Sophie Skelton

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Sophie Skelton
Sophie Skelton 2018.jpg
Skelton in 2018
Born
Sophie Alexandra Skelton

(1994-03-07) 7 March 1994 (age 29)
Woodford, England
OccupationActress
Years active2008–present

Sophie Alexandra Skelton (born 7 March 1994) is an English actress. She is best known for her role as Brianna Fraser in the Starz drama series Outlander . [1]

Contents

Early life

Skelton was born and raised in Woodford, Greater Manchester, the daughter of entrepreneurial children's toy inventors. [2] [3] She began dancing at the age of three, eventually training in ballet at the Royal Academy, before moving into musical theater and stage productions. [4] [1] Her first professional television role, in series two of the British crime drama DCI Banks (2012), was a two-episode stint as schoolgirl Becca Smith. [5] [6]

Skelton attended Stockport Grammar School, completing her A Levels in 2012. She was going to study English Literature at King's College London the following year but ended up turning down her offer to pursue acting instead. [7] [8]

Career

In 2013, Skelton guest-starred as Esme Vasquez-Jones in series one of CBBC's award-winning children's drama The Dumping Ground . [9] [10] That same year, she went on to portray Nikki Boston's (Heather Peace) estranged daughter Eve in the ninth series of BBC One's school-based drama series, Waterloo Road , and Yasmin Carish in a series thirteen episode of the long running medical series Doctors . [11] [12]

Transitioning into feature films, Skelton's first role was in 2014's The War I Knew. She portrayed Margaret in director Ian Vernon's tale of a WWII paratrooper lost behind enemy lines. [13] [14]

2015 saw a return to episodic television for Skelton. She again appeared in the BBC series Doctors, portraying Ellen Singleton in the series sixteen episode "Revenge". [15] [16] Next, she guest starred in a series nine episode of ITV's WWII and post-war era legal drama Foyle's War. [17] Later that year, Skelton appeared in a twelve-episode stint as Sofia Matthews on So Awkward , CBBC's sitcom revolving around three socially awkward school-age friends, and a two episode guest starring role as Gemma Holt on BBC One's medical drama Casualty . [18] [19]

Skelton's first leading film role was in Charlotte Stente Nielsen's 2016 fantasy-horror short Blackbird. [20] Her breakout role, in the British fantasy action-adventure series Ren: The Girl with the Mark, came later that year. [6] She won Best Lead Actress at the Hyperdrive Sci-Fi and Fantasy Film Festival for her role in the series. [21] 2016 also saw Skelton cast in the role of Brianna Fraser in the Starz TV series Outlander . [22] [23] The role, opposite Scottish actor Richard Rankin as Roger MacKenzie is recurring, becoming a main cast member from Season 4 onwards, and will continue throughout their story arc as outlined in Diana Gabaldon's genre-bending book series. [22] [24]

In 2017, Skelton portrayed Jess in Christopher Menaul's film Another Mother's Son , the true story of Louisa Gould, a widow living in Nazi-occupied Jersey during WWII. [25] From there she went on to star in Day of the Dead: Bloodline (2017), a remake of the 1985 George Romero zombie film [13] and alongside Nicolas Cage in the bank heist film #211 (2018), based upon the real-life "Battle of North Hollywood" in 1997.

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
2014The War I KnewMargaret
2016BlackbirdRoseShort film
2017 Another Mother's Son Jess
2017 Day of the Dead: Bloodline Zoe Parker
2018 211 Lisa MacAvoy
2022StalkerRose Hepburn

Television

YearTitleCharacterProductionNotes
2012 DCI Banks Becca SmithITV2 episodes
2013 The Dumping Ground Esme Vasquez-JonesCBBCEpisode: "Esme"
2013−14 Waterloo Road Eve BostonBBC One2 episodes
2013/2015 Doctors Yasmin Carish / Ellen SingletonBBC2 episodes
2015 Foyle's War Student JaneITVEpisode: "Trespass"
2015 So Awkward Sofia MatthewsCBBCRecurring role, 12 episodes
2015 Casualty Gemma HoltBBC One2 episodes
2016Ren: The Girl with the MarkRenOnlineSeries regular, 5 episodes
2016–present Outlander Brianna Fraser STARZ Series regular (Seasons 2-3), Main role (Seasons 4-8), 48 episodes
2023 Castlevania: Nocturne Julia Belmont (voice) Netflix Episode: "A Common Enemy in Evil"

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryNominated workResult
2016Hyperdrive Festival AwardBest Leading ActressRen [26] Won
2016Jury AwardBest ActressRenNominated
2016International Online Web FestBest ActressRenNominated
2019 Saturn Awards Best Supporting Actress on Television OutlanderNominated
2021 Saturn Awards Best Supporting Actress on Television Outlander [27] [28] Nominated
2022 Saturn Awards Best Supporting Actress in a Network or Cable Television Series Outlander [29] Nominated

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References

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  2. "'Outlander' finally casts Brianna". EW.com. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
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  4. "Sophie Skelton". 1883 Magazine. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
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  7. "A-level results 2012: a golden year for our A-level pupils". Stockport Grammar School. 16 August 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
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  12. "Clip: The Lean, The Lean, Series 15, Doctors - BBC One". BBC. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  13. 1 2 "Interview With Sophie Skelton, Star Of 211 | Film Inquiry". www.filminquiry.com. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  14. The War I Knew (2014) , retrieved 19 July 2018
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  25. Another Mother's Son (2017) , retrieved 20 July 2018
  26. Oseman, Neil (29 January 2016). "Ren's leading lady Sophie Skelton joins the cast of Outlander". Ren the Series. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
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  28. Tartaglione, Nancy (27 October 2021). "Saturn Awards Winners: 'Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker' Leads With Five Prizes – Full List". Deadline. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  29. Tinoco, Armando (12 August 2022). "Saturn Awards Nominations: 'The Batman', 'Nightmare Alley', 'Spider-Man', 'Better Call Saul' Top List". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved 22 September 2022.