Miranda Raison
Raison in 2014
Born	Miranda Caroline Raison (1977-11-18)18 November 1977 (age 48) Burnham Thorpe,Norfolk, England
Citizenship	British, French
Occupations	Actor narrator
Years active	1999–present
Spouses	Raza Jaffrey ​ ​ (m. 2007; div. 2009)​ Christopher Mollard ​ ​ (m. 2017)​
Children	2
Relatives	Paul Raison (cousin) Jack Huston (cousin)

Miranda Caroline Raison (born 18 November 1977)^[1][2][3] is a British actress who is best known for playingJo Portman in five seasons ofSpooks (MI5), Nellie Davenport inHBO'sWarrior and for various leading roles inSpotless,Vexed,Silk,Plus One,Dark Heart,Married, Single, Other,Sister Boniface Mysteries andNightflyers.

On stage she is known for originating the title role ofAnne Boleyn inHoward Brenton's eponymous play at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre,^[4] originating the role of 'Woman' inThe River byJezz Butterworth atThe Royal Court Theatre and playing 'Hermione' inKenneth Branagh's production ofThe Winter's Tale opposite Branagh andJudi Dench.^[5] She is also an award winning voice artist.^[6][7][8]

Miranda Caroline Raison was born inBurnham Thorpe, Norfolk.^[9] Her mother is former Anglia News reader Caroline Raison (née Harvey).^[9] Her father, Nick Raison, is ajazz pianist who accompanied the BBC National Orchestra of Wales^[10] when Raison played a showgirl in theDoctor 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, includingGresham's School,Felixstowe College andStowe School; her education was paid for by her grandfather.^[12][13]

It was atFelixstowe College where she developed an interest in acting; she moved there after experiencing bullying at her previous school.^[14] She trained at theWebber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art.^[15][16]

From 2002–3, she appeared as Ben-Hur's love interest in a minimalist production of theeponymous play at theBattersea Arts Centre.^[17] Later in 2003, she was featured inPains of Youth, again at theBattersea Arts Centre, playing the death obsessed bisexual Desiree;^[18] Lyn Gardner ofThe Guardian described her performance as making "Desiree's death wish seem tragic rather than merely silly."^[19]

In 2010, she played the title role inAnne Boleyn, a new play by Howard Brenton, who had also been involved in scripts for BBC'sSpooks in which Raison went on to appear in 5 series, which premiered atShakespeare's Globe on 24 July 2010 to high critical acclaim. In the sameShakespeare's Globe season, Raison also playedAnne Boleyn inHenry VIII byWilliam Shakespeare.^[20]

In 2011, she appeared as Ann in the short play "Oliver Lewis" byJack Thorne, part of the series of plays66 Books performed at theBush Theatre.^[21]

In June/July 2012, she appeared in a production ofThe Physicists: A Comedy in Two Acts at theDonmar 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 inThe River, a new play byJez Butterworth, at theRoyal Court Theatre (Jerwood) alongsideDominic West. Tickets became "the most sought-after theatre tickets in London" after rave reviews.^[23]

In 2013–14, she played Anne Faulkner in the theatrical version ofStrangers on a Train at theGielgud Theatre, produced byBarbara Broccoli.^[24]

From January to February 2015, she starred oppositeShaun Evans inHello/Goodbye at the Hampstead Theatre.^[25] In August 2015 she joined the Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company inThe Winter's Tale andHarlequinade which ran at theGarrick Theatre from October 2015 until January 2016. Raison played the wife ofKenneth 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 forMacbeth in 2011. She also enjoyed learning fromJudi Dench.^[27]

In November 2024 it was announced that Raison would be playingEllen Terry oppositeRalph Fiennes asHenry Irving in a new play byDavid Hare directed byJeremy Herrin at theTheatre Royal Bath.^[28]Grace Pervades ran from 27 June to 19 July 2025 to critical acclaim,^[29][30][31] and marked Raison's first return to the stage after nearly a decade.^[32][33] On 11 August 2025 it was announced thatGrace Pervades would be transferring to theTheatre Royal Haymarket in the Spring of 2026.^[34]

