Gayle Rankin | |
|---|---|
| Born | Paisley, Scotland |
| Education | Juilliard School (BFA) |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2012–present |
Gayle Rankin is a Scottish actress. She is known for her role as Sheila in theNetflix seriesGLOW (2017–2019).[1] She also played Emily Dodson in theHBO seriesPerry Mason (2020). Her films includeThe Greatest Showman (2017),Her Smell (2018),Blow the Man Down, andThe Climb (both 2019).
Rankin joined the cast of theHBO seriesHouse of the Dragon for its second season asAlys Rivers. In 2024, she was nominated for theTony Award for Best Actress in a Musical at the77th Tony Awards for her role inCabaret.
Gayle Rankin was born inPaisley and grew up inEaglesham andKilmaurs. She has an older sister. She attendedMearns Castle High School[2] and completed sixth form atKnightswood Secondary School's Dance School of Scotland.[3] At 17, Rankin won a scholarship to train at theJuilliard School in New York City and became the institution's first Scottish student.[4] She was also awarded an international fellowship to study inSydney, Australia.[5]
In 2012, Rankin made her acting debut in aseason 13 episode ofLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit.[6] In 2017, Rankin began appearing on the seriesGLOW, as Sheila the She-Wolf.[7] It premiered on 23 June 2017 onNetflix.[8] The show was renewed for a third season[9] which premiered on 9 August 2019.
In 2017, Rankin appeared in the filmThe Meyerowitz Stories, directed byNoah Baumbach. The film premiered at the2017 Cannes Film Festival, and was released by Netflix on 13 October 2017.[10][11] That same year, she appeared inThe Greatest Showman oppositeHugh Jackman andMichelle Williams.[12][13]
In 2018, Rankin appeared inIrreplaceable You, directed byStephanie Laing, oppositeGugu Mbatha-Raw andMichiel Huisman. It was released by Netflix on 16 February 2018.[14] That same year, she appeared inIn a Relationship directed bySam Boyd, which had its world premiere at theTribeca Film Festival on 20 April 2018,[15] and inHer Smell, directed byAlex Ross Perry, oppositeElisabeth Moss andAgyness Deyn.[16]
In 2020, she was cast as Emily Dodson, the mother of Charlie Dodson, a 1-year-old child who is mysteriously kidnapped in the seriesPerry Mason.[17]
In April 2023, it was announced that Rankin had been cast as Alys Rivers in the second season ofHouse of the Dragon.[18]
OnBroadway, she has starred in the 2014 revival ofCabaret as Fräulein Kost. She starred asSally Bowles in the 2024 revival oppositeEddie Redmayne, earning acclaim and a nomination for theTony Award for Best Actress in a Musical at the77th Tony Awards.[19]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Warfield | Molly | |
| 2013 | Frank the Bastard | Mary | |
| It Goes Quiet | Joanie | Short film | |
| 2014 | The Meeting | Sarah | Short film |
| 2015 | Girl Wakes Up | Jane | Short film |
| Buzzer | Suzy | Short film | |
| 2016 | The Passing Season | Tess | |
| 2017 | The Meyerowitz Stories | Pam | |
| The Greatest Showman | Queen Victoria | ||
| 2018 | Irreplaceable You | Mira | |
| In a Relationship | Rachel Flegelman | ||
| Her Smell | Ali van der Wolff | ||
| Health to the King | Mary Anne | Short film | |
| 2019 | Blow the Man Down | Alexis | |
| The Climb | Marissa | ||
| Jane | Jane | Short film | |
| 2020 | Worth | Maya | |
| 2022 | Men | Riley | |
| 2023 | Bad Things | Ruthie |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Holly Schneider | Episode: "Theater Tricks" |
| My America | Gayle | Episode: "The Tal Pidae Lehstücke" | |
| 2013 | The Missionary | Molly Elbridge | Television pilot |
| 2017–19 | GLOW | Sheila the She-Wolf | 27 episodes |
| 2020 | Perry Mason | Emily Dodson | Season 1 |
| 2022 | Kindred | Margaret Weylan | Season 1 |
| 2024 | House of the Dragon | Alys Rivers | 5 episodes (season 2) |
| The Listeners | Jo | 4 episodes |
| Year | Title | Role | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Tribes | Ruth | Barrow Street Theatre |
| 2014 | Cabaret | Fräulein Kost | Studio 54 |
| 2015 | The Mystery of Love and Sex | Charlotte | Lincoln Center Theater |
| 2016 | The Taming of the Shrew | Bianca Minola | Delacorte Theatre |
| 2017 | Hamlet | Ophelia/Second Gravedigger | The Public Theater |
| 2024 | Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club | Sally Bowles | August Wilson Theatre |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)| International | |
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| Other | |
