{{Short description|British actress (born 1979)}} {{Use British English|date=May 2021}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}} {{Infobox person | name = Louise Brealey | image = Louise Brealey in Heard 2014.jpg | image_size = 240px | caption = Brealey in 2014 | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1979|3|27|df=yes}} | birth_place = Bozeat, Northamptonshire, England | death_date = | death_place = | other_names = | occupation = Actress, writer, journalist | alma_mater = University of Cambridge<br>Lee Strasberg Institute<br> École Philippe Gaulier | years_active = 2001–present | spouse = | partner = Ferdinand Kingsley (2012–present) | website = }}
'''Louise Brealey''' (born 27 March 1979), also credited as '''Loo Brealey''', is an English actress, writer and journalist. She played Molly Hooper in ''Sherlock'',<ref name=Observer>{{cite news|last=Day|first=Elizabeth|title=Louise Brealey: 'I don't think Molly is really Sherlock's type'|url=https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2012/jan/22/louise-brealey-molly-sherlock-interview|accessdate=11 November 2012|newspaper=The Observer|date=22 January 2012|archive-date=4 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131204223058/https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2012/jan/22/louise-brealey-molly-sherlock-interview|url-status=live}}</ref> Cass in ''Back'', Scottish professor Jude McDermid in ''Clique'' and Gillian Chamberlain in ''A Discovery of Witches''.
On stage, Brealey has received widespread critical acclaim for starring in productions at the Royal National Theatre, Royal Court Theatre, the Young Vic, and the Bristol Old Vic, directed by Sir Peter Hall and Marianne Elliott.
==Early life and education== Brealey was born in Bozeat,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.holby.tv/db/index.php?id=38,35,0,0,1,0 |title=Loo Brealey |publisher=Holby.tv |accessdate=16 August 2008 |archive-date=27 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927154134/http://www.holby.tv/db/index.php?id=38,35,0,0,1,0 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Northamptonshire. She won a scholarship for Kimbolton School and went on to read history at Girton College, Cambridge. She later trained with Philippe Gaulier at École Philippe Gaulier in London and the Lee Strasberg Institute in New York City.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Day |first1=Elizabeth |title=Louise Brealey |url=https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2012/jan/22/louise-brealey-molly-sherlock-interview |website=www.theguardian.com |publisher=The Guardian |access-date=18 July 2025}}</ref>
==Career== ===Writing=== Brealey has written on cinema, art and music since her teens, contributing reviews and features for magazines including ''Premiere UK'', ''Empire'', ''SKY'', ''The Face'', ''Neon'' and ''Total Film''. She is the editor of ''Anarchy and Alchemy: The Films of Alejandro Jodorowsky'' (Creation Books, 2007). Until April 2009, Brealey was the deputy editor of ''Wonderland'' magazine.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.louisebrealey.com/LouiseBrealey/LivTyler.html |title=LivTyler |publisher=Louisebrealey.com |accessdate=23 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303170139/http://www.louisebrealey.com/LouiseBrealey/LivTyler.html |archive-date=3 March 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> A freelance Associate Producer, she has written documentary pitches for BBC Arts. In 2013 her first play ''Pope Joan''<ref>{{cite news |author=Andrew Dickson |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2013/sep/03/louise-brealey-sherlock-pope-joan |title=From Sherlock to Pope Joan: actor Louise Brealey on writing her first play | Stage |work=The Guardian |date=3 September 2013 |accessdate=23 January 2014 |archive-date=16 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116171310/https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2013/sep/03/louise-brealey-sherlock-pope-joan |url-status=live }}</ref> was performed by the National Youth Theatre. Her monologue ''Go Back To Where You Came From'' was performed as part of Paines Plough Theatre's ''Come To Where I'm From'' project in 2018.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.painesplough.com/play/come-where-im-northampton |title=COME TO WHERE I'M FROM: NORTHAMPTON {{!}} Paines Plough |website=www.painesplough.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181123201024/http://www.painesplough.com/play/come-where-im-northampton |archive-date=2018-11-23}}</ref>
===Acting===
====Screen====
Brealey made her TV debut as Nurse Roxanne Bird in two series of BBC drama ''Casualty'' before playing Judy Smallweed in ''Bleak House''. Terry Wogan took Judy and her snaggle-toothed grandfather Smallweed (Phil Davis) to heart, regaling Radio 2 listeners with regular renditions of Davis' catchphrase "Shake me up, Judy!". Brealey followed ''Bleak House'' with a comic turn as Anorak, Alistair MacGowan's black-bobbed sidekick, in comedy drama ''Mayo'', described by ''The Hollywood Reporter'' as "Agatha Christie does ''Moonlighting''".
