Louise Brealey (born 27 March 1979), also credited as Loo Brealey, is an English actress, writer and journalist. She played Molly Hooper in '' Sherlock'', Cass in '' Back'', Scottish professor Jude McDermid in '' Clique'', Gillian Chamberlain in '' A Discovery of Witches'' and Donna Harman in '' Death in Paradise''.

Education

Born in Bozeat, Northamptonshire, England, Brealey won a scholarship for Kimbolton School and went on to read history at Girton College, Cambridge. She trained at the Lee Strasberg Institute in New York City and with clown teacher

Philippe Gaulier Philippe Gaulier (born in Paris, 4 March 1943) is a French master clown, pedagogue, and professor of theatre. He is the founder of École Philippe Gaulier, a prestigious French theatre school in Étampes, outside Paris. He studied under Jacques Lec ...

in Paris.

Writing

Brealey has written on cinema, art and music since her teens, contributing reviews and features for magazines including '' Premiere UK'', '' Empire'', ''

SKY The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space. In the field of astronomy, ...

'', ''

The Face The face is a part of the body, the front of the head. Face may also refer to: Film * ''The Magician'' (1958 film) or ''The Face'' * ''The Face'' (1996 film), an American television film * ''Face'' (1997 film), a British crime drama by Antonia ...

'', ''

Neon Neon is a chemical element with the symbol Ne and atomic number 10. It is a noble gas. Neon is a colorless, odorless, inert monatomic gas under standard conditions, with about two-thirds the density of air. It was discovered (along with krypton ...

'' and '' Total Film''. She is the editor of ''Anarchy and Alchemy: The Films of Alejandro Jodorowsky'' (Creation Books, 2007). Until April 2009, Brealey was the deputy editor of ''Wonderland'' magazine. A freelance Associate Producer, she has written documentary pitches for BBC Arts. In 2013 her first play '' Pope Joan'' was performed by 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 ...

. Her monologue '' Go Back To Where You Came From'' was performed as part of Paines Plough Theatre's ''Come To Where I'm From'' project in 2018.

Acting

Screen

Brealey made her TV debut as Nurse Roxanne Bird in two series of BBC drama '' Casualty'' before playing Judy Smallweed in '' Bleak House''. Terry Wogan took Judy and her snaggle-toothed grandfather Smallweed ( Phil Davis) to heart, regaling Radio 2 listeners with regular renditions of Davis' catchphrase "Shake me up, Judy!". Brealey followed ''Bleak House'' with a comic turn as Anorak,

Alistair MacGowan Alistair Charles McGowan (born 24 November 1964) is an English impressionist, comic, actor, singer and writer best known to British audiences for ''The Big Impression'' (formerly ''Alistair McGowan's Big Impression''), which was, for four year ...

's black-bobbed sidekick, in comedy drama '' Mayo'', described by ''The Hollywood Reporter'' as "Agatha Christie does ''

Moonlighting Moonlighting may refer to: * Side job, a job taken in addition to one's primary employment Entertainment * ''Moonlighting'' (film), a 1982 drama film by Jerzy Skolimowski * ''Moonlighting'' (TV series), 1985–1989 American television series, s ...

''". Brealey plays pathologist Molly Hooper in all four series of Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss's television drama, '' Sherlock''. Brealey is often asked to work in accents, playing a doughty Yorkshire doctor in '' Ripper Street'', a Cockney ne'er-do-well in '' Law & Order: UK'', a broken Geordie widow in '' Inspector George Gently'' and a ball-breaking Edinburgh academic in '' Clique''. Brealey played a leading role in the ITV drama ''The Widow'', first broadcast in March 2019.

Stage

Her stage debut was at London's Royal Court in 2001 as 14-year-old Sophie in Max Stafford-Clark's production of

Judy Upton Judy Upton (born 1967) is a British playwright. Life She collaborated with Lisa Goldman at The Red Room Theatre Company. She also wrote radio plays for the BBC. ''Ashes and Sand'' has been adapted into film. Awards *1994 George Devine Award, fo ...

's ''Sliding With Suzanne''. '' The Daily Telegraph'' called her performance "a perfect poignant study of adolescence". Her portrayal of child prodigy Thomasina in the Bristol Old Vic production of

Tom Stoppard Sir Tom Stoppard (born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and politi ...

's ''

Arcadia Arcadia may refer to: Places Australia * Arcadia, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney * Arcadia, Queensland * Arcadia, Victoria Greece * Arcadia (region), a region in the central Peloponnese * Arcadia (regional unit), a modern administrative un ...

'' in 2005 was described by '' The Daily Telegraph'' as "the evening belongs to Loo Brealey's Thomasina". Brealey worked twice with Sir Peter Hall. First in 2007 on

Simon Gray Simon James Holliday Gray (21 October 1936 – 7 August 2008) was an English playwright and memoirist who also had a career as a university lecturer in English literature at Queen Mary, University of London, for 20 years. While teaching at Que ...

