Tuppence Middleton

Tuppence Middleton (born 21 February 1987) is an English actress known for her performances in film, television and theatre. In 2010, she was nominated for the ''London Evening Standard'' Film Awards for Most Promising Newcomer.

Middleton appeared in various films before making her breakthrough in Morten Tyldum's historical drama ''The Imitation Game'' (2014), and subsequently appeared in The Wachowskis' science fiction film ''Jupiter Ascending'' (2015), Alfonso Gomez-Rejon's historical drama ''The Current War'' (2017), the film ''Downton Abbey'' (2019), and David Fincher's film '' Mank'' (2020).

She made her first television appearance in ''Bones'' (2008) and subsequently appeared as a guest in ''New Tricks'' (2010), ''Friday Night Dinner'' (2011), and ''Lewis'' (2013). She also appeared in ''Black Mirror'' (2013), as Miss Havisham in ''Dickensian'' (2015–2016), as Russian princess Hélène Kuragina in '' War & Peace'' (2016), as Riley "Blue" Gunnarsdóttir in ''Sense8'' (2015–2018), and '' Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams'' (2017). In 2018, she starred in Vicky Jones' play ''The One'' at the Soho Theatre in London.

Early life

Middleton was born in Bristol on 21 February 1987, the daughter of Tina and Nigel Middleton. She has an older sister named Angel and younger brother named Josh. She was named "Tuppence" after the childhood nickname her grandmother gave to her mother. She was raised in Clevedon, Somerset. She has described her younger self as shy, reclusive, and "geeky" at school, but "quite loud and brash" at home; she found youth theatre an "outlet" in which she could be confident. She attended Bristol Grammar School, where she was involved in school plays such as ''Guys and Dolls''. She also attended Stagecoach, a performing arts school in Portishead. She appeared in local drama productions, including a pantomime with her sister at the Princes Hall in Clevedon. She subsequently studied acting at the Arts Educational School in London, earning an honours degree in acting.

Career

Middleton gained a following for her appearance in the 2009 British horror/comedy film '' Tormented''. Her character, head girl Justine Fielding, dates one of the most popular boys in school, only to find that he and his friends were responsible for a classmate's death. She has also appeared in adverts for the chewing gum Extra and for Sky TV.

In 2010, she was nominated for the London Evening Standard Film Awards 2010 for Most Promising Newcomer and she starred in Samuel Abrahams's BAFTA-nominated short film "Connect". In 2011, she played the character Tanya Green in the British sitcom ''Friday Night Dinner'', and Sarah in ''Sirens''. In 2012 she appeared in '' Cleanskin'', a terrorist thriller. In March 2013 she made her professional theatre debut in ''The Living Room''. She also played a minor role in the Danny Boyle film ''Trance''. In 2015, she starred in the Netflix Original Series ''Sense8'' as Riley Blue.

She starred in the 2016 BBC drama '' War & Peace'', playing Russian aristocrat Princess Hélène Kuragina. The series received critical acclaim. The ''Daily Express'' said: "Rising star Tuppence Middleton takes on the role of the delightfully evil Hélène Kuragina, who is one half of the incestuous duo. Audiences witnessed her brother getting a little too intimate with his sibling in the first episode before she turned her attentions to Pierre and dug her claws into him. She is a vile character who will use and abuse Pierre without giving him a second thought." Andrew Davies, who adapted ''War and Peace'', described Middleton's Hélène as "the naughtiest woman on TV at the moment".

She has narrated BBC World Service documentaries about the Spitfire and the life of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

An August 2018 announcement indicated that Middleton would be among the new cast to join the original series's actors in the feature film ''Downton Abbey'', which started principal photography at about the same time. She will be starring alongside Ken Watanabe, Laura Dern and Felicity Jones in the Nine Network/Disney+ historical period drama miniseries ''The Golden Bowl''.

In 2020, she starred in the psychological horror film ''Possessor'' and biographical drama film ''Mank'' on Netflix. She appeared in the miniseries The Defeated as Claire Franklin.

In October 2021, she was set to star in folk horror film ''Lord of Misrule'' with Ralph Ineson and Matt Stokoe, directed by William Brent Bell.

In March 2022, she starred as Fi Lawson in ITV 1's drama ''Our House'' alongside Martin Compston and Rupert Penry-Jones. The series is based on Louise Candlish's Sunday Times best-selling real-estate novel.

Personal life

In August 2022 it was reported that Middleton had given birth to her first child with Swedish film director Mans Marlind.

Filmography

Films

Television

Theatre

Music videos

Video games

References

External links

*
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Middleton, Tuppence
Living people
1987 births
21st-century English actresses
Actresses from Bristol
Actresses from Somerset
English film actresses
English television actresses
People educated at Bristol Grammar School
People educated at the Arts Educational Schools
People from Clevedon