Karen Gillan

**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

Karen Sheila 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, Karen 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. Karen 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_.

### Modelling

Before Karen 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.
Karen Gillan worked as a model in London Fashion Week, in 2007. She worked for designer Allegra Hicks' show.

### Acting

Karen 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. Karen 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.

Karen 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.

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

At the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con, Karen 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_, Karen 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 Karen 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, Karen 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

|Year|Title|Role|class="unsortable"|Notes|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|2008|_New Town Killers_|Girl at bus station|||
|2010|_Outcast_|Ally|||
|2013|_Not Another Happy Ending_|Jane Lockhart|||
|2013|_Oculus_|Kaylie Russell|||
|2014|_Guardians of the Galaxy_|Nebula|||
|2015|_The Big Short_|Evie|||
|2016|_The Circle_|Annie|Filming||
|2017|_Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle_|Ruby Roundhouse|||

|Year|Title|Role|class="unsortable"|Notes|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|2006|_Rebus_|Teri Cotter|Episode: "A Question of Blood"||
|2008|_Stacked_|Ginny Turner|TV movie||
|2008|_Doctor Who_|Soothsayer|Episode: "The Fires of Pompeii"||
|2008|_Harley Street_|Holly|Episode 1||
|2008 – 2009|__|Various characters|Main role (12 episodes)||
|2008|_Coming Up_|Anna|Episode: "Thinspiration"||
|2009|_The Well_|Coll|4 episodes||
|2010 – 2013|_Doctor Who_|Amy Pond|Series 5, 6, 7 (33 episodes) "The Time of the Doctor" (<small>cameo</small>)||
|2010 – 2011|_Doctor Who Confidential_|Herself|26 episodes||
|2012|_We'll Take Manhattan_|Jean Shrimpton|TV movie||
|2012|_In Love with Coward_|Laura|3 episodes||
|2013|_NTSF:SD:SUV::_|Daisy|Main role (9 episodes, season 3)||
|2014|__|Kerry Newblood|2 episodes||
|2014|_Selfie_|Eliza Dooley|Main role (13 episodes)||
|2015|_Seven Days in Hell_|Lily Allsworth|TV movie||

|Year|Title|Format|
| --- | --- | --- |
|2011|_Inadmissible Evidence_|Play|

|Year|Title|
| --- | --- |
|2010|_Doctor Who: The Adventure Games_: _City of the Daleks_|
|2010|_Doctor Who: The Adventure Games_: _Blood of the Cybermen_|
|2010|_Doctor Who: The Adventure Games_: _TARDIS_|
|2010|_Doctor Who: The Adventure Games_: _Shadows of the Vashta Nerada_|
|2011|_Doctor Who: The Adventure Games_: _The Gunpowder Plot_|
|2010|_Doctor Who: Evacuation Earth_|
|2010|_Doctor Who: Return to Earth_|
|2010|_Doctor Who: The Mazes of Time_|

## Awards

|Year|Award|Category|Nominated work|Result|class="unsortable"|Ref.||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|2010|TV Quick Awards|Best Actress|rowspan="6"|_Doctor Who_||style="text-align:center;"||
|2010|Cosmopolitan "Woman of the Year" Awards|Best Actress||style="text-align:center;"||||
|2011|SFX Awards|Best Actress||style="text-align:center;"||||
|2011|TV Choice Awards|Best Actress||style="text-align:center;"||||
|2011|Scream Awards|Best Sci-Fi Actress||style="text-align:center;"||||
|2012|National Television Awards|Best Drama Performance: Female||style="text-align:center;"||||
|2012|Nickelodeon UK Kids' Choice Awards|Favourite UK Actress|||style="text-align:center;"|||
|2012|Scottish Fashion Awards|Scotland's Fashion Icon|||style="text-align:center;"|||
|2013|National Television Awards|Best Drama Performance - Female|_Doctor Who_||style="text-align:center;"|||
|2014|Fright Meter Awards|Best Actress|_Oculus_||style="text-align:center;"|||
|2015|Empire Awards|Best Female Newcomer|_Guardians of the Galaxy_ and _Oculus_||style="text-align:center;"|||

## Infobox (person)

- **name**: Karen Gillan
- **image**: File:Karen Gillan Photo Op GalaxyCon Minneapolis 2019.jpg
- **caption**: Karen Gillan in 2019
- **birth place**: Inverness, Scotland
- **nationality**: Scottish
- **birthname**: Karen Sheila Gillan
- **occupation**: Celebrity, Director, Screenwriter, Model (person), Model
- **years active**: 2006 – present