Isabella India Jane Laughland (born 1991) is a British actress. She began her career in the

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...

films '' Half Blood Prince'' (2009) and '' Deathly Hallows: Part 1'' (2010) and '' Part 2'' (2011). She went on to star in ''

Urban Hymn ''Urban Hymn'' is a 2015 British coming-of-age drama directed by Michael Caton-Jones, written by Nick Moorcroft, and starring Letitia Wright, Shirley Henderson, Isabella Laughland, Ian Hart, and starring Steven Mackintosh. Premise Set against ...

'' (2015) and '' Chubby Funny'' (2016). Her other films include ''

Now Is Good ''Now Is Good'' is a 2012 teen romantic drama film directed by Ol Parker. Based on Jenny Downham's 2007 novel ''Before I Die'', it was adapted by Parker, who had recently written the screenplay for ''The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel''. The film, ...

'' (2012), ''

Slaughterhouse Rulez ''Slaughterhouse Rulez'' is a 2018 comedy horror film directed by Crispian Mills. Written by Mills and Henry Fitzherbert, the film's cast features Asa Butterfield, Finn Cole, Hermione Corfield, Michael Sheen, with Nick Frost and Simon Pegg. ''S ...

'' (2018), ''

Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool ''Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool'' is a 2017 biographical romantic drama film directed by Paul McGuigan and starring Annette Bening and Jamie Bell, with a cast that includes Vanessa Redgrave and Julie Walters. It is based on the memoir o ...

'' (2017), and '' Good Luck to You, Leo Grande'' (2022). On television, she is known for her roles in the ''

Black Mirror ''Black Mirror'' is a British anthology television series created by Charlie Brooker. Individual episodes explore a diversity of genres, but most are set in near-future dystopias with science fiction technology—a type of speculative fictio ...

'' episode "

Fifteen Million Merits "Fifteen Million Merits" is the second episode of the first series of the British science fiction anthology series ''Black Mirror''. It was written by the series creator and showrunner Charlie Brooker and his wife Konnie Huq and directed by Euro ...

" (2011), the

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 ...

comedy-drama ''

Trigonometry Trigonometry () is a branch of mathematics that studies relationships between side lengths and angles of triangles. The field emerged in the Hellenistic world during the 3rd century BC from applications of geometry to astronomical studies. T ...

'' (2020), and the Channel 5 miniseries ''

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key ...

'' (2021). She also had recurring roles in the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

drama ''

Chimerica Chimerica is a neologism and portmanteau coined by Niall Ferguson and Moritz Schularick describing the symbiotic relationship between China and the United States, with incidental reference to the legendary chimera. Though the term is largely ...

'' (2019), the

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 ...

sitcom ''

Ghosts A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...

'' (2019) and drama ''

Four Lives ''Four Lives'', originally and internationally titled ''The Barking Murders'', is a British television miniseries, first aired from 3 to 5 January 2022 on BBC One. It follows the true story of the families of four young gay men (Anthony Walgate, ...

'' (2022), and a voice role in '' The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance'' (2019) on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

. Laughland is a regular performer on stage, starring in the National Theatre productions of ''

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

'' (2011) and '' The Last of the Haussmans'' (2012). In 2010, she was nominated for Outstanding Newcomer at the ''Evening Standard'' Theatre Awards for her performance in ''Wanderlust'' at the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, Englan ...

Early life and education

Laughland was born in 1991 in West London to Welsh television director Nick Laughland (1951–2020) and casting director Nadira Seecoomar, who is of

Indo-Guyanese Indo-Guyanese or Indian-Guyanese, are people of Indian origin who are Guyanese nationals tracing their ancestry to India and the wider subcontinent. They are the descendants of indentured servants and settlers who migrated from India beginnin ...

heritage. Seecoomar's father had arrived in England from Guyana in 1962 as part of the

Windrush generation British African-Caribbean people are an ethnic group in the United Kingdom. They are British citizens whose ancestry originates from the Caribbean or they are nationals of the Caribbean who reside in the UK. There are some self-identified Afro-C ...

. Laughland was raised in

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

, South West London with her older brother Oliver, now a reporter for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''. As a teenager, Laughland participated in a drama group hosted each Saturday by the Young Blood Theatre Company at the

Riverside Studios Riverside Studios is an arts centre on the banks of the River Thames in Hammersmith, London, England. The venue plays host to contemporary performance, film, visual art exhibitions and television production. Having closed for redevelopment in ...

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. ...

. However, her mother insisted that she take her

GCSEs The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private sc ...

before going into acting. Laughland further developed her acting skills through the

National Youth Theatre The National Youth Theatre of Great Britain (NYT) is a youth theatre and registered charity in London. Its aim is to develop and nurture young people through creative arts and theatrical productions. Founded in 1956 as the world's first youth th ...

