Claire Foy
Encyclopedia
Claire Foy is an English actress, best known for playing the title role in the BBC One
production of Little Dorrit
and Anna in the 2011 film, Season of the Witch.
, and she grew up in Manchester
and Leeds
, the youngest of three children. Her family later moved to Longwick
, Buckinghamshire
. She attended Aylesbury High School
, a girls' grammar school, from the age of twelve; she then attended Liverpool John Moores University
, studying drama and screen studies. She also trained in a one year course at the Oxford School of Drama
. She graduated in 2007 and moved to Peckham
to share a house "with five friends from drama school".
, Watership Down
, Easy Virtue
and Touched. After appearing on television, she made her professional stage debut in DNA and The Miracle, two of a trio of one acts directed by Paul Miller at the Royal National Theatre
in London; the other one act was Baby Girl. She starred as the main protagonist Amy Dorrit in BBC mini-series Little Dorrit
, and was nominated for an RTS Award. She went on to appear in TV movie Going Postal and in the Medieval adventure film Season of the Witch alongside Nicolas Cage
. She also starred in the BBC remake of Upstairs, Downstairs
as Lady Persephone. Foy co-starred in the Channel 4
mini-series The Promise
, broadcast in February 2011, which she described in an interview at the time as her "favourite job ever". She played a lead role of Helen in the TV Movie The Night Watch which was based on a Sarah Waters novel.
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
production of Little Dorrit
Little Dorrit (TV serial)
Little Dorrit is a 2008 British television serial directed by Adam Smith, Dearbhla Walsh, and Diarmuid Lawrence. The teleplay by Andrew Davies is based on the serial novel of the same title by Charles Dickens, originally published between 1855 and 1857....
and Anna in the 2011 film, Season of the Witch.
Personal life
Foy was born in StockportStockport
Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground southeast of Manchester city centre, at the point where the rivers Goyt and Tame join and create the River Mersey. Stockport is the largest settlement in the metropolitan borough of the same name...
, and she grew up in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
and Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, the youngest of three children. Her family later moved to Longwick
Longwick
Longwick is a hamlet in Wycombe district about northwest of Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire on the A4129 road.The toponym is from the Old English for "long farm"....
, Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
. She attended Aylesbury High School
Aylesbury High School
Aylesbury High School was founded in 1959, in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, when the previously co-educational Aylesbury Grammar School became boys-only. The two schools remain on adjacent sites. The current headteacher is Alan Rosen....
, a girls' grammar school, from the age of twelve; she then attended Liverpool John Moores University
Liverpool John Moores University
Liverpool John Moores University is a British 'modern' university located in the city of Liverpool, England. The university is named after John Moores and was previously called Liverpool Mechanics' School of Arts and later Liverpool Polytechnic before gaining university status in 1992, thus...
, studying drama and screen studies. She also trained in a one year course at the Oxford School of Drama
Oxford School of Drama
The Oxford School of Drama is one of the most prestigious drama schools in the United Kingdom, and the only professional drama school in Oxfordshire...
. She graduated in 2007 and moved to Peckham
Peckham
Peckham is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Southwark. It is situated south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London...
to share a house "with five friends from drama school".
Career
While at the Oxford School of Drama, Foy appeared in the plays Top GirlsTop Girls
Top Girls is a 1982 play by Caryl Churchill. It is about a woman named Marlene, a career-driven woman who is employed at the 'Top Girls' employment agency. The play examines issues of gender discrimination present in the Thatcherite society that it is set in...
, Watership Down
Watership Down
Watership Down is a classic heroic fantasy novel, written by English author Richard Adams, about a small group of rabbits. Although the animals in the story live in their natural environment, they are anthropomorphised, possessing their own culture, language , proverbs, poetry, and mythology...
, Easy Virtue
Easy Virtue (play)
Easy Virtue is a three-act play by Noël Coward. He wrote it in 1924 when he was 25 years old, and it is his 16th play. The play had a successful first run in New York in 1925 and then opened in London in 1926...
and Touched. After appearing on television, she made her professional stage debut in DNA and The Miracle, two of a trio of one acts directed by Paul Miller at the Royal National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
in London; the other one act was Baby Girl. She starred as the main protagonist Amy Dorrit in BBC mini-series Little Dorrit
Little Dorrit (TV serial)
Little Dorrit is a 2008 British television serial directed by Adam Smith, Dearbhla Walsh, and Diarmuid Lawrence. The teleplay by Andrew Davies is based on the serial novel of the same title by Charles Dickens, originally published between 1855 and 1857....
, and was nominated for an RTS Award. She went on to appear in TV movie Going Postal and in the Medieval adventure film Season of the Witch alongside Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage is an American actor, producer and director, having appeared in over 60 films including Raising Arizona , The Rock , Face/Off , Gone in 60 Seconds , Adaptation , National Treasure , Ghost Rider , Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans , and...
. She also starred in the BBC remake of Upstairs, Downstairs
Upstairs, Downstairs
Upstairs, Downstairs is a British drama television series originally produced by London Weekend Television and revived by the BBC. It ran on ITV in 68 episodes divided into five series from 1971 to 1975, and a sixth series shown on the BBC on three consecutive nights, 26–28 December 2010.Set in a...
as Lady Persephone. Foy co-starred in the Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
mini-series The Promise
The Promise (2011 TV serial)
The Promise is a British television serial in four episodes written and directed by Peter Kosminsky, with music by Debbie Wiseman, which premiered on 6 February 2011 on Channel 4...
, broadcast in February 2011, which she described in an interview at the time as her "favourite job ever". She played a lead role of Helen in the TV Movie The Night Watch which was based on a Sarah Waters novel.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Being Human Being Human (TV series) Being Human is a British supernatural drama television series. It was created and written by Toby Whithouse and is currently broadcast on BBC Three. The show blends elements of flatshare comedy and horror drama... |
Julia | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2008 | Doctors | Chloe Webster | Episode: "The Party's Over" |
| 2008 | Little Dorrit Little Dorrit (TV serial) Little Dorrit is a 2008 British television serial directed by Adam Smith, Dearbhla Walsh, and Diarmuid Lawrence. The teleplay by Andrew Davies is based on the serial novel of the same title by Charles Dickens, originally published between 1855 and 1857.... |
Amy Dorrit | 14 episodes |
| 2009 | 10 Minute Tales | Woman | Episode: "Through the Window" |
| 2010 | Going Postal Terry Pratchett's Going Postal Terry Pratchett's Going Postal is a two-part television adaptation of the book of the same name by Terry Pratchett, adapted by Richard Kurti and Bev Doyle and produced by The Mob, which was first broadcast on Sky1, and in high definition on Sky1 HD, at the end of May 2010.It is the third in a... |
Adora Belle Dearheart | TV movie |
| 2010 | Pulse | Hannah Carter | TV movie |
| 2010 | Upstairs, Downstairs Upstairs, Downstairs Upstairs, Downstairs is a British drama television series originally produced by London Weekend Television and revived by the BBC. It ran on ITV in 68 episodes divided into five series from 1971 to 1975, and a sixth series shown on the BBC on three consecutive nights, 26–28 December 2010.Set in a... |
Lady Persie | 3 episodes |
| 2010–2011 | Erin Matthews | 4 episodes | |
| 2011 | Season of the Witch | The Girl/Anna | |
| 2011 | Helen | TV movie | |
| 2011 | Wreckers | Dawn | Completed |
| 2011 | Vivaldi | Julietta | Pre-production |