{{unreliable sources|imdb=yes|date=March 2026}} {{short description|British actress}} {{Use British English|date=May 2025}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2025}} {{Infobox person | name = Tamzin Merchant | image = Tamzin merchant2.jpg | alt = <!-- descriptive text for use by speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software --> | caption = Merchant in 2011 | birth_name = Tamzin Claire Merchant | birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1987|03|04}} | birth_place = Haywards Heath, Sussex, England | alma_mater = Homerton College, Cambridge | occupation = Actress and author | years_active = 2004–present }} '''Tamzin Claire Merchant'''<ref name="bio"/> (born 4 March 1987)<ref name="ndy"/> is an English actress and author. She is most notable for her roles as Georgiana Darcy in the film ''Pride & Prejudice'' (2005), as Catherine Howard in ''The Tudors'' (2009–2010) and as Anne Hale in ''Salem'' (2014–2017).
==Early life== Merchant was born 4 March 1987,<ref name="ndy">{{cite news|url= http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2009/04/05/2009-04-05_a_tudors_tutorial.html|access-date=15 January 2009|date=3 April 2009|title=A 'Tudors' tutorial|work=New York Daily News}}</ref> in Haywards Heath, Sussex, England.<ref name="author">{{cite web|title=Tamzin Merchant: The Multi-Talented British Actress and Author |url= https://primeheadlines.co.uk/tamzin-merchant-age-relationships-and-career-timeline/ |work= primeheadlines.co.uk |date= Nov 11, 2025|access-date= 25 December 2025}}</ref>{{better source needed|reason=News-farming site; not a legitimate source|date=March 2026}} She was educated at Windlesham House School and Brighton College,<ref name="HuffP">{{cite news |title=Tamzin Merchant |work=HuffPost |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/tamzin-merchant/ |url-status=live |access-date=17 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160409144240/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tamzin-merchant/ |archive-date=9 April 2016}}</ref><ref name= Record>{{cite web | title =Record Oxbridge Success | publisher =Brighton College | date =28 June 2007 | url =http://www.brightoncollege.org.uk/news.asp?id=253930 | access-date = 29 July 2020 | url-status=dead | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20110721001033/http://www.brightoncollege.org.uk/news.asp?id=253930 | archive-date =21 July 2011}}</ref> although she has also lived in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.<ref name= HuffP /> After twice deferring university places to concentrate on her acting career, she eventually studied English and Drama with Education at Homerton College, Cambridge.<ref name= Record />
==Career== Merchant's early credits include Margo Durrell in the 2005 BBC television film ''My Family and Other Animals'' and Georgiana Darcy in the 2005 film ''Pride and Prejudice''.<ref name="bio">{{Cite web |title=Tamzin Merchant Biography |url=https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/tamzin-merchant/bio/3030431405/ |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230829222247/https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/tamzin-merchant/bio/3030431405/ |archive-date=August 29, 2023 |access-date=August 29, 2023 |website=TV Guide}}</ref> In 2006 she appeared in two more BBC dramas, as Sara Fox, the daughter of Alan Davies and Michelle Gomez, in the comedy ''The Good Housekeeping Guide'', and as Probationer Eastwood in the historical drama ''Casualty 1900s''.
In 2007, while studying at the University of Cambridge, she performed in an audio production of ''Lady Windermere's Fan'' as Lady Agatha, while in 2008 she appeared in the ensemble drama ''Radio Cape Cod'' in which she plays a summer theatre camper. She appears in the music video for Jamie T's "If You've Got The Money" and in Belle and Sebastian's "Nobody's Empire". In 2009, she played Alice Davies in ''Princess Kaiulani''.<ref name="tv"/>
She was cast playing Catherine Howard, the fifth wife of Henry VIII, in the third-season and its finale and features heavily in several episodes of the fourth (and final) season of ''The Tudors'' (2009).<ref name="ndy"/><ref name="tv">{{cite web|title= Tamzin Merchant Credits |url= https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/tamzin-merchant/credits/3030431405/ |work= tvguide.com |access-date= 25 December 2025}}</ref>
