Aisling Sinead Katie Loftus (born 1 September 1990) is a British actress. She began her career as a child actress and gained prominence through her roles in the BBC dramas '' Five Daughters'' (2010) and ''

Dive Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), a ...

'' (2010), the play ''

Spur of the Moment A spur is a metal tool designed to be worn in pairs on the heels of riding boots for the purpose of directing a horse or other animal to move forward or laterally while riding. It is usually used to refine the riding aids (commands) and to back ...

'', and the film ''

Death of a Superhero ''Death of a Superhero'' is a 2011 Irish drama film based on the New Zealand novel of the same name by Anthony McCarten. Originally planned to be directed by McCarten in New Zealand, the film was shot on location in Ireland throughout 2010 and wa ...

'' (2011). She has since appeared in the

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

period drama ''

Mr Selfridge ''Mr Selfridge'' is a British period drama television series about Harry Gordon Selfridge and his department store, Selfridge & Co, in London, set from 1908 to 1928. It was co-produced by ITV Studios and Masterpiece/ WGBH for broadcast on IT ...

'' (2013–2015), the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

series '' War & Peace'' (2016) and '' Broken'' (2017), and the Sky series ''

A Discovery of Witches ''A Discovery of Witches'' is a 2011 historical-fantasy novel and the debut novel by American scholar Deborah Harkness. It follows Diana Bishop, a history of science professor at Yale University, as she embraces her magical blood after findin ...

'' (2018–2022) and ''

The Midwich Cuckoos ''The Midwich Cuckoos'' is a 1957 science fiction novel written by the English author John Wyndham. It tells the tale of an English village in which the women become pregnant by brood parasitic aliens. The book has been praised by many critic ...

'' (2022). Her performance in the film ''Property of the State'' (2016) earned her an

IFTA Ifta is a former municipality in the Wartburgkreis district of Thuringia, Germany. Since 1 January 2019, it has been part of the town Treffurt Treffurt () is a small town in the western region of the Wartburgkreis district which belongs to the f ...

nomination.

Early life

Loftus was born in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

to Irish parents Paddy and Eileen from Drumcondra, Dublin and Roscrea, County Tipperary; she has an older sister Aoife. Loftus attended St Edmund Campion Catholic Primary School in West Bridgford and later completed

A Levels The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...

the Becket School The Becket School is a co-educational secondary Catholic school with academy status in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. It was formed in 1976 by the amalgamation of two schools, Corpus Christi Bi-Lateral School and Becket Grammar Sch ...

. She was nine when she discovered acting; she took classes at the Television Workshop and participated in the

National Theatre Connections Connections (also referred to as New Connections and formerly Shell Connections and BT Connections) is the Royal National Theatre in London's annual youth theatre festival. It was founded in 1995 and sponsored by Royal Dutch Shell until 2007 when t ...

. She considered going to drama school, but decided against it when she was cast in ''Dive'' whilst on study leave from her A Levels.

Career

Loftus made her television debut in a 2000 episode of the

medical drama ''

Peak Practice ''Peak Practice'' is a British drama series about a GP surgery in Cardale—a small fictional town in the Derbyshire Peak District—and the doctors who worked there. It ran on ITV from 10 May 1993 to 30 January 2002 and was one of their most ...

''. This was followed by guest appearances in the CITV series ''

Help! I'm a Teenage Outlaw ''Help! I'm a Teenage Outlaw'' is a British television programme filmed in the Czech Republic and first aired on CITV. The show follows three hapless outlaws during the English Civil War, who are trying to bring justice back to the land. The pr ...

'' as well as ''

Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...

'', ''

Doctors Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

'', and ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983. The programme focused on ...

''. In 2009, she starred as Amy in the ITV comedy-drama television film '' The Fattest Man in Britain''Loftus profile on IMDb
/ref> and the titular character of Daniel Elliott's short ''Jade'', which won a Silver Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2009. Loftus was named a 2009 ''

Screen International ''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company. The magazine is primarily aimed at those involved in the global film business. ...

