Jessica Raine

Jessica Raine (born Jessica Helen Lloyd; 20 May 1982) is an English actress. She is known for playing midwife Jenny Lee in the first three series of BBC One drama Call the Midwife.

Jessica Raine
Born
Jessica Helen Lloyd

(1982-05-20) 20 May 1982
Eardisley, Herefordshire, England
NationalityBritish
OccupationActress
Years active2008–present
Spouse(s)
​
(m. 2015)​
Children1

Early life and education

Raine was born Jessica Helen Lloyd,[1] on 20 May 1982,[2] in Eardisley, Herefordshire,[1] where she was raised on her father's farm.[3] She is the younger of two daughters of farmer Allan Lloyd (descended from the Lloyd family of Baynham Hall, who were well known for generations as bonesetters alongside their farming activities),[4][5] and his wife Sue, who trained as a dancer and then worked as a nurse.[1] Educated in Kington, Herefordshire, she wanted to be an actress from the age of 13, as her father starred in amateur dramatics with the Eardisley Little Theatre.[1]

In sixth form she studied theatre at A-Level and a BTEC in photography at Hereford College of Arts[6] and studied drama and cultural studies at the University of the West of England, Bristol. After graduating, she was turned down by every drama school she applied to, so went to Thailand and taught English as a second language.[7]

Career

Career beginnings and theatre work

Returning home after a year, she applied to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art a second time and was accepted.[6] Moving to London in anticipation of starting her course, she worked part-time as a waitress and for the company BT Group.[6]

After graduating in 2008, Raine began a successful stage career, initially cast as Lesley Sharp's goth daughter in Simon Stephens's Harper Regan.[8] She played Tamsin Greig's 16-year-old daughter in David Hare's Gethsemane.[9]

Raine played at the National Theatre in Mike Bartlett's Earthquakes in London as teenage wild-child Jasmine; and then as a secretary in the revival of Clifford Odets's Rocket to the Moon.[10] She has also appeared in Ghosts and Punk Rock,[11] for which she won the Manchester Evening News Award for Best Supporting Actress. She played a role in the Young Vic's revival of Middleton and Rowley's 17th-century tragedy, The Changeling. In 2012 Raine starred in Beyond Ballets Russes at the London Coliseum.[12]

Film and television

Raine's first screen credits were an appearance in a 2009 episode of Garrow's Law and a small role in the 2010 film Robin Hood.[6]

She starred as the lead character Jenny Lee in the first three series of the BBC One drama Call the Midwife. On 9 March 2014, it was announced that Raine was leaving the show at the end of series 3 to pursue a career in film in the United States.[13]

In radio, she has played Felice in the Murray Gold play Kafka the Musical, broadcast in April 2011 on BBC Radio 3.[14] She also played the part of Kasey in Ed Harris' radio play The Wire, the Wall,[15] first broadcast in February 2011.

Raine was a guest star in the 2013 Doctor Who episode "Hide". Later, she appeared as Doctor Who's original producer, Verity Lambert, in the fact-based drama An Adventure in Space and Time, showing the creation of the series as part of its fiftieth anniversary celebrations.[16]

In 2014 Raine joined the cast of the BBC Two police drama Line of Duty for series 2 as Detective Constable Georgia Trotman working for the AC12 anti corruption unit.

In 2015 Raine played Tuppence Beresford in the series Partners in Crime based on Agatha Christie's Tommy and Tuppence stories, though the series is set in 1952 rather than the 1920s.

In 2017 Raine played Alison Laithwaite in The Last Post, which she has described as "...my favourite character I’ve played so far, ever. It was a real transformation.... She’s kind of self-destructive, witty and she’s climbing the walls with frustration and boredom, but she just wants to have fun.”[17] This was seen as very different role to her 'Midwife' character.[18]

In 2019 Raine played Genevieve Taylor, a British liaison officer for Europol in the Netherlands, in the BBC One drama series Baptiste.

