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Who is Katherine Parkinson?
British actress and comedienne Katherine Parkinson was born under the zodiac sign Pisces on 9 March 1978, in Hounslow, London, England. She has 50 acting credits, but is perhaps still known best for playing Pauline Lamb in 24 episodes (2005-2009) of the popular romantic comedy series “Doc Martin”, which starred Caroline Catz and Martin Clunes, and was created by Dominic Minghella and Mark Crowdy. It follows brilliant doctor Martin Ellingham who’s moved from London to a small village, the series aired from 2004 through 2022, and won two of its 13 award nominations.
The producers of the show believed in 2009 that Katherine’s character had done its job, and that it was time for Pauline Lamb to be replaced with new receptionist Morwenna Newcross, played by Jessica Ransom.
Education and early life
Katherine was raised in London by her Northern Irish father Alan F. Parkinson who was an historian, and British mother Janet Parkinson who was a housewife; Katherine’s yet to speak about having siblings and is thus believed to be an only child.
She attended Tiffin Girls’ School prior to progressing to St Hilda’s College, Oxford in 1992; it was during her four years there that she fell in love with acting, appearing in many plays performed at the high school. Katherine matriculated in 1996 and then continued her education at the prestigious London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, but quit only a couple of exams shy from graduation because she wanted to tour with the cast of the play “The Age of Consent”.
Katherine spent the following a couple of years focused on theatre, prior to launching her career on TV.
Roles in TV series
Katherine’s debut TV series role was playing Helen Gibbons in the 2005 episode “The Long Goodbye” of the drama “Casualty”, and the following years saw her appear in an episode or two of the comedy “Extras”, the sitcom “Comedy Lab”, and the comedy “Fear, Stress and Anger”.
From 2007 through 2009, she played various characters in 18 episodes of the comedy “Katy Brand’s Big Ass Show”, in which she starred alongside Margaret Cabourn-Smith and Katy Brand, and which follows the lives of several friends with big egos; the series won a 2008 British Comedy Award for Best Female Comedy Newcomer (Katy Brand).
From 2006 through 2013, Katherine starred as Jen Barber in all 25 episodes of the critically acclaimed comedy “The IT Crowd”, which also starred Richard Ayoade and Chris O’Dowd, and follows the lives of several IT supporters; the series won nine of the 27 awards for which it was nominated. Some of Katherine’s following roles were in the crime comedy “Inside No. 9”, the comedy “Cardinal Burns” and the thriller mini-series “The Honorable Woman”.
From 2014 through 2016, she portrayed Kim in all 12 episodes of the drama “In the Club”, which also starred Christine Bottomley and Hermione Norris, and was created by Kay Mellor; it follows several couples as they’re attending pre-natal classes.
Some of Katherine’s most recent TV series roles have been playing Lauren in eight episodes of the 2021 comedy “Spreadsheet”, Rachel Jessop in seven episodes of the 2022 comedy “Here We Go”, and Anna in a 2023 episode of the romantic comedy “Significant Other”.
She’s currently shooting for the upcoming series “Rivals”.
Roles in movies
Katherine’s debut film role was playing Vicky Foley in the 2005 drama “Ahead of the Class”, which starred Inday Ba and Julie Walters, and was directed by Adrian Shergold. Based on real-life events, the movie follows the life of British headmistress Marie Stubbs and it won one of its three award nominations. Some of Katherine’s following roles were in the 2007 short comedy “Hard to Swallow”, the 2007 comedy “Christmas at the Riviera” and the 2008 biographical comedy “How to Lose Friends & Alienate People”.
In 2009, she played Felicity in the musical comedy “The Boat That Rocked”, which starred Bill Nighy and Philip Seymour Hoffman, and was written and directed by Richard Curtis. It follows a band of rogue DJs, and the film won two of its 11 award nominations.
Katherine’s following notable performance was in 2018, when cast to play Isola Pribby in the popular romantic war drama “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society”, which starred Tom Courtenay and Jessica Brown Findlay, and was directed by Mike Newell. It follows an author who’s decided to write a book about the residents of Guernsey Island following World War II.
Some of Katherine’s most recent roles in movies have been in the 2021 action thriller comedy “Paul Dood’s Deadly Lunch Break”, the 2022 comedy “The Nan Movie” and another 2022 comedy “National Theatre Live: Much Ado About Nothing”.
Other credits
Katherine sang the songs “The Loco-Motion” and “Kalypso” in two episodes (2007 and 2010) of the series “The IT Crowd”.
She voiced Ms Tara Pinkle in the 2014 video game “Worms Battlegrounds”.
Katherine wrote the 2006 episode “Slap” of the series “Comedy Lab” and the 2021 TV special “Sitting”.
Some of her most recent talk-show appearances have been in “Lorraine”, “Brydon &” and “Question Team”.
Awards and nominations
Katherine’s won two of her eight award nominations: a 2009 British Comedy Award for Best TV Comedy Actress, and a 2014 BAFTA TV Award for Best Female Performance in a Comedy Role, both for “The IT Crowd”.
She was also nominated for two Monte-Carlo TV Festival Awards in 2008 and 2009, three British Comedy Awards in 2006 and 2010 and a 2011 BAFTA, all for her performance in “The IT Crowd”.
Love life and relationships
Katherine and her husband prefer to keep their marriage away from media, but some details about it are still known. She and British actor Harry Peacock exchanged vows in a small and private ceremony in 2009, attended by only their closest family members and friends; Harry has over 50 acting credits and is perhaps known best for playing Jan Coggan in the 2015 romantic movie “Far from the Madding Crowd”, which won two of its 13 award nominations.
Katherine and Harry have two children together; she was 35 when she gave birth to their daughter Dora in May 2013, and 36 when they welcomed their second daughter Gwendolyn in September 2014.
There are no other men whom Katherine’s perhaps been with, that we know about; she’s married to Harry Peacock as of September 2023 and they have two daughters together.
Interesting facts and hobbies
For her performance in a West End production of “Home, I’m Darling”, Katherine was nominated for a prestigious Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Actress.
She was five months pregnant with her second daughter while shooting for the series “In the Club”; Katherine took a break from acting after giving birth, returning a month and a half later.
Katherine’s expressed her dissatisfaction with social media networks, and thus today doesn’t have an Instagram account; her fan page is followed by a few over 500 people, and there are more than 500 pictures and videos uploaded onto it, most of which feature her acting.
Katherine enjoys being in nature, and is an animal lover, with her favorites being horses.
She’s a philanthropist and occasionally donates to charities aiming to help underprivileged children.
Benedict Cumberbatch is one of Katherine’s favorite actors, and a couple of her favorite movies are “The Imitation Game”, “The Power of the Dog” and “The Grinch”.
Appearance and net worth
Katherine’s age is 45. She has blue eyes and ginger hair, weighs around 125lbs (57kgs) and is 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall.
Katherine’s net worth’s been estimated at over $1.6 million, as of September 2023.
