Gayle Rankin is a Scottish actress. She is known for her role as Sheila in the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

series '' GLOW'' (2017–2019). She also played Emily Dodson 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 ...

series ''

Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and four short stories, all of which involve a ...

'' (2020). Her films include ''

The Greatest Showman ''The Greatest Showman'' is a 2017 American musical period drama film directed by Michael Gracey from a screenplay by Jenny Bicks and Bill Condon, based on an original story by Bicks. The film stars Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, ...

'' (2017), ''

Her Smell ''Her Smell'' is a 2018 American drama film written, co-produced and directed by Alex Ross Perry. It stars Elisabeth Moss, Cara Delevingne, Dan Stevens, Agyness Deyn, Gayle Rankin, Ashley Benson, Amber Heard, Dylan Gelula, Eka Darville and ...

'' (2018), '' Blow the Man Down'', and '' The Climb'' (both 2019). Rankin joined the cast of the

series ''

House of the Dragon ''House of the Dragon'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by George R. R. Martin and Ryan Condal for HBO. A prequel to ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019), it is the second television series in Martin's ''A Song of Ice and F ...

'' for its second season as Alys Rivers. In 2024, she was nominated for the

Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical is an honor presented at the Tony Awards, a ceremony established in 1947 as the Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, to actresses for quality leading roles in a m ...

at the 77th Tony Awards for her role in ''

Cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...

''.

Early life

Gayle Rankin was born in Paisley and grew up in

Eaglesham Eaglesham ( or , or ; ; ) is a village in East Renfrewshire, Scotland, situated about south of Glasgow, southeast of Newton Mearns and south of Clarkston, East Renfrewshire, Clarkston, and southwest of East Kilbride. The 2011 census reveal ...

and

Kilmaurs Kilmaurs () is a village in East Ayrshire, Scotland which lies just outside of the largest settlement in East Ayrshire, Kilmarnock. It lies on the Carmel Water, southwest of Glasgow. Population recorded for the village in the 2001 Census record ...

. She has an older sister. She attended Mearns Castle High School and completed sixth form at Knightswood Secondary School's Dance School of Scotland. At 17, Rankin won a scholarship to train at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

in New York City and became the institution's first Scottish student. She was also awarded an international fellowship to study in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Australia.

Career

In 2012, Rankin made her acting debut in a season 13 episode of '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit''. In 2017, Rankin began appearing on the series '' GLOW'', as Sheila the She-Wolf. It premiered on 23 June 2017 on

. The show was renewed for a third season which premiered on 9 August 2019. In 2017, Rankin appeared in the film ''

The Meyerowitz Stories ''The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)'' is a 2017 American comedy-drama film directed and written by Noah Baumbach. The film stars Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller, Dustin Hoffman, Elizabeth Marvel and Emma Thompson, and follows a group of dysfunct ...

'', directed by

Noah Baumbach Noah Baumbach (born September 3, 1969) is an American filmmaker. He is known for making light comedies set in New York City and his works are inspired by filmmakers such as Woody Allen and Whit Stillman. His frequent collaborators include Wes A ...

. The film premiered at the

2017 Cannes Film Festival The 70th Cannes Film Festival took place from 17 to 28 May 2017, in Cannes, France. Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar was the president of the jury for the main competition. Italian actress Monica Bellucci hosted the opening and closing cerem ...

, and was released by Netflix on 13 October 2017. That same year, she appeared in ''

'' opposite

Hugh Jackman Hugh Michael Jackman (born 12 October 1968) is an Australian and British actor, singer, and producer. Beginning in theatre and television, Jackman landed his breakthrough role as Wolverine in the ''X-Men'' film franchise and the Marvel Cinem ...

and

Michelle Williams Michelle Williams or Michele Williams may refer to: * Michelle Ann Williams (born circa 1965), American public health scholar * Michelle Williams (singer) (born 1979), American singer, previously a member of Destiny's Child * Michelle Williams (actr ...

. In 2018, Rankin appeared in '' Irreplaceable You'', directed by

Stephanie Laing Stephanie Laing is an American filmmaker known primarily for her work in television. She has worked on shows such as '' Tracey Takes On...'', '' Tracey Ullman's Visible Panty Lines'', '' Vice Principals'', ''Divorce'', '' Veep'', and '' Eastbound ...

, opposite

Gugu Mbatha-Raw Gugulethu Sophia Mbatha-Raw, MBE (; born 21 April 1983) is an English actress. She began acting at the National Youth Music Theatre and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and gained acclaim for her roles as Juliet in ''Romeo and Juliet'' and O ...

and

Michiel Huisman Michiel Huisman (born 18 July 1981) is a Dutch actor, musician and singer-songwriter born in Amstelveen, recognized for his roles in Dutch and international film and television projects. Huisman's music career began as the singer and guitarist ...

. It was released by Netflix on 16 February 2018. That same year, she appeared in ''

In a Relationship ''In a Relationship'' is a 2018 American romantic drama film, written and directed by Sam Boyd. It stars Emma Roberts, Michael Angarano, Dree Hemingway, Patrick Gibson, Jay Ellis, and Melora Walters, and focuses the relationship of two couples ...

'' directed by Sam Boyd, which had its world premiere at the

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...

on 20 April 2018, and in ''

'', directed by

Alex Ross Perry Alex Ross Perry is an American filmmaker and actor. Prolific in independent film, he is best known for writing and directing ''Listen Up Philip'' (2014) and ''Her Smell'' (2018). Early life Perry is Jewish. He grew up in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania ...

, opposite

Elisabeth Moss Elisabeth Singleton Moss (born July 24, 1982) is an American actor and director. The recipient of several accolades, including two Golden Globe Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and a nomination for a Tony Award, she was named the "Queen of P ...

and Agyness Deyn. In 2020, she was cast as Emily Dodson, the mother of Charlie Dodson, a 1-year-old child who is mysteriously kidnapped in the series ''

''. In April 2023, it was announced that Rankin had been cast as Alys Rivers in the second season of ''

''. On

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

, she has starred in the 2014 revival of ''Cabaret'' as Fräulein Kost. She starred as

Sally Bowles Sally Bowles () is a fictional character created by English-American novelist Christopher Isherwood and based upon 19-year-old cabaret singer Jean Ross. The character debuted in Isherwood's 1937 novella ''Sally Bowles'' published by Hogarth Pre ...

in the 2024 revival opposite

Eddie Redmayne Edward John David Redmayne OBE (; born 6 January 1982) is an English actor. His accolades include an Academy Award, a Tony Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, and two Olivier Awards. Redmayne began his professional ac ...

, earning acclaim and a nomination for the

at the 77th Tony Awards.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rankin, Gayle Living people Actresses from Paisley, Renfrewshire Juilliard School alumni People from Eaglesham People from Kilmaurs Scottish film actresses Scottish musical theatre actresses Scottish stage actresses Scottish television actresses 21st-century Scottish actresses Year of birth missing (living people) Actresses from East Ayrshire Actresses from East Renfrewshire