Susannah Harker (born 26 April 1965) is an English film, television, and theatre actor. She was nominated for a BAFTA TV Award in 1990 for her role as Mattie Storin in '' House of Cards''. She played Jane Bennet in the 1995 TV adaptation of ''

Pride and Prejudice ''Pride and Prejudice'' is an 1813 novel of manners by Jane Austen. The novel follows the character development of Elizabeth Bennet, the dynamic protagonist of the book who learns about the repercussions of hasty judgments and comes to appreci ...

.''

Early life and education

Harker was born in London. She is the daughter of actors Polly Adams and Richard Owens. She and her younger sister,

Caroline Caroline may refer to: People * Caroline (given name), a feminine given name * J. C. Caroline (born 1933), American college and National Football League player * Jordan Caroline (born 1996), American (men's) basketball player Places Antarctica * ...

, were brought up as Catholics and educated at a "strict" independent convent boarding school run by nuns in Sussex, and at the Central School of Speech and Drama in North London.

Acting career

Harker has acted in both contemporary and classic works, on stage, in movies and in TV series. In 1990–91 she appeared alongside

Clive Owen Clive Owen (born 3 October 1964) is an English actor. He first gained recognition in the United Kingdom for playing the lead role in the ITV series ''Chancer'' from 1990 to 1991. He received critical acclaim for his work in the film '' Close ...

in ''

Chancer ''Chancer'' is a British television crime drama serial, produced by Central Television for ITV, that first broadcast on 6 March 1990. Starring Clive Owen in the title role of Stephen Crane, ''Chancer'' tells the story of a likable conman and ro ...

'', and as the journalist Mattie Storin in the original '' House of Cards''. She later played Dinah Morris in the 1991 adaptation of ''Adam Bede''. She starred as Jane Bennet in the 1995 TV adaptation of Jane Austen's ''

.'' She is featured as Emma Fitzgerald, the love interest of Superintendent Tyburn ( Trevor Eve) in the BBC TV series, '' Heat of the Sun'' (1998). In 2003 she played Clare Keightley in the audio version of the ''Doctor Who'' adventure Shada, alongside

Paul McGann Paul John McGann (; born 14 November 1959) is an English actor. He came to prominence for portraying Percy Toplis in the television serial ''The Monocled Mutineer'' (1986), then starred in the dark comedy '' Withnail and I'' (1987), which was ...

. On stage in 2005, she 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 ...

's play '' On the Shore of the Wide World'' 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 2008, she played Gwendoline in Charles Wood's ''Jingo'' at the

Finborough Theatre The Finborough Theatre is a fifty-seat theatre in the West Brompton area of London (part of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea) under artistic director Neil McPherson. The theatre presents new British writing, as well as UK and world pr ...

, where the

London 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 ...

reviewed her performance, saying "Susannah Harker, an actress who should appear more often in our major playhouses, is in beautifully crisp form as Gwendoline." She played Sapphire in

Big Finish Productions Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on cult science fiction properties. These include ''Doctor Who'', the ...

' audio revival of '' Sapphire & Steel'', in three series of plays released on CD between 2005 and 2008. In December 2011 Harker appeared in the BBC drama '' Young James Herriot''. In 2012 she returned to the stage, playing the role of Sue in a London production of

Mike Leigh Mike Leigh (born 20 February 1943) is an English film and theatre director, screenwriter and playwright. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and further at the Camberwell School of Art, the Central School of Art and Design ...

's '' Abigail's Party.'' During early 2014 she starred in the Gate Theatre, Dublin production of '' The Vortex'' by

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combina ...

. She has also worked in radio. In 2015, she played Miss Ella Rentheim in a

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of Talk radio, spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history fro ...

production of

Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential playw ...

's ''

John Gabriel Borkman ''John Gabriel Borkman'' is a 1896 play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It was his penultimate work. Plot The Borkman family fortunes have been brought low by the imprisonment of John Gabriel who used his position as a bank manager to ...

''. She played Kris in Radio 4’s 2021 drama ''Barred'' written by Thandi Lubimbi and

Richard Kurti Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'str ...

Personal life

Harker is a great-great-granddaughter of Joseph Harker, an artist and theatrical scene designer. She was married to Iain Glen from 1993 to 2004; they have one son. She was later in a relationship with

from 2006 to 2008. Harker's sisters, Nelly Harker and Caroline Harker, are also actors.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harker, Susannah 1965 births Living people Actresses from London English film actresses English stage actresses English television actresses 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses Susannah McGann family English radio actresses