Brealey plays pathologist<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/2NkmHZrCzh41JvdB3DNgvy8/molly-hooper |title=BBC One – Sherlock – Molly Hooper |publisher=BBC |accessdate=2 July 2014 |archive-date=5 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150305042623/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/2NkmHZrCzh41JvdB3DNgvy8/molly-hooper |url-status=live }}</ref> Molly Hooper in all four series of Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss's television drama, ''Sherlock''.<ref name=LES>{{cite news|last=Urwin|first=Rosamund|title=Sherlock's Molly: the original Cumberbitch|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/sherlocks-molly-the-original-cumberbitch-8293476.html|accessdate=11 November 2012|newspaper=London Evening Standard|date=7 November 2012|archive-date=3 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151103052834/https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/sherlocks-molly-the-original-cumberbitch-8293476.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
Brealey is often asked to work in accents, playing a doughty Yorkshire doctor in ''Ripper Street'', a Cockney ne'er-do-well in ''Law & Order: UK'', a broken Geordie widow in ''Inspector George Gently'' and a ball-breaking Edinburgh academic in ''Clique''.
Brealey played a leading role in the ITV drama ''The Widow'', first broadcast in March 2019.
In 2023, Brealey starred in the BBC sitcom ''Such Brave Girls'' as a dysfunctional single mother, and co-starred alongside Annabel Scholey in the romantic musical film ''Chuck Chuck Baby''.
====Stage====
Her stage debut was at London's Royal Court in 2001 as 14-year-old Sophie in Max Stafford-Clark's production of Judy Upton's ''Sliding With Suzanne''. ''The Daily Telegraph'' called her performance "a perfect poignant study of adolescence".{{Citation needed|date=May 2026}}
Her portrayal of child prodigy Thomasina in the Bristol Old Vic production of Tom Stoppard's ''Arcadia'' in 2005 was described by ''The Daily Telegraph'' as "the evening belongs to Loo Brealey's Thomasina".{{Citation needed|date=May 2026}}
Brealey worked twice with Sir Peter Hall. First in 2007 on Simon Gray's ''Little Nell'', in which she played the title role opposite Michael Pennington and Tim Pigott-Smith. Based on ''The Invisible Woman'', Claire Tomalin's award-winning biography of Charles Dickens's mistress Ellen Ternan, ''Little Nell'' followed Ternan's story from 17 to 44 years of age. Critics described Brealey's work as {{Citation needed span|"impressive" (''The Stage''),|date=May 2026}} {{Citation needed span|"highly compelling" (''The Independent'')|date=May 2026}} and {{Citation needed span|"astounding" (''British Theatre Guide'').|date=May 2026}} The following year, Hall cast her as Sonya in his critically acclaimed ''Uncle Vanya'', the inaugural production at London's Rose Theatre. {{Citation needed span|''The Telegraph'' called hers "a name to watch"|date=May 2026}} and {{Citation needed span|''The Independent'' compared her to Joan Fontaine in ''Rebecca''.|date=May 2026}} Lloyd Evans, in his review for ''The Spectator'', wrote: {{Blockquote|Brealey uncovers the pathetic poetry beneath the indolent superficialities. Her big disadvantage is that she’s too attractive for ‘plain’ Sonya, but she disguises this by suggesting a lack of sexual allure with awkward giggles, squirrelly movements and a stupefied beaming naivety. All brilliantly done.<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Lloyd |last=Evans |title=Bleak house |magazine=The Spectator |date=16 February 2008 |p=61 |url=https://archive.spectator.co.uk/article/16th-february-2008/61/bleak-house |url-access=subscription |access-date=2026-05-30}}</ref>}}
