Charity Wakefield is an English actress. Her appearances include roles in ''

Sense & Sensibility ''Sense and Sensibility'' (working title; ''Elinor and Marianne'') is the first novel by the English author Jane Austen, published in 1811. It was published anonymously: ''By A Lady'' appears on the title page where the author's name might hav ...

'' (2008), ''

Casualty 1900s ''Casualty 1900s'', broadcast in the U.S. as ''London Hospital'', is a British hospital drama inspired by but otherwise unrelated to BBC One drama ''Casualty (TV series), Casualty''. It places the viewer in the Receiving Room of the Royal Lo ...

'' (2008–2009), ''

Wolf Hall ''Wolf Hall'' is a 2009 historical novel by English author Hilary Mantel, published by Fourth Estate, named after the Seymour family's seat of Wolfhall, or Wulfhall, in Wiltshire. Set in the period from 1500 to 1535, ''Wolf Hall'' is a sym ...

'' and ' (2015), '' Close to the Enemy'' (2016), ', ''

Genius Genius is a characteristic of original and exceptional insight in the performance of some art or endeavor that surpasses expectations, sets new standards for the future, establishes better methods of operation, or remains outside the capabiliti ...

'' and ''

Bounty Hunters A bounty hunter is a private agent working for a bail bondsman who captures fugitives or criminals for a commission or bounty. The occupation, officially known as a bail enforcement agent or fugitive recovery agent, has traditionally operated ...

'' (2017), and as Georgina Dymova in ' (2020–2023).

Early life and education

Charity Wakefield was born in

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells (formerly, until 1909, and still commonly Tunbridge Wells) is a town in Kent, England, southeast of Central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone ...

. Her first taste of acting was in an amateur dramatics school production of ''

Sleeping Beauty "Sleeping Beauty" (, or ''The Beauty Sleeping in the Wood''; , or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess curse, cursed by an evil fairy to suspended animation in fi ...

'' in 1987. Wakefield attended a three-year acting course at

Oxford School of Drama The Oxford School of Drama is a drama school in the United Kingdom. It is based at Wootton, ten miles north of Oxford. The school is an independent, vocational drama school which runs a three-year acting course and a one-year acting course, bo ...

graduating in 2003. Besides acting, Wakefield plays the violin and has a strong

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

singing voice.

Career

Wakefield made her screen debut in 2004, in ''(Past Present Future) Imperfect''. She starred in a

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...

production of ''

Rapunzel "Rapunzel" ( ; ; or ) is a German fairy tale most notably recorded by the Brothers Grimm and it was published in 1812 as part of '' Children's and Household Tales'' (KHM 12). The Grimms' story was developed from the French literary fairy tale ...

'', in which Rapunzel is a young tennis star, and also appeared in ''

Casualty 1907 ''Casualty 1900s'', broadcast in the U.S. as ''London Hospital'', is a British hospital drama inspired by but otherwise unrelated to BBC One drama ''Casualty''. It places the viewer in the Receiving Room of the London Hospital, in London's ...

''. Her theatre credits include '' Yesterday Was a Weird Day'', a production about the 2005 London bombings, Constance in ''

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' () is a French historical adventure novel written and published in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is the first of the author's three d'Artagnan Romances. As with some of his other works, he wrote it in col ...

'' at the

Bristol Old Vic Bristol Old Vic is a British theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, Bristol. The present company was established in 1946 as an offshoot of the Old Vic in London. It is associated with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which became a fin ...

, and Elaine in ''

The Graduate ''The Graduate'' is a 1967 American independent romantic comedy-drama film directed by Mike Nichols and written by Buck Henry and Calder Willingham, based on the 1963 novella by Charles Webb. It stars Dustin Hoffman as Benjamin Braddoc ...

'', at the

New Vic The New Vic Theatre is a purpose-built theatre in the round in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire. The theatre opened in 1986, replacing a converted cinema, the Victoria Theatre in Hartshill, Stoke-on-Trent. History In the early 1960s, Stephen ...

; she met her future husband, David Newman, when they acted together in ''The Graduate''. Wakefield's performance as Susan in ''

Baby with the Bathwater ''Baby with the Bathwater'' is a play by Christopher Durang about a boy named Daisy, his influences, and his eventual outcome. Synopsis Act I Two parents who are completely unprepared for parenthood bring home their newborn baby. The two canno ...

