Jenna-Louise Coleman (born 27 April 1986 in Blackpool, Lancashire), known as Jenna Coleman, is an English actress. Her notable roles are Clara Oswald in the British television series Doctor Who, Jasmine Thomas in the British soap opera Emmerdale, and Queen Victoria in the ITV drama series Victoria. Coleman was born in Blackpool, Lancashire, and began her acting career at an early age as a member of a theatre company called In Yer Space. While auditioning for drama schools in 2005, she was chosen to play Jasmine Thomas in Emmerdale. She received critical acclaim for her performance and was nominated for the Most Popular Newcomer award at the 2006 National Television Awards. Coleman went on to play "hard girl" Lindsay James in the BBC school-based drama series Waterloo Road, Susan Brown in a BBC Four television adaptation of the John Braine novel Room at the Top, Annie Desmond in Julian Fellowes' four part mini-series Titanic, and Rosie in Stephen Poliakoff's original drama series Dancing on the Edge.
On 21 March 2012, Doctor Who producer Steven Moffat confirmed at a press conference that Coleman would play the companion of the Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith). Although originally announced as beginning her run as companion in the Christmas special in 2012, Coleman made a surprise appearance on 1 September 2012 in the first episode of the seventh series as Oswin Oswald, a guest character who dies at the conclusion of the episode. Coleman provided the voice for the character Melia in the English dub of the 2011 video game Xenoblade Chronicles. In 2012, Coleman was cast as Rosie in Stephen Poliakoff's original drama series Dancing on the Edge, which follows the fortunes of a black jazz band in the 1930s. The show aired on BBC Two in February 2013. She starred as Lydia Wickham in the adaptation of Death Comes to Pemberley.