celebforum - Gemma Chan

Gemma Chan (born on 29 November 1982[1]) is an English actress and former model. She is best known for playing Mia Bennett in the BBC's Doctor Who "The Waters of Mars" with David Tennant and Lindsay Duncan; Soo Lin in Sherlock, the modern day adaptation of Sherlock Holmes for BBC One with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman; and Charlotte in season four of Secret Diary of a Call Girl.

Early life

Gemma Chan was born in London, England on 29 November 1982 but was brought up in Kent in South East England. She attended Newstead Wood School for Girls. Her mother is of Scottish-Chinese heritage and her father grew up in Hong Kong. She went on to study law at the constituent University of Oxford college Worcester College. When she graduated, she was offered a job with a leading law firm.[2] Instead, she decided to pursue an acting career, and wound up at the prestigious and notoriously tough Drama Centre London where such actors as Paul Bettany, Anne-Marie Duff, Colin Firth and Pierce Brosnan trained. Spotted at her showcase by British film producer Damian Jones (The History Boys, Kidulthood, Welcome to Sarajevo), she then signed to acting agent Nicki van Gelder, who has guided the careers of Samantha Morton and Helena Bonham Carter.

Fashion business

In 2006, Gemma was one of the models in Season 1 of Project Catwalk, the UK version of Miramax's Project Runway. She was one of the top three models who made it to the final competition,[3] although her designer did not win the final challenge.[4] Gemma has also been photographed by Rankin for a campaign for Nivea Visage, having previously worked as a model in order to fund her studies and drama school training, appearing in campaigns for Nokia and Selfridges & Co and numerous magazines including Elle, Cosmopolitan and the Sunday Times Style.

Acting

Gemma 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, playing geologist Mia Bennett.[5] She was recently cast as a new series regular in Secret Diary of a Call Girl alongside Billie Piper,[6] the fourth and final series being due to air on ITV2 in the UK and Showtime in the US in early 2011.[7] Her other recent television projects include Sherlock, a contemporary adaptation of Sherlock Holmes for BBC One, alongside Benedict Cumberbatch as Holmes and Martin Freeman as Dr. Watson which began airing on 25 July 2010 to overwhelmingly positive reviews[8] and work on the 4th series of the BAFTA and Emmy award-winning British sitcom The IT Crowd for Channel 4.[9] In 2010 she will be seen in the World War II drama Shanghai directed by Mikael Hafstrom, alongside John Cusack, Chow Yun-fat and Gong Li.[10] She can also be seen in the BAFTA nominated psychological thriller Exam directed by Stuart Hazeldine, alongside Jimi Mistry, Colin Salmon and Luke Mably.The film was nominated for the Raindance Award at the 2009 British Independent Film Awards, has been critically acclaimed in Empire Magazine and was released in UK cinemas on 8 January 2010.She was also seen in the 2011 comedy drama Submarine directed by Richard Ayoade, alongside Paddy Considine and Sally Hawkins. Gemma appeared on stage in the British Premiere of Bertolt Brecht’s last play Turandot at the Hampstead Theatre, London, directed by Anthony Clark. A passionate supporter of human rights, she has also made a film for Amnesty International to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

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