Georgina "Gina" McKee (born 14 April 1964) is an English actress. She won the 1997
BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for ''
Our Friends in the North
''Our Friends in the North'' is a British television drama serial produced by the BBC. It was originally broadcast in nine episodes on BBC2 in early 1996. Written by Peter Flannery, it tells the story of four friends from Newcastle upon Tyne ...
'' (1996), and earned subsequent nominations for ''
The Lost Prince
''The Lost Prince'' is a British television drama about the life of Prince John – youngest child of Britain's King George V and Queen Mary – who died at the age of 13 in 1919.
A Talkback Thames production written and directed by Stephe ...
'' (2003) and ''
The Street The Street may refer to:
Geographical
*Wall Street in New York City's Financial District
* The Street, Lawshall, Suffolk, England
* The Street (Heath Charnock), a building and bridleway in Rivington, Lancashire, England
Film and television
* ''The ...
'' (2007). She also starred on television in ''
The Forsyte Saga
''The Forsyte Saga'', first published under that title in 1922, is a series of three novels and two interludes published between 1906 and 1921 by the English author John Galsworthy, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature. They chronicle the vici ...
'' (2002) and as
Caterina Sforza
Caterina Sforza (1463 – 28 May 1509) was an Italian noblewoman, the Countess of Forlì and Lady of Imola, firstly with her husband Girolamo Riario, and after his death as a regent of her son Ottaviano. Caterina was a noblewoman who lived a li ...
in ''
The Borgias'' (2011). Her film appearances include ''
Notting Hill
Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a cosmopolitan and multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting Hill Carnival and Portobello Road M ...
'' (1999), ''
Phantom Thread
''Phantom Thread'' is a 2017 American historical drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, and starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Vicky Krieps and Lesley Manville. Set in 1950s London, it stars Day-Lewis as an haute couture dressmaker w ...
'' (2017), and ''
My Policeman'' (2022).
Early life
McKee was born in
Peterlee
Peterlee is a town in County Durham, England. It lies between Sunderland to the north, Hartlepool to the south, the Durham Coast to the east and Durham to the west. It gained town status in 1948 under the New Towns Act 1946. The act also cre ...
,
County Durham
County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly â€About North East E ...
, the daughter of a coal miner,
[Lane, Harriet]
"'I had nothing to lose'"
''Guardian.co.uk'', 30 November 2008 (Retrieved: 1 August 2009) and grew up there and in nearby
Easington and
Sunderland. Her first experience of acting occurred in her final year at primary school where her teacher finished the school week off with improvisations.
Seeing a poster in a shoe-shop window for a new youth drama group, McKee and her friends decided to attend, initially not seriously but later becoming enthusiastic.
It led to McKee's first professional appearance, working on
Tyne Tees children's series, ''Quest of Eagles''.
From the age of 15, McKee spent three summers in London with the
National Youth Theatre.
After completing her A-Levels at
East Durham College
East Durham College, formerly known as East Durham & Houghall Community College, is a community college with campuses in Peterlee and Houghall, south-east of Durham. The college student roll at the time of a February 2014 Ofsted report was 1,5 ...
, she decided, with her parents' blessing, to apply to drama schools rather than art colleges. However, she was rejected by
Bristol Old Vic Theatre School
The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School is a drama school in Bristol, England. The institution provides training in acting and production for careers in film, television and theatre.
BOVTS is an affiliate of the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama. I ...
,
London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and the
Central School of Speech and Drama
The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama was founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as The Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students. It became a ...
.
Career
McKee began her career in TV with several background roles including a part on ''
The Lenny Henry Show
''The Lenny Henry Show'' is a comedy sketch show (and in its 1987–1988 incarnation, a sitcom) featuring Lenny Henry.
It was originally broadcast between 1984 and 1988, and was later revived twice, in 1995 and 2004–2005.
History Original vers ...
''. She made her film debut in 1988 when she had a small role in ''
The Lair of the White Worm
''The Lair of the White Worm'' is a horror novel by the Irish writer Bram Stoker. It was first published by Rider and Son of London in 1911 – the year before Stoker's death – with colour illustrations by Pamela Colman Smith. The story is bas ...
''. In 1996, she played Mary in the
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 exam. ...
...
Award and the Broadcasting Press Guild Award.
'' at the Comedy Theatre in London. In 2008, she appeared in the BBC drama ''Fiona's Story'' and a West End revival of Chekhov's ''
''.
'', directed by Michael Grandage and starring Derek Jacobi. She received an Olivier Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her performance.
She played the mother of a deaf teenager in BBC TV's thriller, ''
. In 2018, she appeared in the highly successful BBC/Netflix drama series ''
'' as Commander Anne Sampson.
, England. She has been a
since 1982.
.