Polly Walker

Polly Walker
Born	Polly Alexandra Walker (1966-05-19) 19 May 1966 Warrington, Lancashire, England
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1988–present
Spouse(s)	Laurence Penry-Jones (m. 2008)
Children	2
Relatives	Rupert Penry-Jones (brother-in-law)

Polly Alexandra Walker (born 19 May 1966) is an English actress. She has starred in the films Enchanted April (1991), Patriot Games (1992), Sliver (1993), Restoration (1995), The Gambler (1997), and Savage Messiah (2002). In 2006, she received a Golden Globe Award nomination for her role in the drama series Rome (2005–2007). She is also known for her roles in BBC One dramas Prisoners’ Wives (2012–2013), Line of Duty (2016, 2019) and Netflix's Bridgerton (2020-present).

Early life

Walker was born in Warrington, Lancashire. She attended Padgate Church of England Primary School in Warrington and Bush Davies School of Ballet and Performing Arts in East Grinstead until joining Twickenham's Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance at 16 She had to abandon dancing after a leg injury at the age of 18. She then decided to become an actress.

She attended Drama Centre London before working at the Royal Shakespeare Company, where she played small roles for six months before getting cast in small roles on television.

Career

Film and television

Walker landed the title role in the television series Lorna Doone before making her feature debut in Journey of Honor (1991). In that same year she appeared in Les Equilibristes and in Mike Newell's Enchanted April, in which she played an aristocrat eager to escape the attentions of her persistent male admirers. Walker first gained international attention in 1992 as a single-minded English member of an Irish terrorist group in Phillip Noyce's Patriot Games.

She appeared in Douglas McGrath's 1996 adaption of Jane Austen's Emma as Jane Fairfax, the titular character's rival.

In 2003 she had a starring role in the BBC drama series State of Play.

Between 2005 and 2007, Walker played Atia of the Julii in both seasons of the HBO–BBC2 television series Rome. Her performance earned her a Golden Globe nomination in 2006 for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama.

She next played the sinister Catherine Braithwaite in "Deus Ex Machina", a two-episode story of the BBC television "cold case" crime series Waking the Dead, which also aired in January 2007. In May 2007, she appeared as Lady Bess Sedgwick in ITV's Marple: At Bertram's Hotel, and then played sugar heiress Ellis Samuels in the CBS television drama Cane, which premiered 25 September 2007.

In May 2008, Walker was cast as Sister Clarice Willow, headmistress of a private religious school, in Syfy's Battlestar Galactica prequel series Caprica. She appeared in Louis Leterrier's 2010 action fantasy remake, Clash of the Titans as Cassiopeia.

In 2011 she guest starred as Ranna Seneschal, leader of the underground city of Praxis, on the Canadian sci-fy fantasy show Sanctuary.

Walker starred in BBC's crime drama Prisoners' Wives as crime wife Francesca Miller from 2012 to 2013. She went on to appear in Andrew Staunton's 2012 science fiction action-adventure film John Carter as Sarkoja, a merciless Thark.

In 2014, she had a recurring role as the character Delphine Day in the ITV series Mr Selfridge.

In 2018, Walker starred as Bel, the leading character in Age Before Beauty. From 2019 to 2022, she portrayed dominatrix Margaret "Peggy" Skyes the action crime drama show Pennyworth.

In 2020, she appeared as Lady Lunete, the Queen Regent and mother to Uther Pendragon, a recurring character for 5 episodes in the Netflix series, Cursed. Since December 2020, Walker has starred in the Netflix series Bridgerton as Portia, Lady Featherington. She earned a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination in 2021 with the series cast for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.

