Hannah James is a British–American actress. James grew up on a rural farm in

Madison County, Virginia Madison County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,837. Its county seat is Madison. History Madison County was established in December 1792, created from Culpeper County. The c ...

, which the '' Culpeper Star Exponent'' called an ''"1830 homestead"''.

Early life

James was

home-schooled Homeschooling or home schooling, also known as home education or elective home education (EHE), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted by a parent, tutor, or an onlin ...

, until the age of ten. She started taking dance lessons when she was just two years old. As a youth she studied ballet, but describes deciding she would seek out a career as a regular actor, like her heroines Maggie Smith and

Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Regarded as one of Britain's best actresses, she is noted for her versatile work in various films and television programmes encompassing several genres, as well as for her ...

, because the intense physical requirements dancers put on their bodies meant they had short careers. James attended the

Guildford School of Acting Guildford School of Acting (GSA) is a drama school in Guildford, Surrey, England. It is an academic school in the University of Surrey. It is a member of the Federation of Drama Schools The Federation of Drama Schools functions to facilitate ...

in Surrey, England.

Career

Her first major role was a

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

belle who becomes a volunteer nurse, in the mini-series ''

Mercy Street "Mercy Street" is a song written by English musician Peter Gabriel from his 1986 album '' So''. Background and recording The song was inspired by the personal and confessional works of the American poet Anne Sexton, who wrote a play titled '' ...

''—set in Virginia. The character James plays, Emma Green, was based on a historical figure. As in the miniseries, she was a daughter of the owners of the hotel that the Union seizes to use as a hospital, the Mansion House Hospital. Many Virginian newspapers celebrated that the role of Virginian belle was played by a Virginian. ''

Women's Wear Daily ''Women's Wear Daily'' (also known as ''WWD'') is a fashion-industry trade journal often referred to as the "Bible of fashion". Horyn, Cathy"Breaking Fashion News With a Provocative Edge" ''The New York Times''. (August 20, 1999). It provides inf ...

'', noting that the series would be broadcast in the same time slot as the very popular costume drama ''

Downton Abbey ''Downton Abbey'' is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. The series first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United States o ...

'', suggested James was poised to be the next "Lady Mary," the beautiful and glamorous character central to much of the drama of the earlier series. James's costumes required her to wear a corset, and she described how she almost fainted on one particularly long day on set. On November 12, 2016, producers announced that she had been cast in a single episode role (3.4) for the third season of ''Outlander''.

Filmography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Hannah American television actresses British television actresses 1994 births Living people People from Madison County, Virginia Actresses from Virginia 21st-century American actresses 21st-century British actresses Alumni of the Guildford School of Acting