Karla-Simone Spence (born 19 July 1996) is a British actress. She is best known for her roles in the film ''

Blue Story ''Blue Story'' is a 2019 British musical film, musical crime drama film written, directed, and narrated by Rapman (Andrew Onwubolu) through the medium of Rapping, rap and starring Stephen Odubola and Micheal Ward, with Eric Kofi-Abrefa, Khali Be ...

'' (2019) and the

ITVX ITVX is a British Over-the-top media services, over-the-top and ad-supported Streaming television, streaming service operated by ITV plc. The service offers original content from the broadcaster, livestreams of the ITV television channels, Free ...

period drama '' The Confessions of Frannie Langton'' (2022). She also appeared in the BBC series ''

Gold Digger A gold digger is a person, typically a woman, who engages in a type of transactional sexual relationship for money rather than love. If it turns into marriage, it is a type of marriage of convenience. Etymology and usage The term "gold di ...

'' (2019) and ''Wannabe'' (2018).

Early life

Spence was born on 19 July 1996 in

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, which today also gives its name to the (much larger) London Borough of Lambeth. Lambeth itself was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey. It is situated 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Charin ...

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 ...

. She is of Jamaican descent. She found her love for acting when she was 11 years old after she starred as Joseph in Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in her primary school's production. Spence attended

Haberdashers' Hatcham College Haberdashers' Hatcham College (formerly Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham College) is a state secondary school with academy status and a music specialism in New Cross, south-east London. The school was formerly a grammar school, then a comprehensi ...

New Cross New Cross is an area in south-east London, England, south-east of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Lewisham and the London_postal_district#List_of_London_postal_districts, SE14 postcode district. New Cross is near St Johns, London, St Jo ...

. She is the older sister of English footballer Djed Spence.

Career

Spence made her television debut in 2018 when she played Amber in the

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes for a 16 to 34-year-old target aud ...

short-form sitcom ''Wannabe''. The following year, she starred as Cali Okello in the

BBC One 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 channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

miniseries ''

'' and in that same year she portrayed the leading lady, Leah in the film ''

''. The film received critical acclaim and earned her nominations at the

National Film Awards The National Film Awards are awards for artistic and technical merit given for "Excellence within the Cinema of India, Indian film industry". Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India ...

. In August 2021, it was announced that Spence would star as the title role of Frannie Langton in the period drama '' The Confessions of Frannie Langton'', an ITV adaptation of the novel of the same name by

Sara Collins Sara Collins is a Jamaican-born Caymanian-British novelist and former lawyer. She earned a Costa Book Award for her 2019 historical fiction novel ''The Confessions of Frannie Langton''. Early life and law Collins was born in Kingston, Jamaica ...

. The limited series premiered on

in December 2022 and in March 2023 on

britbox BritBox is a British Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Video on demand#Subscription models, video on demand Streaming television, streaming service founded by BBC Studios and ITV plc, ITV which operates in eight countries across Australi ...

and she has received critical acclaim for her performance. In April 2022, Spence made her professional stage debut in ''House of Ife'' at

Bush Theatre The Bush Theatre is located in the Passmore Edwards Public Library, Shepherd's Bush, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It was established in 1972 as a showcase for the work of new writers. Artistic Directors * Brian McDermott ...

. In October 2023 it was announced she was cast in ''The Count of Monte Cristo'' alongside

Sam Claflin Samuel George Claflin (; born 27 June 1986) is a British actor. After graduating from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in 2009, he began his acting career on television and had his first film role as Philip Swift in '' Pirates of t ...

as Haydée.

Filmography

Film

Television

Stage

Short film

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Spence, Karla-Simone 1996 births Living people 21st-century English actresses Actresses from London Black British actresses English people of Jamaican descent English people of Kenyan descent Actors from the London Borough of Lambeth People from Lambeth