Personal life

On 23 October 2008, Walker married the former actor Laurence Penry-Jones (brother of Rupert Penry-Jones) with whom she lived in the United States for several years. In 2015, they returned to London.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1991	Journey of Honour	Cecilia	Original title: "Kabuto", also known as "Shogun Mayeda"
	Ao Fim da Noite
	Walking a Tightrope	Hélène Lagache
1992	Enchanted April	Caroline Dester
	Patriot Games	Annette
1993	The Trial	Leni
	Sliver	Vida Warren
1995	Restoration	Celia Clemence
1996	Emma	Jane Fairfax
1997	Roseanna's Grave	Cecilia
	Robinson Crusoe	Mary McGregor
	The Gambler	Polina
	Bastard	Mara
1998	Curtain Call	Julia
	Talk of Angels	Mary Lavelle
	Dark Harbor	Alexis Chandler Weinberg
1999	8½ Women	Palmira
2000	After Alice	Dr. Vera Swann
2002	D-Tox	Jenny Munroe
	Savage Messiah	Paula Jackson
2004	Control	Barbara Copeland
2006	Scenes of a Sexual Nature	Esther
2010	Clash of the Titans	Cassiopeia
2012	John Carter	Sarkoja

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1989	Storyboard	Margaret Niner	Episode: "Hunted Down"
	Rules of Engagement	Fiona	mini-series, 2 episodes
1990	Agatha Christie's Poirot	Nick Buckley	Episode: "Peril at End House"
	Screen Two	Nadja	Episode: "The Kremlin, Farewell"
	Lorna Doone	Lorna Doone	TV film
1992	A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia	Mme. Dumont
	The Secret World of Spying	Annette
1997	The Woodlanders	Mrs. Charmond
2002	Jeffrey Archer: The Truth	Mrs. Archer
2003	The Mayor of Casterbridge	Lucetta Templeman
	State of Play	Anne Collins	6 episodes
2005–2007	Rome	Atia of the Julii	22 episodes
2007	Waking the Dead	Catherine Braithwaite	2 episodes: "Deus Ex Machina"
	Agatha Christie's Marple	Bess Sedgwick	Episode: "At Bertram's Hotel"
	Cane	Ellis Samuels	13 episodes
2009	Numbers	Dr. Lorna Ludlow	Episode: "Animal Rites"
2009–2010	Caprica	Clarice Willow	17 episodes
2010	Sanctuary	Ranna Seneschal	2 episodes
2011	Psych	Randa Tabet	Episode: "Shawn Rescues Darth Vader"
2012–2013	Prisoners' Wives	Francesca Miller	10 episodes
2012	The Mentalist	FBI Agent Alexa Shultz	2 episodes
2013	Warehouse 13	Charlotte Dupres	4 episodes
2014	Mr Selfridge	Delphine Day	9 episodes
2015	The Syndicate	DI Lynn Baker	6 episodes
2016	Paranoid	Monica Wayfield	5 episodes
2016; 2019	Line of Duty	Gill Biggeloe	Series 3 and 5
2018	Age Before Beauty	Bel Finch	6 episodes
2019-2022	Pennyworth	Margaret "Peggy" Sykes	17 episodes
2020	Cursed	Lady Lunete	5 episodes
2020-present	Bridgerton	Portia, Lady Featherington	Series regular
2025	Bookish	Trottie Book	6 episodes

Theatre

Year	Title	Role	Director	Venue	Notes	Ref.
1988-1989	Hamlet	Second Grave Digger	Ron Daniels	N/A	Royal Shakespeare Company Tour
1989	As You Like It	Phoebe	Tim Albery	The Old Vic
	Hess is Dead	Charity Luber	Danny Boyle	Almeida Theatre	Royal Shakespeare Company
2001	Finding the Sun	Cordelia	Anthony Page	Royal National Theatre
2003	Les Liaisons Dangereuses	La Marquise De Merteuil	Tim Fywell	Playhouse Theatre	Ambassador Theatre Group

Audio dramas

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2017	Doctor Who: The Fourth Doctor Adventures	Commander Narnia	Episode: "The Movellan Grave"

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2010	Dark Void	Ava, Survivors

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result	Ref.
2003	Genie Awards	Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role	Savage Messiah	Nominated
2005	Satellite Awards	Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Miniseries, or Motion Picture made for Television	Rome	Nominated
	Online Film & Television Association	Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series		Won
2006	Golden Globe Awards	Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama		Nominated
2021	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	Bridgerton	Nominated

External links

• Polly Walker at the Internet Movie Database