Joanna Scanlan
Scanlan in 2019
Born	Joanna Marion Scanlan (1961-10-27)27 October 1961 (age 64) West Kirby,Cheshire, England
Alma mater	Queens' College, Cambridge
Occupations	Actress writer
Years active	1997–present

Joanna Marion Scanlan (born 27 October 1961) is a British actress and writer. On television, she is known for her roles inThe Thick of It (2005–2012),^[1]Big School (2013–2014),Puppy Love (2014),No Offence (2015–2018),Requiem (2018), andThe Larkins (2021). She was nominated for threeBAFTA TV Awards forGetting On (2009–2012), including two for Best Writing.

Scanlan's film appearances includeGirl with a Pearl Earring (2003),Notes on a Scandal (2006),The Invisible Woman (2013), andBridget Jones's Baby (2016).^[2] She won theBAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in the 2020 filmAfter Love, and was the first personsince 2003 to win the award without being nominated forthe corresponding Oscar.^[a]

Scanlan was born on 27 October 1961 inWest Kirby, then inCheshire, the daughter of hoteliers Michael and Patricia Scanlan.^[3] Although Joanna was born in England, her family comes from North Wales.^[4] At the age of three she moved with her parents to North Wales, where she grew up.^[5]

Scanlan attended Brigidine Convent andHowell's School inDenbigh, as well asNew Hall School in Chelmsford,Essex.^[6]

Scanlan studied history atQueens' College, Cambridge. During her studies, Scanlan joined theCambridge Footlights, where she became friends withTilda Swinton.^[5]

After graduation, Scanlan joined the academic staff ofLeicester Polytechnic where she lectured in drama for five years, before undertaking a similar role at theArts Council of Great Britain for three years.^[7] After the Arts Council of Great Britain was split in 1994, at age 34 Scanlan decided to try becoming a professional actor, quickly gaining the role as a nurse inITV1'sPeak Practice. This formed somewhat of a theme in her early career, playing a district nurse called Gillian in the last ever episode ofOne Foot in the Grave, then playing a midwife inThe Other Boleyn Girl withNatalie Portman andScarlett Johansson, before playing a nurse again alongsideAde Edmondson's doctor in ill-fatedDoctors and Nurses, and latterly Dr Diana Dibbs inDoc Martin withMartin Clunes.^[8]

Scanlan is known for her portrayal ofTerri Coverley, the notoriously useless senior press officer for the Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship in the British comedy television seriesThe Thick of It from 2005 to 2012.

Among her successes is Scanlan's dark satirical NHS dramaGetting On, which she starred and co-wrote withJo Brand andVicki Pepperdine. The series earned her aBAFTA nomination for Best Female Performance in a Comedy and a BAFTA Television Craft nomination for screenwriting in both 2011 and 2013.^[9] They were also nominated for Best Comedy Screenwriting at theRoyal Television Awards in 2010^[10] and Best Comedy at the South Bank Sky Arts Awards in 2011. The comedy series was adapted for an American audience withHBO, with Scanlan on board as an executive producer to closely work on script development. Scanlan was a guest star in the American version, reprising her role as Denise Flixter. TheEmmy-nominated show ran for three seasons between 2013 and 2015.

Scanlan and Vicki Pepperdine teamed up again to write and star in theirBBC Four comedy seriesPuppy Love, which follows two women at their dog training classes onthe Wirral. Under their production company George and George Co., they are currently adaptingPuppy Love with HBO for America and a new sitcomThis Land is Ours^[11] is in development for US Network IFC.

Scanlan plays lead character DI Inspector 'Viv Deering' in Paul Abbott's BAFTA nominated and RTS award-winning primetime drama,No Offence.

Scanlan appeared as Cathy in the 2016 romantic comedyBridget Jones's Baby.^[12]

Other film credits includeCharles Dickens' wife inThe Invisible Woman and roles inGet Santa,Testament of Youth,In the Loop,The Bad Education Movie,The Other Boleyn Girl,Stardust,Notes on a Scandal,Girl With A Pearl Earring,Pin Cushion, After Love andKinky Boots.

Additional television credits includeDeath Comes To Pemberley,Fungus the Bogeyman,Mapp & Lucia,Heading Out,Stella,Doc Martin,One Foot in the Grave,Spaced andSlow Horses.

On stage, Scanlan has worked with Thea Sharrock in her production ofCloud 9 at the Almeida Theatre andTop Girls, with Rufus Norris inVernon God Little at theYoung Vic, and featured in Polly Teale'sMadame Bovery.

Scanlan appeared in the first two episodes ofMcDonald & Dodds in 2020.In 2021, Scanlon played Ma oppositeBradley Walsh’s Pop inThe Larkins.

In March 2022, she received theBAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for the filmAfter Love (2020).^[13] Scanlan gave thanks in Welsh, "Diolch yn fawr iawn as we say in my country! BAFTA thank you so much...some stories have surprising endings don't they," and also thanked the film’s writer and director and the crew.^[14]

InSally Wainwright's TV seriesRiot Women, airing onBBC One in 2025, Scanlan plays Beth, a teacher forming a punk-rock band with a group of other women.

Scanlan and her husband Neil live inSouth Croydon,London.^[15][16]

Scanlan learned Welsh during S4C'sIaith ar Daith series.^[17][18]

On 7 June 2023, Scanlan became Patron of theDavid Lean Cinema, a community cinema based in the Clocktower ofCroydon Town Hall.^[19]

• Joanna Scanlan atIMDb

• 1961 births
• Living people
• 20th-century Welsh actresses
• 21st-century Welsh actresses
• Academics of De Montfort University
• Actors from Wirral
• Actresses from Cheshire
• Actresses from Denbighshire
• Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge
• Best Actress BAFTA Award winners
• British actresses
• British comedy writers
• British film actresses
• British television actresses
• People from Ruthin

• CS1 Welsh-language sources (cy)
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use British English from August 2014
• All Wikipedia articles written in British English
• Use dmy dates from August 2014
• Articles with hCards