Merchant played Daenerys Targaryen in the unaired pilot of the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'',<ref name="tv"/> based on George R. R. Martin's ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' series of fantasy novels. The pilot was poorly received, and as a result the first episode was completely remade. Merchant was replaced in her role as Daenerys by Emilia Clarke.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hall |first1=Jacob |date=4 February 2016 |title='Game of Thrones' Showrunners Get Honest About the Awful Pilot They Had to Reshoot |work=Slash Film |url=https://www.slashfilm.com/game-of-thrones-pilot/ |url-status=live |access-date=25 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801081528/http://www.slashfilm.com/game-of-thrones-pilot |archive-date=1 August 2017}}</ref>
She played Miranda in the ''DCI Banks'' episodes "Playing with Fire - Part 1" and "Playing with Fire - Part 2". In early 2012, Merchant played the 17-year-old Rosa Bud in the BBC adaptation of Charles Dickens' ''The Mystery of Edwin Drood''.<ref name="tv"/>
Merchant was a series regular for 3 seasons of ''Salem'' on WGN America from 2014 to 2017.<ref>{{cite web |last=Andreeva |first=Nellie |date=1 November 2013 |title=Shane West Set As Male Lead of WGN America's 'Salem', Tamzin Merchant Cast as Female Lead |url=https://deadline.com/2013/11/shane-west-set-as-male-lead-of-wgn-americas-salem-tamzin-merchant-cast-625407/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200222202721/https://deadline.com/2013/11/shane-west-set-as-male-lead-of-wgn-americas-salem-tamzin-merchant-cast-625407/ |archive-date=22 February 2020 |access-date=29 July 2020 |website=Deadline Hollywood}}</ref>
In 2019 Merchant was cast as a series regular on the Amazon Prime series ''Carnival Row''.<ref>{{cite web |last=Petski |first=Denise |date=22 September 2017 |title='Carnival Row': Amazon Adds Four To Cast of Fantasy Drama Series |url=https://deadline.com/2017/09/carnival-row-david-gyasi-karla-crome-indira-varma-tamzin-merchant-cast-amazon-fantasy-drama-series-1202174765/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170922192912/https://deadline.com/2017/09/carnival-row-david-gyasi-karla-crome-indira-varma-tamzin-merchant-cast-amazon-fantasy-drama-series-1202174765/ |archive-date=22 September 2017 |access-date=29 July 2020 |website=Deadline Hollywood}}</ref> The series premiered on 30 August and was renewed for a second season.<ref>{{cite web |last=Massabrook |first=Nicole |date=1 September 2019 |title=Will 'Carnival Row' Return For Season 2? Renewal, Cancellation Details |url=https://www.ibtimes.com/will-carnival-row-return-season-2-renewal-cancellation-details-2820770 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190923051608/https://www.ibtimes.com/will-carnival-row-return-season-2-renewal-cancellation-details-2820770 |archive-date=23 September 2019 |access-date=29 July 2020 |work=International Business Times}}</ref>
In 2020, she starred as Lucy the lead role in the multi-award winning short film ''Gifts of the Heart'', for which she won ''The Cutting Room International Short Film Festival'' Best Actress in a Short (CRISFF Award).<ref name="gifts">{{cite web|title= Gift of the Heart |url= https://giftsoftheheartfilm.com/ |work= giftsoftheheartfilm.com |access-date= 25 December 2025}}</ref>
In 2025, she starred alongside John Malkovich, Sean Bean, Miranda Richardson, and Anton Lesser in the biographical drama film: ''The Yellow Tie''.<ref name="yellow">{{cite web|title= The Yellow Tie |url= https://www.filmaffinity.com/es/film748023.html |work= filmaffinity.com |access-date= 25 December 2025}}</ref>
==Other work== She wrote the 2021 children's book ''The Hatmakers''.<ref>{{cite web |last=Hibberd |first=James |title=Tamzin Merchant on The Hatmakers and Carnival Row season 2 {{!}} EW.com |url=https://ew.com/books/tamzin-merchant-hatmakers-carnival-row/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709183149/https://ew.com/books/tamzin-merchant-hatmakers-carnival-row/ |archive-date=9 July 2021 |access-date=5 July 2021 |website=Entertainment Weekly}}</ref>
==Filmography== <ref name="tv"/> ===Film=== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- |2005 |''Pride & Prejudice'' |Georgiana Darcy | |- |2008 |''Radio Cape Cod'' |Anna | |- |2009 |''Princess Kaiulani'' |Alice Davies | |- |rowspan=2| 2011 |''Jane Eyre'' |Mary Rivers | |- |''Red Faction: Origins'' |Lyra Mason | |- |2012 |''Second Wind'' |Anna | |- |2014 |''Copenhagen'' |Sandra | |- |rowspan=2| 2015 |''Dragonheart 3: The Sorcerer's Curse'' |Rhonu |Direct-to-video film |- |''{{sortname|The|Messenger|The Messenger (2015 horror film)}}'' |Sarah | |- |2016 |''The Dancer'' |Kate | |- |2017 |''Dragonheart: Battle for the Heartfire'' |Queen Rhonu |Direct-to-video film |- |2020 |''Running Naked'' |Sara | |- |2020 |''Gifts of the Heart'' |Lucy | Short film <ref name="gifts"/> |- |rowspan=2| 2022 |''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' |Helena | |- |''James and Lucia'' |Helen Fleischmann-Joyce | |- |2025 |''The Yellow Tie'' |Ortancia |<ref name="yellow"/> |}
