Barbara Smith (actress)

Last updated

Barbara Smith
Barbara Smith 2022.jpg
Smith in 2022
Born
Barbara Joan Smith

(1997-07-22) 22 July 1997 (age 28)
Wandsworth, London, England
OccupationActress
Years active2010–present

Barbara Joan Smith (born 22 July 1997) is an English actress. After roles in Doctors , Call the Midwife and Casualty , she was cast as Dana Monroe in the BBC soap opera EastEnders . She appeared from 2021 to 2022, after which has since appeared in The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox .

Contents

Life and career

Barbara Joan Smith was born in 1997 in Wandsworth, London. [1] Her first acting credit was in the 2010 short film Devil's Redemption. [2] After various other short film roles, her first television role was in 2017, when she portrayed Suki Stock in an episode of the BBC soap opera Doctors . [1] Her character was involved in a storyline where she was found to be selling her mother's medication to fund her college course. [3] In 2018, Smith appeared in an episode of BBC's Call the Midwife as Josie Winterlee. [4] That same year, she featured in the 2018 action film I Am Vengeance , her first professional film credit. [5]

In April 2019, Smith appeared in the BBC soap opera EastEnders as Ellie. [6] A guest role, [7] her character was a student at the University of Oxford who tells Bex Fowler (Jasmine Armfield) that she gets through her revision by taking ADHD medication. [8] She then appeared in fellow BBC drama series Casualty as Kailey Clark. [9] Later that year, she starred in White Girl as Beth, which was nominated for Best Short film at the BFI London Film Festival. [10] She also had her first professional stage role as the leading role in Dear Elizabeth at the Gate Theatre. [11] Then in 2020, Smith returned to theatre, this time in Unburied at the Bunker Theatre. [1]

In 2021, Smith returned to EastEnders, this time in the role of Dana Monroe. Her casting was announced in March 2021, when it was confirmed that she would be joining as a love interest for established character Bobby Beale (Clay Milner Russell). [12] She was initially contracted in a recurring role on the soap, but was eventually promoted to a regular cast member. [1] The soap also introduced a family for Smith's character, casting Ross Boatman as father Harvey and Charlie Wernham as brother Aaron. [13] Shortly after her introduction, Smith was nominated in the newcomer categories at both the I Talk Telly Awards [14] and the Digital Spy Reader Awards for her portrayal of Dana. [15] A scene of Bobby stopping Dana from leaving Walford was also nominated for Feel Good Moment at the 2021 Inside Soap Awards. [16] She remained on EastEnders until 2022. [17] Following her exit, she has appeared in the film Members Club in 2024 and in a recurring role on the Hulu series The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox . [18]

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
2010Devil's RedemptionDeborah EvansShort film
2015The QuestionEliseShort film
2016Snip at the RoseBlancheShort film
2016BulldogsPippaShort film
2017 Doctors Suki Stock Episode: "Box of Delights"
2018 Call the Midwife Josie WinterleeGuest role
2018 I Am Vengeance VioletFilm
2019 EastEnders Ellie Guest role
2019 Casualty Kailey ClarkGuest role
2019White GirlBethShort film
2021–2022EastEnders Dana Monroe Regular role
2024Members ClubDaisyFilm
2025 The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox Amy FrostRecurring role

Stage

YearTitleRoleVenue
2019Dear ElizabethElizabeth Bishop Gate Theatre
2020UnburiedNadia / Vlad The Bunker

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryNominated workResultRef.
2021I Talk Telly AwardsBest Soap NewcomerEastEndersNominated [14]
2021 Digital Spy Reader Awards Best Soap NewcomerThird [19]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "EastEnders' Dana star Barbara Smith's life off screen including forgotten role on soap". OK! . Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  2. ↑ "BBC EastEnders fans spot Dana Monroe star Barbara Smith has been on soap before". Birmingham Mail . Archived from the original on 17 August 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  3. ↑ "Box of Delights". BBC . Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  4. ↑ "EastEnders star Barbara Smith recalls forgotten role as another Walford character". Digital Spy . Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  5. ↑ "EastEnders' Barbara Smith's forgotten role on Call The Midwife and previous cameo on the soap". MyLondon . Archived from the original on 3 February 2023. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  6. ↑ "EastEnders newcomer Barbara Smith appeared on the soap only 2 years ago as a completely different character". MyLondon . Archived from the original on 4 May 2024. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  7. ↑ "EastEnders' Dana actress played another character on soap two years before role". Daily Mirror . Archived from the original on 16 August 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  8. ↑ "EastEnders Dana star Barbara Smith played another character – but do you remember her?". Metro . Archived from the original on 26 June 2024. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  9. ↑ "You ask... - 19 Apr 2022 - Inside Soap". Inside Soap . Retrieved 29 September 2025– via Readly.
  10. ↑ "Barbara Smith". Gate Theatre. Archived from the original on 14 August 2025. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  11. ↑ "Dear Elizabeth review – poets bare their souls in a lyrical show". The Guardian . Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  12. ↑ "EastEnders star Barbara Smith teases more trouble for Dana and Bobby". Digital Spy . Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  13. ↑ "EastEnders casts former Hollyoaks star Charlie Wernham as Harvey's son Aaron". Digital Spy . Archived from the original on 2 April 2024. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  14. 1 2 Gonzalez, Elliot [@elliot_gonzalez] (20 November 2021). "What about Soap Newcomer? Will it be @Barbarasmith0 @JamesFarrar or Ruhtxliaih Bèllènéa from #EastEnders? @emilejohn or @KevMathurin from #Emmerdale? Omar Malik or @rhiannonclem from #Hollyoaks? Or @VintaMorgan from #Corrie? Vote now" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  15. ↑ Joe, Draper (1 December 2021). "Vote for your TV, movies and soaps favourites in the 2021 Digital Spy Reader Awards!". Digital Spy . (Hearst Magazines UK). Archived from the original on 2 December 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  16. ↑ "The Inside Soap Awards 2021". Inside Soap . 28 September 2021.
  17. ↑ Hutchinson, Dainty; Sophie, Daniel (10 June 2022). "EastEnders exits for four characters as show shake-up continues". Digital Spy . Hearst Magazines UK. Archived from the original on 10 June 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  18. ↑ "Barbara Smith". Curtis Brown. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  19. ↑ "The Digital Spy Reader Awards 2021 full results". Digital Spy . Archived from the original on 22 December 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
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