Dorothy Perpetua Wells (born Gatacre; 5 December 1971)Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, vol. III, 2003, pg 3046 is an English actress and writer. She co-wrote and starred in the

Sky Living Sky Living was a British pay television channel owned and operated by Sky. The channel's programming was aimed mainly at women and young adults. It originally launched as UK Living in 1993 and closed 25 years later, being replaced by Sky Witness. ...

series ''

Doll & Em ''Doll & Em'' is a British comedy television series created by and starring Emily Mortimer and Dolly Wells. A six-episode order was commissioned by Sky Living in 2013. The series was directed and co-written by Azazel Jacobs. A 124-minute theatr ...

'' (2014–2015) with

Emily Mortimer Emily Kathleen Anne Mortimer (born 6 October 1971) is a British-American actress. She began acting in stage productions and has since appeared in several film and television roles. In 2003, she won an Independent Spirit Award for her performanc ...

, and wrote and directed the 2019 comedy-drama ''

Good Posture Spinal posture is the position of the spine in the human body. It is debated what the optimal spinal posture is, and whether poor spinal posture causes lower back pain. Neutral spine Looking directly at the front or back of the body, the 33 verteb ...

''. Her other television work includes roles in ''

Star Stories ''Star Stories'' is a British television comedy programme that took a satirical look at celebrities and their lives. It was first shown on Channel 4 on 15 September 2006. ''Star Stories'' is made by Objective Productions commissioned for Channe ...

'' (2006–2008), ''

Some Girls ''Some Girls'' is the 14th UK and 16th US album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 9 June 1978 by Rolling Stones Records. It was recorded in sessions held between October 1977 and February 1978 at Pathé Marconi Studios in ...

'' (2012–2014), ''

Noel Fielding's Luxury Comedy ''Noel Fielding's Luxury Comedy'', known as ''Luxury Comedy 2: Tales from Painted Hawaii'' for series two, is a British surreal comedy television series written and directed by Noel Fielding and Nigel Coan. The initial format for the series cha ...

'' (2012–2014), ''

Blunt Talk ''Blunt Talk'' is an American sitcom on the Starz cable network starring Patrick Stewart, created by Jonathan Ames, and executive produced by Seth MacFarlane. The series' first two episodes were released online on August 15, 2015, and premiered on ...

'' (2015–2016), ''

Dracula ''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking ...

'' (2020), '' The Outlaws'' (2021) and ''

Inside Man ''Inside Man'' is a 2006 American heist thriller film directed by Spike Lee and written by Russell Gewirtz. It centers on an elaborate bank heist on Wall Street over a 24-hour period. The film stars Denzel Washington as Detective Keith Frazi ...

'' (2022).

Personal life

Wells was born Dorothy Gatacre, in Merton,

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 ...

, the last of six children. She is the daughter of comic actor John Wells and Teresa Chancellor, daughter of Sir

Christopher Chancellor Sir Christopher John Howard Chancellor (29 March 1904 – 9 September 1989) was a British journalist and administrator who was general manager of the news agency Reuters from 1944 to 1959. ''The Daily Telegraph'' credited him for keeping the compa ...

, general manager of

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...

from 1944–59. Wells grew up thinking her father was her stepfather, and did not find out he was her biological father until she was eighteen. She later changed her name from Gatacre—her mother's first husband was Edward Gatacre—to Wells. Her first cousin is the actress

Anna Chancellor Anna Theodora Chancellor (born 27 April 1965) is a British actress who has received nominations for BAFTA and Olivier Awards. Background and early life Chancellor was born in Richmond, England to barrister John Paget Chancellor, eldest son of ...

. She was educated in a Catholic convent school, after failing the entrance exam for St Paul's. While trying to build an acting career, she worked as a journalist at the ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'' and as a book reviewer. Wells married photographer Mischa Richter in 2000. They have a daughter, Elsie (b. 2002) and a son, Ezra (b. 2005). Both appeared with their mother in ''

''.

Filmography

Films

Television

References

External links

* * 1971 births Living people English television actresses English film actresses 21st-century English actresses Actresses from London 20th-century English actresses London Evening Standard people {{British-actor-stub