Ruth Gemmell
Ruth Katrin Gemmell (born October 1967) is an English actress. She starred in the film Fever Pitch in 1997 which was followed by supporting roles in television series EastEnders, Casualty, Home Fires and Penny Dreadful.[1] She has played Carly Beaker, the mother of title character in the Tracy Beaker franchise since 2004. In 2020, she began playing Lady Violet Bridgerton in the Netflix series Bridgerton.[2][3]
Ruth Gemmell | |
|---|---|
Gemmell in June 2018 | |
| Born | Ruth Katrin Gemmell October 1967 (age 55) Bristol, England |
| Alma mater | Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art |
| Years active | 1991–present |
| Spouse | |
Early life and education
Ruth Katrin Gemmell was born in October 1967 in Bristol and grew up in County Durham, first in Barnard Castle before moving to Darlington with her mother upon her parents' divorce. She has three brothers. She attended Polam Hall School.[4][5] Gemmell later moved to London, where her father lived, to pursue acting.[6] She trained at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art.[7]
Career
Gemmell has played roles in both theatre and TV dramas. She played the leading female role Fever Pitch, based on Nick Hornby's novel of the same name, starring opposite Colin Firth[8] and had another leading role in the comedy/drama 2 January (2006). She played the recurring character of Detective Constable Kerry Cox in the first series of the BBC police procedural Silent Witness, which premiered in 1996. She returned to the series as different characters in 2006 and 2014.
In 2004, she starred in Tracy Beaker's Movie of Me as the mother of the title character. Carly had a new boyfriend who was abusive towards her when she was around three or four years old, leading her to spend life in a children's home. From January 2009 she became a recurring character in EastEnders as Debra Dean, the mother of a teenage girl who, similar to her role in Tracy Beaker's Movie of Me, abandoned her daughter when she was an infant. In August 2009, she starred as Rebecca Sands in two episodes of The Bill.[9]
Gemmell has appeared three times in the BBC's police drama Waking the Dead, playing two different characters. Her first appearance was in 2002 in the episode Special Relationships as DI Jess Worral, a former lover of DSI Boyd. She next appeared in the episode Sins of seventh season in 2008 as Linda Cummings, an exceptionally intelligent serial killer. Gemmell reprised the role of Cummings in Endgame, the fourth episode of the eighth season of the show. The storyline had Cummings manipulating Boyd and revealed that Cummings' accomplice was responsible for the drugs overdose that killed Boyd's son Luke. The role reprisal of Cummings is a first in the show's history. Gemmell starred in Episode 8 of Jimmy McGovern's BBC drama Moving On playing the role of Joanne, in November 2010.[10] In November 2011, Gemmell played Lady Shonagon in the adaptation for BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour of The Pillow Book, by Robert Forrest. She appeared as Jen, the wife of an adulterous civil servant, in Channel 4 drama Utopia, in early 2013.
In 2015, Gemmell appeared in five episodes of the television series Penny Dreadful as Octavia Putney. In 2020, she began playing Lady Violet Bridgerton in the Netflix series Bridgerton.[11][12]
In 2021, Ruth Gemmell returned as Carly Beaker for My Mum Tracy Beaker, when Tracy and Jess move in with Sean, and Cam and Carly argue about Tracy.
Personal life
Gemmell was married in Westminster, London, in 1997 to actor Ray Stevenson, whom she met in 1995 during the filming of TV drama Band of Gold. The couple divorced in 2005.[13]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Who Needs a Heart | Abigail |
| 1997 | Fever Pitch | Sarah Hughes |
| The Perfect Blue | Jo | |
| 2006 | January 2nd | Claire |
| 2008 | Good | Elisabeth |
| 2010 | F | Sarah Balham |
| 2012 | Storage 24 | Sarah |
| Offender | Cassie | |
| 2019 | Cliffs of Freedom | Varvara Vakrinos |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | The Bill | Sue Latham | Episode: "Woman of Substance" |
| Band of Gold | Gina Dickson | Episode: "Sold" | |
| 1996 | Kavanagh QC | Jenny Norris | Episode: "Men of Substance" |
| Short Sharp Shocks | Kate | Episode: "Everywhere" | |
| Silent Witness | Kerry Cox | Recurring role (series 1) | |
| 1997 | Peak Practice | Christine Higson | Episode: "Home Truths" |
| 1998 | Macbeth | Lady Macduff | Television film |
| 1999 | The Bill | Jane Joyce | Episode: "Sex, Lies and Videotape" |
| The Alchemists | Julia Bannerman | Television film | |
| Four Fathers | Nicola Yallop | 3 episodes | |
| 2001 | Holby City | Diana Calder | Episode: "Extra Time" |
| 2002 | Dalziel and Pascoe | Rachel Waller | Episode: "For Love Nor Money" |
| Waking the Dead | DI Jess Worrall | 2 episodes | |
| 2003 | The Bill | Carol Evans | 3 episodes |
| The Inspector Lynley Mysteries | Jeannie Waring | "Playing for the Ashes" | |
| Murder in Mind | Liz Willis | Episode: "Landlord" | |
| Spooks | Miranda | 1 episode | |
| 2004 | Tracy Beaker: The Movie of Me | Carly Beaker | Television film |
| Blue Dove | Jenny Page | Miniseries | |
