Background

Karen Gillan was born on November 28, 1987, in Inverness in the Scottish highlands to Marie and Raymond Gillan. Her father is a singer and recording artist.

Education

Karen Gillan developed a love for acting very early on, attending several youth theatre groups and taking part in a wide range of productions at her school, Charleston Academy, formally known as Inverness High School. At the age of 16, Gillan moved to Edinburgh to study acting at Telford College. Two years later, she moved to London to study at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts. While studying there, she was scouted by a modeling agency. However, she was firm in her stance that she wanted to become an actress and not a model.

Career

Karen Gillan has been a dynamic part of the business since 2006. Her initial TV acting vocation included visitor appearances on a few show arrangements. Gillan gained her first television role in Rebus while still studying at Italia Conti, and has since had parts in The Kevin Bishop Show, Channel 4's Stacked and James Nesbitt's forthcoming film Outcast. On The Kevin Bishop Show, Gillan played several roles in skits, including one in which she parodied both Angelina Jolie and Jolie's interpretation of video game heroine Lara Croft. She has also lampooned Julia Roberts' role in Pretty Woman and pop singer Katy Perry.

Gillan also appeared on TV in a leading role in a horror project entitled The Well, which was broadcast as a series of episodic short films on BBC Two and later as a web series on BBC. In 2008, she starred in the Channel 4 television film Stacked.

In 2008, Gillan had her first direct involvement with the Doctor Who franchise when she portrayed the Soothsayer in the series 4 episode The Fires of Pompeii. The show has been airing since the 1960s and has become a significant part of British popular culture. It revolves around an extra-terrestrial being called Doctor Who, who explores the universe in a time-traveling spaceship.

Following the departure of Catherine Tate from the series and the announcement that David Tennant was leaving the program in 2009, speculation ran rampant as to who might play the Eleventh Doctor's companion. This speculation increased when young actor Matt Smith was cast as the Doctor.

Gillan's casting as companion Amy Pond was announced on 29 May 2009 by the BBC. When she went to be cast she had to use the words "panic moon" (an anagram of companion). Writer and executive producer Steven Moffat described her as being "funny, and clever, and gorgeous, and sexy". No further details of her character were released and, in fact, for several weeks only a first name was known until the BBC later indicated the character's last name. She made her first on-screen appearance as Amy Pond in "The Eleventh Hour" with her cousin Caitlin Blackwood portraying a younger version of the same character. In 2010, she won in the Entertainment category at the Young Scot Awards.

Gillan left Doctor Who along with her co-star Arthur Darvill at the end of the series 7 episode The Angels Take Manhattan, although the last episode she filmed was The Power of Three. She stated that she wanted Amy's departure to be "final", thereby ruling out a return appearance. However, this turned out to be wrong as she did briefly return for a cameo in the 2013 Christmas special The Time of the Doctor to say goodbye to her co-star Matt Smith.

Gillan made her film debut in the year 2010 with a role in the supernatural thriller film Outcast. Directed by Colm McCarthy, the film was about a killer who was pursuing his former lover, who hailed from an ancient magical race. After making an appearance in Outcast, it was announced that Gillan would star in an indie Scottish romantic comedy called Not Another Happy Ending alongside Emun Elliott in August 2011.

Gillan's next big role was in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, released in 2014, playing Nebula. This required her to shave her hair off, causing a dramatic moment at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con when she removed her wig to reveal her bald head. She later appeared in the reprising role as Nebula in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame.

In February 2014, Gillan was cast as the lead in Selfie, an American single-camera sitcom for ABC produced by Warner Bros. Television. Gillan played a socialite named Eliza Dooley, a modern-day take on Eliza Doolittle, who is obsessed with social media. This was Gillan's first time in the lead role of an American television series. The series premiered on 30 September 2014, but was canceled on 7 November of that year after only part of the season had been broadcast. The remaining episodes were made available on VOD services.

In May 2014, Gillan was cast in the Western film In a Valley of Violence directed by Ti West, opposite John Travolta, Ethan Hawke, and Taissa Farmiga. Gillan portrayed Ellen, the older sister to Farmiga's character.

On 2 November 2016, it was announced that Gillan would write, direct and star in her directorial feature film debut with Burbank-based development and production company Mt. Hollywood Films' indie drama project titled Tupperware Party. Set in her home city of Inverness in the Scottish Highlands, filming began in January 2017 and wrapped in the following month. The title of the film was later changed to The Party's Just Beginning. The film was nominated for Best Feature Film at the British Academy Scotland Awards. Gillan played the lead female role in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, a sequel to 1995 film Jumanji, starring alongside Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, and Nick Jonas. In 2019, she took part in All Creatures Here Below, Stuber, Spies in Disguise and Jumanji 3. In 2020, she's set to appear in Call of the Wild, and will star in Gunpowder Milkshake alongside Lena Headey, Angela Bassett, Carla Gugino, Michelle Yeoh and Paul Giamatti.

