| Birth name | Jade Anouka |
|---|---|
| Birth date | 12 June 1989 (age 37) |
| Birth place | Slade Green, London, England[1] |
| Education | Guildford School of Acting |
| Occupation | Actress, poet |
| Years active | 2007–present |
| Spouse | Grace Savage (m. 2022) |
| Website | Official website |
Jade Anouka (born 12 June 1989) is an English actress. She is known for her various stage roles and for her appearances in His Dark Materials on BBC One and the ITV dramas Trauma and Cleaning Up.[2]
Early life and education
Anouka was born in London, the second of three children born to a maths teacher mother from Trinidad and a mortgage advisor father from Jamaica.[3] She has a brother and a sister who pursued careers in science.[2][4] She grew up in Slade Green and attended school in Bexley, London, but transferred to a school in Lewisham for sixth form.[2] She ran track prior to transferring to Lewisham, as she did not want to compete against her old teammates.[4]
Anouka took her first steps into acting while attending a Saturday morning drama club in Dartford, Kent.[5] While at sixth form, Anouka received a scholarship to the National Youth Theatre[3] and then attended the Guildford School of Acting. She was hired immediately after graduation by the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon, where she earned a postgraduate award in teaching Shakespeare.[1]
Career
Anouka made her stage debut in 2007 with a role in Margaret Atwood's The Penelopiad.[3] In 2011, she received a commendation at the Ian Charleson Awards for her 2010 performance as Ophelia in Hamlet at Shakespeare's Globe.[6][7]
Anouka had small television roles in Doctor Who (2013), Chewing Gum (2015), and Stan Lee's Lucky Man before getting a supporting role in the 2018 miniseries Trauma.[3] She appeared in a 2020 episode (S9:E3) of Death in Paradise.
In 2014, she received the Stage Award for Acting Excellence for her one-woman show, Sabrina Mahfouz's Chef, at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.[8][9] In 2015, she brought the show to London for a week of special performances.[10] In 2017, she appeared in the short film Baby Gravy, for which she won the Best Actress award at the New Renaissance Film Festival.[11]
Anouka took part in Phyllida Lloyd's all-female Shakespeare trilogy, starring as Mark Antony in Julius Caesar at the Donmar Warehouse, Hotspur in Henry IV at the Donmar Theatre, and Ariel in The Tempest at the King's Cross Theatre, and at Off-Broadway's St. Ann's Warehouse. She earned rave reviews for her roles in the three plays, which were broadcast on the BBC in 2018.[12] In 2018, she also played Margaret of Anjou in Jeanie O'Hare's Queen Margaret, at the Royal Exchange, Manchester.[2][1] She was named among the InStyle BAFTA Breakout Stars for 2018.[3]
In 2019, Anouka appeared in Cleaning Up, a six-part drama on ITV[13] and the Netflix series Turn Up Charlie.[4]
In August 2020, she confirmed that she was to appear as Ruta Skadi in series two of the BBC/HBO fantasy drama His Dark Materials.[14]
Anouka performs her poetry on stage,[15] and in 2016, she published a volume of her poetry called Eggs on Toast.[5]
In 2021, it was announced that Anouka would star alongside Jonathan Bailey, Taron Egerton and Phil Daniels in a production of Mike Bartlett's Cock at the Ambassadors Theatre, London, in 2022.[16][17]
Personal life
Anouka is queer[18] and bisexual.[19] On 14 December 2021, Anouka announced that she had given birth to a daughter.[20] In May 2022, Anouka married musician Grace Savage.[21] On 25 February 2024, Anouka announced she and her wife had had another baby.[22]
Filmography
| † | Denotes productions that have not yet been released |
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | That Serious Face | Kellie | Short film |
| 2010 | Love's Labour's Lost | Maria | Direct-to-video |
| 2012 | A Running Jump | Jody's Friend | Short film |
| 2013 | T-Police Field | Police Officer | Short film |
| 2015 | The Vote | Chika Devan | TV film |
| 2017 | Baby Gravy | Alex | Short film |
| 2019 | Fisherman's Friends | Leah Jordan | |
| Last Christmas | Alba | ||
| 2020 | 6:23 AM | Short film | |
| The Rhythm Section | Laura Fuller | ||
| Her & Her | Her | Short film | |
| Morbid Curiosity | Newsreader | Short film | |
| 2021 | Zebra Girl | Anita | |
| Ear for Eye | UK Woman | ||
| 2022 | Fisherman's Friends: One and All | Leah Jordan | Post-production |
| The Bower | Terri (1991) | Short film | |
| TBA | The Dark Channel† | Mia | Post-production |
| TBA | Shaun† | Beth | Pre-production |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | USS Constellation: Battling for Freedom | Conjo's Mother | TV special |