| 2005 | Midsomer Murders | Anne Merrick | Episode: "The House in the Woods" |
| 2006 | The Afternoon Play | Rachel | Episode: "Are You Jim's Wife?" |
| A Touch of Frost | Christine Harris | Episode: "Endangered Species" | |
| Silent Witness | DI Beth Ashdown | Episode: "Terminus: Part 2" | |
| 2007 | Five Days | Dr Tobolska | 3 episodes |
| 2008 | Agatha Christie's Poirot | Miss Sweetiman | Episode: "Mrs. McGinty's Dead" |
| Summerhill | Rose | Television film | |
| 2008–2009 | Waking the Dead | Linda Cummings | Guest role (series 7–8) |
| 2009 | Trial & Retribution | Kay Satchell | Episode: "Shooter: Part 1" |
| Primeval | Katherine Kavanagh | 2 episodes | |
| EastEnders | Debra Dean | 11 episodes | |
| The Bill | Rebecca Sands | 2 episodes | |
| 2010 | Lewis | Robyn Strong | Episode: "Your Sudden Death Question" |
| Casualty | Kate Margolin | Episode: "No Place Like Home" | |
| Law & Order: UK | Mel Garvey | Episode: "Confession" | |
| Moving On | Joanne | Episode: "Losing My Religion" | |
| 2011 | The Fades | Alice | TV mini-series |
| 2012 | Inside Men | Rebecca | TV mini-series |
| 2013 | Father Brown | Martha Quinton | Episode: "The Wrong Shape" |
| Dancing on the Edge | Lady Winnet | 1 episode | |
| Holby City | Amanda Layton | 2 episodes | |
| Coming Up | Lynn | Episode: "Big Girl" | |
| 2013–2014 | Utopia | Jen Dugdale | Recurring role (9 episodes) |
| 2014 | Silent Witness | Ellie Brooke | Episode: "Undertone: Parts 1 & 2" |
| Inspector George Gently | Irene Seddon | Episode: "Gently Between the Lines" | |
| Casualty | DC Monica Darling | Episode: "Deadfall" | |
| 2015 | Midsomer Murders | Diana Carnarvon | Episode: "A Vintage Murder" |
| Penny Dreadful | Octavia Putney | Guest role (series 2) | |
| 2015–2016 | Home Fires | Sarah Collingborne | Main role |
| 2017 | Ransom | Laurie | Episode: "Girl on a Train" |
| 2018 | Doctors | DCI Gail Hargreaves | 2 episodes |
| 2020–present | Bridgerton | Lady Violet Bridgerton | Main role |
| 2021 | My Mum Tracy Beaker | Carly Beaker |
Theatre
| Title | Notes |
|---|---|
| Betrayal | |
| The Weir | |
| Nabokov's Gloves | |
| The Turn of the Screw | |
| Othello | |
| Measure for Measure | |
| Uncle Vanya | |
| An Ideal Husband | |
| The Winter's Tale | |
| The Second Mrs Tanqueray | |
| The Importance of Being Earnest | |
| A Tale of Two Cities | |
| Death and the Maiden | |
| Coram Boy | |
| Macbeth | Royal Shakespeare Company, 2004–2005 |
| King Lear |
Radio
| Date | Title | Role | Station | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | The Pillow Book | Shōnagon | BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour Drama | [14] |
| 2009 | The Pillow Book (series 2) | [15] | ||
| 2010 | The Vanishing | Lieneke | BBC Radio 4 Saturday Play | [16] |
| 2011 | The Spy Who Came in from the Cold | Liz Gold | BBC Radio 4 | [17] |
| 2010 | The Pillow Book (series 3) | Shōnagon | BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour Drama | [18] |
| 2011 | The Pillow Book (series 4) | [19] |
Awards and nominations
| Award | Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Screen Actors Guild Awards | 2021 | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Bridgerton | Nominated | [20] |
References
- ^ "Ruth Gemmell | Hamilton Hodell". www.hamiltonhodell.co.uk. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
- ^ "Ruth Gemmell – aka Lady Violet Bridgerton – talks family, feminism and fabulous fashion in Season 2 of the Netflix hit". Tatler. 21 March 2022. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
- ^ Baty, Emma (5 April 2022). "Ruth Gemmell Responds to 'Bridgerton' Season 2 Fans' Sex Scene Complaints: "There's Agency in the Slow Burn"". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
- ^ Gibb, Bill (7 April 2016). "Home Fires star Ruth Gemmell shares an embarrassing encounter". The Sunday Post. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
- ^ Hardwick, Viv (14 October 2004). "Magic MacBeth". thenorthernecho.co.uk. Retrieved 23 March 2011.
- ^ Macbeth 2004 interview with Ruth Gemmell – dead link
- ^ "'Bridgerton's Ruth Gemmell On The Truth Behind *That* Scene With Jonathan Bailey". Bustle. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
- ^
- ^ Ruth Gemmell to guest in The Bill
- ^ BBC Press Office Week 45
- ^ "Bridgerton star Ruth Gemmell shares exciting details about the plot of season two". 3 February 2021.
- ^ Norris, Susanne (25 March 2022). "Bridgerton's Ruth Gemmell opens up about season two of the show". Good Housekeeping. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
- ^ Koncienzcy, Rebecca (10 December 2017). "Where is the cast of Band Of Gold now?". Liverpool Echo. Reach Plc. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
- ^ BBC – Woman's Hour Drama – The Pillow Book
- ^ BBC – Woman's Hour Drama – The Pillow Book (series 2)
- ^ BBC – Saturday Play – The Vanishing
- ^ BBC – The Spy Who Came in From the Cold
- ^ BBC – Woman's Hour Drama – The Pillow Book (series 3)
- ^ BBC – Woman's Hour Drama – The Pillow Book (series 4)
- ^ Oganesyan, Natalie; Moreau, Jordan (4 February 2021). "2021 SAG Awards: The Complete Nominations List". Variety. from the original on 5 February 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
External links
- Ruth Gemmell at IMDb