In 2011 Brealey was the sex-mad, short-frocked daughter of Julian Barratt and Doon Mackichan at the Young Vic in Richard Jones's ''Government Inspector''. She next played three lead roles – Cassandra, Andromache and Helen of Troy – in Caroline Bird's production of ''The Trojan Women'' at London's Gate Theatre.<ref name=LES/> {{Citation needed span|''The Times'' called her performances "electrifying"|date=May 2026}} and {{Citation needed span|''The Guardian'' said she "pulled off a remarkable treble".|date=May 2026}} Brealey talked about the roles in the ''Evening Standard''<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/sherlocks-molly-the-original-cumberbitch-8293476.html |title=Sherlock's Molly: the original Cumberbitch – London Life – Life & Style |work=London Evening Standard |date=7 November 2012 |access-date=23 January 2014 |archive-date=3 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151103052834/https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/sherlocks-molly-the-original-cumberbitch-8293476.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and wrote a piece for ''The Times'' about the experience of going naked on stage, which went viral.<ref>{{cite news |first=Louise |last=Brealey |title=Louise Brealey: how it feels to be naked on stage |work=The Times |date=11 December 2012 |department=Culture |url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/louise-brealey-how-it-feels-to-be-naked-on-stage-5nm9rqbn6nj |url-access=subscription |access-date=23 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140118093729/http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/arts/stage/theatre/article3626894.ece |archive-date=18 January 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Louise |last=Brealey |title=What Molly Did Next |website=onyellowpaper.tumblr.com |date=11 December 2012 |url=http://onyellowpaper.tumblr.com/post/37720038781/what-molly-did-next |access-date=30 May 2026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103191823/http://onyellowpaper.tumblr.com/post/37720038781/what-molly-did-next |archive-date=3 January 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>
In February 2014 she starred as Julie in August Strindberg's ''Miss Julie'' at the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow.{{Citation needed|date=May 2026}}
For her 2015 performance as Marianne in ''Constellations'', at The Lowry in Salford, she won the Manchester Theatre Award for Best Actress in a Visiting Production.<ref>{{cite web |first=Paul |last=Downham |title=The Manchester Theatre Awards Winners |website=northwestend.co.uk |date=2016-03-04 |url=https://northwestend.co.uk/index.php/news/612-the-manchester-theatre-awards-winners |access-date=2026-05-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191018034351/https://northwestend.co.uk/index.php/news/612-the-manchester-theatre-awards-winners |archive-date=2019-10-18 |url-status=live}}</ref> She played the lead alongside Anne Marie Duff in Marianne Elliott's ''Husbands and Sons'' at the National Theatre.{{when|date=May 2026}}{{Citation needed|date=May 2026}}
====Audio====
Brealey is the narrator of Caitlin Moran's ''How to Build a Girl'' and its sequel ''How to Be Famous'', Alex Michaelides’ ''The Silent Patient'', Kate Mosse's Number One Bestseller ''Labyrinth'' and Hallie Rubenhold's ''The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper''. She voiced Josie in the audiobook of Lisa Jewel’s novel, None of This is True. She was Megan in the audiobook edition of ''The Girl on The Train'' by Paula Hawkins, which won the 2016 Audie Award for Audiobook of the Year.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.booksontape.com/paula-hawkins-the-girl-on-the-train-exclusive-audio-clips/|title=Meet the Cast: The girls from Paula Hawkins' THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN (Exclusive Audio Clips) {{!}} Books on Tape|access-date=29 May 2017|language=en-US|archive-date=17 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170517025813/http://www.booksontape.com/paula-hawkins-the-girl-on-the-train-exclusive-audio-clips/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.booklistreader.com/2016/05/11/audiobooks/the-years-best-audiobooks-2016-audie-award-winners/|title=The Year's Best Audiobooks: 2016 Audie Award Winners|date=11 May 2016|website=The Booklist Reader|access-date=29 May 2017|archive-date=19 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160519032028/http://www.booklistreader.com/2016/05/11/audiobooks/the-years-best-audiobooks-2016-audie-award-winners/|url-status=live}}</ref>
