Background
Parkinson was born in Hounslow, London, the daughter of Northern Irish-born historian A. F. Parkinson. Her mother is a teacher of English at James Allen's Girls' School. Her family are from Ulster and Devonshire.
(Easy Virtue is a 2008 British romantic social comedy film...)
Easy Virtue is a 2008 British romantic social comedy film based on Noël Coward's play and directed by Stephan Elliott, written by Elliott and Sheridan Jobbins, and stars Jessica Biel, Ben Barnes, Colin Firth and Kristin Scott Thomas.
2008
((2005 - 2009) British television medical comedy drama ser...)
(2005 - 2009) British television medical comedy drama series created by Dominic Minghella and starring Martin Clunes in the title role. Katherine Parkinson plays theline of a receptionist, and later also a phlebotomist (Series 2-4)
2005
((2006 - 2013) British sitcom by Channel 4, written by Gra...)
(2006 - 2013) British sitcom by Channel 4, written by Graham Linehan, produced by Ash Atalla and starring Chris O'Dowd, Richard Ayoade and Katherine Parkinson. The show revolves around the three staff members of its IT department: a geeky genius named Maurice Moss, the work-shy Roy Trenneman, and Jen Barber (Parkinson), the department head/relationship manager, who knows nothing about IT.
2006
(British dark comedy anthology television programme writte...)
British dark comedy anthology television programme written by Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton and produced by the BBC. The episodic stories are linked only by the fact that each takes place at a number 9, whether this is a suburban house, a gothic mansion or a barn.
2014
(British-American science fiction television series writte...)
British-American science fiction television series written by Sam Vincent and Jonathan Brackley based on Swedish science fiction drama Real Humans the series explores the themes of artificial intelligence and robotics, focusing on the social, cultural, and psychological impact of the invention of anthropomorphic robots called "synths".
2015
(The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff is a four-part comedy series ...)
The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff is a four-part comedy series produced by BBC. It is a parody of the works of Charles Dickens, drawing its title from Bleak House and The Old Curiosity Shop. Written by Mark Evans, directed by Ben Gosling Fuller
Parkinson was born in Hounslow, London, the daughter of Northern Irish-born historian A. F. Parkinson. Her mother is a teacher of English at James Allen's Girls' School. Her family are from Ulster and Devonshire.
She grew up in Tolworth and Surbiton, and studied at Tiffin Girls' School in Kingston-Upon-Thames, Surrey, before going on to read Classics at St Hilda's College, Oxford. Here she was first introduced as acting when she appeared in various plays during her college years. At around the age of 19, she met her life-long friend and comedienne Katy Brand. She studied at London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) where she met Chris O'Dowd, later to be her co-star in The IT Crowd. Both left without completing the course, feeling disillusioned with the culture there. She left her course to star in the play The Age of Consent.
She left LAMDA when offered a paid acting job on stage in 'The Age of Consent' at The Bush Theatre. Other roles on stage include 'Frame 312' at the Donmar Warehouse, 'Cock' at the Royal Court; 'Absent Friends' at the Harold Pinter Theatre, Chekhov's 'The Seagull' at London's Royal Court Theatre
She played the doctor's receptionist, and later phlebotomist, in series 2-4 of Doc Martin, while in series 5 her character was replaced by a new receptionist.
While her first screen role was in the television film 'Ahead of the Class' (2005), which starred Julie Walters, Katherine is perhaps best known for her role as Jen in the cult Channel 4 comedy series 'The I.T. Crowd' (2006 - 2010), a comedy set in the technical support department of a large company. Parkinson took the advice of her friend O'Dowd, who had already landed the role of Roy, and auditioned for the part, and succeeded in getting the role.
In film, Katherine can be seen in 'How to Lose Friends and Alienate People' (2008), starring Simon Pegg; the pirate radio station comedy 'The Boat That Rocked' (2009), directed by Richard Curtis and starring Bill Nighy, Nick Frost and Phillip Seymour Hoffman; and 'St Trinians 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold' (2009), starring Rupert Everett, Colin Firth and David Tennant.
She also starred in recurring roles in the comedy series 'The Old Guys' (2009 - 2010) starring Roger Lloyd Pack, and culinary comedy 'Whites' (2010) starring Alan Davies.
Parkinson has also contributed ideas for sketches to her old friend Katy Brand for her ITV 2 sketch show, Katy Brand's Big Ass Show. She has made appearances in Jonathan Creek and Doctor Who, as well as appearing in Malteaser advertisements. She has appeared several times on BBC Radio 4, including on Laura Solon: Talking and Not Talking, Mouth Trap, again with Katy Brand, and in The Odd Half Hour. She also starred in a television advertisement for Maltesers alongside fellow actress and comedian Amanda Abbington, and provided her voice for a Herbal Essences shampoo advertising campaign in 2010.
Parkinson is one of the main cast in BBC Four's three-part comedy series The Great Outdoors, which first aired on 28 July 2010. In 2010–2011 she appeared in Season's Greetings at the National Theatre and in 2011 as Lady Teazle in The School for Scandal (directed by Deborah Warner) at the Barbican Centre.
Parkinson starred in The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff, a four-part BBC comedy series which premiered on BBC Two on 19 December 2011. Parkinson next appeared in series 2 episode 3 of Sherlock, "The Reichenbach Fall", as journalist Kitty Riley in January 2012.
In 2013, she filmed The Honourable Woman for the BBC and SundanceTV.
In 2015 Parkinson starred in the BBC One TV comedy series The Kennedys, written by Emma Kennedy about growing up on a Stevenage New Town estate in the 1970s. She also played one of the lead roles as Laura Hawkins in the British-American science fiction series Humans broadcast on Channel 4 and AMC between in summer 2015.
Humans
(British-American science fiction television series writte...)
2015The IT Croud
((2006 - 2013) British sitcom by Channel 4, written by Gra...)
2006Doc Martin
((2005 - 2009) British television medical comedy drama ser...)
2005Inside No. 9
(British dark comedy anthology television programme writte...)
2014The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff
(The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff is a four-part comedy series ...)
Quotes from others about the person
O'Dowd has admitted that both he and Parkinson were 'two of the worst students'. Neither finished their courses there, and left because both of them 'kind of got a mixture of thrown-out and left-of-our-own-volition'.
Parkinson has been married to actor Harry Peacock since 2009. They have two daughters Dora (2013) and Gwendolyn (2014).