Jemima Rooper - Biography

Who is Jemima Rooper?

Jemima Rooper is an actress best known for roles in The Famous Five and As If. But when the London born-star first expressed a desire to act, aged eight, her mum was less than impressed. "She was devastated," remembers the actress. "She said, 'Please don't be an actress. Be a doctor or lawyer'."

Undeterred, the youngster followed her dream and, since scoring her first professional job aged 12 in indie flick Higher Mortals, has worked steadily. Jemima's big break came when she was picked to portray strong-willed tomboy George in the 1996 TV adaptation of Enid Blyton classic The Famous Five. A variety of small screen roles followed, including a key part in US supernatural thriller Hex, the Channel 4 drama As If and crime drama The Time Of Your Life, as well as scoring a starring role in Atlantis as Medusa. The actress has also made inroads on the big screen, starring alongside Hilary Swank and Scarlett Johansson in 2006's The Black Dahlia.

Jemima Rooper's Upbringing

Jemima was born on 24 October 1981 in Hammersmith, London. Her mother, Alison Rooper, is a broadcast journalist. Having both brains and beauty, Jemima aced her GCSEs, achieving 8 of them at A* and A, most impressively while taking terms off to film for The Famous Five. She also achieved three A Levels at an A grade.

She is an only child but is close with her family, and two of her cousins are promising film directors, one of them being the Serbian director Stevan Filipovic. Her breakthrough role was playing George in all episodes of The Famous Five, and resulted in Jemima being able to buy her first home at the age of 19.

Jemima Hooper's Career

After her breakthrough success, her name and talent started to become more visible. The Sylvia Young-trained actress appeared on screens again as Nicki Sutton in popular hit Channel 4 series As If, which ran for three years. This put Jemima further cemented Jemima on the map and radars of casting agents and producers.

This led to her being cast in Hex, playing the role of Thelma Bates, a lesbian ghost who audiences have took a liking to and learned to love. Not long after, she was sent to the land of dreams to film for The Black Dahlia, alongside Scarlett Johansson, Josh Hartnett, Aaron Eckhart and Hilary Swank.

More recently, however, Jemima has performed a range of characters, notable inclusions being her role in Atlantis (as the serpent-headed Gorgon Medusa) from 2013-2015 for 13 episodes, and in TV shows The Girlfriend Experience and Gold Digger.

She also has 14 stage credits, transferring her talents from screen to stage effortlessly. Most notably she has appeared in Her Naked Skin (2008), Breeders (2014) and Blithe Spirit (2015), performing at the National Theatre, Bristol Old Vic, Royal Court, Gielgud Theatre and also in a theatre in LA.