Gemma Elizabeth Whelan (born 1981) is an English actress and comedian known for portraying Yara Greyjoy in the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

fantasy-drama series ''

Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American Fantasy television, fantasy Drama (film and television), drama television series created by David Benioff and for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of high fantasy novels by ...

'' and as her stand-up character Chastity Butterworth. She also plays Kate in all 4 series of the comedy '' Upstart Crow'' (2016–2018), Detective Eunice Noon on the first series of '' The End of the F***ing World'' (2017), Geraldine on the third series of ''

Killing Eve ''Killing Eve'' is a British spy thriller television series produced in the United Kingdom by Sid Gentle Films for BBC America and BBC Three (streaming service), BBC Three. The series follows Eve Polastri (Sandra Oh), a British intelligence age ...

'' (2020), and DCI Kerry Henderson in both series of '' DI Ray'' (2022–2024).

Early life and education

Gemma Elizabeth Whelan was born in

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

in 1981 and grew up in the

Midlands The Midlands is the central region of England, to the south of Northern England, to the north of southern England, to the east of Wales, and to the west of the North Sea. The Midlands comprises the ceremonial counties of Derbyshire, Herefor ...

. She attended The King's High School for Girls in

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...

and the

London Studio Centre London Studio Centre, in North Finchley, London, is a British dance and theatre school providing courses in classical ballet, contemporary dance, jazz dance, and musical theatre. It is accredited by the CDMT, Council for Dance, Drama and Musical ...

. She was hospitalised for

anorexia nervosa Anorexia nervosa (AN), often referred to simply as anorexia, is an eating disorder characterized by Calorie restriction, food restriction, body image disturbance, fear of gaining weight, and an overpowering desire to be thin. Individuals wit ...

as a teenager. She regards her recovery from the illness as her greatest achievement, and says that the experience has shaped her personality and how she approaches things.

Career

As a

stand-up comedian Stand-up comedy is a performance directed to a live audience, where the performer stands on a stage and delivers humorous and satirical monologues sometimes incorporating physical acts. These performances are typically composed of rehear ...

, Whelan won the 2010 Funny Women Variety Award. She performed at the 2013

Edinburgh Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...

with her show ''Chastity Butterworth & The Spanish Hamster''. In 2014, she recorded a pilot chat show as her character Chastity Butterworth for

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

, which was in development in October 2015. She also featured in other shows as this character. On screen, she has played supporting roles in several films and TV shows, including in the 2010 films ''

Gulliver's Travels ''Gulliver's Travels'', originally titled ''Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships'', is a 1726 prose satire by the Anglo-Irish writer and clerg ...

'' and '' The Wolfman''. She played Kate (appearing in all 18 main episodes, as well as three Christmas specials) in

Ben Elton Benjamin Charles Elton is a British comedian, actor, author, playwright, lyricist and director. One of the major figures in the alternative comedy movement of the 1980s, his early stand-up style was Left-wing politics, left-wing political satire ...

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

comedy '' Upstart Crow'', and was a series regular on '' The End of the F***ing World''. She also played roles in other comedies, including ''

Uncle An uncle is usually defined as a male relative who is a sibling of a parent or married to a sibling of a parent, as well as the parent of the cousins. Uncles who are related by birth are second-degree relatives. The female counterpart of an un ...

'' and '' The Agency''. In August 2011, she was cast as Yara Greyjoy, elder sister of Theon, of House Greyjoy of the Iron Islands, in the

fantasy-drama television series ''

'', and appeared as a recurring cast member from the second season onward. In 2017, she portrayed Karen Matthews in the two-part TV drama '' The Moorside'', based on the 2008 disappearance of nine-year-old Shannon Matthews. In 2019, she appeared as Marian Lister in the BBC drama '' Gentleman Jack''. In 2020, she portrayed Mrs Weston née Taylor in a film adaption of Jane Austen's Emma, directed by Autumn de Wilde. In February 2020, a stage adaptation of '' Upstart Crow'' opened at the

Gielgud Theatre The Gielgud Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, at the corner of Rupert Street, in the City of Westminster, London. The house currently has 994 seats on three levels. The theatre was designed by W. G. R. Sprague and ...

, London, Whelan reprising the role of Kate. Whelan returned to the West End stage as Kate when the play was revived at the

Apollo Theatre The Apollo Theatre is a listed building, Grade II listed West End theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London.

in 2022. Whelan appears as DCI Kerry Henderson in the police drama series, '' DI Ray'', written by Maya Sondhi and produced by

Jed Mercurio Gerald Gary Mercurio (born September 1966) is a British television writer, producer, director and novelist. A former hospital doctor and Royal Air Force officer, Mercurio has been ranked among UK television's leading writers. In 2017, Mercurio ...

, as superior officer to DI Ray, played by

Parminder Nagra Parminder Kaur Nagra (born 5 October 1975) is an English actress. She is known for portraying Jess Bhamra in the film ''Bend It Like Beckham'' (2002) and Dr. Neela Rasgotra in the NBC medical drama '' ER'' (2003–2009). Her other television r ...

. Her role extends from the first series in 2022 to series 2 in 2024.

Personal life

Whelan lives in London with her husband, the comedian and actor Gerry Howell, and their two children.

Filmography

Film

Television

Stage

Video games

Awards and nominations

References

External links

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Amore
video with Whelan on ''Upstart Crow'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Whelan, Gemma Living people English film actresses English stand-up comedians English women comedians Actresses from Leeds 21st-century English actresses English stage actresses English television actresses English video game actresses English voice actresses 1981 births WFTV Award winners People educated at The King's High School for Girls Comedians from Leeds