| 2010 | Law & Order: UK | Carla | Episode: "Skeletons" |
| 2012 | Secrets and Words | Ashley | Episode: "Mightier Than the Sword" |
| 2013 | Doctor Who | Waitress | Episode: "The Bells of Saint John" |
| 2016 | Stan Lee's Lucky Man | Ekua Nkomo | Episode: "A Twist of Fate" |
| 2017 | Chewing Gum | Danny | Episode: "WTF Happened?" |
| 2017–2018 | The Donmar Warehouse's All-Female Shakespeare Trilogy | Mark Antony/Hotspur/Ariel | Mini-series, 3 episodes |
| 2018 | Trauma | Alana Allerton | Mini-series, 3 episodes |
| 2019 | Cleaning Up | Jess | Series regular, 6 episodes |
| Turn Up Charlie | Tommi | Series regular, 6 episodes | |
| Great Performances | Marcus Antonius | Episode: "Julius Caesar" | |
| 2020 | Death in Paradise | Inez Farah | Episode: "Tour De Murder" |
| Small Axe | Mrs. Morrison | Episode: "Education" | |
| 2020–2022 | His Dark Materials | Ruta Skadi | Series regular, 5 episodes |
| 2021 | The Drowning | Yasmin | Mini-series, 4 episodes |
| Angela Black | Dr. Cath Bradford | Episode: "Series 1, Episode 3" | |
| Beforeigners | Adepero | Recurring role, 3 episodes | |
| 2024 | Dune: Prophecy | Sister Theodosia | Main role |
Theatre
Video games
| Year | Title | Voice role |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Control | Helen Marshall |
| 2020 | Control: The Foundation | Helen Marshall |
References
- ^ Curtis, Nick (30 January 2018). "Trauma star Jade Anouka: There is nothing in the show about my race". Evening Standard. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
- ^ Wise, Louis (26 August 2018). "Jade Anouka interview: the actress and poet on her role in Jeanie O'Hare's Queen Margaret". The Times. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
- ^ Christie, Janet (5 January 2019). "Interview: Rising star Jade Anouka on her new TV drama 'Cleaning Up'". The Scotsman. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
- ^ Harvey, Chris (8 January 2019). "Jade Anouka: 'Lead roles for black actors here are really rare'". The Independent. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
- ^ Tutt, Louise (2 October 2017). "Stars of Tomorrow 2017: Jade Anouka (actor)". Screen Daily. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
- ^ Wise, Louis. "Here's to a Jumbo talent". Sunday Times. 27 May 2012.
- ^ "Winners and Nominees of the Ian Charleson Awards 2011". WestEndTheatre.com. 30 June 2012.
- ^ "The best of the Edinburgh Fringe". The Spectator. 16 August 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
- ^ "Edinburgh theatre 2014: what to see". The Daily Telegraph. 24 August 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
- ^ Moses, Caro (15 June 2015). "Jade Anouka: Chef". ThisWeek London
- ^ "Baby Gravy". Film London. Retrieved 2025-11-13.
- ^ Gardner, Lyn (23 November 2016). "Shakespeare Trilogy review – Donmar's phenomenal all-female triumph". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
- ^ Kleeman, Tasha (6 January 2019). "On my radar: Jade Anouka's cultural highlights". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
- ^ "Loose Ends - Jade Anouka, Sindhu Vee, Ben Hart, Raphael Rowe, Black Pumas, Lady Blackbird, Christopher Eccleston, Nikki Bedi". BBC Radio 4. 1 August 2020.
- ^ "Three To See on 19 Jun: Jade Anouka Poetry, Roman Candle, The Croydon Avengers". ThisWeek London. 12 June 2018. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
- ^ Thomas, Sophie (19 October 2021). "All the West End shows opening in 2022". London Theatre. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
- ^ Lukowski, Andrzej (26 September 2021). "Taron Egerton and Jonathan Bailey star in a richly-deserved revival for Mike Bartlett's early hit". Time Out. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
- ^ Anouka, Jade (22 October 2021). "I lost a TV role because I was pregnant – and I'm far from the only one". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
- ^ Anouka, Jade (5 June 2020). "That is the bisexual flag.Bi is the sexuality box that fits me the best(Because we all love to be squashed into boxes)Many already knew this about me...". No. 1268996964852609024.
- ^ Anouka, Jade (14 December 2021). "Had a baby! Welcome Hazel.". No. 1470837441431056397. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
- ^ Jade Anouka (May 8, 2022). "My Wife!!!!". Instagram. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
- ^ Anouka, Jade (25 February 2024). "We had another baby.He is just wonderful. I am now a mother of two. Mad!". No. 1761708518090961075. Retrieved 25 February 2024.