'' Star of Tomorrow. In 2010, Loftus starred in the

dramas '' Five Daughters'' and ''

'' as Gemma Adams and Lindsey respectively. In her review of ''Dive'', Euan Ferguson of ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'' predicted that Aisling "Ash" Loftus would be a "phenomenon." That same year, Loftus made her London stage debut as Leonie Fowler in ''

'' by

Anya Reiss Anya Reiss (born in 1991) is a British playwright and screenwriter. Career The youngest writer to have a play staged in London, a graduate of the Royal Court's Young Writers Programme, she had her first play '' Spur of the Moment'' staged there ...

at the Royal Court Theatre. Dominic Cavendish of ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'' called her "superb." She also appeared in the Australian film '' Oranges and Sunshine and the

Sky One Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non-terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...

crime drama '' Thorne: Sleepyhead''. Loftus starred in the 2011 Irish film ''

'', for which she was awarded the Special Jury Prize by critics at the 2012

Dublin International Film Festival The Dublin International Film Festival (DIFF; ) is an annual film festival held in Dublin, Ireland, since 2003. History Dublin International Film Festival was established in 2003. It was revived by Michael Dwyer, international film critic and ' ...

. She also starred in the television films ''

Page Eight ''Page Eight'' is a 2011 British political thriller, written and directed for the BBC by the British dramatist David Hare, his first film as director since the 1989 film ''Strapless''. The cast includes Bill Nighy, Rachel Weisz, Michael Gambo ...

'' on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

as Melissa Legge and '' The Borrowers'' on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

as Arrietty Clock, as well as the play '' Noises Off'' for its Old Vic and

Novello Theatre The Novello Theatre is a West End theatre on Aldwych, in the City of Westminster. It was known as the Strand Theatre between 1913 and 2005. History The theatre was built as one of a pair with the Aldwych Theatre on either side of The Waldo ...

runs, marking her West End debut. This was followed in by roles in the BBC miniseries '' Public Enemies'' as Jade and ''

Good Cop ''Good Cop'' is a British police procedural television series, written and created by Stephen Butchard, that first broadcast on BBC One on 30 August 2012. The plot centres on an ordinary police constable, John Paul Rocksavage ( Warren Brown) ...

'' as Cassandra. In 2013, Loftus began starring in the ITV period drama ''

Mr. Selfridge ''Mr Selfridge'' is a British period drama television series about Harry Gordon Selfridge and his department store, Selfridge & Co, in London, set from 1908 to 1928. It was co-produced by ITV Studios and Masterpiece/ WGBH for broadcast on I ...

'' as Agnes Towler, a role she would play for the first three series. In 2016, she played Sonya Rostova in the BBC adaptation of '' War & Peace'', and appeared in the films '' Pride & Prejudice & Zombies'' and ''Property of the State''. For the latter, she was nominated for Best Lead Actress in a Film at the

14th Irish Film & Television Awards The 14th IFTA Film & Drama Awards took place at the Mansion House on 8 April 2017 in Dublin, honouring Irish film and television drama released in 2016. Deirdre O'Kane hosted the film awards ceremony. Film Awards The nominations for the IFTA Fi ...

. In 2017, she played Joan in the 40th anniversary production of Stephen Lowe's '' Touched'' at

Nottingham Playhouse Nottingham Playhouse is a theatre in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England. It was first established as a repertory theatre in 1948 when it operated from a former cinema in Goldsmith Street. Directors during this period included Val May and Fr ...

alongside fellow Television Workshop alumni. and Anne in ''The Treatment'' at the Almeida Theatre. She appeared in the film '' Gun Shy'', and played PC Dawn Morris in the BBC series '' Broken''. Loftus began played Sophie Wilson and later Susanna Norman in the 2018 Sky fantasy series ''

''. She appeared in ''Aristocrats'' at the Donmar Warehouse. She originated the role of Queenie in

Helen Edmundson Helen Edmundson (born 1964) is a British playwright, screenwriter and producer. She has won awards and critical acclaim both for her original writing and for her adaptations of various literary classics for the stage and screen. Early life Edm ...

's 2019 stage adaptation of '' Small Island'' at the National Theatre. She returned to the Donmar Warehouse with '' Far Away'' in 2020. Loftus starred in the film ''Homebound'' and the Sky Max science fiction series ''

''.

Personal life

In December 2018, Loftus married actor Jacob Anderson. The couple have a daughter, born July 2020.

Filmography

Film

Television

Stage

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
Loftus on Screen Daily websiteLeftLion: Aisling Loftus
{{DEFAULTSORT:Loftus, Aisling Living people 1990 births 21st-century English actresses Actresses from Nottinghamshire English film actresses English people of Irish descent English television actresses English stage actresses People from Nottingham