British actress and former fashion model

Gemma Chan (born 29 November 1982)[1] is a British film, television, and theatre actress and former fashion model. Born in London and raised in Kent, Chan attended the Newstead Wood School for Girls and studied jurisprudence at Worcester College, Oxford. She gained a position in a law firm following graduation, but chose to pursue a career in acting instead, studying acting at the Drama Centre London. In 2006, she was a competitor on the first series of the reality television series Project Catwalk, and made her acting debut in the independent horror serial When Evil Calls. Her film debut was in the psychological thriller Exam (2009), followed by her portrayal of Mia Bennett in the BBC's Doctor Who special "The Waters of Mars", a guest appearance as Soo Lin in Sherlock (2010), and supporting roles as Charlotte in season four of the Showtime and ITV2 series Secret Diary of a Call Girl (2011), and Ruth in Channel 4's Fresh Meat (2011).

Chan continued to garner recognition for her roles in high-profile films including Paramount Pictures' action-thriller Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014), the fantasy film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016), and Transformers: The Last Knight (2017). She also starred in the leading role of Anita/Mia on the AMC/Channel 4 science fiction drama Humans. In 2018, Chan received widespread recognition for portraying Astrid Leong-Teo in Jon M. Chu's romantic comedy Crazy Rich Asians and also portrayed Bess of Hardwick in the historical period drama Mary Queen of Scots (2018). She portrayed Minn-Erva in the Marvel Studios superhero film Captain Marvel (2019).

Early life and education [ edit ]

Chan was born at Guy's Hospital in London, England.[2] Her father grew up in Hong Kong and was an engineer. Her mother, a pharmacist at Guy's Hospital, emigrated from China via Hong Kong with her parents (Chan's maternal grandparents) and younger sister, growing up in Greenock, Scotland.[2][3] Chan was raised near Sevenoaks, a town in west Kent, in South East England[4] and attended Newstead Wood School for Girls in Orpington in the London borough of Bromley. She later went on to study law at Worcester College, Oxford.[5]

Following her graduation, Chan gained a training contract offer as a graduate at the law firm Slaughter and May,[4][5] but instead pursued an acting career and studied at the Drama Centre London.[2] Spotted at her showcase by British film producer Damian Jones, she signed to acting agent Nicki van Gelder.[citation needed]

Career [ edit ]

Television [ edit ]

Chan appeared in the autumn 2009 special of the BBC's Doctor Who ("The Waters of Mars") with David Tennant and Lindsay Duncan, which aired 15 November 2009 in the UK, playing geologist Mia Bennett. She was cast as a series regular in Secret Diary of a Call Girl, the fourth and final series airing on ITV2 in the UK and Showtime in the US in 2011.[6] She has also appeared in Fresh Meat, BBC One's Sherlock, and the fourth series of The IT Crowd for Channel 4.

In 2012, Chan was a regular in series two of Sky Living's supernatural drama Bedlam[7] and in True Love, a five-part semi-improvised television series produced by Working Title for BBC One,[8]

In 2013, she starred in BBC One crime drama Shetland alongside Douglas Henshall and Steven Robertson[9] and guest starred in the BBC's Death in Paradise. She was a cast member of Channel 4 romantic drama Dates.[10]

Chan played the synthetic Anita/Mia in Humans, an AMC/Channel 4 eight-part science-fiction drama.[11] Filming commenced in autumn 2014 with a June 2015 premiere.[12] The second series premiered on 30 October. For her portrayal of Anita/Mia, Chan has been nominated for numerous awards.

In July 2016, Chan provided the voice for the character of Dewdrop in BBC One's animated miniseries Watership Down.

Film [ edit ]

In 2010, she appeared in the World War II drama film Shanghai, the psychological thriller Exam, and the 2011 comedy-drama Submarine. A supporter of human rights, she has made a film for Amnesty International to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.[5] She appeared in the action-thriller Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit.[13] The Double, and London Fields. Chan starred in Belles familles, by French director and screenwriter Jean-Paul Rappeneau, which premiered in 2015.[14] She also featured in the 2016 film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.[citation needed]

In 2018, Chan co-starred as Astrid Leong-Teo in the film Crazy Rich Asians.[15] She first heard about the novel Crazy Rich Asians from a text from her sister, read it on holiday, and "fell in love with Astrid".[16]

Theatre [ edit ]

Chan made her professional stage debut in the British Premiere of Bertolt Brecht's last play Turandot at the Hampstead Theatre, London, directed by Anthony Clark. In November 2012, she performed in The Sugar-Coated Bullets of the Bourgeoisie, a play by Anders Lustgarten at the Finborough Theatre. In June 2013, she performed in the UK premiere of Yellow Face by American playwright David Henry Hwang at The Park Theatre, London, directed by Alex Sims. It was revived in 2014 at the Royal National Theatre with the original London cast returning.[17]

In November 2013, Chan performed in the world premiere of Our Ajax by Timberlake Wertenbaker at the Southwark Playhouse, London. Wertenbaker chose her to play the war goddess Athena after she saw her performance in Yellow Face.[18]

Radio [ edit ]

On 6 August 2013, Chan appeared as a guest on the "Cultural Exchange" feature of the BBC Radio 4 series Front Row, where she nominated the film The Princess Bride as an art work she loves.[19]

Personal life [ edit ]

Chan started dating comedian and Fresh Meat co-star Jack Whitehall in 2011; the couple split up in 2017 after six years together, with their busy work schedules cited as the main reason for their breakup. They remained good friends following their split. [20]

In September 2013, Chan appeared at the Old Bailey in central London as a witness to a fatal stabbing outside Putney Bridge tube station.[21]

Filmography [ edit ]

Film [ edit ]

Television [ edit ]

Theatre [ edit ]