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Susannah Harker

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Susannah Harker
Born
Susannah Owens

(1965-04-26) 26 April 1965 (age 59)
Hampstead, London, England
OccupationActor
Years active1985–present
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1993; div. 2004)​
PartnerPaul McGann (2006–2008)
Children1
MotherPolly Adams
RelativesCaroline Harker (sister)
Joseph Harker (great-great-grandfather)

Susannah Harker (born Susannah Owens; 26 April 1965) is an English film, television, and theatre actress. She was nominated for a BAFTA TV Award in 1990 for her role as Mattie Storin in House of Cards. She played Jane Bennet in the 1995 TV adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.

Early life and education

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Harker was born in London. She is the daughter of actor Richard Owens and actress, Polly Adams. She and her younger sister, Caroline, were brought up as Catholics and educated at an independent convent boarding school run by nuns in Sussex, and at the Central School of Speech and Drama in North London.[citation needed]

Acting career

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Harker has acted in both contemporary and classic works, on stage, in movies and in TV series. In 1990–91 she appeared alongside Clive Owen in Chancer, and as the journalist Mattie Storin in the original House of Cards. She later played Dinah Morris in the 1991 adaptation of Adam Bede. She starred as Jane Bennet in the 1995 TV adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. She is featured as Emma Fitzgerald, the love interest of Superintendent Tyburn (Trevor Eve) in the BBC TV series, Heat of the Sun (1998). In 2003 she played Clare Keightley in the audio version of the Doctor Who adventure Shada, alongside Paul McGann.

On stage in 2005, she appeared in Simon Stephens's play On the Shore of the Wide World at the Royal National Theatre.[1] In 2008, she played Gwendoline in Charles Wood's Jingo at the Finborough Theatre, where the London Evening Standard reviewed her performance, saying "Susannah Harker, an actress who should appear more often in our major playhouses, is in beautifully crisp form as Gwendoline."[2]

She played Sapphire in Big Finish Productions' audio revival of Sapphire & Steel, in three series of plays released on CD between 2005 and 2008. In December 2011 Harker appeared in the BBC drama Young James Herriot.[3] In 2012 she returned to the stage, playing the role of Sue in a London production of Mike Leigh's Abigail's Party.[4] During early 2014 she starred in the Gate Theatre, Dublin production of The Vortex by Noël Coward.

She has also worked in radio. In 2015, she played Miss Ella Rentheim in a BBC Radio 4 production of Ibsen's John Gabriel Borkman.[5] She played Kris in Radio 4’s 2021 drama Barred written by Thandi Lubimbi and Richard Kurti.[6]

Personal life

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Harker is a great-great-granddaughter of Joseph Harker, an artist and theatrical scene designer.[7]

She was married to Iain Glen from 1993 to 2004; they have one son. She was later in a relationship with Paul McGann from 2006 to 2008.[8]

Harker's sisters, Nelly Harker and Caroline Harker, are also actresses.

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1985 Burke & Wills Bessie Wills
1987 White Mischief Young girl
The Lady's Not for Burning Alizon Eliot
1989 A Dry White Season Suzette du Toit
1991 The Crucifer of Blood Irene St. Claire
1996 Surviving Picasso Marie-Therese
2001 Intimacy Susan, Jay's wife
Trance Sarah Lamb
Offending Angels Paris
2007 Always Crashing in the Same Car Mary Booth Short
2008 The Calling Sister Ambrose
2012 Notes from the Underground Lonely Lady
2017 A Caribbean Dream Titania/Head of Housekeeping

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1988 The Fear Linda 5 episodes
1988 Troubles Angela Spencer
1990–1991 Chancer Joanna Franklyn 14 episodes
1990 House of Cards Mattie Storin 4 episodes
1991 Adam Bede Dinah Morris
1994 The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes Adelaide Savage Episode: "The Dying Detective"
Faith Holly Moreton 4 episodes
1995 Pride and Prejudice Jane Bennet 6 episodes
1998 Heat of the Sun Emma Fitzgerald 3 episodes
Ultraviolet Dr Angela Marsh 6 episodes, TV mini-series
2001 Murder in Mind Barbara Davie
2002 Waking the Dead Clare Delaney 2 episodes
2006 Perfect Parents Alison TV film
2009 Midsomer Murders Matilda Simms 1 episode, The Black Book
2010 Moving On Anne 1 episode, Sauce for the Goose
2011 Young James Herriot Lady Verity Muirhead 1 episode
2012 New Tricks Elizabeth Clayton 1 episode, Old School Ties
2017 Grantchester Veronica Stone 1 episode

Theatre

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Year Title Role Company Venue
2003 Three Sisters[9] Masha Playhouse Theatre, London
2005 On the Shore of the Wide World Royal National Theatre
2008 Jingo Gwendoline Finborough Theatre
2017 The Blinding Light[10] Siri Jermyn Street Theatre

References

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  1. ^ Maxwell, Dominic (1 June 2005). "Wide World's web of intrigue". Evening Standard.
  2. ^ Mountford, Fiona (1 April 2008). "Empire attitudes under attack; Spiffing: Anthony Howell as Ian and Susannah Harker as the manipulative Gwendoline". London Evening Standard. p. 40.
  3. ^ "Young James Herriot – Gainful Employmentwebsite=BBC One". 15 December 2011. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  4. ^ Kellaway, Kate (11 March 2012). "Abigail's Party – review". The Guardian. London. ISSN 0261-3077. OCLC 60623878. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
  5. ^ "BBC Radio 4 – Drama, John Gabriel Borkman, Episode 1". BBC. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  6. ^ "BBC Radio 4 – Drama, Barred". BBC. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  7. ^ Kennedy, Maev (5 February 2017). "Harker family visit great-grandfather's threatened scene-painting studio". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  8. ^ May, Dominic (6 December 2006). "Beyond the TARDIS – McGann and Harker". Doctor Who Magazine (376): 7.
  9. ^ "Susannah Harker & Stephen Ballantyne to replace Kristin Scott Thomas & Douglas Hodge". LondonTheatre.co.uk. 8 May 2003. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  10. ^ "The Blinding Light". Theatre Record. 37 (18): 977. 2017.
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