Gemma Chan

A supporter of human rights, she made a film for Amnesty International to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Gemma Chan (born 29 November 1982) is an English actress.

A graduate of Worcester College, Oxford, Chan began acting during the late 2000s, making her film debut in 2009.

Chan made her professional debut in Horror Channel's 2006 miniseries When Evil Calls.

She was a competitor on the first series of the reality series Project Catwalk.

Chan made her stage debut in the British premiere of Bertolt Brecht's last play, Turandot, at the Hampstead Theatre, London, in 2008.

Chan appeared in the autumn 2009 special of the BBC's Doctor Who, titled "The Waters of Mars", playing geologist Mia Bennett.

The episode later won a Hugo Award.

In the same year, Chan starred in Exam (2009) which premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival to mixed reviews.

The following year, Chan appeared in two episodes in Channel 4's The IT Crowd.

In 2010, she got one of her first breakout roles, as a heavily accented Chinese immigrant appearing in The Blind Banker, a first series episode of BBC's Sherlock.

The episode was criticized partly because of its orientalist clichés.

Chan's next releases, Pimp, (2010) and Shanghai (2010), were panned by critics, while Submarine premiered at the 35th Toronto International Film Festival to positive reviews.

Chan was cast as a series regular in the final series of Secret Diary of a Call Girl, as the rival of Billie Piper's character.

The series aired on ITV2 in 2011.

Later that year, she appeared in Channel 4's Fresh Meat.

In 2012, Chan was a regular in series two of Sky Living's supernatural drama Bedlam where she portrayed Kiera.

She appeared in True Love, a five-part semi-improvised television series produced by Working Title for BBC One.

Chan met her co-stars on set, and had free rein to "flesh out" her character during the written scenarios.

In June 2013, Chan performed in the British premiere of Yellow Face by American playwright David Henry Hwang at The Park Theatre, London, and returned for its 2014 revival at the Royal National Theatre.

While promoting the play, Chan spoke about her struggles to get cast in non Chinese-related productions and period dramas due to her ethnicity.

In November 2013, Chan performed in the world premiere of Our Ajax by Timberlake Wertenbaker at the Southwark Playhouse, London.

Wertenbaker chose her to play the war goddess Athena after she saw her performance in Yellow Face.

Michael Billington of The Guardian described her performance as "beautifully svelte omniscience".

Later that year, she starred in BBC One crime drama Shetland, playing young archaeologist Hattie James.

Chan guest-starred in the BBC's Death in Paradise and Channel 4 romantic drama Dates.

Chan appeared in The Double (2013), which premiered at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival to critical success.

Chan appeared in the action-thriller Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014), which met mixed reception but financial success.

She rose to attention with her leading role in the Channel 4 science fiction series Humans (2015–2018).

In 2015 she portrayed Ruth in the West End revival of Harold Pinter's domestic drama The Homecoming directed by Jamie Lloyd.

She received rave reviews with Michael Billington of The Guardian writing, that "Chan shows, with great skill...a coolly inscrutable Ruth".

The Evening Standard described Chan's performance as "cool" and "elegant".

Chan came to international prominence with her starring roles in Crazy Rich Asians (2018) and as Elizabeth Hardwick in Mary Queen of Scots (2018), the first of which earned her a nomination for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.

She next starred in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Captain Marvel (2019) and Eternals (2021), portraying Minn-Erva and Sersi, respectively.

She also voiced Namaari in the Disney animated film Raya and the Last Dragon (2021) and appeared in Olivia Wilde's psychological thriller Don't Worry Darling (2022) and Gareth Edwards' science fiction action film The Creator (2023).

Offscreen, Chan has been labeled a fashion icon, with her fashion choices, red carpet appearances and partnership with Louis Vuitton gaining widespread media attention.

Gemma Chan was born at Guy's Hospital in London, England.

Her father was an engineer who grew up in Hong Kong and her mother was a pharmacist and raised in Greenock, Scotland, after her parents emigrated from Hong Kong.

Raised in Locksbottom in the London Borough of Bromley, Chan attended Newstead Wood School for Girls in Orpington, London and went on to study law at Worcester College, Oxford.

Following graduation, Chan gained a training contract offer as a graduate at the law firm Slaughter and May, but turned it down to study at the Drama Centre London and pursue an acting career.