Brooke Williams (born 3 January 1984) is a

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

actress, best known for her role as Jennsen Rahl in ''

Legend of the Seeker ''Legend of the Seeker'' is an American television series created by Sam Raimi, based on the fantasy novel series ''The Sword of Truth'' by Terry Goodkind. Distributed in U.S. by Disney-ABC Domestic Television, ABC Studios produced the series fo ...

'', Aurelia in '' Spartacus: Blood and Sand'' and Eva in '' The Almighty Johnsons''.

Early life and education

Williams was born in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, where she spent her childhood. At a very young age, she decided to become an actress and started performing in amateur theatre and attending acting courses. She moved to London, where, starting in 2001, she trained at ''Mme Course'', ''Acting for Screen'' and the

Globe Theatre The Globe Theatre was a Theater (structure), theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 at Southwark, close to the south bank of the Thames, by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men. It was ...

, joining its theatre company. In 2002 she participated in the

Edinburgh Festival 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 ...

acting in ''Gogo the Boy with Magic Feet'', for which she won a Total Theatre Award. After returning to New Zealand, she worked at the

Court Theatre A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and administer justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law. Courts general ...

in Christchurch; she moved North in 2004 and graduated with a Bachelor of Performing Arts from Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School in 2006.

Career

In 2007 she moved to

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, where she joined the

Auckland Theatre Company Auckland Theatre Company (ATC) is a professional theatre company in Auckland. It was founded in 1992 and since 2016 has been based in ASB Waterfront Theatre in the Wynyard Quarter in central Auckland. History Auckland Theatre Company (ATC) wa ...

, playing the lead role in ''Romeo & Juliet''. Her television career began in 2005, acting in the movie '' Meet Me in Miami''; then appearing in the television series '' Spartacus: Blood and Sand'', its prequel '' Spartacus: Gods of the Arena'' and ''

''. In 2008, Williams acted in a spot for Griffin Solay. Two years later, she won two NZ Herald Best of Theatre Awards. In 2011, she appeared in the video of the song ''Myth Reducer'' by Sleeping Dogs and joined ''

Shortland Street ''Shortland Street'' is a New Zealand Prime time, prime-time soap opera centring on the fictitious Shortland Street Hospital. The show was first broadcast on TVNZ 2 on 25 May 1992 and is New Zealand's longest-running drama and soap opera, be ...

'', playing Lana. In 2012, Williams portraited Aurelia in '' Spartacus: Vengeance'' again. She resigned from ''Shortland Street'' in early 2013.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Other roles

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * Brooke Williams a
''Aucklandactors.co.nz''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Brooke 1984 births 21st-century New Zealand actresses Living people New Zealand film actresses New Zealand soap opera actresses New Zealand television actresses Actors from Christchurch Toi Whakaari alumni