009, she joined the BBC school drama Waterloo Road as a student named Lindsay James. Since she was 23 at the time, she said it felt strange to play a schoolgirl.

In 2011, she appeared in her first movie, Captain America: The First Avenger, where she had a small role. She also acted in several TV miniseries, which are short TV shows with only a few episodes. These included Titanic and Death Comes to Pemberley.

Becoming Famous with Doctor Who

Peter Capaldi and Coleman in 2015

In 2012, Coleman landed her most famous role as the companion to the Doctor in the BBC science-fiction show Doctor Who. The show's producer, Steven Moffat, chose her because she worked well with Matt Smith, who played the Eleventh Doctor.

She first appeared in a surprise role as a character named Oswin Oswald. Later, she became a regular character in the Christmas episode "The Snowmen" as Clara Oswald. Her character traveled with the Doctor through time and space. She continued as the companion when Peter Capaldi took over the role as the Twelfth Doctor.

Coleman left the show in 2015 to play Queen Victoria in a new series. She made a brief final appearance in the 2017 Doctor Who Christmas special, "Twice Upon a Time".

Starring as Queen Victoria and Other Work

Coleman in November 2017

In 2016, Coleman began starring in the ITV drama Victoria. She played the main role of Queen Victoria during her early years as the ruler of Great Britain. Coleman said she had to do a lot of research for the part because she didn't know much about Victorian history. The show was very popular and ran for three series.

During this time, she also starred in other dramas. In 2018, she played a young mother in the BBC series The Cry. In 2021, she appeared in The Serpent, a show based on a true story.

Coleman has also performed on stage. In 2019, she was in a play called All My Sons at the Old Vic Theatre in London. In 2023, she starred in another play called Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons.

Recent Roles

In 2022, Coleman joined the cast of the Netflix fantasy series The Sandman. She played two versions of the character Johanna Constantine: one from the 18th century and one from the present day. Her performance was very popular with fans.

She has also appeared in recent movies, including the dark comedy Klokkenluider (2022) and the thriller Jackdaw (2023). In 2023, she starred in the Amazon Prime thriller series Wilderness. In 2024, she played a police detective in the BBC crime drama The Jetty.

Personal Life

From 2011 to 2015, Coleman was in a relationship with actor Richard Madden. She later dated actor Tom Hughes from 2016 to 2020. Since 2020, she has been in a relationship with director Jamie Childs, whom she met while working on The Sandman. They have one child, who was born in 2024.

Charity Work

Coleman is an ambassador for two charities. One is One To One Children's Fund, which helps raise awareness of HIV in South Africa. The other is Place2Be, a charity that offers support to students in schools. She has also supported fundraising events like Comic Relief and Red Nose Day.

Filmography

Key

Denotes films that have not yet been released

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2011	Captain America: The First Avenger	Connie
2016	Me Before You	Katrina "Treena" Clark
2022	Klokkenluider	Flo
2023	Jackdaw	Bo
2024	All of You	Robyn
TBA	Control	TBA	Post-production

Television

Stage

Video games

Awards and nominations