Olivia Vinall is an English/Belgian actress known for her roles in ''

Apple Tree Yard ''Apple Tree Yard'' is a British television psychological thriller, adapted from the 2013 novel of the same name by Louise Doughty. The four-part series was commissioned in 2016 and the first episode had its premiere on BBC One on 22 January 2017 ...

'' (2017), '' The Woman in White'' (2018) and as Detective Matilda Stone in ''

Queens of Mystery ''Queens of Mystery'' is a British comedy-drama murder-mystery series created by Julian Unthank currently airing on SVOD provider Acorn TV, starring Julie Graham (Cat Stone), Siobhan Redmond (Jane Stone), Olivia Vinall (Matilda Stone-Series 1) ...

'' in 2019.

Early life

Olivia Vinall was born in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

but spent part of her childhood in

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 ...

and

Washington DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, .Vinall lived most of her early life in Belgium, attending secondary school there, moving to Washington DC for five years. Vinall studied drama at the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...

and graduated in 2010 with a First Class BA (

Hons Honours degree has various meanings in the context of different degrees and education systems. Most commonly it refers to a variant of the undergraduate bachelor's degree containing a larger volume of material or a higher standard of study, or ...

) Degree in Drama before going on to further her education at the

Drama Studio London Drama Studio London (DSL) is a British drama school in London. It is accredited by the Federation of Drama Schools. The Drama Studio London was founded in 1966 by actor and director Peter Layton, focusses on developing individual talent nurture ...

. Vinall has performed at the

National Student Drama Festival The UK based National Student Drama Festival (NSDF) was founded in 1956 with the purpose of creating new art, new artists and new communities. It also runs a charity aimed at empowering young artists. The NSDF is targeted towards people age ...

(NSDF) and is an NSDF alumna.

Theatre

In 2010, Vinall's first appearance on stage was in a production of ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

.'' Further theatre work 2013 included playing

Desdemona Desdemona () is a character in William Shakespeare's play ''Othello'' (c. 1601–1604). Shakespeare's Desdemona is a Venetian beauty who enrages and disappoints her father, a Venetian senator, when she elopes with Othello, a Moorish Venetian ...

Othello ''Othello'' (full title: ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'') is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, probably in 1603, set in the contemporary Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cypru ...

, and in 2014, Vinall starred as

Cordelia Cordelia is a feminine given name. It was borne by the tragic heroine of Shakespeare's ''King Lear'' (1606), a character based on the List of legendary kings of Britain, legendary queen Cordelia of Britain, Cordelia. The name is of uncertain origi ...

in Sam Mendes's

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane an ...

at The

Royal National Theatre The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. I ...

. In 2015, Vinall took centre stage again at ''

National Theatre Live National Theatre Live is an initiative operated by the Royal National Theatre in London, which broadcasts live via satellite, performances of their productions (and from other theatres) to cinemas and arts centres around the world. About I grew ...

'' in

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 play ''

The Hard Problem ''The Hard Problem'' is a play by British playwright Sir Tom Stoppard, first produced in 2015. The title refers to the hard problem of consciousness, which Stoppard defines as having "subjective First Person experiences"; he notes the strangen ...

'' as Hilary. In 2015, Vinall was nominated for Best Supporting Performance for playing Nina in

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...

's ''

The Seagull ''The Seagull'' ( rus, Ча́йка, r=Cháyka, links=no) is a play by Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov, written in 1895 and first produced in 1896. ''The Seagull'' is generally considered to be the first of his four major plays. It dramatises t ...

'' where she performed at

Chichester Festival Theatre Chichester Festival Theatre is a theatre and Grade II* listed building situated in Oaklands Park in the city of Chichester, West Sussex, England. Designed by Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya John Hidalgo Moya (5 May 1920 – 3 August 1994), ...

and when the production was transferred to the National Theatre.

TV and Film

Vinall's first television appearance was as Cassie Lock in the episode ''Cupcakes'' in ''

Doctors Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

'' in 2011. In 2013, she starred as the heroine Juliette in the rock musical '' Gutterdämmerung'' alongside rock stars such as

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of ...

Grace Jones Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a model, singer and actress. Born in Jamaica, she and her family moved to Syracuse, New York, when she was a teenager. Jones began her modelling career in New York state, then in Paris, working for ...

Lemmy Ian Fraser Kilmister (24 December 1945 – 28 December 2015), better known as Lemmy Kilmister or simply Lemmy, was an English musician. He was the founder, lead singer, bassist and primary songwriter of the rock band Motörhead, of which he wa ...

and

Slash Slash may refer to: * Slash (punctuation), the "/" character Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Slash (Marvel Comics) * Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'') Music * Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band * Nash ...

