Shelley Deborah Conn (born 21 September 1976) is an English actress. She is perhaps best known for her roles as Lady Mary Sharma in the hugely successful Netflix series '' Bridgerton'', as Isabella in the film ''Love Sarah'', as Dr Elizabeth Shannon in the Spielberg series '' Terra Nova'' and soon to be seen in

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gr ...

's '' Good Omens'' and

The Boys Boys are young male humans. Boys or The Boys may also refer to: Film and television Films * ''The Boys'' (1962 British film), a courtroom drama by Sidney J. Furie * ''The Boys'' (1962 Finnish film), a war drama by Mikko Niskanen * ''Boys'' ( ...

spin-off series ''Gen V'', both for

Amazon Prime Amazon Prime is a paid subscription service from Amazon which is available in various countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services include same, one- ...

Early life and education

Conn was born in Barnet in north London to Anglo-Indian parents. She is of mixed heritage, which includes Portuguese, Burmese and Indian. She attended Queen Mary's College in

Basingstoke Basingstoke ( ) is the largest town in the county of Hampshire. It is situated in south-central England and lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon, at the far western edge of The North Downs. It is located north-east of Southa ...

and Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. Conn trained at

Bretton Hall Bretton Hall may refer to: * Bretton Hall, Flintshire, former fortified manor house on the England/Wales border * Bretton Hall, West Yorkshire, country house in West Yorkshire, England * Bretton Hall College, former teacher-training college in West ...

. She was a student at Cranbourne School in Basingstoke.

Career

After drama school, Conn had a series of small roles in various British films, before coming to prominence when she starred as Ashika Chandiramani in the BBC series '' Party Animals''. In 2001, she picked up the role of PC Miriam Da Silva in BBC1's '' Mersey Beat'' and an irregularly recurring role in '' Casualty''. In 2002, Conn made her West End theatre stage debut in three plays in December 2002, after transferring from

Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon (), commonly known as just Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is situated on the River Avon, north-we ...

in the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

's Jacobean Season at the Gielgud Theatre – ''The Island Princess'', ''Eastward Ho!'' and ''The Roman Actor''. Conn has appeared television, film and theatre, with a series of leading roles in various small budget European as well as British films namely BBC character dramas such as ''

The Innocence Project ''The Innocence Project'' is a television drama series created by BBC Northern Ireland and first broadcast on BBC One on 9 November 2006. The series follows the work of Professor Jon Ford ( Lloyd Owen), who sets up ''The Innocence Project'', ...

,'' and occasional returns to the RSC. Conn joined Series Five of the popular BBC One series '' Down to Earth'' in 2004. In early 2008, Conn starred as Miranda Hill in '' The Palace'', as Jessica in '' Mistresses'' and as Neela Sahjani in '' Trial & Retribution''. In 2008 she appeared as Claire in '' Dead Set''. In 2010 she played Danni Prendiville in the TV series '' Strike Back''. She was chosen by

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...

to be one of the leads in the $150 million TV series ''Terra Nova'', which premiered on 26 September 2011. In 2014, Conn appeared in a US TV series called '' The Lottery''. In April 2021, it was announced that Conn would star as Mary Sharma in the second series of the Netflix romance period drama '' Bridgerton'' based on Julia Quinn's second novel in her ''Bridgerton'' series, '' The Viscount Who Loved Me''. The series was released in March 2022.

Personal life

Conn lives in London. She ran in the 2006 London Marathon. Conn married her boyfriend of over a decade, actor Jonathan Kerrigan, in late 2011.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Conn, Shelley 1976 births 21st-century English actresses Actresses from Hertfordshire Actresses from London Alumni of Bretton Hall College Alumni of the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art British actresses of Indian descent British people of Anglo-Indian descent English people of Burmese descent English people of Indian descent English people of Portuguese descent English film actresses English stage actresses English television actresses Living people People from Chipping Barnet Royal Shakespeare Company members