Anastasia Griffith (born 23 March 1978) is a British actress known for her roles on the FX legal drama ''

Damages At common law, damages are a remedy in the form of a monetary award to be paid to a claimant as compensation for loss or injury. To warrant the award, the claimant must show that a breach of duty has caused foreseeable loss. To be recognised at ...

'' and the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

medical series ''

Trauma Trauma most often refers to: *Major trauma, in physical medicine, severe physical injury caused by an external source *Psychological trauma, a type of damage to the psyche that occurs as a result of a severely distressing event *Traumatic inju ...

''. She has also acted in films and a video game.

Early life and education

Born in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, France, to a mother from

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

and a father from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, Griffith was brought up in west

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

with six older brothers, one of whom is actor

Jamie Bamber Jamie Saint John Bamber Griffith (born 3 April 1973), known professionally as Jamie Bamber, is a British actor, known for his roles as Lee Adama in ''Battlestar Galactica'' and Detective Sergeant Matt Devlin in the ITV series '' Law & Order: ...

. She completed a degree in the History of Art at the

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

and later trained at the

London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) is a drama school located in Hammersmith, London. It is the oldest specialist drama school in the British Isles and a founding member of the Federation of Drama Schools. LAMDA's Principal is ...

, before moving into acting.

Career

Griffith made her onscreen acting debut in a minor role, in the

made-for-television movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

''She's Gone'' (2004). Also in 2004, she appeared in more prominent roles in the television movie ''

Dirty Filthy Love ''Dirty Filthy Love'' is a British single television drama starring Michael Sheen as an architect living with obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) and Tourette syndrome. Directed by Adrian Shergold, the film was first broadcast by ITV (TV netw ...

'', the comedy film ''

Alfie Alfie may refer to: Theatre and film * ''Alfie'' (play), a 1963 play by Bill Naughton * ''Alfie'' (1966 film), a film based on the play starring Michael Caine * ''Alfie'' (2004 film), a remake of the 1966 film * ''Alfie'' (2013 film), an Indi ...

'', the short film ''Turn'', and ''

The Headsman ''The Headsman'' (aka ''Shadow of the Sword'', Au. ''Henker'') is a 2005 film directed by Simon Aeby. Set in early 16th century Tyrol, it is set before the background of the turmoils of the Lutheran Reformation. It was filmed in Austria and Hun ...

''. In 2005, she guest-starred in the British comedy ''

The Worst Week of My Life ''The Worst Week of My Life'' is a British television sitcom, first broadcast on BBC One between March and April 2004. A second series was aired between November and December 2005 and a three-part Christmas special, ''The Worst Christmas of My ...

''. Griffith won her role as Katie Connor, on the 2007 television series ''

'', after taking a last-minute audition one month after moving to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The role saw her with an imitated American accent; she says "

he producers He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...

were a little concerned at first about a Brit playing an American, especially because they already had an Australian (

Rose Byrne Mary Rose Byrne (born 24 July 1979) is an Australian actress. She made her screen debut in the film ''Dallas Doll'' (1994), and continued to act in Australian film and television throughout the 1990s. She obtained her first leading film role i ...

) playing an American," and so Griffith addressed them in an American accent from the beginning to the end of the audition. Griffith returned to the series as a main cast member for the second season, which aired in 2009. She guest-starred in an episode of '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', and in the second episode of ''

New Amsterdam New Amsterdam ( nl, Nieuw Amsterdam, or ) was a 17th-century Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''factory'' gave rise ...

'', titled "Golden Boy". She was later cast in the NBC medical drama ''

'', which began airing in September 2009. In May 2010, after 18 episodes, NBC officially cancelled the show. Griffith returned on 17 June 2010, at the end from episode 3 season 2 from ''

Royal Pains ''Royal Pains'' (stylized ℞oyalPains) is an American comedy-drama television series that ran on the USA Network from 2009 to 2016. The series was based in part on actual concierge medicine practices of independent doctors and companies. The ca ...

'', as Dr. Emily Peck. Griffith appeared in the

Lifetime Lifetime may refer to: * Life expectancy, the length of time a person is expected to remain alive Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Lifetime (band), a rock band from New Jersey * ''Life Time'' (Rollins Band album), by Rollins Band * ...

television movie ''And Baby Will Fall'' (2011), as Ivy Rose. She can be seen as Elizabeth Haverford Morehouse, the English wife of a wealthy businessman, on the

BBC America BBC America is an American basic cable network that is jointly owned by BBC Studios and AMC Networks. The channel primarily airs sci-fi and action series and films, as well as selected programs from the BBC (such as its nature documentary ser ...

series ''

Copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

''.'' In 2011, she appeared in the first season of ABC's television series, ''

Once Upon a Time "Once upon a time" is a stock phrase used to introduce a narrative of past events, typically in fairy tales and folk tales. It has been used in some form since at least 1380 (according to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'') in storytelling in the ...

'', playing Storybrooke's Kathryn Nolan and her counterpart Abigail.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Griffith, Anastasia British film actresses British television actresses Alumni of the University of Bristol Alumni of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art 1978 births Living people British people of American descent English people of Northern Ireland descent Actresses from Paris Actresses from London 21st-century British actresses 21st-century English women 21st-century English people