Charity Wakefield (born 18 September 1980) is an English actress. Her appearances include roles in Sense & Sensibility (2008), Casualty 1900s (2008–2009), Wolf Hall and The Player (2015), Close to the Enemy (2016), The Halcyon, Genius, and Bounty Hunters (2017), and as Georgina Dymova in The Great (2020–2023).
Early life and education Charity Rose Wakefield was born on 18 September 1980 in Tunbridge Wells. Her first taste of acting was in an amateur dramatics school production of Sleeping Beauty in 1987. Wakefield attended a three-year acting course at Oxford School of Drama graduating in 2003. Besides acting, Wakefield plays the violin and has a strong soprano singing voice.
Career Wakefield made her screen debut in 2004, in (Past Present Future) Imperfect. She starred in a BBC1 production of Rapunzel, in which Rapunzel is a young tennis star, and also appeared in Casualty 1907.
Her theatre credits include Yesterday Was a Weird Day, a production about the 2005 London bombings, Constance in The Three Musketeers at the Bristol Old Vic, and Elaine in The Graduate, at the New Vic; she met her future husband, David Newman, when they acted together in The Graduate. Wakefield's performance as Susan in Baby with the Bathwater at the Old Red Lion Theatre was called "fabulous." In 2008 Wakefield toured in a revival of W. Somerset Maugham's The Circle at the Chichester Festival Theatre, as well as working on the BBC comedy pilot Freddi.
Wakefield played a lead role as Marianne Dashwood in the BBC production of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. She appeared in the Channel 4 drama Any Human Heart and played the lead in the British film noir Scar Tissue. In March 2012 she was cast in Mockingbird Lane, the re-imagining of The Munsters for NBC.
Wakefield appeared as Mary Boleyn in the 2015 BBC2 television series Wolf Hall. She also appeared in the NBC drama The Player with Philip Winchester and Wesley Snipes.
On Christmas Day 2016, she was one of the principal guest stars in the BBC1 Doctor Who Christmas special "The Return of Doctor Mysterio".
In 2017, she appeared in two episodes of the ITV drama The Halcyon, playing Charity Lambert. Wakefield appeared in the main cast of both series (2017 and 2019) of the Sky One comedy drama Bounty Hunters, playing Leah Hoover, sister of the character of series co-creator and co-lead Jack Whitehall.
In 2020, she was cast in a main role as Georgina Dymova in Hulu's Historical comedy-drama The Great, alongside Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult.
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes2004(Past Present Future) ImperfectBeanie2007ExitzBilly2009Vivaldi, the Red PriestLudovica2009Burlesque FairytalesGrace2009Act of GodLaura O'Connor2011National Theatre Live: The Cherry OrchardAnya2012Field's Maid2012Day of the FlowersAilie2012ScaredAbbyShort film2012In AbsenceAbiShort film2013Scar TissueSam2014SerenaAgatha2017A Midsummer Night's DreamQuince2017Kill SwitchMia2017WrapsIvyShort film2020ActressCasting DirectorShort film2020Robin / Snug / OberonShort film2024ScoopPrincess Beatrice 2026PreschoolLauren
Television Year Title Role Notes2004HexLucyEpisode: "Life Goes On"2006Jane EyreMiss TempleEpisode: "1.1"2007DoctorsCarole HiltonEpisode: "Personal Services"2008Fairy TalesBilly Jane BrookeEpisode: "Rapunzel"2008Sense & SensibilityMarianne DashwoodMain cast2008–2009Casualty 1900sEthel BennettMain cast2010Legally MadBrady HammTV movie2010Any Human HeartLand FothergillEpisode: "1.1"2011Midsomer MurdersRuth LambertEpisode: "The Oblong Murders"2012LeavingPhoebeMiniseries2012Mockingbird LaneMarilyn MunsterTV special2013Agatha Christie's MarpleMolly KendallEpisode: "A Caribbean Mystery"2014High MoonEveTV movie2015Wolf HallMary BoleynMiniseries2015Cassandra KingMain cast2016Close to the EnemyJuliaMiniseries2016Doctor WhoLucyEpisode: "The Return of Doctor Mysterio"2016BrokenJulesEpisode: "Pilot"2017Charity LambertEpisodes: "1.1", "1.2"2017GeniusBettyEpisodes: "Einstein: Chapters 1 & 8"2017Bounty HuntersLeah WalkerMain cast2018SalvageGwenTV movie2020–2023Georgina DymovaMain cast2025Jane Austen: Rise of a GeniusherselfMiniseries (Episodes "1.1" and "1.2")
References
External links
Post-It Love on YouTube