Jennifer Brooke (born 1993/1994) is a British actress. From 2012 to 2015, she studied at

Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts The Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, also known simply as Italia Conti, is a drama school based in Woking, Woking, England. It was founded by the English actress Italia Conti in 1911. Italia Conti offers courses in acting, musical theatre, ...

and graduated with a BA (

Hons Honours degree has various meanings in the context of different degrees and education systems. Most commonly it refers to a variant of the undergraduate bachelor's degree containing a larger volume of material or a higher standard of study, o ...

) in Acting. Whilst she was there she performed in various Italia Conti plays, including their adaptations of ''The Acid Test'', ''

Richard III Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...

'' and ''

A View from the Bridge ''A View from the Bridge'' is a play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It was first staged on September 29, 1955, as a one-act verse drama with '' A Memory of Two Mondays'' at the Coronet Theatre on Broadway. The run was unsuccessful, ...

''. In 2015, Brooke did a voice-over for the short film ''Two Sides'', and that October she began airing as series regular Rachel Hardy on the British soap opera ''

Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which originally began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. From 2005 to 2023, episodes h ...

''. Brooke last appeared as Rachel in March 2016, when the character was killed-off. Brooke has also appeared in the films '' My Name Is Lenny'' (2017), ''

Astral Astral may refer to: Concepts of the non-physical * Astral body, a subtle body posited by many religious philosophers * Astral journey (or ''astral trip''), the same as having an ''out-of-body experience'' * Astral plane (AKA astral world), a p ...

'' (2018) and '' The Last Letter from Your Lover'' (2021), in addition to short films and commercials. She also played the recurring role of Donna in ''

White Gold White gold is an alloy of gold and at least one white metal, usually nickel or palladium. Like yellow gold, the purity of white gold is given in carats (karats). It is often used on jewellery. A common white gold formulation consists of 90% wt ...

'' and guest-starred in ''

Call the Midwife ''Call the Midwife'' is a British period drama television series about a group of nurse midwives working in the East End of London in the late 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. The principal cast of the show has included Jessica Raine, Miranda Hart, ...

''. In 2018, she portrayed Rebecca Harrison in the play "A Gym Thing" at

The Pleasance The Pleasance is a theatre, bar, sports and recreation complex in Edinburgh, Scotland, situated on a street of the same name. It is owned by the University of Edinburgh, and for nine months of the year it serves the Edinburgh University Stu ...

theatre. In addition to acting, Brooke is an acting teacher for children and in 2020 she launched B.O.S.S Acting School with Samantha Shaw, which led to them being nominated for "Young Entrepreneur of the year" at 2021 the Club Hub Awards.

Life and career

Brooke was born in 1993 or 1994. Brooke enjoyed acting from a "young age" but explained that there were not many local performing schools for her to pursue her passion, as well as believing that she did not have the confidence to do so. At the age of 18, Brooke gained a place and began training at the

in 2012, where she graduated with a BA (

) in Acting in 2015. From 2013 to 2015, she performed in various stage productions at the Italia Conti, including their adaptations of ''The Acid Test'', ''

'', ''

'' and ''Touched''. Brook called her time at Italia Conti an "incredible experience". In 2015, Brooke did a voice-over in the short film ''Two Sides''. Bryan Kirkwood

On 21 September 2015, it was announced that Brooke had joined the cast of ''

'' as a Rachel Hardy along with five other cast members as part of a new family unit, the Nightingales. ''Hollyoaks'' executive producer

Bryan Kirkwood Bryan Kirkwood (born November 1975) is a British television producer. He was the producer of the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'' from 2006 until 2009 and was the executive producer of the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' from 2010 until 2012. H ...

explained that he had introduced the family to "create a sense of community" in the soap. The Nightingales were labelled as an "exciting" new family unit that would take over the running of the local pub

The Dog in the Pond The Dog in the Pond (commonly known as The Dog, briefly named The Jolly Roger) is a fictional public house in the British Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks''. It has been at the centre of the show's setting since it began in 1995. In 2003, The D ...

. Rachel was introduced as the fiancée of

Nathan Nightingale ''Hollyoaks'' is a British television soap opera that was first broadcast on 23 October 1995. The following is a list of characters that appeared in the serial in 2015, by order of first appearance. All characters were introduced by executive pr ...

