Jennifer Brooke

Last updated
Jennifer Brooke
Born1993or1994(age 31–32)
Alma mater Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts
Occupation(s)Actress
Teacher
Years active2013–
Television Hollyoaks
Height5 ft 5 in (165 cm)

Jennifer Brooke (born 1993 or 1994) is a British actress. From 2012 to 2015, she studied at Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts and graduated with a BA (Hons) in Acting. Whilst she was there she performed in various Italia Conti plays, including their adaptations of The Acid Test, Richard III and A View from the Bridge . In 2015, Brooke did a voice-over for the short film Two Sides, and that October she began airing as series regular Rachel Hardy on the British soap opera Hollyoaks . Brooke last appeared as Rachel in March 2016, when the character was killed-off.

Contents

Brooke has also appeared in the films My Name Is Lenny (2017), Astral (2018) and The Last Letter from Your Lover (2021), in addition to short films, commercials and a 2021 episode of the online sitcom In Love With My Life-Sized Doll: True Stories. She also played the recurring role of Donna in White Gold and guest-starred in a 2025 episode of Call the Midwife . In 2018, she portrayed Rebecca Harrison in the play "A Gym Thing" at The Pleasance theatre. Brooke is also an acting teacher for children and in 2020 she launched the B.O.S.S Acting School with Samantha Shaw, which led to them being nominated for "Young Entrepreneur of the year" at 2021 the Club Hub Awards.

Life and career

Brooke was born in 1993 or 1994. [1] She is from Roydon, Essex and is a vegan. [2] Brooke enjoyed acting since she was young but there were not many local performing schools for her to pursue this and she believed that she did not have the confidence to do so. [3] At the age of 18, Brooke began training at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts in 2012, where she graduated with a BA (Hons) in Acting in 2015. [3] [4] From 2013 to 2015, she performed in various stage productions at the Italia Conti, including their adaptations of The Acid Test, Richard III , A View from the Bridge and Touched. [4] [5] Brook called her time at Italia Conti an "incredible experience". [3] In 2015, Brooke did a voice-over in the short film Two Sides. [5] [6]

Brooke performed at The Pleasance theatre in Edinburgh in 2018 Student Union buildings in the Pleasance.jpg
Brooke performed at The Pleasance theatre in Edinburgh in 2018

On 21 September 2015, it was announced that Brooke had joined the cast of Hollyoaks as a Rachel Hardy along with five other cast members as part of a new family unit, the Nightingales. [7] [8] Hollyoaks executive producer Bryan Kirkwood explained that he had introduced the family to create "more of a sense of community" in the soap. [9] Rachel was introduced as the fiancée of Nathan Nightingale (Jared Garfield) and the couple were characterised as being the "perfect" match. [7] Brooke made her first appearance as Rachel on 26 October 2015. [10] Brooke liked aspects of the character. [2]

Brooke liked seeing how the episodes were made behind the scenes and being on set daily. [3] Many of Rachel's storylines revolved around their relationship which becomes strained at times, including when Nathan cheats on Rachel with Porsche McQueen (Twinnie-Lee Moore) and when Rachel hides Alfie Nightingale's (Richard Linnell) cancer returning from Nathan. [11] [12] [13] [14] Brooke last appeared as Rachel on 29 March 2016 after the character was killed off in a car explosion. [15] [16] Brooke's departure was not announced beforehand and it was later explained that Brooke had known from the beginning of her stint that the character would be departing the soap in order to shock the audience and create development for Nathan's character. [15] [17] [18] Following her departure, Brooke returned to the Hollyoaks set several times as she had friends that lived in Liverpool. [19] Brooke and her colleagues had filmed the stunt and Rachel's death scenes from 4pm to 4am and had to deal with heavy rain from a storm. [15]

Brooke portrayed Trixie Marks in the 2017 British drama film My Name Is Lenny . [20] [21] Filming for the film took place in London and began in August 2016. [22] In 2018, Brooke returned to theatre and portrayed Rebecca Harrison in A Gym Thing, which was performed in The Pleasance theatre. [4] Brooke also played the recurring role of Donna in the British sitcom White Gold over their two series, which aired in 2017 and 2019. [3] [23] [24] [25] Brooke also portrayed Karina Richardson in the 2018 British horror film Astral . [26] [5] Brooke portrayed a receptionist in the 2021 British romantic drama film The Last Letter from Your Lover . [4] Brooke has also appeared in television commercials and short films, [4] in addition to a 2021 episode of the online sitcom In Love With My Life-Sized Doll: True Stories and the 2022 short film The Chronicles of Diablos. [27] [28] Brooke also guest starred in a 2025 episode of the British television period drama Call the Midwife . [29]

