Katherine Parkinson
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| Katherine Parkinson | |
|---|---|
| Born | Laura Katherine Parkinson 9 March 1978 Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England[1] |
| Alma mater | University of Oxford |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2005–present |
Laura Katherine Parkinson (born 9 March 1978)[2] is an English actress and comedian who is known for playing the part of Jen Barber in the Channel 4 comedy series The IT Crowd. She has contributed sketches for Katy Brand, her friend since studying at Oxford.
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[edit] Career
Katherine Parkinson studied at Tiffin Girls' School[3] in Kingston upon Thames, London and then read Classics at St Hilda's College, Oxford[4] before moving to the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art where she met Chris O'Dowd, fellow The IT Crowd lead, for the first time.[5]
During her studies she left the course to star in the play The Age of Consent. Her subsequent career has seen her star alongside British actors such as Martin Clunes in Doc Martin and Julie Walters. In 2007, she appeared in a new translation of Chekhov's The Seagull at the Royal Court Theatre in London, alongside Kristin Scott Thomas and Mackenzie Crook. In 2010-11 she appeared in Season's Greetings at the Royal National Theatre and in 2011 as Lady Teazle in The School for Scandal (directed by Deborah Warner) at the Barbican Centre.
She recently[when?] contributed sketch characters to Katy Brand's ITV2 show, having been friends with Brand since Oxford.[6] She has also appeared several times on BBC Radio 4, including on Laura Solon: Talking and Not Talking, Mouth Trap,[7] again with Brand, and in The Odd Half Hour.[8]
She also stars in a television advertisement for Maltesers alongside fellow actress and comedienne Amanda Abbington.
On New Year's Day 2009 she appeared in a feature-length episode of Jonathan Creek, called "The Grinning Man", which was broadcast in the UK. At the end of 2009 she appeared in the acclaimed Cock at the Royal Court Theatre.
In 2008 Katherine played Danika Meanwhile in the Doctor Who audio "The Death Collectors" alongside Sylvester McCoy as the Seventh Doctor.
Having played the doctor's receptionist, and later phlebotomist, in Series 2-4 of Doc Martin opposite Martin Clunes, a March 2011 press release[1] from ITV about Series 5 indicated that there would be a new receptionist at the doctor's surgery, confirming that Katherine Parkinson had left the programme.
In 2009, for the third series of The IT Crowd Parkinson became one of the highest paid actresses on Channel 4.
Parkinson has provided her voice for a Herbal Essences shampoo advertising campaign in 2010.
Parkinson is one of the main cast in BBC Four's three-part comedy series The Great Outdoors, first aired on 28 July 2010.[9]
[edit] Personal life
Her mother taught English at James Allen's Girls' School[citation needed] until retiring to Cornwall in 2009.
In 2007, Parkinson announced her engagement to fellow comedian Harry Peacock.[10][11] During her acceptance speech for the Best Television Comedy Actress award at the British Comedy Awards in December 2009, she referred to Peacock as her husband.[12]
[edit] List of credits
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Hard to Swallow | Katie |
| 2007 | Christmas at the Riviera | Vanessa |
| 2008 | Easy Virtue | Marion Whittaker |
| 2008 | How to Lose Friends & Alienate People | PR woman |
| 2009 | The Boat That Rocked | Felicity |
| 2009 | St. Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold | Physics teacher |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Ahead of the Class | Vicky Foley | Television film |
| 2005 | Casualty | Helen Gibbons | Series 19 episode 41 "The Long Goodbye" |
| 2005 | Extras | Woman in queue | Series, 1 episode 2" "Ross Kemp and Vinnie Jones" |
| 2005–2009 | Doc Martin | Pauline Lamb | Series 2–4 |
| 2006–present | The IT Crowd | Jen Barber | Main cast British Comedy Award 2009 for Best Television Comedy Actress[13] |
| 2007 | Fear, Stress & Anger | Gemma | Main cast |
| 2007–2009 | Katy Brand's Big Ass Show | Various roles | Series 1–3 |
| 2009 | Jonathan Creek | Nicola | 2009 New Year's Special "The Grinning Man" |
| 2009 | The Old Guys | Amber | Main cast |
| 2010 | The Great Outdoors | Sophie | Main cast |
| 2010 | Whites[14] | Caroline | Main cast – Restaurant Manager |
| 2011 | Psychoville | Fiona | Series 2 Episode 5 |
| 2011 | Comedy Showcase: Coma Girl | Pip | Series 4 Episode 2 |
| 2011 | The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff | Conceptiva | |
| 2012 | Sherlock[15] | Kitty Riley | Series 2 Episode 3, "The Reichenbach Fall" |
[edit] References
- ^ Births England and Wales 1837-2006 Findmypast.co.uk
- ^ IMDB Bio page, read at 2009-10-11
- ^ "Big in 2008". Evening Standard. http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/arts/article-23429766-big-in-2008.do. Retrieved 21 June 2010.
- ^ St Hilda's College - Annual Report 2008-9
- ^ Dowling, Tim (13 September 2007). "In with the IT crowd". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/sep/13/comedy.arts. Retrieved 21 June 2010.
- ^ Harries, Rhiannon (20 December 2009). "How We Met: Katherine Parkinson & Katy Brand". The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/how-we-met-katherine-parkinson--katy-brand-1842758.html. Retrieved 21 June 2010.
- ^ Radio 4 Mouth trap page
- ^ The Odd Half hour page
- ^ BBC Four Programmes - The Great Outdoors BBC.co.uk
- ^ Blackburn, Jen (21 September 2007). "IT Crowd Kath to marry Harry". The Sun. http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/article294892.ece. Retrieved 2009-03-09.
- ^ "Showbiz - News - 'IT Crowd' actress Parkinson is engaged - Digital Spy". Digital Spy. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/showbiz/a76158/it-crowd-actress-parkinson-is-engaged.html. Retrieved 2009-03-09.
- ^ "Best TV Comedy Actress 2009". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZrdS4FkA4A&feature=fvst.
- ^ "The Winners - 2009". British Comedy Awards. http://www.britishcomedyawards.com/winners06.html. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
- ^ "BBC Comedy - Whites". http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00v3736.
- ^ "BBC One - Sherlock". http://http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01b2vl4.
