Jodhi May (born 1975 or 1976) is an English actress. Starting her career as a child actress, she is the youngest recipient (age 12) of the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival, for A World Apart (1988).[2]

Jodhi May
Born1975 or 1976 (age 48–49)[1]
EducationWadham College, Oxford
OccupationActress
Years active1988–present

Her other credits include The Last of the Mohicans (1992), Sister My Sister (1994), Aristocrats (1999), Tipping the Velvet (2002), the television adaptation of The Other Boleyn Girl (2003), The Amazing Mrs Pritchard (2006), The Jury II and I, Anna (2011), A Quiet Passion (2016), Genius (2017), Moving On (2018), Gentleman Jack (2019), The Warrior Queen of Jhansi (2019), and The Witcher (2019).

Early life

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May was born to a French-Turkish mother who was an art teacher and a German father. Film producer Alain Poiré was her godfather and she credits him for inspiring her passion for film while growing up.[2]

May was educated at Camden School for Girls.[3] She started her acting career at 12 years old and later studied English at Wadham College, Oxford.[4]

Career

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May first acted at the age of 12, in A World Apart (1988).[5] For the role she received a Best Actress award at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival, shared with her co-stars Barbara Hershey and Linda Mvusi.[6]

Other roles have included Alice Munro in Michael Mann's The Last of the Mohicans,[5] Lea Papin in Sister My Sister,[5] Lady Sarah Lennox in Aristocrats, Florence Banner in Tipping the Velvet.[5] Anne Boleyn in the first adaptation of The Other Boleyn Girl (2003).[5] May played Janet Stone in the 2011 noir thriller I, Anna, alongside Gabriel Byrne, Charlotte Rampling, Eddie Marsan, and Honor Blackman.[5]

In 2018, as a writer, she contributed and appeared in the TV series Moving On.[5] In 2019, she played Queen Calanthe in The Witcher, Netflix's live-action adaptation of Andrzej Sapkowski's book series.[7]

In 2020, alongside Valentina Cervi, Francesco Scianna, Filippo Timi, she was in the cast of Marco Simon Puccioni's film The Invisible Thread, produced by Netflix, released in 2022.

Filmography

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Year Film Role Notes
1988 A World Apart Molly Roth Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress
Evening Standard British Film Award for Most Promising Newcomer
1990 Max and Helen Miriam Weiss TV film
The Gift Sonia Parsons TV miniseries
Eminent Domain Ewa
1991 For the Greater Good Rose Kellner TV film
1992 The Last of the Mohicans Alice Munro
1994 Second Best Alice
Sister My Sister Lea Valladolid International Film Festival Award for Best Actress
1995 Signs and Wonders Claire Palmore TV film
The Scarlet Letter Pearl Voice
1997 The Gambler Anna Snitkina Silver Dolphin Award for Best Actress
The Woodlanders Marty South
1999 Aristocrats Lady Sarah Lennox TV miniseries
Warriors Emma TV film
The Turn of the Screw The Governess TV film
2000 The House of Mirth Grace Julia Stepney
2001 Dish Mo Short
Round About Five Bicycle Courier Short
2002 Tipping the Velvet Florence Banner TV series
The Escapist Christine
Daniel Deronda Mirah Lapidoth TV film
2003 The Other Boleyn Girl Anne Boleyn TV film
The Mayor of Casterbridge Elizabeth Jane TV film
2004 Blinded Rachel Black
2005 On a Clear Day Angela
Bye Bye Blackbird Nina
Friends and Crocodiles Lizzie Thomas TV film
The Best Man Tania
The Man-Eating Leopard of Rudraprayag Jean Ibbotson TV film
2006 Land of the Blind Joe's Mother Uncredited
The Amazing Mrs Pritchard Miranda Lennox TV series (6 episodes)
2007 Nightwatching Geertje
The Street Jean Lefferty TV series (1 episode: "Episode No.2.6")
2008 Flashbacks of a Fool Evelyn Adams
Einstein and Eddington Elsa Einstein TV film
Defiance Tamara Skidelsky
2009 Emma Anne Taylor TV miniseries (4 episodes)
Sleep With Me Lelia TV film
2010 Blood and Oil Claire Unwin TV film
Strike Back Layla Thompson TV series (6 episodes)
2011 The Jury II Katherine Bulmore TV series (5 episodes)
I, Anna Janet Stone
2012 Ginger & Rosa Anoushka
The Scapegoat Blanche
2013 The Ice Cream Girls Poppy Carlisle
2014 The Crimson Field Adelinde Crecy TV series (1 episode)
Common Coleen O'Shea
2015 Game of Thrones Maggy the Frog TV series (1 episode: "The Wars to Come")
A.D. The Bible Continues Leah, wife of Caiaphas TV series (Main cast, 12 episodes)
Crossing Lines Evelyn St. Clair TV series (1 episode: "Lost and Found")
2016 A Quiet Passion Susan Gilbert
2017 Let Me Go Beth Best Ensemble (Jury Award)
Genius Helen Dukas TV series (2 episodes)
2018 Scarborough Liz
Down a Dark Hall Heather Sinclair
Moving On Rachel TV series (1 episode: "Invisible")
2019 Gentleman Jack Vere Hobart TV series (4 episodes)
The Warrior Queen of Jhansi Queen Victoria
The Witcher Queen Calanthe TV series
2020 Small Axe Selma James Miniseries; Episode: Mangrove
2022 The Silent Twins Marjorie Wallace
The Invisible Thread Tilly Nolan
Prizefighter: The Life of Jem Belcher Mary Belcher
The Confessions of Frannie Langton Hep Elliot Miniseries
2023 Transatlantic Peggy Guggenheim Miniseries; Episode: "The Wilderness"
2024 Renegade Nell Queen Anne TV series
Dune: Prophecy Empress Natalya TV series

References

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  1. ^ Duerden, Nick (4 February 2006). "Jodhi May: The reluctant celebrity". The Independent. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  2. ^ a b Powell, Lucy (27 March 2010). "Jodhi May on losing herself in Mark Haddon's debut play, Polar Bears". The Times. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  3. ^ William Leith (4 September 2001). "The anonymous celebrity". Telegraph.co.uk. Archived from the original on 30 September 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  4. ^ "Jodhi May". Yahoo Movies. Archived from the original on 14 March 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g "Jodhi May Credits". tvguide.com. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  6. ^ "Festival de Cannes: Awards 1988". festival-cannes.com. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 5 November 2012.
  7. ^ "Meet Jodhi May, the Actress Playing Queen Calanthe in Netflix's 'The Witcher'". Distractify. 31 October 2019. Archived from the original on 1 November 2019. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
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