===Television=== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- |2005 |''My Family and Other Animals'' |Margo Durrell |rowspan=3| Television film |- |rowspan=2| 2006 |''The Good Housekeeping Guide'' |Sara Fox |- |''Casualty 1906'' |Probationer Eastwood |- |2008 |''Bonekickers'' |Helena |Episode: "Army of God" |- |2009–2010 |''The Tudors'' |Catherine Howard |Main role (seasons 3–4), 6 episodes <ref name="ndy"/> |- |2009 |''Game of Thrones'' |Daenerys Targaryen |Unaired pilot<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ew.com/tv/tamzin-merchant-game-of-thrones-pilot/|title=Tamzin Merchant breaks silence on playing Daenerys in original Game of Thrones pilot|date=2021-01-28|access-date=2026-02-23|website=Entertainment Weekly|last=Hibberd|first=James|author-link=James Hibberd (writer)}}</ref> |- |rowspan=2| 2011 |''Red_Faction: Origins'' |Lyra |Television film |- |''DCI Banks'' |Miranda Aspern |Episodes: "Playing with Fire - Part 1", "Playing with Fire - Part 2" |- |2012 |''The Mystery of Edwin Drood'' |Rosa Bud |Television film (2 parts) |- |2013 |''Murder on the Home Front'' |Molly Cooper |Television film |- |2014–2017 |''Salem'' |Anne Hale |Main role<br />Nominated—''Fangoria'' Chainsaw Award - Best TV Supporting Actress (2017)<ref name="salem"/> |- |2017 |''Supergirl'' |Lyra Strayd |Recurring role, 5 episodes |- |2019 |''Thanks for the Memories'' |Joyce Conway |2 episodes (the entire film) |- |2019–2023 |''Carnival Row'' |Imogen Spurnrose |Main role <ref name="Cast">{{cite web|last1=Petski|first1=Denise|title='Carnival Row': David Gyasi, Karla Crome, Indira Varma & Tamzin Merchant Join Amazon's Fantasy Drama Series|url=https://deadline.com/2017/09/carnival-row-david-gyasi-karla-crome-indira-varma-tamzin-merchant-cast-amazon-fantasy-drama-series-1202174765/|website=Deadline|access-date=15 December 2017|date=22 September 2017|archive-date=22 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170922192912/https://deadline.com/2017/09/carnival-row-david-gyasi-karla-crome-indira-varma-tamzin-merchant-cast-amazon-fantasy-drama-series-1202174765/|url-status=live}}</ref> |- |2023 |''Tom Jones'' |Aunt Harriet |4 episodes |}
===Music videos=== {| class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Artist |- |2006 |"If You Got the Money" |Jamie T |- |2007 |"Song 4 Mutya (Out of Control)" |Groove Armada feat Mutya Buena |- |2014 |"Nobody's Empire" |Belle and Sebastian |}
==Stage== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- |2008 |''Hay Fever'' | Jackie |Queens' College, Cambridge |- |2008 |''Dahling You Were Marvellous'' |Sister 3, Hanger-on |ADC Theatre |- |2009 |''Breakfast at Night'' |Chorus |ADC Theatre |- |2009 |''The 24hr Plays'' |Group 1 Producer |ADC Theatre |- |2010 |''Cigarettes and Chocolate'' |Gemma |ADC Theatre |}
==Awards and nominations== {| width="90%" class="wikitable" |- ! width="10" | Year ! width="380" | Award ! width="220" | Category ! width="200" | Nominated work ! width="30" | Result ! width="10" | {{Tooltip|Ref.|Reference(s)}} |- | 2017 | ''Fangoria'' Chainsaw Awards | Best TV Supporting Actress | ''Salem'' | {{nom}} | <ref name="salem">{{cite web|title=Never mind Oscar, here's the 2017 FANGORIA Chainsaw Awards Nominees Ballot!|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180127080748/https://www.fangoria.com/new/never-mind-oscar-heres-the-2017-fangoria-chainsaw-awards-nominees-ballot/|website=FANGORIA®|access-date=14 February 2017}}</ref> |- | 2017 | Oxford International Film Festival (OXIFF) | Best Screenplay | ''Juliet Remembered'' | {{won}} | <ref>{{Cite web |title=Awards |url=http://www.oxiff.com/awards |access-date=2026-04-17 |website=Oxford International Film Festival |language=en-US}}</ref> |- | 2020 | Global Independent Film Awards | Best Actress in a Lead Role (Bronze) | ''Gift of the Heart'' (short) | {{nom}} | <ref name="gifts"/> |- | 2020 | The Cutting Room International Short Film Festival | Best Actress in a Short (CRISFF Award) | ''Gift of the Heart'' (short) | {{win}} | <ref name="gifts"/> |}
==References== {{reflist|colwidth=30em}}
==External links== {{commons category}} * {{Twitter}} * {{IMDb name|1708957|Tamzin Merchant}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Merchant, Tamzin}} Category:1987 births Category:Living people Category:21st-century English actresses Category:Actors from Haywards Heath Category:Actresses from West Sussex Category:Alumni of Homerton College, Cambridge Category:English film actresses Category:English television actresses Category:People educated at Brighton College Category:People educated at Windlesham House School