In addition to performing, Brooke teaches acting to young people between the ages of two and 16 and, along with fellow Italia Conti graduate Samantha Shaw, is the co-director and a teacher of the B.O.S.S Acting School. [3] Brooke and Shaw had launched the school in May 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, which runs classes in various venues to teach children skills for stage and screen acting. [1] For their successful approach, Brooke and Shaw were nominated for "Young Entrepreneur of the year" at 2021 the Club Hub Awards. [1]

Acting credits

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotesRef.
2015Two SidesAmelia/LucindaVoice over [6]
2015–16 Hollyoaks Rachel Hardy Regular role [15]
2017 My Name Is Lenny Trixie MarksDrama film [30]
2017, 2019 White Gold DonnaRecurring role [23]
2018 Astral Karina RichardsonHorror film [26]
2021 The Last Letter from Your Lover ReceptionistFeature film [4]
2021A PizzaOnesieShort film [5]
2021In Love With My Life-Sized Doll: True StoriesLauraOnline sitcom (1 episode) [27]
2022The Chronicles of DiablosJennShort film [28]
2023Shut EyeAprilShort film [4]
2025 Call the Midwife Ada Rowntree (1 episode)Guest role [29]

Theatre credits

YearProductionVenueRole
2013The Acid Test Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts Dana
2013Book of DaysGinger Reed
2014TwoThe Other Woman
2014The Children's HourEvelyn Munn
2014 Richard III Duchess of York
2014 On the Shore of the Wide World Sarah
2014 A View from the Bridge Catherine
2015TouchedJoan
2018A Gym Thing The Pleasance Rebecca Harrison
Sources: [4] [5] [3]

Commercials

YearCompanyRoleRef.
2016MelectronicsDaughter [4]
2019 Taco Bell Instagram girlfriend [5]

References

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  2. 1 2 Hollyoaks (20 November 2015). "Hollyoaks - Meet the Nightingales: Rachel Hardy". YouTube . Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Who's B.O.S.S?". Boss Acting School. Boss Acting School LLP. Archived from the original on 1 August 2024. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
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  6. 1 2 Cornetto (2 July 2015). "Cornetto Love Stories - Two Sides". YouTube . Archived from the original on 1 August 2024. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  7. 1 2 Kilkelly, Daniel (22 September 2015). "Fresh faces for Hollyoaks: Meet the brand new Nightingale family who are taking over The Dog". Digital Spy . Hearst Communications. Archived from the original on 24 April 2024. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  8. Wright, Matthew (22 September 2015). "Hollyoaks bracing itself for new arrivals the Nightingales". Liverpool Echo . Reach plc . Retrieved 1 August 2024.
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  10. Kilkelly, Daniel (5 October 2015). "Hollyoaks newcomer Jared Garfield: 'The Nightingales have been through a lot'". Digital Spy . Hearst Communications. Archived from the original on 29 July 2024. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  11. Kilkelly, Daniel (10 December 2015). "Hollyoaks spoilers: Will Nathan Nightingale be exposed as a love cheat tonight?". Digital Spy . Hearst Communications. Archived from the original on 29 July 2024. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  12. Dainty, Sophie (12 January 2016). "Hollyoaks spoilers: Rachel Hardy and Nathan Nightingale's relationship to become strained". Digital Spy . Hearst Communications . Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  13. "Hollyoaks spoilers: Rachel Hardy gets her revenge on cheating Nathan Nightingale". Digital Spy . Hearst Communications. 11 December 2015. Archived from the original on 29 July 2024. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  14. Kilkelly, Daniel (25 March 2016). "Hollyoaks heartbreak tonight as Nathan tells Rachel to leave the village without him". Digital Spy . Hearst Communications. Archived from the original on 29 July 2024. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  15. 1 2 3 4 Kilkelly, Daniel (28 March 2016). "Hollyoaks star reacts to that hock car crash death: 'We knew it would happen from day one'". Digital Spy . Hearst Communications. Archived from the original on 29 July 2024. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  16. ""Viewers have told me that I've made them cry!"". Inside Soap . No. 22. 4–10 June 2016. pp. 50–51.
  17. Crick, Claire (1 October 2018). "10 soap characters who were only ever brought in to die". Digital Spy . Hearst Communications. Archived from the original on 29 July 2024. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  18. Ellis, Sarah (16–22 April 2016). ""Nathan wants justice – things are going to get messy!"". Inside Soap . No. 15. pp. 42–43.
  19. "Gone, but not forgotten!". Inside Soap . No. 6. 10–16 February 2018. p. 47.
  20. Barraclough, Leo (22 August 2016). "Boxing Movie 'My Name Is Lenny' Starts to Shoot in London (Exclusive)". Variety . Variety Media, LLC. Archived from the original on 1 August 2024. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
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