. In 2017, Vinall starred in the BBC's ''

'', where she played Carrie alongside

Emily Watson Emily Margaret Watson (born 14 January 1967) is an English actress. She began her career on stage and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1992. In 2002, she starred in productions of ''Twelfth Night'' and ''Uncle Vanya'' at the Donmar War ...

. Vinall also starred as Arlette in the 2017 ITV television drama ''

Maigret in Montmartre ''Inspector Maigret and the Strangled Stripper'' (original French-language title ''Maigret au "Picratt's"'') is a detective novel by the Belgian crime writer Georges Simenon published in 1950, featuring the author's most celebrated character Insp ...

'' opposite

Rowan Atkinson Rowan Sebastian Atkinson (born 6 January 1955) is an English actor, comedian and writer. He played the title roles on the sitcoms '' Blackadder'' (1983–1989) and ''Mr. Bean'' (1990–1995), and the film series ''Johnny English'' (2003–201 ...

who played Maigret. In 2018, she starred in the

Amma Asante Amma Asante (born 13 September 1969) is a British filmmaker, screenwriter, former actress, and Chancellor at Norwich University of the Arts, who was born in London to parents from Ghana. Her love for the film industry started when she received ...

-directed romantic war drama arthouse film ''

Where Hands Touch ''Where Hands Touch'' is a 2018 romantic war drama film directed and written by Amma Asante and starring Amandla Stenberg, George MacKay, Abbie Cornish, Christopher Eccleston, and Tom Sweet. It was produced by Charlie Hanson, and tells the ...

'' playing Hermine, a Jewish girl in Nazi Germany, alongside

Abbie Cornish Abbie Cornish (born 7 August 1982) is an Australian actress. Cornish is best known for her film roles as Heidi in ''Somersault'' (2004), Fanny Brawne in '' Bright Star'' (2009), Sweet Pea in ''Sucker Punch'' (2011), Lindy in '' Limitless'' (20 ...

and

Christopher Eccleston Christopher Eccleston (; born 16 February 1964) is an English actor. A two-time BAFTA Award nominee, he is best known for his television and film work, which includes his role as the ninth incarnation of the Doctor in the BBC sci-fi series '' ...

. In the same year, Vinall played two characters; asylum patient Anne Catherick and also Laura Fairlie in the BBC period drama adaptation of Wilkie Collins’ '' The Woman in White,'' alongside

Charles Dance Walter Charles Dance (born 10 October 1946) is an English actor. He is known for playing strict, authoritarian characters and villains. His most notable film roles include Sardo Numspa in ''The Golden Child'' (1986), Dr. Jonathan Clemens in ''A ...

. In 2019, Vinall took lead role as Detective Matilda Stone in three episodes of the

Acorn TV The acorn, or oaknut, is the nut of the oaks and their close relatives (genera ''Quercus'' and '' Lithocarpus'', in the family Fagaceae). It usually contains one seed (occasionally two seeds), enclosed in a tough, leathery shell, and borne ...

comedy-drama murder-mystery series ''

'' Vinall takes lead role as Sophie in Hermione Sylvester directed short film ''Fuel'' which has its international premiere at the 2020 Arrow

London FrightFest Film Festival FrightFest, also known as Arrow Video FrightFest is an annual film festival held in London and Glasgow. The festival holds three major events each year: a festival running five days over the UK late August Bank Holiday weekend, a Halloween event ...

, an event which was held online because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. Vinall played the role of Julia Blythe, the Private Secretary to the Prime Minister (played by

Helen McCrory Helen Elizabeth McCrory (17 August 1968 – 16 April 2021) was an English actress. After studying at the Drama Centre London, she made her stage debut in ''The Importance of Being Earnest'' in 1990. Other stage roles include playing Lady Macbe ...

) in the BBC political thriller television series ''

Roadkill Roadkill is an animal or animals that have been struck and killed by drivers of motor vehicles on highways. Wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVC) have increasingly been the topic of academic research to understand the causes, and how it can be mi ...

'' in 2020. Vinall played a main role of Stella in the modern romantic film ''A Beautiful Curse'' in 2021, where she is struck down by a form of sleeping disorder. The Martin Garde Abildgaard directed film premiered at the Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival in 2021.

Filmography

Film

Live Streaming Theatre

Television

Audio

Video Games

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
Olivia Vinall Instagram

Olivia Vinall twitter

Bespoke Voice Agency - Olivia Vinall
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vinall, Olivia Living people 21st-century English actresses People from London Actresses from London Actresses from Brussels English television actresses English stage actresses English film actresses Belgian film actresses Belgian television actresses Belgian expatriates in England Alumni of the Drama Studio London Alumni of the University of East Anglia Year of birth missing (living people)