Career

Laughland made her television debut in a 2008 episode of the E4 sitcom ''

The Inbetweeners ''The Inbetweeners'' is a British coming-of-age television teen sitcom, which originally aired on E4 from 2008 until 2010 and was created and written by Damon Beesley and Iain Morris. The series follows the misadventures of suburban teenager ...

''. She was 16 when she was cast as Leanne in ''

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'' is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling and the sixth and penultimate novel in the ''Harry Potter'' series. Set during Harry Potter's sixth year at Hogwarts, the novel explores th ...

'', marking her feature film debut in 2009. She would reprise her role in the final two ''

'' films '' Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1'' (2010) and '' Part 2'' (2011). Also in 2010, Laughland made her professional stage debut in

Nick Payne Nick Payne (born 1984) is a British playwright and screenwriter. Early life and education Payne studied at the University of York and subsequently at the Central School of Speech and Drama. He is also a graduate of the Royal Court Young Write ...

's ''Wanderlust'' at the

, for which she was nominated for Outstanding Newcomer at the ''Evening Standard'' Theatre Awards. She then appeared in the ''

'' episode "

" on

and the teeb film ''

'', and starred in the National Theatre productions of ''

'' and '' The Last of the Haussmans''. Laughland starred in the 2015 and 2016 films ''

'' and '' Chubby Funny''. For her performance in the former, Laughland was longlisted for the British Independent Film Award for Most Promising Newcomer. She led ''

Pride and Prejudice ''Pride and Prejudice'' is an 1813 novel of manners by Jane Austen. The novel follows the character development of Elizabeth Bennet, the dynamic protagonist of the book who learns about the repercussions of hasty judgments and comes to appreci ...

'' opposite

James Northcote James Northcote (22 October 1746, in Plymouth – 13 July 1831, in London) was a British painter. Life and work Northcote was born in Plymouth, and was apprenticed to his father, Samuel Northcote, a watchmaker. In his spare time, he drew and ...

at the

Sheffield Crucible The Crucible Theatre (often referred to simply as "The Crucible") is a theatre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England which opened in 1971. Although it hosts regular theatrical performances, it is best known for hosting professional snooker's m ...

. In 2017, she played Vanessa in the film ''

'' in a cast which included

Annette Bening Annette Carol Bening (born May 29, 1958) is an American actress. She has received various accolades throughout her career spanning over four decades, including a British Academy Film Award and two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominat ...

Julie Walters Dame Julia Mary Walters (born 22 February 1950), known professionally as Julie Walters, is an English actress. She is the recipient of four British Academy Television Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, two International Emmy Awards, a ...

Stephen Graham Stephen Joseph Graham (born 3 August 1973) is a British actor. He is best known for playing Andrew "Combo" Gascoigne in the film ''This Is England'' (2006) and its television sequels ''This Is England '86'' (2010), '' This Is England '88'' ( ...

, and

Vanessa Redgrave Dame Vanessa Redgrave (born 30 January 1937) is an English actress and activist. Throughout her career spanning over seven decades, Redgrave has garnered numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Television Award, two ...

. In 2021, Laughland starred in the Channel 5 Tudor thriller ''

'' as “Lizzie” (

Elizabeth Browne, Countess of Worcester Elizabeth Somerset, Countess of Worcester ( Browne; died 1565) was a lady-in-waiting to Anne Boleyn and the main informant against her. She may have been a mistress of King Henry VIII. Early life Elizabeth was the daughter of Sir Anthony Bro ...

lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom sh ...

. In 2022, she played the role of China in the

four-part true crime drama ''

'' alongside

Stephen Merchant Stephen James Merchant (born 24 November 1974) is an English comedian, actor, director, presenter and writer. Alongside Ricky Gervais, Merchant was the co-writer and co-director of the British TV comedy series ''The Office'' (2001–2003), and ...

and

Sheridan Smith Sheridan Caroline Sian Smith OBE (born 25 June 1981) is an English actress, singer and television personality. Smith came to prominence after playing a variety of characters on sitcoms such as ''The Royle Family'' (1999–2000), ''Two Pints o ...

Personal life

Laughland has said she dislikes watching herself on screen, but does so to analyse her performance, and regards her acting career as a marathon rather than a sprint.

Filmography

Film

Television

Stage

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
Isabella Laughland
at Curtis Brown
Isabella Laughland
at Loud and Clear Voices * {{DEFAULTSORT:Laughland, Isabella Living people 21st-century English actresses English voice actresses English film actresses English people of Indo-Guyanese descent English people of Welsh descent English stage actresses English television actresses National Youth Theatre members People from Twickenham Year of birth uncertain