====Radio====
Brealey voiced the part of Laura Willowes in the 2021 BBC Radio 4 adaptation of ''Lolly Willowes''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001140k|title=Lolly Willowes|date=31 October 2021|website=BBC Radio 4 Drama|access-date=31 October 2021|archive-date=30 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211030100635/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001140k|url-status=live}}</ref>
== Personal life == Brealey has been in a relationship with actor Ferdinand Kingsley, son of Ben Kingsley, since they met when he saw her playing Helen of Troy, in a 2012 production of ''The Trojan Women''.<ref>{{cite news |first=Ben |last=Dowell |title=Louise Brealey: 'I talk to actresses of my age, and it's just really hard' |work=The Times |date=2025-07-01 |department=Culture |url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/louise-brealey-more-sherlock-i-dont-think-benedict-cumberbatch-is-averse-zg7627h0z |url-access=subscription |access-date=2026-05-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250704120117/https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/louise-brealey-more-sherlock-i-dont-think-benedict-cumberbatch-is-averse-zg7627h0z |archive-date=2025-07-04 |url-status=live}}</ref>
== Filmography == === Film === 240px|thumb|right|Brealey in 2009 {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | 2000 | ''Boy Meets Girl'' | Susan | Short film |- | 2003 | ''The Tooth Faerie'' | | Short film |- | 2007 | ''I Want You'' | Girl | Short film |- | 2010 | ''Reuniting the Rubins'' | Miri Rubins | |- | 2011 | ''The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel'' | Hairdresser | |- | 2013 | ''Delicious'' | Stella | |- | 2014 | ''Heard'' | Ruth | Short film |- | 2015 | ''Containment'' | Sally | |- | 2018 | ''In Wonderland'' | Alice | Short film |- | 2019 | ''Nobody's Son'' | Susan Thompson | Short film |- | 2020 | ''Limbo'' | Hannah Peyton | Short film |- | 2022 | ''Brian and Charles'' | Hazel | |- | 2022 | ''Deep Clean'' | Maddie | Short film |- | 2023 | ''Chuck Chuck Baby'' | Helen | |}
=== Television === {{Pending series key}} {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | 2002–2004 | ''Casualty'' | Roxanne Bird | Series regular (seasons 16–19) |- | 2005 | ''Bleak House'' | Judy | Serial, recurring role |- | 2005 | ''The English Harem'' | Suzy | TV movie |- | 2006 | ''Mayo'' | Anorak | Main cast |- | 2007 | ''Green'' | Abi | TV movie |- | 2008 | ''Hotel Babylon'' | Chloe McCourt | 1 episode |- | 2010–2017 | ''Sherlock'' | Molly Hooper | Recurring role (series 1), main cast (series 2–4, TV special) |- | 2011 | ''Law & Order: UK'' | Joanne Vickery | Episode: "Tick Tock" |- | 2012 | ''The Charles Dickens Show'' | Various | Recurring role |- | 2013 | ''Father Brown'' | Eleanor Knight | Episode: "The Mayor and the Magician" |- | 2014 | ''Ripper Street'' | Amelia Frayn | Main cast (series 3) |- | 2015 | ''Inspector George Gently'' | Jo Parker | Episode: "Gently Among Friends" |- | 2015 | ''Birthday'' | Natasha | TV movie |- | 2016 | ''All Good Things'' | Joanne | Episode: "Stupid" |- | 2017 | ''Clique'' | Jude McDermid | Main cast (series 1) |- | 2017–2021 | ''Back'' | Cassandra Leslie "Cass" Nichols | Main cast |- | 2018 | ''A Discovery of Witches'' | Gillian Chamberlain | Main cast (series 1) |- | 2019 | ''The Widow'' | Beatrix | Recurring role |- | 2019 | ''Gomorrah'' | Leena | 1 episode |- | 2020 | ''Death in Paradise'' | Donna Harman | Episode: "A Murder in Portrait" |- | 2020 | ''Exile'' | Sarah Hargreaves | Main cast |- | 2023 | ''Lockwood & Co.'' | Pamela Joplin | Recurring role |- | 2023 | ''Such Brave Girls'' | Deb | Main cast |- | 2025 | ''Shetland'' | Isobel Jameson | Supporting role (series 10) |- | 2026 | {{pending series|Harry Potter}} | Madam Hooch | Post-production |}