'' at the

Old Red Lion Theatre The Old Red Lion (ORL), also known as the Old Red Lion Theatre (ORLT) and The Old Red, is a pub and fringe theatre, at Angel, in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre was founded in 1979 as the Old Red Lion Theatre Club. The pub was Grad ...

was called "fabulous." In 2008 Wakefield toured in a revival of

W. Somerset Maugham William Somerset Maugham ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German un ...

's ''The Circle'' at the

Chichester Festival Theatre Chichester Festival Theatre is a theatre and Grade II* listed building situated in Oaklands Park in the city of Chichester, West Sussex, England. Designed by Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya, it was opened by its founder Leslie Evershed-Mart ...

, as well as working on the BBC comedy pilot ''Freddi''. Wakefield played a lead role as Marianne Dashwood in the BBC production of

Jane Austen Jane Austen ( ; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for #List of works, her six novels, which implicitly interpret, critique, and comment on the English landed gentry at the end of the 18th century ...

's ''

Sense and Sensibility ''Sense and Sensibility'' ( working title; ''Elinor and Marianne'') is the first novel by the English author Jane Austen, published in 1811. It was published anonymously: ''By A Lady'' appears on the title page where the author's name might h ...

''. She appeared in the Channel 4 drama ''

Any Human Heart ''Any Human Heart: The Intimate Journals of Logan Mountstuart'' is a 2002 novel by William Boyd, a British writer. It is written as a lifelong series of journals kept by the fictional character Mountstuart, a writer whose life (1906–1991) ...

'' and played the lead in the British film noir ''Scar Tissue''. In March 2012 she was cast in ''

Mockingbird Lane ''Mockingbird Lane'' is a 2012 American horror comedy television special that served as a re-imagining of the 1964–66 television series ''The Munsters''. It was developed for NBC by Bryan Fuller. The pilot episode aired on October 26, 2012, as ...

'', the re-imagining of ''

The Munsters ''The Munsters'' is an American sitcom about the home life of a family of benign monsters that aired from 1964 to 1966 on CBS. The series stars Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster (Frankenstein's monster),Episodes referring to the fact that Herman is ...

'' for

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

. Wakefield appeared as

Mary Boleyn Mary Boleyn, also known as Lady Mary, (Antonia Fraser, ''The Wives of Henry VIII'' (Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1992), p. 119 – 19 or 30 July 1543) was the sister of List of English royal consorts, English queen consort Anne Boleyn, whose fami ...

in the 2015

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air 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 matter, incorporating genres such as comedy, drama and ...

television series ''

''. She also appeared in the

drama '' The Player'' with

Philip Winchester Philip Winchester is an American actor. He is known for his roles in '' The Patriot'', ''The Hi-Line'', '' LD 50 Lethal Dose'', '' Thunderbirds'', '' CSI: Miami'', ''King Lear'', '' Strike Back'', '' Flyboys'', '' In My Sleep'', ''The Heart of t ...

and

Wesley Snipes Wesley Trent Snipes (born July 31, 1962) is an American actor and martial artist. In a film career spanning more than thirty years, Snipes has appeared in a variety of genres, such as numerous thrillers, dramatic feature films, and comedies, th ...

. On Christmas Day 2016, she was one of the principal guest stars in the BBC1 ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' Christmas special "

The Return of Doctor Mysterio "The Return of Doctor Mysterio" is an episode of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. First broadcast on BBC One on 25 December 2016, it is the twelfth Christmas special since the show's revival in 2005. It was written by ...

". In 2017, she appeared in two episodes of the ITV drama ''

The Halcyon ''The Halcyon'' is a British television period drama broadcast on ITV which began airing on 2 January 2017. It was created and written by Charlotte Jones. The series focused on examining World War II London from 'a new perspective', and was se ...

'', playing Charity Lambert. Wakefield appeared in the main cast of both series (2017 and 2019) of the

Sky One Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non- terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...

comedy drama ''

'', playing Leah Hoover, sister of the character of series co-creator and co-lead

Jack Whitehall Jack Peter Benedict Whitehall (born 7 July 1988) is an English comedian, actor, writer and television personality. He is known for his roles as JP in the Channel 4 comedy-drama series '' Fresh Meat'' (2011–2016) and as Alfie Wickers in the BBC ...

. In 2020, she was cast in a main role as Georgina Dymova in the

Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...

's Historical comedy-drama ''The Great'', alongside

Elle Fanning Mary Elle Fanning (born April 9, 1998) is an American actress. Her works include both independent films and blockbusters, and her accolades include a National Board of Review Award, in addition to nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and ...

and

Nicholas Hoult Nicholas Caradoc Hoult (; born Wokingham, 7 December 1989) is an English actor. He has received several accolades, including a nomination for a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe nominations, and a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. ...

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

*
Post-It Love on YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wakefield, Charity Living people English television actresses English stage actresses English film actresses Alumni of the Oxford School of Drama 21st-century English actresses English radio actresses Year of birth missing (living people) Actresses from Royal Tunbridge Wells