Raison's first film role in 2000 was playingMarianne Faithfull inSuzy Q alongsideCarice Van Houten

In 2004, Raison was cast as 'Heather' inMatch Point, the first Woody Allen film to be made in London.^[35]

In 2005, she appeared inDeuce 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 asJo Portman (2005–2009) in theBBC One television drama seriesSpooks (also broadcast under the titleMI-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 theDoctor 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 showPlus One. She was originally featured in the Comedy Showcase pilot in 2007, where she wore a fat suit.^[38]

In 2010, after leavingSpooks, she played a model called Abbey in theITV1comedy-dramaMarried Single Other.^[39]

She had a small role inMy 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 ofVexed, screened onBBC2.^[41]

In 2013, she played 'Harriet Hammond' in the third series of theBBC legal dramaSilk; her character was a practice manager who shook up the firm and a potential love interest for her formerSpooks co-starRupert Penry-Jones' character.^[42]

In 2014, she had a small role inI 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 ofSpotless, a (10 × 1 hour episode) drama produced byCanal+.^[44]

In 2018, Raison reprised her role as 'Sylvie' in 6 episodes ofDark Heart, played xenobiologist 'Tessia' in 6 episodes ofNightflyers and appeared inArtemis Fowl.^[45]

In May 2019, it was announced that Raison would be joining the main cast ofWarrior for the second season.^[46]

In September 2021, it was announced that Raison had joined the first series ofSister 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 ofWarrior which began airing on HBO in July 2023.^[48][49][50]

In April 2023, she was cast asJean Seberg inL'Enchanteur oppositeCharles Berling asRomain Gary which was aired onFrance 2 in 2024.^[51]

In 2005, Raison appeared in the BBC radio comedyDeep Trouble. She has voiced several video game characters, includingCassandra Pentaghast in theDragon Age series, Lieutenant Sandra Lansing inApache: Air Assault and Natasha and other characters inRenegade Ops.BioWare also hired Raison for providing several voices inMass Effect: Andromeda. She voiced three characters inThe Secret World and lent her voice forDreamfall Chapters andBlades of Time.^[52] Raison has voiced Cassandra Pentaghast since 2014, which won her the BTVA Video Game Voice Acting Award for "Best Vocal Ensemble in a Video Game" in 2015 and a nomination for Best Lead Female Actor in a Video Game.^[53]

She has also acted in severalBig FinishDoctor Who audios, includingThe Davros Mission andThe Wreck of the Titan, has played Constance Clarke, a regular companion to theSixth Doctor since 2015^[54] and provides additional voices in other Big Finish audio productions, including otherDoctor Who stories andThe Avengers.^[55]

Raison won theEarphones Award forThe Screaming Staircase in 2013^[56] and theAudies Award for The Book of Doors in 2025^[57]

In 2013, she joined theCGI series cast ofThomas & Friends and provides the voice of Millie (UK/US), first introduced inKing of the Railway.^[58]

Since July 2017, she has been narrating theBBC Two documentaryHospital.^[59]

Since 2024 Raison has been narrating theThis World series forBBC One.

Raison plays golf and is a member of the Aldeburgh Golf Club.^[60]

While separated from her first husband,Raza Jaffrey, she began a relationship with herMarried Single Other co-starRalf Little in November 2009, which ended in February 2013.^[12]

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]

Raison is a cousin toJack Huston^[64] andPaul Raison, who was a Chairman ofChristie's.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toMiranda Raison.

• Miranda Raison atIMDb

• Living people
• Alumni of the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art
• Actresses from Norfolk
• English film actresses
• English stage actresses
• English television actresses
• English video game actresses
• English voice actresses
• Naturalized citizens of France
• People educated at Gresham's School
• People educated at Stowe School
• Raison family
• 21st-century English actresses
• 20th-century births
• Actors from King's Lynn and West Norfolk
• 1977 births

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