Sophie Alexandra Skelton (born 7 March 1994) is an English actress. She is best known for her role as Brianna MacKenzie in the Starz drama series Outlander.
Early life Skelton was born and raised in Woodford, Stockport, the daughter of entrepreneurial children's toy inventors. She began dancing at the age of three, eventually training in ballet at the Royal Academy in London, before moving into musical theater and stage productions. Her first professional television role, in series two of the British crime drama DCI Banks (2012), was a two-episode stint as schoolgirl Becca Smith.
Skelton attended Stockport Grammar School, completing her A-levels in 2012. She was going to study English Literature at King's College London the following year but ended up turning down her offer to pursue acting instead.
Career In 2013, Skelton guest-starred as Esme Vasquez-Jones in series one of CBBC's award-winning children's drama The Dumping Ground. That same year, she went on to portray Nikki Boston's (Heather Peace) estranged daughter Eve in the ninth series of BBC One's school-based drama series, Waterloo Road, and Yasmin Carish in a series thirteen episode of the long running medical series Doctors.
Transitioning into feature films, Skelton's first role was in 2014's The War I Knew. She portrayed Margaret in director Ian Vernon's tale of a WWII paratrooper lost behind enemy lines.
2015 saw a return to episodic television for Skelton. She again appeared in the BBC series Doctors, portraying Ellen Singleton in the series sixteen episode "Revenge". Next, she guest starred in a series nine episode of ITV's period crime drama Foyle's War. Later that year, Skelton appeared in a twelve-episode stint as Sofia Matthews on So Awkward, CBBC's sitcom revolving around three socially awkward school-age friends, and a two episode guest starring role as Gemma Holt on BBC One's medical drama Casualty.
Skelton's first leading film role was in Charlotte Stente Nielsen's 2016 fantasy-horror short Blackbird. Her breakout role, in the British fantasy action-adventure series Ren: The Girl with the Mark, came later that year. She won Best Lead Actress at the Hyperdrive Sci-Fi and Fantasy Film Festival for her role in the series. 2016 also saw Skelton cast in the role of Brianna Fraser in the Starz TV series Outlander. The role, opposite Scottish actor Richard Rankin as Roger MacKenzie is recurring, becoming a main cast member from Season 4 onwards, and will continue throughout their story arc as outlined in Diana Gabaldon's genre-bending book series.
In 2017, Skelton portrayed Jess in Christopher Menaul's film Another Mother's Son, the true story of Louisa Gould, a widow living in Nazi-occupied Jersey during WWII. From there she went on to star in Day of the Dead: Bloodline (2017), a remake of the 1985 George A. Romero zombie film and alongside Nicolas Cage in the bank heist film #211 (2018), based upon the real-life "Battle of North Hollywood" in 1997.
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 2014 The War I Knew Margaret 2016 Blackbird Rose Short film2017 Another Mother's Son Jess Day of the Dead: Bloodline Zoe Parker 2018 211 Lisa MacAvoy 2022 Stalker Rose Hepburn 2026 I Can Only Imagine 2 Shannon Street
Television Year Title Character Production Notes 2012 DCI Banks Becca Smith ITV 2 episodes 2013 The Dumping Ground Esme Vasquez-Jones CBBC Episode: "Esme" 2013−2014 Waterloo Road Eve Boston BBC One 2 episodes 2013, 2015 Doctors Yasmin Carish / Ellen Singleton BBC 2 episodes2015 Foyle's War Student Jane ITV Episode: "Trespass" So Awkward Sofia Matthews CBBC Recurring role, 12 episodes Casualty Gemma Holt BBC One 2 episodes 2016 Ren: The Girl with the Mark Ren Online Series regular, 5 episodes 2016–2026 Outlander Brianna Fraser STARZ Main role (season 2– season 8) 60 episodes 2023 Castlevania: Nocturne Julia Belmont (voice) Netflix Episode: "A Common Enemy in Evil"
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Nominated work Result2016 Hyperdrive Festival Award Best Leading Actress Ren Jury Award Best Actress Ren International Online Web Fest Best Actress Ren 2019 Saturn Awards Best Supporting Actress on Television Outlander 2021 Saturn Awards Best Supporting Actress on Television Outlander 2022 Saturn Awards Best Supporting Actress in a Network or Cable Television Series Outlander
References
External links
Ren: The Girl with the Mark Website