Emma Pierson Biography

Emma Jane Pierson, better known as Emma Pierson, (born 30 April 1981) is an English actress. She is best known for her role as Anna Thornton-Wilton in the BBC television drama Hotel Babylon.

Pierson has appeared in many television programmes, including Days Like These, Beast, I Saw You, Charles II: The Power and The Passion, The Worst Week of My Life, Bloodlines, Coupling and Time Gentlemen Please. Her more recent projects include the film Lives of the Saints and the BBC Three comedy Dead Boss.

Biography

The daughter of a nurse and a Royal Navy submariner, Pierson was born Emma Jane Pierson on 30 April 1981 in Plymouth, Devon. Her father, Charles, was stationed at Faslane Naval Base on the Clyde where Emma spent the first four years of her life.

When she was in her teens, Pierson lived with her parents and three siblings in North Bradley, near Trowbridge, Wiltshire, and began taking acting lessons while attending St. Laurence School in nearby Bradford on Avon.

After leaving school in 1997, Pierson performed in amateur productions with the North Bradley players, appearing in a number of plays including Chekhov'sUncle Vanya.

Pierson gained the role of Becky Radcliffe in the BBC children's drama series Grange Hill while studying law at the City of Bath College.

Work and profile

After leaving Grange Hill, Pierson took on the role of Jackie Burgett in Days Like These, a British show set in Luton and adapted from the US comedy That '70s Show. However, Days Like These proved unsuccessful and the series was cancelled after only ten of its thirteen episodes were aired.

Pierson has continued to appear in comedy series, including various episodes of the Channel 4 sketch show Armstrong and Miller, Beast with Alexander Armstrong and The Worst Week of My Life with Ben Miller. In 2002, following the departure from the series of Julia Sawalha, Pierson played new character student barmaid Connie in the second series of sitcom Time Gentlemen Please, written by Al Murray and Richard Herring, and appeared in an episode of the sitcom Coupling.

Pierson's career has also included roles in comedy dramas such as Bedtime and Legend of the Tamworth Two. Also Emma in 2010 is starring in the Radio 4 comedy series "House on Fire".

Pierson has also appeared many dramas, including Stranded, the Hallmark channel's version of Swiss Family Robinson, BBC political drama The Project, Charles II and an as yet unreleased low-budget British movie, The Engagement, from the director of Sirens, John Duigan.

In 2005, Pierson played the role of policewoman Justine Hopkin in the two-part ITV drama, Bloodlines. She has since acted in many more dramas, such as Riot at the Rite, a period drama about Russian dancer Nijinsky, and Hotel Babylon, a BBC series based on the book of the same name by Imogen Edwards-Jones and portraying life behind the scenes in a London hotel.

British indie movie The Lives of the Saints, which was co-directed by Chris Cottam and photographer Rankin and in which Emma played a character called Tina, was released in 2006. This was Pierson's first major movie role, after brief roles in Virtual Sexuality and Guest House Paradiso early in her career.

Personal life

Pierson has three siblings: Ross, James and Sara. She lives in Islington, London, with her longtime boyfriend Damian Village and ragdoll cat Marvin.

Pierson's hobbies include rock climbing, scuba diving, and photography. She also enjoys travelling to other countries and taught English as a foreign language in Sri Lanka during the winter of 2003-2004.

Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Role
2010	Barbie in A Mermaid Tale	Kayla
2006	The Lives of the Saints	Tina
2005	Riot at the Rite	Romola
2005	Bloodlines	Justine Hopkin
2005	Angell's Hell	Flo
2004	The Legend of the Tamworth Two	Jenny West
2003	Uncle Douglas	Sarah Tomkinson
2002	The Project   aka: Les Années Tony Blair	Juliette
2002	I Saw You	Zoë
2002	Stranded	Sarah Robinson
2001	Dumping Elaine	Waitress
1999	Guest House Paradiso	Saucy Wood Nymph
1999	Virtual Sexuality	Fiona

Television

2013	Up the Women	(Regular cast)	Eva
2013	Love Matters	"Officially Special"	Cox
2013	Death in Paradise	(Season 2, Episode 3)	Dr. Anna Jones
2012	Dead Boss	(Episodes 1, 3)	Mrs Bridges
2010	Money	(Both Episodes)	Selina Street
2008	Little Dorrit	(Various)	Fanny Dorrit
2007	Who Gets the Dog	(One Episode Only)	Tara
2007	Talk to Me	(Various)	Ally
2006-9	Hotel Babylon	(Regular Cast)	Anna Thornton-Wilton
2006	Morning Glory	"1.10"	Herself
2005	The Brief	"Forever on the Mind"	Kelly Byrne
2005	Twisted Tales	"The Irredeemable Brain of Dr. Heinrich Hunsecker"	Jane
2004	The Last Chancers	(Regular Cast)	Kirby
2004	The Worst Week of My Life	(Regular Cast)	Sophie Cook
2003	Charles II: The Power and The Passion	(One Episode Only)	Nell Gwynn
2003	My Hero	"Big"	Dr. Chelsea
2003	A Touch of Frost	"Held in Trust"	Alice Thompson
2002	Time Gentlemen Please	Season 2	Connie
2002	Coupling	"The Girl with One Heart"	Jennifer
2001	Bedtime	Season 1	Sapphire
2001	Absolutely Fabulous	"Small Opening"	Kasha
2001	Armstrong and Miller   aka: The Armstrong and Miller Show	(Various)	?
2000	Beast	(Regular Cast)	Jade
1999	Grange Hill	?	Becky Radcliffe
1999	Days Like These	1-13	Jackie Burget

Music videos

Year	Artist	Track	Role
2003	Thea Gilmore	"Juliet"	Girl In A Cage

Video games

Year	Game	Role	Notes
2011	Dark Souls	Anastacia of Astora/Dusk of Oolacile	Voice