(Jared Garfield) and the couple were characterised as being childhood sweethearts and the "perfect" match. Brooke made her first appearance as Rachel on 26 October 2015. Brooke described Rachel as "quite cool" and "free-spirited" and not caring about other people's opinions, which Brooke liked about her. The actress explained that Rachel fits in well with the Nightingale family and called Rachel and Nathan "a match made in Heaven" and "best friends" who "adore" each other. Brooke also teased that Rachel would get "itchy feet" and sees Hollyoaks as a

waiting room A waiting room or waiting hall is a building, or more commonly a part of a building or a room, where people sit or stand until the event or appointment for which they are waiting begins. There are two types of physical waiting room. One has in ...

before she goes to travel the world. Brooke enjoyed the experience of being on set every day and seeing how the episodes were made behind the scenes. Many of Rachel's storylines revolved around their relationship which becomes strained at times, including when Nathan cheats on Rachel with

Porsche McQueen ''Hollyoaks'' is a British television soap opera that was first broadcast on 23 October 1995. The following is a list of characters that appeared or will appear in the serial in 2014, by order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by ...

(

Twinnie-Lee Moore Twinnie-Lee Moore (born 14 May 1987) is an English country pop singer-songwriter and actress. Career Theatre In 2009, Moore was cast as Velma Kelly in the 2009/10 touring version of the Kander and Ebb West End musical ''Chicago''. She then ...

) and when Rachel hides Alfie Nightingale's (Richard Linnell) cancer returning from Nathan. Brooke last appeared as Rachel on 29 March 2016 after the character was killed-off in a car explosion. Brooke's departure was not announced beforehand and it was later revealed that Brooke had known from the beginning of her stint that the character would be departing the soap in order to shock the audience and create development for Nathan's character. Brooke and her colleagues had filmed the stunt and Rachel's death scenes from 4pm to 4am and had to deal with heavy rain from a storm. Garfield believed that he and Brooke made a good team and was sad that she was leaving. Following her departure, Brooke returned to the ''Hollyoaks'' set several times as she had friends that lived in Liverpool. Garfield and Brooke also stayed in touch as they had become good friends. Student Union buildings in the Pleasance

Student Union buildings in the Pleasance

Brooke portrayed Trixie Marks in the 2017 British drama film '' My Name Is Lenny''. Filming for the film took place in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and began in August 2016. In 2018, Brooke returned to theatre and portrayed Rebecca Harrison in ''A Gym Thing'', which was performed in

theatre. Brooke also played the recurring role of Donna in the British sitcom ''

'' over their two series, which aired in 2017 and 2019. Brooke also portrayed Karina Richardson in the 2018 British horror film ''

''. Brooke portrayed a receptionist in the 2021 British

romantic drama Romance films involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their ...

film '' The Last Letter from Your Lover''. Brooke has also appeared in television commercials for Melectronics and

Taco Bell Taco Bell Corp. is an American multinational chain of fast food restaurants founded in 1962 by Glen Bell (1923–2010) in Downey, California. Taco Bell is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. The restaurants serve a variety of Mexican-inspired ...

. She also appeared in the short films ''A Pizza'' in 2021 and ''Shut Eye'' in 2023. In 2024, Brooke guest starred in the British television period drama ''

''. In addition to performing, Brooke teaches acting to young people between the ages of two and 16, which she enjoys as she likes to share her passion with the children and watching them grow as performers and putting on performances as a team. She added, "I find it so important for children to explore their own creative identity and have an outlet that allows them to express themselves - there's real power in that!" Brooke, along with fellow Italia Conti graduate Samantha Shaw, is the co-director and a teacher of the B.O.S.S Acting School. Brooke and Shaw had launched the school in May 2020 during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, which runs classes in various venues to teach children skills for stage and screen acting. For their successful approach, Brooke and Shaw were nominated for "Young Entrepreneur of the year" at 2021 the Club Hub Awards, which they were happily surprised by.

Personal life

Brooke is from

Roydon, Essex Roydon is a village located in the Epping Forest (district), Epping Forest district of the county of Essex, England. It is located west of Harlow, east of Hoddesdon and northwest of Epping, Essex, Epping, forming part of the border with Hert ...

. Brooke is a

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a ve ...

and has joked that she likes to tell people that "all the time".

Acting credits

Filmography

Theatre credits

Commercials

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brooke, Jennifer People from Roydon, Essex Living people English soap opera actresses English stage actresses English film actresses Short film actors Alumni of the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts Acting teachers 21st-century English actresses Year of birth missing (living people)