Gina Bellman
| Gina Bellman | |
|---|---|
| Born |
10 July 1966 Auckland, New Zealand |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1984–present |
| Children | 1 |
Gina Bellman (born 10 July 1966) is a New Zealand-born British actress best known as Jane Christie on the BBC's hit comedy show Coupling and as grifter Sophie Devereaux on the 2008 TNT television series Leverage.
Early life
Bellman was born in New Zealand to Jewish parents of Russian and Polish origin[1] who emigrated to New Zealand from England in the 1950s. Her family returned to the United Kingdom when she was 11 years old.[1] She attended JFS in London.
Career
After making her debut in an episode of Into the Labyrinth in 1982, and a two-episode stint in Grange Hill in 1984, she became a household name for her performance in the title role in Dennis Potter's drama Blackeyes. She is also well known for playing Jane in the sitcom Coupling. Her other TV roles include Waking the Dead, Jonathan Creek, Little Napoleons, and one-off appearances in Only Fools and Horses and Hotel Babylon.
She has also appeared in several feature films including King David (1985), which starred Richard Gere and Edward Woodward, Secret Friends (1991), Leon the Pig Farmer (1992), and Silent Trigger (1996) opposite Dolph Lundgren.
She co-starred alongside James Nesbitt in the 2007 BBC One drama serial Jekyll, a modern-day sequel to Robert Louis Stevenson's Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, written by Coupling author Steven Moffat.[2]
In 2008, she began appearing on the TNT channel's serial drama Leverage, starring Timothy Hutton, for which she was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress in Television, but lost to fellow New Zealand alumna Lucy Lawless.[3][4]
In 2013, Bellman narrated poetry for The Love Book App, an interactive anthology of love literature developed by Allie Byrne Esiri.[5] In late 2013, she played the role of "The Italian Woman" in the National Theatre's production of the Georg Kaiser play From Morning to Midnight.[6]
In 2015, Bellman appeared as Vivien Leigh in the European premiere of the Austin Pendleton play Orson's Shadow, at the Southwark Playhouse in London.[7]
Personal life
In July 2005, she married Lucho Brieva. The marriage lasted a year and they divorced in 2007. In 2009, she had a daughter, Romy. In 2013, she married the father, Zaab Sethna, whom she met just after shooting the Leverage pilot.
Filmography
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Other notes |
| 1985 | King David | Tamar | |
| Mussolini: The Untold Story | Gina Ruberti | (television mini-series) | |
| 1991 | Secret Friends | Helen | |
| 1992 | Vsetko co mam rad | Ann | |
| Leon the Pig Farmer | Lisa | ||
| 1993 | Horse Opera | Sandra/Marion | |
| 1996 | Silent Trigger | Clegg (Spotter) | |
| 1997 | David | Michal | (television film) |
| 2000 | Ted & Ralph | Henrietta Spain | |
| Paranoid | Eve | ||
| Seven Days to Live | Claudia | ||
| 2001 | Subterrain | Junkie Spirit | |
| Married/Unmarried | Amanda | ||
| 2003 | Sitting Ducks | Christine | |
| 2005 | Zerophilia | Sydney | |
| 2007 | Permanent Vacation | Kathleen Bury | |
| Television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1982 | Into the Labyrinth | Christine | Episode: Phantom |
| 1984 | Grange Hill | Trudy | Episode: 7.8 Episode: 7.9 |
| 1989 | Only Fools and Horses | Carmen | Episode: The Unlucky Winner Is... |
| 1989 | Screen Two | Greta | Episode: Sitting Targets |
| 1989 | Blackeyes | Blackeyes | Episode 1.1 Episode 1.2 Episode 1.3 Episode 1.4 |
| 1991 | The Storyteller | Eurydice | Episode: Orpheus and Eurydice (live-action puppet television series) |
| 1994 | Little Napoleons | Liz Blakemore | Episode: The Big Interview |
| 1996 | Scene | Athene Nike/Trainer | Episode: Young Jung |
| 1996 | Sharman | Kiki | Episode 1.1 |
| 1999 | Jonathan Creek | Samantha | Episode: Ghost's Forge |
| 2000–2004 | Coupling | Jane Christie | 28 episodes |
| 2003 | Waking the Dead | Frannie Henning | Episode: Final Cut: Part 1 Episode: Final Cut: Part 2 |
| 2005 | The Last Detective | Caroline | Episode: Friends Reunited |
| 2007 | Hotel Babylon | Marina Stoll | Episode: 2.2 (BBC television drama) |
| 2007 | Jekyll | Claire Jackman | Episode: 1.1 Episode: 1.2 Episode: 1.3 Episode: 1.4 Episode: 1.5 Episode: Hyde |
| 2007 | Nearly Famous | Traci Reed | Episode: 1.1 Episode: 1.2 Episode: 1.4 |
| 2007 | Heroes and Villains | Catherine Carteaux | Episode: Napoleon (television docudrama) |
| 2008 | The Wrong Door | Pilot Instructor/Jill | Episode: Njarnia Episode: The Smutty Aliens |
| 2008–2012 | Leverage | Sophie Devereaux | 72 episodes |
| 2013 | Ripper Street | Jemima Swann | Series 2, episode 6 |
| Theatre | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1990 | The Rocky Horror Show | Janet Weiss | Piccadilly Theatre |
| 2000 | Speed-the-Plow | Karen | Duke of York's Theatre |
| 2013 | From Morning to Midnight | Italian Lady/Salvation Army Officer | National Theatre |
| 2015 | Orson's Shadow | Vivien Leigh | Southwark Playhouse |
References
- 1 2 Cavendish, Lucy (2007-03-31). "Gina Genie". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-08-25.
- ↑ "An all-star cast to appear in BBC ONE's Jekyll". BBC Press Office. 2006-08-29. Retrieved 2006-08-30.
- ↑ "Electric Entertainment's Leverage has been nominated for three Saturn Awards and two Prism Awards". electricentertainment.com. 19 February 2010. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
- ↑ "TNT Orders 13 Episodes of Leverage". ComingSoon.net. February 13, 2008. Retrieved July 1, 2008.
- ↑ "The Love Book". Retrieved 3 October 2015.
- ↑ "From Morning to Midnight". The National Theatre. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
- ↑ "Orson's Shadow: By Austin Pendleton review by QUENTIN LETTS - Daily Mail Online". Mail Online. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
