Karen Sheila Gillan (born 28 November 1987) is a Scottish actress, director, screenwriter and model. She is best known for playing the part of Amy Pond in the British science fiction series, Doctor Who.

Early life
Gillan was born on 28 November 1987 in Inverness, Scotland. She learned to play the piano when she was seven.  She started acting when she was very young. She joined several local youth theatre groups. She also acted at her school, Charleston Academy. When she was sixteen, Gillan went to Edinburgh's Telford College to study acting. Later, she studied at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts drama school in London. Gillan moved to London when she was 18 to study at drama school.

Her cousin, Caitlin Blackwood, played the part of the young Amy Pond in at least three episodes of Doctor Who.

Career

Modelling 

Before Gillan started acting on television, she worked in a London pub. She had had left Italia Conti for a television programme, but was hired by a modelling agency.
Gillan worked as a model in London Fashion Week, in 2007. She worked for designer Allegra Hicks' show.

Acting 

Gillan began acting on television doing small parts, on several drama series. Her first larger role was as a part of the ensemble cast of the sketch comedy series The Kevin Bishop Show. She worked for the series for two years. On the programme,  she played many different characters. She also played celebrities such as Katy Perry and Angelina Jolie. She was on Channel 4's 'Stacked'. She played the part of Ginny. Gillan also was on TV in a main part in a horror programme The Well. It was broadcast as a series of short movies, on BBC Two. It was later shown on the internet.

Gillan was cast as Amy Pond on the British sci-fi series Doctor Who in May 2009. Her first episode as Amy Pond was shown on 3 April 2010.  Gillan had been in Doctor Who once before in the 2008 episode "The Fires of Pompeii" as a different character.

Gillan also acts in theatre. She first role was as Shirley in John Osborne's play Inadmissible Evidence at the Donmar Warehouse on October 16th 2011.

At the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con, Gillan said she will be on Doctor Who for its seventh series. On 15 December 2011, it was said that Gillan and Arthur Darvill (Rory Williams) would only be on the early part of seventh series, in 2012.

After leaving Doctor Who, Gillan has appeared in 2013 horror film Oculus and 2014 Marvel superhero science fiction film Guardians of the Galaxy. Both of films received positive reviews from critics, while Guardians of the Galaxy became a critical and commercial success, grossing over $774 million worldwide. Also in 2014, she was cast as the main character in ABC's sitcom Selfie.

In May 2015, it was announced that Gillan was cast in the Adam McKay-directed drama film The Big Short alongside Brad Pitt, Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, Steve Carell and Melissa Leo. She directed her first short film, Coward, which won several awards and screened at the 2015 Edinburgh Film Festival. Later that year, in September, Gillan was cast as one of the main characters, Annie, in the movie The Circle alongside Emma Watson, Tom Hanks and John Boyega. The film is directed and written by James Ponsoldt and is based on the novel written by Dave Eggers.

Filmography

Awards

References

Other websites

 

1987 births
Living people
British models
Doctor Who
People from Inverness
Scottish movie actors
Scottish television actors