Personal life

Raine began a relationship with fellow actor Tom Goodman-Hill in 2010 after they met while appearing in a play.[19] Goodman-Hill and Raine married on 30 August 2015.[20] In 2019, she gave birth to a son.[21]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2010 Robin Hood Isabel of Gloucester
2011 Elsewhere Cath Short film
2012 The Woman in Black Nanny
2018 Benjamin Tessa lead role
2019 Carmilla Miss Fontaine lead role

Television
Year Title Role Notes
2009 Garrow's Law Anne Porter Episode 1.2
2012–2014 Call the Midwife Jenny Lee 23 episodes
2013 Doctor Who Emma Grayling Episode: "Hide"
2013 An Adventure in Space and Time Verity Lambert Television film
Nominated—Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Movie/Miniseries
2014 Line of Duty DC Georgia Trotman Episode 2.1
2015 Wolf Hall Jane Rochford 6 episodes
2015 Fortitude Jules Sutter 12 episodes
2015 Partners in Crime Tuppence Beresford 6 episodes
2016 Jericho Annie Quaintain 8 episodes
2016 Inside No. 9 Kathy Episode: "The Devil of Christmas"
2017 The Last Post Alison Laithwaite 6 episodes
2018 Patrick Melrose Julia Miniseries
2018 Informer Emily Waters 6-episode BBC miniseries
2019 Baptiste Genevieve Taylor 4 episodes

References
  1. Staff writers (9 February 2012). "Eardisley whist drive, Jessica Raine and Felicity Aston". Hereford Times. Archived from the original on 25 January 2013.
  2. "Jessica Helen Lloyd". Findmypast. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  3. Roche, Elisa (10 April 2012). "Call The Midwife star Jessica Raine: Why I made babies cry for TV show". Daily Express. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  4. "Lloyds of Baynham". John Stratton. 16 February 2013.
  5. Bywater, Robin (June 2010). "Bonesetting: Recollections of a Dying Gift" (PDF). Leintwatdine History Society Journal (32). Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  6. CB (20 August 2013). "Introducing… Jessica Raine". Official London Theatre. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  7. Kate Kellaway (4 January 2009). "Horribly funny ... stroppy ... touching ... troubled but coping". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
  8. "Meet Jessica Raine, star of new BBC drama Call the Midwife". Thisislondon.co.uk. 16 January 2012. Archived from the original on 20 January 2012. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
  9. Culture preview of the Year (29 December 2008). "Stars who will shine in 2009". London, UK: Telegraph. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
  10. Spencer, Charles (31 March 2011). "Rocket to the Moon, National Theatre, review". The Daily Telegraph. London, UK: TMG. ISSN 0307-1235. OCLC 49632006. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  11. "Jessica Raine Profile". Gordon and French. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
  12. Richard Eden (25 March 2012). "Call the Midwife star Jessica Raine in contract dilemma". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
  13. Methven, Nicola. "Call The Midwife star Jessica Raine quits award-winning BBC drama for Hollywood". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
  14. "BBC Radio 3 – Drama on 3, Kafka the Musical". BBC Radio 3. 2012. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  15. "BBC Radio 3 – The Wire, The Wall". BBC Radio 3. 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  16. "David Bradley to play William Hartnell in Celebration of Doctor Who". BBC. 30 January 2013. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
  17. Earnshaw, Jessica (19 October 2017). "The Last Post: Jessica Raine admits she was forced to reshoot THIS 'horrendous' scene". Daily Express.
  18. Robson, Jeff (1 October 2017). "It's dashed hot in BBC1's new Sunday drama – but The Last Post isn't quite "warm bath" TV". inews uk.
  19. Payne, Will (16 February 2013). "Married actor walked out on wife and kids for Call the Midwife star". mirror.
  20. "Call the Midwife star Jessica Raine marries Tom Goodman-Hill 2 weeks after engagement". Hello!. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  21. "Former Call the Midwife star Jessica Raine has welcomed her first child". Good to Know. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
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