's ''Little Nell'', in which she played the title role opposite Michael Pennington and Tim Pigott-Smith. Based on ''The Invisible Woman'',

Claire Tomalin Claire Tomalin (née Delavenay; born 20 June 1933) is an English journalist and biographer, known for her biographies of Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy, Samuel Pepys, Jane Austen and Mary Wollstonecraft. Early life Tomalin was born Claire Del ...

's award-winning biography of Charles Dickens's mistress Ellen Ternan, ''Little Nell'' followed Ternan's story from 17 to 44 years of age. Critics described Brealey's work as "impressive" ('' The Stage''), "highly compelling" ('' The Independent'') and "astounding" (''British Theatre Guide''). The following year, Hall cast her as Sonya in his critically acclaimed '' Uncle Vanya'', the inaugural production at London's Rose Theatre. ''The Telegraph'' called hers "a name to watch" and ''The Independent'' compared her to Joan Fontaine in ''

Rebecca Rebecca, ; Syriac: , ) from the Hebrew (lit., 'connection'), from Semitic root , 'to tie, couple or join', 'to secure', or 'to snare') () appears in the Hebrew Bible as the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. According to biblical ...

''. ''The Spectator'' said: "Brealey uncovers the pathetic poetry beneath the indolent superficialities. Her big disadvantage is that she’s too attractive for ‘plain’ Sonya, but she disguises this by suggesting a lack of sexual allure with awkward giggles, squirrelly movements and a stupefied beaming naivety. All brilliantly done..." In 2011 Brealey was the sex-mad, short-frocked daughter of Julian Barratt and Doon Mackichan at the Young Vic in

Richard Jones Richard Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *F. Richard Jones (1893–1930), American filmmaker *Dick Clair (Richard Jones, 1931–1988), American producer, actor and TV writer *Richard Jones (The Feeling), British bass guitarist *Richard J ...

's '' Government Inspector''. She next played three lead roles – Cassandra, Andromache and Helen of Troy – in

Caroline Bird Caroline Bird (born 1986) is a British poet, playwright and author. Life Caroline Bird was born in 1986. Daughter of Jude Kelly, she grew up in Leeds, England, and attended the Steiner School in York and the Lady Eleanor Holles School before ...

's sold-out production of '' The Trojan Women'' at London's Gate Theatre. '' The Times'' called her performances "electrifying" and '' The Guardian'' said she "pulled off a remarkable treble". Brealey talked about the roles in the '' Evening Standard'' and wrote a piece for ''The Times'' about the experience of going naked on stage, which went viral. In February 2014 she starred as Julie in August Strindberg's '' Miss Julie'' at the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow. More recently she won Best Actress at the Manchester Theatre Awards for her role as Marianne in '' Constellations'', directed by Michael Longhurst and played the lead alongside

Anne Marie Duff Anne-Marie Duff (born 8 October 1970) is an Irish actress and narrator. She is an accomplished theatre actress and has been nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award. She has also received acclaim and awards for her television and film work. After ...

in Marianne Elliott's ''Husbands and Sons'' at the National Theatre.

Audio

Brealey is the narrator of

Caitlin Moran Catherine Elizabeth Moran (; born 5 April 1975) is an English journalist, author, and broadcaster at ''The Times'', where she writes three columns a week: one for the Saturday Magazine, a TV review column, and the satirical Friday column "Celeb ...

's ''How to Build a Girl'' and its sequel ''How to Be Famous'',

Alex Michaelides Alex Michaelides (born 1977) is a bestselling British Cypriot author and screenwriter. His debut novel, the psychological thriller '' The Silent Patient,'' is a ''New York Times'' and '' Sunday Times'' bestseller, with over 6.5 million copies sold ...

’ ''

The Silent Patient ''The Silent Patient'' is a 2019 psychological thriller novel written by British–Cypriot author Alex Michaelides. The successful debut novel was published by Celadon Books, a division of Macmillan Publishers, on 5 February 2019. The audiobook v ...

'', Kate Mosse's Number One Bestseller ''Labyrinth'' and

Hallie Rubenhold Hallie Rubenhold (born 1971 in Los Angeles) is an American-born British historian and author. Her work specializes in 18th and 19th century social history and women's history. Her 2019 book '' The Five'', about the lives of the women murdered b ...

's '' The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper''. She was Megan in the audiobook edition of ''The Girl on The Train'' by Paula Hawkins, which won the 2016 Audie Award for Audiobook of the Year.

Radio

Brealey voiced the part of Laura Willowes in the 2021 BBC Radio 4 adaptation of '' Lolly Willowes''.

Education

Writing

Acting

Screen

Stage

Audio

Radio

TV and film credits

Theatre credits

References

External links