Suranne Jones

English actress Suranne Jones started as a soap opera star before becoming one of the top television actors in the United Kingdom. Born in Chadderton in Greater Manchester, she began acting professionally as a teenager. Her first break came when she was cast in the role of Karen McDonald in the long-running soap opera "Coronation Street" (ITV, 1960- ). She stayed with the show for four years and in the process became something of a sex symbol. After leaving the show, she became active in the London theater scene. She never completely left telelvision, however, starring opposite Ray Winstone on "Vincent" (ITV, 2005-06), as a sex therapist in "Strictly Confidential" (ITV, 2006), and as a doctor in "Harley Street" (ITV, 2008). She earned critical acclaim for her unvarnished portrayal of a woman fresh out of prison in the miniseries "Unforgiven" (ITV, 2009). Her steady stream of TV projects continued as she starred with John Hannah in the detective series "A Touch of Cloth" (Sky One, 2012-14), and made a memorable appearance as the android embodiment of the TARDIS in an episode of "Doctor Who" (BBC, 2005- ). She also joined Lesley Sharp in Sally Wainwright's crime drama "Scott & Bailey" (ITV, 2011-16), playing detective Rachel Bailey. Despite her already accomplished career, she hit another level of fame when she played Gemma Foster, a physician who discovers her husband is having an affair, on "Doctor Foster" (BBC One, 2015-17). The show became an international hit and earned Jones a BAFTA award. After "Foster," she starred in the drama "Save Me" (Sky Atlantic, 2018), and played Miss Pinkerton in the mini-series of William Makepeace Thackeray's "Vanity Fair" (ITV, 2018). She found herself again on the international stage when Wainwright cast her as the lead in "Gentleman Jack" (BBC/HBO, 2019- ). Jones starred as 19th Century British landowner and industrialist Anne Lister, who chronicled her life, including her lesbian romances, in a coded diary.