Sophie Cookson (born 1989 or 1990) is an English actress best known for portraying

secret agent Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...

Roxanne "Roxy" Morton / Lancelot in the 2014

spy film The spy film, also known as the spy thriller, is a genre of film that deals with the subject of fictional espionage, either in a realistic way (such as the adaptations of John le Carré) or as a basis for fantasy (such as many James Bond films) ...

'' Kingsman: The Secret Service'' and its 2017 sequel '' The Golden Circle'', and for playing the title role of Christine Keeler in 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, ...

drama series, '' The Trial of Christine Keeler''.

Early life

Cookson was brought up in Sussex and later Suffolk where she attended

Woodbridge School Woodbridge School is an independent school in Woodbridge, Suffolk, England, founded in 1577, for the poor of Woodbridge. It was later supported by the Seckford Foundation. Woodbridge School has been co-educational since September 1974. Histor ...

. She was involved in singing and musical theatre since childhood. After being part of a theatre company that had toured Japan, she decided to quit acting to study

art history Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

and

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

. However, she soon dropped out to pursue an acting career and attended the

Oxford School of Drama The Oxford School of Drama is a drama school in the United Kingdom. It is based at Wootton, ten miles north of Oxford. The school is an independent, vocational drama school which runs a three-year acting course and a one-year acting course, bot ...

for three years, and graduated in 2013.

Career

While still attending Oxford Drama School in her senior year, she was cast as Grace Mohune in the

Sky 1 Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non- terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...

miniseries '' Moonfleet'', based on the J. Meade Falkner novel of the same name. In early 2014, she appeared in the film adaption of the Rosamunde Pilcher novel ''Unknown Heart'' produced by German television network ZDF, portraying Millie Lancaster. The same year, she also landed her first big screen role, replacing

Emma Watson Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson (born 15 April 1990) is an English actress and activist. Known for her roles in both blockbusters and independent films, as well as for her women's rights work, she has received a selection of accolades, includi ...

for the part of

Roxanne "Roxy" Morton / Lancelot in the

'' Kingsman: The Secret Service'', based on the comic book ''

The Secret Service ''The Secret Service'' is a 1969 British science fiction television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by their production company, Century 21, for ITC Entertainment. It follows the exploits of Father Stanley Unwin, a pup ...

'' by Mark Millar and

Dave Gibbons David Chester Gibbons (born 14 April 1949) is an English comics artist, writer and sometimes letterer. He is best known for his collaborations with writer Alan Moore, which include the miniseries ''Watchmen'' and the Superman story "For the Man ...

. Also in 2014, Cookson was cast in the female main role in

Lee Tamahori Warren Lee Tamahori (; born 17 June 1950) is a New Zealand filmmaker best known for directing the 1994 film '' Once Were Warriors'', the 2001 film '' Along Came a Spider'', and 2002's James Bond film '' Die Another Day''. Upbringing and early care ...

's action epic ''Emperor'', about a young woman seeking revenge for the execution of her father by Holy Roman Emperor

Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infa ...

, opposite

Adrien Brody Adrien Nicholas Brody (born April 14, 1973) is an American actor. He received widespread recognition and acclaim after starring as Władysław Szpilman in Roman Polanski's '' The Pianist'' (2002), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Acto ...

as the titular Emperor. The movie was finished and screened at Cannes in 2017 but its release has been by legal challenges. In 2016, she appeared in the film '' The Huntsman: Winter's War'' in a minor role as the female huntsman Pippa. Beginning in June 2017, she appeared in the

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 fi ...

series ''

Gypsy The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...

'' as troubled singer Sidney Pierce. However, the series was cancelled in August after just one season due to negative reviews and low ratings, even though the second season had already been in development. In July, she appeared in the horror film ''

The Crucifixion The crucifixion and death of Jesus occurred in 1st-century Judea, most likely in AD 30 or AD 33. It is described in the four canonical gospels, referred to in the New Testament epistles, attested to by other ancient sources, and considere ...

'', playing a journalist investigating a lethal

exorcism Exorcism () is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons, jinns, or other malevolent spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that is believed to be possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be ...

performed on a nun, and in September of the same year, she reprised her role as Roxy Morton in the sequel to ''The Secret Service'', '' The Golden Circle'', while also appearing in a

musical short The musical short (a.k.a. musical short film, a.k.a. musical featurette) can be traced back to the earliest days of sound films. Performers in the Lee de Forest Phonofilms of 1923-24 included Eddie Cantor, George Jessel, Abbie Mitchell ("The C ...

for the song ''

Pleader A special pleader was a historical legal occupation. The practitioner, or "special pleader" in English law specialised in drafting "pleadings", in modern terminology statements of case. History Up to the 19th century, there were many rules, tech ...

'' by British

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...

group alt-J. In 2018, she played Dottie in the

Trafalgar Studios Trafalgar Theatre is a new West End theatre in Whitehall, near Trafalgar Square, in the City of Westminster, London. It is set to open in spring 2021 following a major multi-million pound restoration project aiming to reinstate it back to its ...

production of the play '' Killer Joe'', alongside Orlando Bloom.

Personal life

In 2017, she met actor

Stephen Campbell Moore Stephen Campbell Moore (born Stephen Moore Thorpe, 30 November 1979) is a British actor. He is best known for his roles in Alan Bennett's play '' The History Boys'' and the film based on it. Since 2019, he has starred in the sci-fi television ...

on the set of ''Red Joan''. Cookson and Moore reportedly began dating in November 2018. They have one child together, born in 2020.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cookson, Sophie Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Living people Actresses from Sussex Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Alumni of the Oxford School of Drama English film actresses People from Haywards Heath English television actresses 21st-century English actresses