Biography
A regular face in the period drama genre, actress Annabelle Wallis was perhaps best known for her roles as Queen of England Jane Seymour in historical epic "The Tudors" (Showtime, 2007-2010), MI6 agent/air stewardess Bridget Pierce in one-season wonder "Pan Am" (ABC, 2011-12) and barmaid Grace Burgess in the gritty post-World War I series "Peaky Blinders" (BBC1, 2013- ). Born in Oxford, England in 1984, Wallis spent the first 17 years of her life in Portugal where she attended an English-speaking school with children from 50 different nationalities. After moving to London to attend drama school, she made her debut on the big screen as star-crossed lover Sophie Besson in the Bollywood romance "Dil Jo Bhi Kahey" (2005) and on the small screen as murdered showgirl Lizzie Way in '50s-set detective series "Jericho" (ITV, 2005). Following roles in straight-to-DVD chillers "True True Lie" (2006) and "Steel Trap" (2007), Wallis portrayed Dodi Al Fayed's ex-girlfriend Kelly Fisher in TV movie "Diana: Last Days Of A Princess" (TLC, 2007), briefly appeared in Ridley Scott's CIA thriller "Body of Lies" (2008) and faith-based comedy "Right Hand Drive" (2009), and played bad girl Serena in Wild West horror "Ghost Town" (2009). But Wallis' big break arrived in 2009 when she replaced Anita Briem as the third wife of Henry VIII, Jane Seymour, in the third season of historical fiction drama, "The Tudors" (Showtime, 2007-10). Wallis went onto play the object of Sam Claflin's affections, Dorel, in the post-apocalyptic survival story "The Lost Future" (Syfy, 2010) and economics advisor Dana Van Rijn in the secret intelligence drama "Strike Back: Project Dawn" (Cinemax, 2011), and landed minor roles in superhero prequel "X-Men: First Class" (2011), Madonna's much-maligned royal biopic "W.E." (2011) and re-imagined fairy tale "Snow White & The Huntsman" (2012). Wallis was then seen going undercover for her next two roles, firstly as purser-turned-MI6 agent Bridget Pierce in aviation drama "Pan Am" (ABC, 2011-12) and then as mysterious barmaid Grace Burgess in early 20th Century gangster epic "Peaky Blinders" (BBC1, 2013- ). Wallis added two more period pieces to her filmography when she played the socialite Muriel Wright in miniseries "Fleming: The Man Who Would Be Bond" (BBC America, 2014) and wealthy noblewoman Ninon de Larroque in adventure series "The Musketeers" (BBC1, 2014- ). Wallis returned to the horror genre in "The Conjuring" (2013) spin-off "Annabelle" (2014), where she played a mum-to-be terrorized by a malevolent doll, before starring alongside Sacha Baron Cohen in football hooligan comedy "Grimsby" (2015).
