Erin Mae Kellyman (born 17 October 1998) is a British actress. On television, she gained prominence through 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 ...

sitcom '' Raised by Wolves'' (2015–2016) and 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 ...

series '' Les Misérables'' (2018), '' Don't Forget the Driver'' (2019), and ''

Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

'' (2020). She has since starred in the

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series '' The Falcon and the Winter Soldier'' (2021) and '' Willow'' (2022). Her films include '' Solo: A Star Wars Story'' (2018) and '' The Green Knight'' (2021).

Early life

Originally from Tamworth, Staffordshire, Kellyman attended Birmingham Ormiston Academy, The Rawlett School and was a graduate of the Nottingham Television Workshop. Erin's mother, Louise, is of Irish ancestry, and her father, Charles, is of Afro-Jamaican descent.

Career

Kellyman appeared in '' Raised by Wolves'', written by Caitlin Moran and her sister Caroline Moran for

. She also appeared in the 2016

sitcom ''The Coopers Vs The Rest'' with Tanya Franks and Kerry Godliman, about a trio of adopted children raised by a suburban couple. Kellyman was cast as the marauder Enfys Nest in '' Solo: A Star Wars Story'' in 2018. The role of Nest in ''Solo: A Star Wars Story'' has been reported as the "anti-hero we deserve" and "the most important new character introduced in the movie." This role was reported to have given Kellyman "global recognition." For the role Kellyman had to go through three stages of audition. Kellyman only tested with the lead of the film, Alden Ehrenreich, during the third audition, doing both acting and stunt test work. Kellyman also appeared in the BBC's adaptation of '' Les Misérables'' as Éponine alongside Olivia Colman, Lily Collins, David Oyelowo and Dominic West. Kellyman had originally auditioned for the role of Cosette, but was called back for the role of Éponine. Kellyman praised the diversity in the BBC production, admitting she never considered she would be able to play such a role in a period drama. Kellyman appeared in

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 ...

dark comedy series '' Don't Forget the Driver'', starring Toby Jones. In 2020, Kellyman played the role of Maya, a child that comes to live with her distant aunt, in the BBC TV drama series ''

''. Kellyman co-stars in the 2021

action series '' The Falcon and the Winter Soldier'' as Karli Morgenthau, the leader of a radical group called the Flag Smashers, alongside Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan. Kellyman starred as knight-in-training Jade in the 2022 Disney+ series '' Willow''; a sequel series to the 1988 film of the same name. The relationship between Jade and fellow series lead Kit, portrayed by Ruby Cruz, makes the series "the first true franchise on Disney Plus to really center a queer story", according to '' Polygon''.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kellyman, Erin 21st-century English actresses English film actresses English lesbian actresses English people of Irish descent English people of Jamaican descent English television actresses English LGBTQ actors Living people 1998 births 21st-century British LGBTQ people Actors from Tamworth, Staffordshire Actresses from Staffordshire Black British actresses