# Patsy Ferran

Patricia Ferran (born 25 November 1989) is a Spanish-British actress. She trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art before becoming known for her roles on stage and screen. She has received a number of accolades including a Laurence Olivier Award.
Ferran started her career acting on the London stage acting in a revival of Nöel Coward's Blithe Spirit (2014). She went on to win the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress for her role in the Tennessee Williams revival Summer and Smoke (2018). She was Olivier-nominated for her performance as Blanche DuBois in another Tennessee Williams revival A Streetcar Named Desire (2023).
She made her film debut in Tulip Fever (2017) she has since taken roles in Darkest Hour (2017), Living (2022), Firebrand (2023), and Mickey 17 (2025). On television, she had a recurring role in Jamestown (2017) and took roles in Black Narcissus (2020) and Miss Austen (2025).

## Early life and education

Ferran was born in Valencia, Spain, in 1989. Her father is from Barcelona and her mother is from Valencia. The family moved to England when Ferran was a child. She attended Notre Dame School, an all-girls convent school in Cobham, Surrey.
She read Drama and Theatre Arts at Birmingham University, and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, graduating in 2014.

## Career

In 2017 Ferran made her film debut acting in three films; the costume drama Tulip Fever, the romance drama God's Own Country, and the historical drama Darkest Hour. That same year she made her television debut acting in three projects; the Netflix miniseries Guerrilla, the British series Jamestown , and the TNT historical fiction series Will. In 2018 she acted in an Rebecca Frecknall directed revival of the Tennessee Williams play Summer and Smoke playing Alma Winemiller at the Almeida Theater. Michael Billington of The Guardian praised her performance declaring, that the production was built "around Patsy Ferran, who confirms her status as one of the most exciting actors on the British stage." For her performance she won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress. In 2019 she played Björk in the coming of age film How to Build a Girl. The following year she played a nun in the miniseries Black Narcissus (2020).
In 2022, she had a supporting role in the drama Living starring Bill Nighy. That same year, she returned to the theater taking a leading role as Blanche DuBois acting opposite Paul Mescal as Stanley Kowalski in the revival of the Tennessee Williams play A Streetcar Named Desire. For the production she reunited with director Rebecca Frecknall. The play received positive reviews with critics praising her performance. Demetrois Mattheou of The Hollywood Reporter noted, "[Ferran] joined the production just before it was to open...when Lydia Wilson had to withdraw due to injury. The rescue act makes her heartbreaking, very individual performance even more remarkable." adding, "Ferran enthusiastically gobbles up Williams’ lines, capturing the wit of the wobbly flirt perfectly, accompanied by a dry, bitter self-knowledge". For her performance she was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress losing to Jodie Comer in the one-woman show Prima Facie. She and Mescal reprised their roles at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in 2025.

## Acting credits
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2017 | Tulip Fever | Tart | |
| 2017 | God's Own Country | Robyn | |
| 2017 | Darkest Hour | Maid | |
| 2019 | How to Build a Girl | Björk | |
| 2021 | Tom & Jerry | Joy | |
| 2021 | Mothering Sunday | Milly | |
| 2022 | Living | Fiona | |
| 2023 | Firebrand | Mary I of England | |
| 2024 | White Bird | Mille Petitjean | |
| 2025 | Hot Milk | Julieta | |
| 2025 | Mickey 17 | Dorothy | |
| 2025 | Jay Kelly | | Post-production |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2017 | Guerrilla | Gwen | Miniseries, 2 episodes |
| 2017 | Jamestown | Mercy Myrtle | Recurring role, 24 episodes |
| 2017 | Will | Peg | 1 episode |
| 2020 | Black Narcissus | Sister Blanche | Miniseries, 3 episodes |
| 2022 | Life After Life | Pamela | Miniseries, 4 episodes |
| 2025 | Miss Austen | Jane Austen | Miniseries, 4 episodes |

### Theatre

| Year | Title | Role | Venue |
| 2014 | Blithe Spirit | Edith | Gielgud Theatre |
| 2014 | The Angry Brigade | Anna | Theatre Royal, Plymouth |
| 2014 | The Angry Brigade | Anna | Oxford Playhouse |
| 2014 | The Angry Brigade | Anna | Warwick Arts Centre |
| 2014 | The Angry Brigade | Anna | Watford Palace Theatre |
| 2014 | Treasure Island | Jim | National Theatre |
| 2015 | The Merchant of Venice | Portia | Royal Shakespeare Company |
| 2016 | As You Like It | Celia | National Theatre |
| 2017 | Speech & Debate | Diwata | Trafalgar Studios |
| 2018 | My Mum's a Twat | Girl | Royal Court Theatre |
| 2018 | Summer and Smoke | Alma Winemiller | Almeida Theatre |
| 2018 | Summer and Smoke | Alma Winemiller | Duke of York's Theatre |
| 2019 | Three Sisters | Olga Sergeyevna | Almeida Theatre |
| 2020 | Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? | Honey | Booth Theatre |
| 2020 | A Christmas Carol | Various roles | Bridge Theatre |
| 2021 | Camp Siegfried | Her | Old Vic |
| 2022 | A Streetcar Named Desire | Blanche DuBois | Almeida Theatre |
| 2023 | A Streetcar Named Desire | Blanche DuBois | Phoenix Theatre |
| 2024 | A Streetcar Named Desire | Blanche DuBois | Brooklyn Academy of Music |
| 2023 | Pygmalion | Eliza Doolittle | The Old Vic |

### Audio

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2022 | North and South | Margaret Hale | BBC Radio |
| 2024 | The Mysterious Affair at Styles | Mary Cavendish | Audible original |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
| 2014 | Critics’ Circle Theatre Award | Most Promising Newcomer | Blithe Spirit and Treasure Island | Won |
| 2015 | Evening Standard Theatre Award | Emerging Talent Award | Treasure Island | Nominated |
| 2019 | Laurence Olivier Award | Best Actress | Summer and Smoke | Won |
| 2019 | Critics’ Circle Theatre Award | Best Actress | Summer and Smoke | Won |
| 2019 | WhatsOnStage Award | Best Actress in a Play | Summer and Smoke | Nominated |
| 2023 | Laurence Olivier Award | Best Actress | A Streetcar Named Desire | Nominated |