Sarah Solemani (born 4 September 1982) is an English actress, writer and activist. She is best known for starring in the BAFTA winning

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

Him & Her ''Him & Her'' is a British television sitcom about a lazy twenty-something couple: Steve and Becky, who live in Walthamstow, London. It was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Three on 6 September 2010. It is written by Stefan Golasz ...

'' and playing Renee Zellweger's best friend Miranda in ''

Bridget Jones's Baby ''Bridget Jones's Baby'' is a 2016 romantic comedy film directed by Sharon Maguire and written by Helen Fielding, Dan Mazer and Emma Thompson, based on the fictional columns by Fielding. It is the third film in the franchise and a sequel to the ...

'', for which she was nominated for an ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'' Best Actress Award. She also had roles in the British comedy TV series '' Bad Education'' and '' The Wrong Mans''.

Early life

Solemani was born in the

London Borough of Camden The London Borough of Camden () is a London borough in Inner London. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the area of the former boroughs of Hampstead, Holborn, and ...

and grew up in

Crouch End Crouch End is an area of North London, approximately from the City of London in the western half of the borough of Haringey. It is within the Hornsey postal district (N8). It has been described by the BBC as one of "a new breed of urban villag ...

. Her father is a

Persian Jewish Persian Jews or Iranian Jews ( fa, یهودیان ایرانی, ''yahudiān-e-Irāni''; he, יהודים פרסים ''Yəhūdīm Parsīm'') are the descendants of Jews who were historically associated with the Persian Empire, whose successor s ...

mathematics lecturer (now retired). After passing her

A level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational au ...

s at the

Henrietta Barnett School The Henrietta Barnett School is a grammar school with academy status primarily for girls in Hampstead Garden Suburb in London. The '' Good Schools Guide'' called the school 'One of the best academic state schools in the country, providing a gen ...

, she took a

gap year A gap year, also known as a sabbatical year, is typically a year-long break before or after college/university during which students engage in various educational and developmental activities, such as travel or some type of regular work. Gap yea ...

before reading Social and Political Sciences (now the Human, Social and Political Sciences Tripos) at

New Hall, Cambridge New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

and graduating with an MA (Hons). At Cambridge, she joined the

Footlights Cambridge University Footlights Dramatic Club, commonly referred to simply as the Footlights, is an amateur theatrical club in Cambridge, England, founded in 1883 and run by the students of Cambridge University. History Footlights' inaugural ...

performance troupe, becoming social secretary during her first year and later vice president.

Career

Theatre

Solemani was a member of the National Youth Theatre during her gap year, during which time she appeared as Elaine in the West End theatre production of ''

The Graduate ''The Graduate'' is a 1967 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Mike Nichols and written by Buck Henry and Calder Willingham, based on the 1963 novel of the same name by Charles Webb, who wrote it shortly after graduating from W ...

'' and as Ayesha in the critically acclaimed National Theatre production of ''Sanctuary''. She was a member of the Young Writer's Group attached to 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, England ...

, and a writer at the

Young Vic Theatre The Young Vic Theatre is a performing arts venue located on The Cut, near the South Bank, in the London Borough of Lambeth. The Young Vic was established by Frank Dunlop in 1970. Kwame Kwei-Armah has been Artistic Director since February 201 ...

. Two plays she wrote were produced at

Soho Theatre The Soho Theatre is a theatre and registered charity in the Soho district of the City of Westminster, in London, England. It produces and presents new works of theatre, together with comedy and cabaret, across three performance spaces. The the ...

. Another of her works, ''The Cost of Things'' (2010), was presented at the

Public Theater The Public Theater is a New York City arts organization founded as the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954 by Joseph Papp, with the intention of showcasing the works of up-and-coming playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: An American ...

New York under the aegis of the

Old Vic Theatre The Old Vic is a 1,000-seat, not-for-profit producing theatre in Waterloo, London, England. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, and renamed in 1833 the Royal Victoria Theatre. In 1871 it was rebuilt and reopened as the Royal ...

as part of the TS Eliot Project. In 2011, she wrote ''The Baron'' which received the

Old Vic Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England * Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Ma ...

New Voices 'Ignite' award. In 2009, Solemani appeared in

Simon Stephens Simon Stephens (born 6 February 1971) is an English playwright and Professor of Scriptwriting at Manchester Metropolitan University. Having taught on the Young Writers' Programme at the Royal Court Theatre for many years, he is now an Artistic ...

' play ''Pornography'' at the

Tricycle Theatre The Kiln Theatre (formerly the Tricycle Theatre) is a theatre located in Kilburn, in the London Borough of Brent, England. Since 1980, the theatre has presented a wide range of plays reflecting the cultural diversity of the area, as well as ...

in London and, in 2012, as Maryam in ''

The House of Bernarda Alba ''The House of Bernarda Alba'' ( es, La casa de Bernarda Alba) is a play by the Spanish dramatist Federico García Lorca. Commentators have often grouped it with ''Blood Wedding'' and ''Yerma'' as a "rural trilogy". Garcia Lorca did not include ...

'' at the

Almeida Theatre The Almeida Theatre, opened in 1980, is a 325-seat producing house with an international reputation, which takes its name from the street on which it is located, off Upper Street, in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre produces a diver ...

. She wrote ''Up the Royal Borough'', part of an evening of plays in response to Owen Jones' '' Chavs'' at the

Lyric Hammersmith The Lyric Theatre, also known as the Lyric Hammersmith, is a theatre on Lyric Square, off King Street, Hammersmith, London.

. It gained good reviews.

Television and film

Solemani's first film role was as a

tableau Tableau (French for 'little table' literally, also used to mean 'picture'; tableaux or, rarely, tableaus) may refer to: Arts * ''Tableau'', a series of four paintings by Piet Mondrian titled '' Tableau I'' through to ''Tableau IV'' * ''Tableau vi ...

x girl in ''

Mrs Henderson Presents ''Mrs Henderson Presents'' is a 2005 biographical musical film directed by Stephen Frears and written by Martin Sherman. It stars Judi Dench, Bob Hoskins, Kelly Reilly, and Will Young (in his acting debut). It tells the true story of Laura He ...

'', which she performed during her third year of college. Her first major TV role was as Becky in

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, cur ...

sitcom ''

'', which was first broadcast in September 2010, and ran for four series, before ending in 2013. From 2012 until 2014, Solemani starred in the BBC Three comedy, '' Bad Education'', including its spin off movie ''

The Bad Education Movie ''The Bad Education Movie'' is a 2015 British comedy film directed by Elliot Hegarty and written by Freddy Syborn and Jack Whitehall. The movie is based on Whitehall's sitcom of the same name, and follows a similar plot-line, with young teac ...

'' and a one-off special in 2022. In 2013, she featured in the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

Early life

Career

Theatre

Television and film

Print

Awards and acclaim

Activism

Personal life

Filmography

Film and television

Stage

References

External links