Miranda Caroline Raison was born in Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk.[9] Her mother is former Anglia News reader Caroline Raison (née Harvey).[9] Her father, Nick Raison, is a jazz pianist who accompanied the BBC National Orchestra of Wales[10] when Raison played a showgirl in the Doctor Who episodes "Daleks in Manhattan" and "Evolution of the Daleks".[11]
Raison's parents divorced when she was five years old. From a young age she attended five boarding schools, including Gresham's School, Felixstowe College and Stowe School; her education was paid for by her grandfather.[12][13]
From 2002–3, she appeared as Ben-Hur's love interest in a minimalist production of the eponymous play at the Battersea Arts Centre.[17] Later in 2003, she was featured in Pains of Youth, again at the Battersea Arts Centre, playing the death obsessed bisexual Desiree;[18] Lyn Gardner of The Guardian described her performance as making "Desiree's death wish seem tragic rather than merely silly."[19]
In 2011, she appeared as Ann in the short play "Oliver Lewis" by Jack Thorne, part of the series of plays 66 Books performed at the Bush Theatre.[21]
In June/July 2012, she appeared in a production of The Physicists: A Comedy in Two Acts at the Donmar Warehouse, playing the roles of Lina Rose, the lead character's ex-wife, and Monika Settler, the lead's attending nurse.[22] From October 2012 Raison starred in The River, a new play by Jez Butterworth, at the Royal Court Theatre (Jerwood) alongside Dominic West. Tickets became "the most sought-after theatre tickets in London" after rave reviews.[23]
From January to February 2015, she starred opposite Shaun Evans in Hello/Goodbye at the Hampstead Theatre.[25] In August 2015 she joined the Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company in The Winter's Tale and Harlequinade which ran at the Garrick Theatre from October 2015 until January 2016. Raison played the wife of Kenneth Branagh's character in both plays.[26] She stated that she enjoyed the experience and was grateful for the opportunity, given that previously she had a bad audition with Branagh for Macbeth in 2011. She also enjoyed learning from Judi Dench.[27]
In 2004, Raison was cast as 'Heather' in Match Point, the first Woody Allen film to be made in London.[35]
In 2005, she appeared in Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, which she said "may as well have been the most brutal Lars von Trier film. Another actress and I actually spent a whole night just crying." She called the experience "regrettable from start to finish" and a "hideous, hideous moment and a great lapse of judgement on my part".[36]
Raison's breakthrough role was as Jo Portman (2005–2009) in the BBC One television drama series Spooks (also broadcast under the title MI-5). She requested that the production company let her go in 2009 as she felt that her character could not develop further and wanted to follow up on theatre opportunities.[37]
In April 2007, she appeared in the Doctor Who episodes "Daleks in Manhattan" and "Evolution of the Daleks" as Tallulah, a show girl whose opening scene involved singing to a musical number, for which Raison's father played the piano background as part of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.[11]
In 2009, she was featured in the show Plus One. She was originally featured in the Comedy Showcase pilot in 2007, where she wore a fat suit.[38]
She had a small role in My Week with Marilyn. She expressed pleasure in being able to work with great British talent and her fascination with Marilyn Monroe.[40]
In 2012, she played DI Georgina Dixon in the second series of Vexed, screened on BBC2.[41]
In 2013, she played 'Harriet Hammond' in the third series of the BBC legal drama Silk; her character was a practice manager who shook up the firm and a potential love interest for her former Spooks co-star Rupert Penry-Jones' character.[42]
In 2014, she had a small role in I Am Soldier, playing "Stella", the lead interrogator in the "Tactical Questioning" portion of the lead character's training.[43]
In July 2014, she was announced as a new cast member of Spotless, a (10×1 hour episode) drama produced by Canal+.[44]
In 2018, Raison reprised her role as 'Sylvie' in 6 episodes of Dark Heart, played xenobiologist 'Tessia' in 6 episodes of Nightflyers and appeared in Artemis Fowl.[45]
In May 2019, it was announced that Raison would be joining the main cast of Warrior for the second season.[46]
In September 2021, it was announced that Raison had joined the first series of Sister Boniface Mysteries playing Ruth Penny, a main character across all ten episodes.[47]
Raison reprised her role as 'Nellie Davenport', as part of the main cast of the third season of Warrior which began airing on HBO in July 2023.[48][49][50]
She married again in 2017 and had a daughter in that same year. In the summer of 2022, Raison gave birth to her second child. Her husband is 13 years her junior.[61]
Raison has dual nationality and holds both French and British passports.[62] She speaks fluent French and is conversational in Italian and Spanish.[63][60]
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