MICHELLE RYAN
Michelle Claire Ryan was born on 22nd April 1984 and
is an English actress of Irish ancestry.
Michelle was previously best known for portraying the role of Zoë Slater
in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. She has also starred in the 2007
television series remake Bionic Woman,
and more recently as wicked sorceress Nimueh in the 2008 BBC TV series
Merlin.
Michelle Ryan was born in Enfield, Greater London, Middlesex and was a
student at Chace Community School. A member of a local theatre group
since she was 10, she was picked for her role in EastEnders when she was
15 and first appeared on the show in September 2000; for the part, she
affected an East End cockney accent, rather than speaking her usual
Received Pronunciation. In 2005, she announced she was leaving
EastEnders to concentrate on work in theatre and films. Ryan later said
that her involvement with the soap served as a dress rehearsal for
working on Bionic Woman.
Michelle's first big break playing Sheylla Grands in the First Series of
a TV show called Chosen Ones. This then lead to her reaching a greater
audience by playing Zoë Slater in EastEnders.
During summer 2005, Ryan appeared in a run of Who's The Daddy? at the
King's Head Theatre. The play by Toby Young and Lloyd Evans is based on
the David Blunkett paternity case.
Ryan auditioned to replace Billie Piper as The Doctor's companion in
Doctor Who; however, Freema Agyeman
was ultimately chosen for the role. She had a small role in an episode
of Marple which screened in February 2006, and also appeared in a small
independent film the same year, Cashback.
In early 2007, Ryan was seen as Maria in a new adaptation of Mansfield
Park opposite Billie Piper for ITV and also as Lila in the film I Want
Candy, co-starring Carmen Electra and Mackenzie Crook. In February 2007,
it was announced that she had been cast as the lead in the new drama
Bionic Woman. The series began
airing in the United States on the broadcast network NBC in September
2007. Ryan performed the remake role with an American accent for the
role of Jaime Sommers, except in the episode The Education Of Jaime
Sommers in which her character goes under cover as an English transfer
student at a university; for this episode, she uses an Oxfordshire
accent instead of her natural London accent. She has had professional
dance training and attributes to it helping her with the physically
demanding stunts required for the show.
On Red Nose Day 2007, Ryan appeared in a brand new Mr Bean sketch
written and recorded for Comic Relief. She will shortly be seen in
Flick, a new Welsh independent film co-starring Faye Dunaway and Leslie
Phillips.
In May 2007, Ryan revealed she auditioned for the role of Vesper Lynd in
the James Bond film
Casino Royale, but
unfortunately she lost out to Eva Green.
Prior to Bionic Woman, she appeared in Jekyll for the BBC, a modern day
version of Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde starring James Nesbitt.
It began its 6 episode run on 16 June 2007 and was released on DVD in
the United States on 18 September 2007, one week prior to her debut in
Bionic Woman.
Michelle has since appeared as the sorceress Nimueh in the BBC drama
series Merlin.
On Easter Saturday 2009, the 11th April, Ryan was
featured in the Doctor Who special
Planet Of The Dead. In the science
fiction special, Michelle played the role of Lady Christina de Souza, a
feisty jewel thief, who more than held her own opposite David Tennant,
in the 200th story of the series. Michelle Ryan's was both praised by
fans of the show and critics alike, many of them hoping she will return
to the show at some point. Planet Of The
Dead was also popular with the public, scoring a massive 8.41
million in the ratings.
Ryan is signed to Independent Models in London, and is also a patron of
children's cancer charity CLIC Sargent.
Please visit my Gallery to see
Michelle in a variety of roles she has played to date.
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