Emma Jane Pierson (born 30 April 1981) is an English actress. Her appearances in television programmes include the role of Anna Thornton-Wilton in the
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
television drama ''
Hotel Babylon'', and ''
SunTrap'', ''
Days Like These'', ''
Beast'', ''I Saw You'', ''
Charles II: The Power and The Passion'', ''
The Worst Week of My Life'', ''
Bloodlines'', ''
Coupling'', ''
Time Gentlemen Please'', ''
Dead Boss'' and ''
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 ...
''.
Early life and education
The daughter of a nurse and a
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
submariner, Pierson was born Emma Jane Pierson on 30 April 1981 in
Plymouth
Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...
, Devon. Her father, Charles, was stationed at
Faslane Naval Base
His Majesty's Naval Base, Clyde (HMNB Clyde; also HMS ''Neptune''), primarily sited at Faslane on the Gare Loch, is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Devonport and HMNB Portsmouth). It ...
on the
Clyde where Emma spent the first four years of her life.
When she was in her teens, Pierson lived with her parents and three siblings in
North Bradley, near
Trowbridge
Trowbridge ( ) is the county town of Wiltshire, England; situated on the River Biss in the west of the county, close to the border with Somerset. The town lies south-east of Bath, Somerset, Bath, south-west of Swindon and south-east of Brist ...
, Wiltshire, attending
Grittleton House School and then later
St Laurence School in nearby
Bradford on Avon
Bradford-on-Avon (sometimes Bradford on Avon) is a town and civil parish in west Wiltshire, England, near the border with Somerset. The town's canal, historic buildings, shops, pubs and restaurants make it popular with tourists. The parish had ...
where she began taking acting lessons.
After leaving school in 1997, Pierson performed in amateur productions with the North Bradley players, appearing in a number of plays including
Chekhov's ''
Uncle Vanya
''Uncle Vanya'' ( rus, Дя́дя Ва́ня, r=Dyádya Ványa, p=ˈdʲædʲə ˈvanʲə) is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1897, and first produced in 1899 by the Moscow Art Theatre, directed by Konstan ...
''.
Pierson gained the role of Becky Radcliffe in the BBC children's drama series ''
Grange Hill
''Grange Hill'' is a British Children's television series, children's television drama series, originally produced by the BBC and portraying life in a typical Comprehensive school (England and Wales), comprehensive school. The show began its ru ...
'' while studying law at the
City of Bath College.
Career
After leaving ''Grange Hill'', Pierson took on the role of Jackie Burgett in ''
Days Like These'', an
ITV sitcom set in
Luton
Luton () is a town and borough in Bedfordshire, England. The borough had a population of 225,262 at the 2021 census.
Luton is on the River Lea, about north-west of London. The town's foundation dates to the sixth century as a Saxon settleme ...
and adapted from the American comedy series ''
That '70s Show
''That '70s Show'' is an American television teen sitcom that aired on Fox from August 23, 1998, to May 18, 2006. The series focuses on the lives of a group of six teenage friends living in the fictional town of Point Place, Wisconsin, from 197 ...
''. However, ''Days Like These'' proved unsuccessful and the series was cancelled after only ten of its thirteen episodes were aired.
Pierson has continued to appear in comedy series, including various episodes of the
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
sketch show ''Armstrong and Miller'', ''Beast'' with
Alexander Armstrong
Alexander Henry Fenwick Armstrong (born 2 March 1970) is an English actor, comedian, radio personality, television presenter, singer and farmer. He is the host of the BBC One game show ''Pointless'', and is a weekday morning-show presenter on C ...
and ''
The Worst Week of My Life'' with
Ben Miller.
In 2002, following the departure from the series of
Julia Sawalha
Julia Sawalha (born 9 September 1968) is an English actress. She is best known for playing Saffron "Saffy" Monsoon in the BBC sitcom '' Absolutely Fabulous'' (1992–2012). Her other television roles include as Lynda Day in '' Press Gang'' (198 ...
, Pierson played new character student barmaid Connie in the second series of sitcom ''
Time Gentlemen Please'', written by
Al Murray and
Richard Herring
Richard Keith Herring (born 12 July 1967) is an English stand-up comedian and writer whose early work includes the comedy double act Lee and Herring (alongside Stewart Lee). He is described by ''The British Theatre Guide'' as "one of the leadin ...
, and appeared in an episode of the sitcom ''
Coupling''.
Pierson's roles have included comedy dramas ''Bedtime'' and ''
Legend of the Tamworth Two''. In 2010 she starred in the Radio 4 comedy series "House on Fire".
Pierson has appeared the dramas ''Stranded'', the Hallmark channel's version of ''
Swiss Family Robinson'', BBC political drama ''
The Project'', ''Charles II'' and an as yet unreleased low-budget film, ''The Engagement'', from the director of ''
Sirens'',
John Duigan
John Duigan (born 19 June 1949) is an Australian film director and screenwriter. He is mostly known for his two autobiographical fiction, autobiographical films ''The Year My Voice Broke'' and ''Flirting (film), Flirting'', and the 1994 film ' ...
.
In 2005, Pierson played the role of policewoman Justine Hopkin in the two-part ITV drama, ''
Bloodlines''. She has since acted in other dramas, such as ''Riot at the Rite'', a period drama about Russian dancer
Nijinsky, and ''
Hotel Babylon'', a BBC series based on the
book of the same name by
Imogen Edwards-Jones and portraying life behind the scenes in a London hotel.
In the 2006 indie film ''The Lives of the Saints'', Pierson played the character Tina. This was her first major film role, after lesser roles in ''Virtual Sexuality'' and ''Guest House Paradiso'' early in her career.
In 2016, Pierson portrayed an adoptive mother (Jess) whose worst nightmare came true when her daughters biological mother turns up and tries to destroy her family in the BBC Three series "
Cuckoo
Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae ( ) family, the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes ( ). The cuckoo family includes the common or European cuckoo, roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals, and anis. The coucals and anis are somet ...
".
Filmography
Film
Television
Music videos
Video games
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pierson, Emma
1981 births
Living people
English film actresses
English television actresses
Actresses from Plymouth, Devon
20th-century English actresses
21st-century English actresses
People educated at Bath College
People educated at Grittleton House School