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Francesca Mills

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Francesca Mills
Born
Francesca Mills

1996 or 1997 (age 27–28)[1]
Alma materMadeley High School, Urdang Academy, Jill Clewes Academy for Theatre Arts
OccupationActress
Years active2014–present

Francesca Mills (born 1996 or 1997) is a British actress, most known for playing Cherry Dorrington in the television series Harlots (2019–2020), Earthy Mangold in Worzel Gummidge (2021) and Meldof in The Witcher: Blood Origin released by Netflix.

Early life

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Mills was born with the genetic disorder Achondroplasia, a common form of dwarfism.[3]

As of 2021, Mills lives in London,[4] but was brought up in Loggerheads, Staffordshire.[2] Mills learned to dance at the Jill Clewes Dance School in Bradwell, Staffordshire,[2] and first acted in a production of Oliver! at the age of nine.[5] Mills was a student at Madeley High School in Madeley, Staffordshire.[2] She also travelled to London to attend the Urdang Academy in Islington, and was a student at the Academy of Theatre Arts in Worcester.[4]

Career

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In 2014, Mills joined Warwick Davis's Reduced Height Theatre Company for its first production, a revival of See How They Run, at the Richmond Theatre.[1] In 2017, Mills was nominated for the Ian Charleson Awards for her performance as Maria in The Government Inspector at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre.[4] The same year, Mills played a seamstress in the Timothy Sheader directed production of A Tale of Two Cities at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre.[6] In 2019, Mills played multiple roles in The American Clock at The Old Vic in 2019.[5] The same year, Mills was in a national tour production of the Emma Rice version of the Malory Towers musical.[7] From 2018 to 2019, Mills starred as Cherry Dorrington in series 2 and 3 of Harlots with co-stars Eloise Smyth and Samantha Morton, and as Earthy Mangold in Worzel Gummidge alongside Mackenzie Crook.[4]

In August 2021, Mills began filming the Netflix miniseries The Witcher: Blood Origin,[8] set in a time 1,200 years before The Witcher. Mills appears as Meldof, an assassin, in a cast which includes Lenny Henry and Michelle Yeoh.[9] The miniseries aired on Netflix on 25 December 2022.[10]

In 2024, Mills voiced Bethany in series four of the audio play Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor Adventures.[11]

Filmography

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Theatre

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Year Title Role Company/Theatre/reference
2014 See How They Run Ida Reduced Height Theatre Company, Richmond Theatre[1]
2016 The Government Inspector Maria Ramps on The Moon/Birmingham Repertory Theatre[4]
2017 A Tale of Two Cities Seamstress Regent's Park Open Air Theatre[6]
2017 Cyrano de Bergerac (play) UK tour Northern Broadsides[12]
2018 The Two Noble Kinsmen Jailer's Daughter Shakespeare's Globe[12]
2019 The American Clock Multiple roles The Old Vic[5]
2019 Malory Towers Sally Hope Wise Children - UK tour[7]
2022 All of Us Poppy Royal National Theatre[13]
2023 A Midsummer Night's Dream Hermia Shakespeare's Globe[14][15]
2024 The Duchess of Malfi Duchess Shakespeare's Globe[16][17]

Film

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Year Title Role
2016 Zoolander 2[12] Elfin Huntress

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2018-2019 Harlots Cherry Dorrington 15 episodes
2020 Jack and the Beanstalk: After Ever After Butcher TV film
Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical Thing TV musical film
2019-2021 Worzel Gummidge Earthy Mangold 6 episodes
2022 Pistol Helen of Troy 5 episodes
Sneakerhead Jemma 3 episodes
The Witcher: Blood Origin Meldof 4 episodes
2023 BBC Comedy Singles: Kirkmoore Chloe
Boat Story Belinda 1 episode[18]
2024 Time Bandits Detective 5 Episodes

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Role Work Result Ref.
2016 Ian Charleson Awards Maria The Government Inspector at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre Nominated [4]
2024 Ian Charleson Awards Hermia A Midsummer Night's Dream at Shakespeare's Globe Won [19][20]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Warwick Davis gives short actors new opportunities". bbc.co.uk. 20 February 2014.
  2. ^ a b c d "Star Wars: The Force Awakens actress Francesca Mills heads home for Cyrano at the New Vic". Stoke Sentinel. 27 January 2017. Archived from the original on 27 January 2017.
  3. ^ "Conversation between fellow actors, Rachel and Fran about their experience of dwarfism". sounds.bl.uk. 17 April 2014. Archived from the original on 13 October 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Francesca Mills". bristololdvic.org.uk. 2021.
  5. ^ a b c "It's a Dancing Delight! Francesca Mills, of The American Clock, at The Old Vic". Secret London. 7 March 2019.
  6. ^ a b "Francesca Mills". openairtheatreheritage.com. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  7. ^ a b "Photo Flash: First Look at the UK Tour of Malory Towers". broadwayworld.com. 23 July 2019.
  8. ^ "'The Witcher: Blood Origin': Netflix Prequel Series; Filming Underway In UK". Deadline Hollywood. 16 August 2021.
  9. ^ "The Witcher prequel Blood Origin reveals new cast members". redanianintelligence.com. 16 August 2021.
  10. ^ "The Witcher: Blood Origin Creator Previews the Magical Spin-Off". netflix.com. 25 September 2022.
  11. ^ "3.4. Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor Adventures: Star-Crossed - Doctor Who - The Ninth Doctor Adventures - Big Finish". www.bigfinish.com. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  12. ^ a b c "Francesca Mills". spotlight.com. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  13. ^ "All of Us". National Theatre. 7 November 2019. Archived from the original on 21 October 2022.
  14. ^ "A Midsummer Night's Dream review – giddy shenanigans with a brilliantly chaotic Puck". The Guardian. 23 May 2023.
  15. ^ Frodsham, Isabel. "Globe Theatre puts ableism warning on A Midsummer Night's Dream". The Times. Archived from the original on 26 May 2023. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  16. ^ "The Duchess of Malfi | What's On". Shakespeare's Globe. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  17. ^ Segalov, Michael (7 April 2024). "'Expect more from me': actor Francesca Mills on Shakespeare and shifting expectations". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  18. ^ "Francesca Mills". Shakespeare's Globe. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  19. ^ "Ian Charleson Awards 2024 Winners announced, First prize to Francesca Mills | West End Theatre". www.westendtheatre.com. 26 May 2024. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  20. ^ "Francesca Mills wins Ian Charleson award". The Stage. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
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