Tamara Lawrance facts for kids

Tamara Naomi Lawrance (born in 1994) is a talented British actress. She is well-known for her roles in TV shows and plays. For example, she played a character in the 2017 BBC film King Charles III. She also starred as Viola in the play Twelfth Night at the National Theatre in 2017.

For her role as Viola, she won second prize at the Ian Charleson Awards in 2018. Important theatre websites and newspapers have praised her. WhatsOnStage called her one of the "10 theatre faces to look out for in 2017". The Guardian also listed her as one of "20 talents set to take 2017 by storm".

In December 2018, she played Miss July in The Long Song. This was a three-part BBC show based on a book by Andrea Levy. Her character was a former slave on a sugar plantation in Jamaica in the 1800s. In October 2023, she appeared in the BBC prison drama Time. She played Abi, a character serving a life sentence. In 2024, she took on the main role in the TV miniseries Get Millie Black.

Early Life and Education

Tamara Lawrance was born in 1994 in Wembley, London. Her mother was a hospital worker from Jamaica. Her father worked as a delivery driver.

She started acting in school plays when she was six years old. Her secondary school did not offer theatre classes until later years. So, she convinced her drama teacher to start a theatre club for younger students. At the Shakespeare Schools Festival, she played Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream. She also played the main role in Macbeth.

As a teenager, she lived in Enfield. She attended St Dominic's Sixth Form College in Harrow. In 2012, when she was 17, she won a national poetry competition. It was called SLAMbassadors UK, run by the Poetry Society. She later studied at RADA, a famous acting school. She graduated from RADA in 2015.

Acting Career Highlights

Lawrance began her professional acting career in 2016. Her first role was in the BBC miniseries Undercover. She played Clem, the eldest daughter of the main characters. After that, she performed on stage. She played Dussie Mae in the play Ma Rainey's Black Bottom at the National Theatre. Critics praised her performance, calling her presence "electrifying".

She then co-starred with actor Matt Smith in the play Unreachable in 2016. This play was about a film director who was obsessed with his work. Even though the play had mixed reviews, Lawrance received a lot of praise. People called her performance "extraordinary" and "superb". The Hollywood Reporter said she had to switch between different accents and emotions. They also said bigger and better roles would surely come her way.

In 2017, she played Viola in Twelfth Night at the National Theatre. This play was even shown live in cinemas around the world. Reviewers described her performance as "compelling" and "passionate". Time Out called her "charismatic and loveable". She won second prize at the Ian Charleson Awards for this role. She also played Cordelia in King Lear in 2017. She acted opposite famous actor Ian McKellen. Critics said she was a "rising star".

On television, after Undercover, she had a main role in the 2017 BBC film King Charles III. In this film, she played Prince Harry's girlfriend. The story imagined what the British royal family might be like in the future. The Guardian noted that Lawrance made the old-fashioned language sound very natural. Her next TV appearance was in the legal drama The Split in 2018. She also had a recurring role in the crime drama No Offence.

In films, she had a supporting role in On Chesil Beach in 2017. In December 2018, Lawrance starred as July in The Long Song. This was a three-part BBC show about a slave on a sugar plantation in Jamaica. Her co-stars included Jack Lowden and Hayley Atwell. She also co-starred in a play called The Tell-Tale Heart at the National Theatre. This play was based on a story by Edgar Allan Poe.

Acting Roles

Theatre Performances

Television Roles

Film Roles