== Theatre == {| class = "wikitable sortable" |+ List of roles in theatre ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Director ! Theatre |- | 2001 | ''Sliding with Suzanne'' | Sophie | Max Stafford-Clark | Royal Court Theatre |- | 2005 | ''Arcadia'' | Thomasina | Rachel Kavanaugh | Bristol Old Vic |- | 2006 | ''After the End'' | Louise | Roxana Silbert | US and Russian tour, Off-Broadway |- | 2007 | ''Little Nell'' | Nell | Peter Hall | Theatre Royal, Bath |- | 2008 | ''Uncle Vanya'' | Sonya | Peter Hall | Rose Theatre, Kingston |- | 2008 | ''Pornography'' | Actor 7 | Sean Holmes | Traverse Theatre |- | 2009 | ''{{sortname|The|Stone|nolink = 1}}'' | Hannah | Ramin Gray | Royal Court Theatre |- | 2009 | ''{{sortname|The|Ones That Flutter|nolink = 1}}'' | Julie Ray | Abbey Wright | Theatre503 |- | 2010 | ''Country Music'' | Lynsey | Lisa Blair & Eleanor While | West Yorkshire Playhouse |- | 2011 | ''Government Inspector'' | Mayor's daughter | Richard Jones | Young Vic |- | 2012 | ''{{sortname|The|Trojan Women}}'' | Cassandra/Andromache/Helen of Troy | Christopher Haydon | Gate Theatre (London) |- | 2013 | ''The Herd'' | Claire | Howard Davies | Bush Theatre |- | 2014 | ''Miss Julie'' | Miss Julie | Dominic Hill | Citizens Theatre |- |2014 |''Letters Live''<ref>{{cite web|title=Letters Live: Epistolary Joy At Freemasons' Hall|url=http://londonist.com/2015/04/letters-live-epistolary-joy-at-freemasons-hall.php|website=Londonist|date=4 April 2015|access-date=14 May 2015|archive-date=9 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150409032610/http://londonist.com/2015/04/letters-live-epistolary-joy-at-freemasons-hall.php|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=BBC Sherlock star, X Files actor and a host of other celebrities perform at charity event for the Reading Agency|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/dec/11/benedict-cumberbatch-gillian-anderson-letters-live|website=The Guardian|date=11 December 2013|access-date=12 December 2016|archive-date=5 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305082436/http://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/dec/11/benedict-cumberbatch-gillian-anderson-letters-live|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Letters Live at Hay Festival|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/hay-festival/10866362/Benedict-Cumberbatch-brings-romantic-letters-to-life.html|website=The Telegraph|date=30 May 2014 |access-date=3 April 2018|archive-date=28 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180528220921/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/hay-festival/10866362/Benedict-Cumberbatch-brings-romantic-letters-to-life.html|url-status=live}}</ref> | | |Hay Festival, Wales |- |rowspan="2"|2015 |''Letters Live'' | | |Freemasons' Hall |- | ''Husbands & Sons'' | Minnie Gascoigne | Marianne Elliott | Co-production between National Theatre, London and Royal Exchange, Manchester |}
== References == {{reflist|2}}
== External links == * [https://web.archive.org/web/20151127053925/http://www.louisebrealey.com/ Louise Brealey] writing, editing website * [http://www.spotlight.com/8298-1209-2241 Louise Brealey] at Spotlight * {{IMDb name|1154764}} * {{Twitter}} * [http://www.unitedagents.co.uk/louise-brealey Louise Brealey] at United Agents * [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006m8wd Louise Brealey] at the BBC's Casualty site
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brealey, Louise}} Category:Actresses from Northamptonshire Category:English film actresses Category:English television actresses Category:English stage actresses Category:English radio actresses Category:Alumni of Girton College, Cambridge Category:Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute alumni Category:Living people Category:21st-century English actresses Category:People from North Northamptonshire Category:National Youth Theatre members Category:English journalists Category:1979 births