# Jodhi May

Jodhi May (born 8 May 1975) is an English actress. Starting her career as a child actress, she is the youngest recipient (age 12) of the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival, for A World Apart (1988).
Her other credits include The Last of the Mohicans (1992), Sister My Sister (1994), Aristocrats (1999), Tipping the Velvet (2002), the television adaptation of The Other Boleyn Girl (2003), The Amazing Mrs Pritchard (2006), The Jury II and I, Anna (2011), A Quiet Passion (2016), Genius (2017), Moving On (2018), Gentleman Jack (2019), The Warrior Queen of Jhansi (2019), and The Witcher (2019).

## Early life

May was born on 8 May 1975 to a French-Turkish mother who was an art teacher and a German father. Film producer Alain Poiré was her godfather and she credits him for inspiring her passion for film while growing up.
May was educated at Camden School for Girls. She started her acting career at 12 years old and later studied English at Wadham College, Oxford.

## Career

May first acted at the age of 12, in A World Apart (1988). For the role she received a Best Actress award at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival, shared with her co-stars Barbara Hershey and Linda Mvusi.
Other roles have included Alice Munro in Michael Mann's The Last of the Mohicans, Lea Papin in Sister My Sister, Lady Sarah Lennox in Aristocrats, Florence Banner in Tipping the Velvet. Anne Boleyn in the first adaptation of The Other Boleyn Girl (2003). May played Janet Stone in the 2011 noir thriller I, Anna, alongside Gabriel Byrne, Charlotte Rampling, Eddie Marsan, and Honor Blackman.
In 2018, as a writer, she contributed and appeared in the TV series Moving On. In 2019, she played Queen Calanthe in The Witcher, Netflix's live-action adaptation of Andrzej Sapkowski's book series.
In 2020, alongside Valentina Cervi, Francesco Scianna, Filippo Timi, she was in the cast of Marco Simon Puccioni's film The Invisible Thread, produced by Netflix, released in 2022.

## Filmography

| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 1988 | A World Apart | Molly Roth | Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress Evening Standard British Film Award for Most Promising Newcomer |
| 1990 | Max and Helen | Miriam Weiss | TV film |
| 1990 | The Gift | Sonia Parsons | Miniseries |
| 1990 | Eminent Domain | Ewa | |
| 1991 | For the Greater Good | Rose Kellner | TV film |
| 1992 | The Last of the Mohicans | Alice Munro | |
| 1994 | Second Best | Alice | |
| 1994 | Sister My Sister | Lea | Valladolid International Film Festival Award for Best Actress |
| 1995 | Signs and Wonders | Claire Palmore | Main cast |
| 1995 | The Scarlet Letter | Pearl | Voice role |
| 1997 | The Gambler | Anna Snitkina | Silver Dolphin Award for Best Actress |
| 1997 | The Woodlanders | Marty South | |
| 1999 | Aristocrats | Lady Sarah Lennox | Miniseries |
| 1999 | Warriors | Emma | TV film |
| 1999 | The Turn of the Screw | The Governess | TV film |
| 2000 | The House of Mirth | Grace Julia Stepney | |
| 2001 | Dish | Mo | Short film |
| 2001 | Round About Five | Bicycle Courier | Short film |
| 2002 | Tipping the Velvet | Florence Banner | Miniseries; 2 episodes |
| 2002 | The Escapist | Christine | |
| 2002 | Daniel Deronda | Mirah Lapidoth | TV film |
| 2003 | The Other Boleyn Girl | Anne Boleyn | TV film |
| 2003 | The Mayor of Casterbridge | Elizabeth Jane | TV film |
| 2004 | Blinded | Rachel Black | |
| 2005 | On a Clear Day | Angela | |
| 2005 | Bye Bye Blackbird | Nina | |
| 2005 | Friends and Crocodiles | Lizzie Thomas | TV film |
| 2005 | The Best Man | Tania | |
| 2005 | The Man-Eating Leopard of Rudraprayag | Jean Ibbotson | TV film |
| 2006 | Land of the Blind | Joe's Mother | Uncredited |
| 2006 | The Amazing Mrs Pritchard | Miranda Lennox | Main cast |
| 2007 | Nightwatching | Geertje | |
| 2007 | The Street | Jean Lefferty | 1 episode |
| 2008 | Flashbacks of a Fool | Evelyn Adams | |
| 2008 | Einstein and Eddington | Elsa Einstein | TV film |
| 2008 | Defiance | Tamara Skidelsky | |
| 2009 | Emma | Anne Taylor | Miniseries |
| 2009 | Sleep With Me | Lelia | TV film |
| 2010 | Blood and Oil | Claire Unwin | TV film |
| 2010 | Strike Back | Layla Thompson | Main cast (series 1) |
| 2011 | The Jury II | Katherine Bulmore | Main cast (series 2) |
| 2011 | I, Anna | Janet Stone | |
| 2012 | Ginger & Rosa | Anoushka | |
| 2012 | The Scapegoat | Blanche | |
| 2013 | The Ice Cream Girls | Poppy Carlisle | |
| 2014 | The Crimson Field | Adelinde Crecy | 1 episode |
| 2014 | Common | Coleen O'Shea | |
| 2015 | Game of Thrones | Maggy the Frog | Episode: "The Wars to Come" |
| 2015 | A.D. The Bible Continues | Leah, wife of Caiaphas | Main cast |
| 2015 | Crossing Lines | Evelyn St. Clair | Episode: "Lost and Found" |
| 2016 | A Quiet Passion | Susan Gilbert | |
| 2017 | Let Me Go | Beth | Best Ensemble (Jury Award) |
| 2017 | Genius | Helen Dukas | 2 episodes |
| 2018 | Scarborough | Liz | |
| 2018 | Down a Dark Hall | Heather Sinclair | |
| 2018 | Moving On | Rachel | Episode: "Invisible" |
| 2019 | Gentleman Jack | Vere Hobart | 4 episodes |
| 2019 | The Warrior Queen of Jhansi | Queen Victoria | |
| 2019 | The Witcher | Queen Calanthe | |
| 2020 | Small Axe | Selma James | Miniseries; 1 episode |
| 2022 | The Silent Twins | Marjorie Wallace | |
| 2022 | The Invisible Thread | Tilly Nolan | |
| 2022 | Prizefighter: The Life of Jem Belcher | Mary Belcher | |
| 2022 | The Confessions of Frannie Langton | Hep Elliot | Miniseries |
| 2023 | Transatlantic | Peggy Guggenheim | Miniseries; 1 episode |
| 2024 | Renegade Nell | Queen Anne | |
| 2024 | Dune: Prophecy | Empress Natalya | Main cast |