Achievements

• The awards won by Karen Gillan include the Cosmopolitan “Woman of the Year” Award for Best Actress for her role in the TV series Doctor Who in 2010. She also won the 5th Young Scot Award in the same category for the same role. She was nominated for two National Television Awards in the category of Best Female Drama Performance as well, out of which she won one.

Works

More photos

• movie

  • Alex & the List

    (When his gorgeous girlfriend gives him a list of changes ...)

    2018
  • The Party's Just Beginning

    (A surreal coming of age story told from the perspective o...)

    2018
  • Avengers: Infinity War

    (With the powerful Thanos on the verge of raining destruct...)

    2018
  • In a Valley of Violence

    (Ethan Hawke and John Travolta star in this action western...)

    2016
  • The Circle

    (Mae lands a dream job at a powerful tech company, only to...)

    2017
  • The Big Short

    (Based on the true story of four outsiders who saw what th...)

    2015
  • Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle

    (In this fun comedic adventure, 4 teens get sucked into th...)

    2017
  • All Creatures Here Below

    (Gensan (David Dastmalchian) and Ruby (Karen Gillan) strug...)

    2019
  • Avengers: Endgame

    (The fourth installment in the Avengers saga is the culmin...)

    2019
  • Not Another Happy Ending

    (Publisher Tom finds a sleeper hit in first-time author Ja...)

    2013
  • Outcast

    (Outcast unmasks an ancient Celtic society, where black ma...)

    2010
  • Oculus

    (Ten years ago, a horrifying incident left two young child...)

    2013
  • Guardians of the Galaxy

    (Meet Marvel's new team in an action-packed, epic space ad...)

    2014
  • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

    (Marvel Studios' Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 continues ...)

    2017

• TV series

  • Doctor Who

    (The Doctor returns, alongside newly weds Amy and Rory, to...)

    2010

Religion

Karen Gillan has stated that, although her family is Catholic, she has not been christened and is not religious, instead agreeing with the statement that, "we're just minuscule dots in the vast cosmic emptiness of the universe." When the actress was promoting her scary movie Oculus, Karen was asked if she believed in spirits. “I do think something must be out there,” Karen answered. “Things we can’t perceive because our brains aren’t developed enough.”

Views

Other than her work in the film industry, Gillan has also worked with the global charity cause named Fashion Targets Breast Cancer. In 2018, she visited the Mikeysline crisis support center in Inverness after presenting her film The Party's Just Beginning. The film is about the high suicide rate in the Scottish Highlands, and Gillan made a public pledge to support the mental health charity.

Quotations: "How do you create chemistry? If only I knew that! Some people say it's a natural thing that you have with someone, and maybe it is to do with that, but I think you can work on it."

"I know what it's like to be a model and go to castings where some people like what they see and others look at you with distaste."

Personality

When she's not acting, Gillan likes to play the piano and loves rummaging through vintage clothes shops.

Physical Characteristics: Karen Gillan stands at a height of 1.78 m i.e. 5 feet and 10 inches tall. She has a body weight of 128 lbs i.e. 58 kg. She has a slim body build. Her body measurement is 34-26-34 inches. She wears a dress of size 6 (US) and shoe of size 9 (US). She has red hair and hazel eyes.

Gillan shaved off her hair during Guardians of The Galaxy (2014). She revealed this during Comic-Con 2013. During the conference, she wore a wig then took it off to surprise fans.

Quotes from others about the person

• "We saw some amazing actresses for this part. But when Karen came through the door, the game was up - she was funny, clever, gorgeous and sexy. Or Scottish, which is the quick way of saying it. A generation of little girls will want to be her. And a generation of little boys will want them to be her too." - Steven Moffat
  
  "We knew Karen was perfect for the role the moment we saw her. She brought energy and excitement to the part that was just fantastic." - Piers Wenger

Interests

• playing the piano, vintage clothing

• Writers

  Ulysses by James Joyce

• Sport & Clubs

  Tennis

• Music & Bands

  Spice Girls, Ella Fitzgerald, jazz

Connections

Karen Gillan dated British photographer Patrick Green. The couple started dating each other in 2006. They were together for six years and separated in 2012. From that point, she started dating British actor Andrew Brooke in late 2012. They separated a couple of months later in 2013.

Father:

Raymond Gillan

Mother:

Marie Gillan

Cousin:

Caitlin Blackwood

At the age of nine, Caitlin was recommended for the role of the young Amelia Pond by her cousin Karen Gillan, even though the two had never met.

ex-boyfriend:

Patrick Green

ex-boyfriend:

Andrew Brooke

colleague:

Chris Hemsworth

colleague:

Harrison Ford

colleague:

Tom Holland

colleague:

Sebastian Stan

colleague:

Chadwick Boseman

colleague:

Samuel Jackson