Gemma Chan

Gemma Chan born 29 November 1982 is an English actress. Born in London and raised in Kent, Chan attended the Newstead Wood School for Girls and studied law at Worcester College, Oxford before choosing to pursue a career in acting instead, enrolling at the Drama Centre London. Chan was subsequently cast various supporting roles on television, including Doctor Who, Sherlock, Secret Diary of a Call Girl, Fresh Meat, Bedlam and True Love. She also appeared in independent films Exam (2009), Submarine (2010) and Belles Familles (2015). Chan performed in the British premiere of Yellow Face at the The Park Theatre and Our Ajax at the Southwark Playhouse.

Chan had minor roles in Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014), Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016) and Transformers: The Last Knight (2017). She starred in as a servile anthropomorph in sci-fi series Humans (2015-2018) to critical praise. Chan gained widespread recognition for portraying Astrid Leong-Teo in Jon M. Chu’s romantic comedy Crazy Rich Asians (2018), which became a critical and commercial hit. Chan played Bess of Hardwick in historical drama Mary Queen of Scots (2018) and joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Minn-Erva in Captain Marvel (2019). She voiced the antagonist in Disney’s animated film Raya and the Last Dragon (2021). Chan will star as Sersi in Marvel’s upcoming film Eternals (2021)

Early life

Gemma Chan was born at Guy’s Hospital in London, England. Her father was an engineer who grew up in Hong Kong, while her mother was raised in Greenock, Scotland after her parents emigrated from China. Chan identifies as British Asian.

Chan was raised near Sevenoaks, Kent. She attended Newstead Wood School for Girls in Orpington, London. Chan went on to study jurisprudence at Worcester College, Oxford. Following her graduation, Chan gained a training contract offer as a graduate at the law firm Slaughter and May, but turned it down to study at the Drama Centre London and pursue an acting career. Spotted at her showcase by British film producer Damian Jones, she signed to talent agent Nicki van Gelder.

Career

2006–2013: Beginnings and early roles

Chan made her professional debut in Horror Channel’s 2006 miniseries When Evil Calls. She was a competitor on the first series of the reality series Project Catwalk. Chan made her stage debut in the British premiere of Bertolt Brecht’s last play, Turandot, at the Hampstead Theatre, London, in 2008. Chan appeared in the autumn 2009 special of the BBC’s Doctor Who, titled “The Waters of Mars”, playing geologist Mia Bennett. The episode later won a Hugo Award. In the same year, Chan starred in Exam (2009) which premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival to mixed reviews.  The following year, Chan appeared in Channel 4’s The IT Crowd and BBC’s Sherlock. Chan’s next releases, Pimp, (2010) and Shanghai (2010), were panned by critics, while Submarine premiered at the 35th Toronto International Film Festival to positive reviews.  Chan was cast as a series regular in the final series of Secret Diary of a Call Girl, as the rival of Billie Piper’s character. The series aired on ITV2 in 2011.

Later that year, she appeared in Channel 4’s Fresh Meat. A supporter of human rights, she made a film for Amnesty International to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In 2012, Chan was a regular in series two of Sky Living’s supernatural drama Bedlam where she portrayed Kiera, an “impulsive” and “free spirited” woman. She also appeared in True Love, a five-part semi-improvised television series produced by Working Title for BBC One. Chan met her co-stars on set, and had free rein to “flesh out” her character during the written scenarios. In June 2013, Chan performed in the British premiere of Yellow Face by American playwright David Henry Hwang at The Park Theatre, London, and returned for its 2014 revival at the Royal National Theatre. While promoting the play, Chan spoke about her struggles to get cast in non Chinese-related productions and period dramas due to her race.

In November 2013, Chan performed in the world premiere of Our Ajax by Timberlake Wertenbaker at the Southwark Playhouse, London. Wertenbaker chose her to play the war goddess Athena after she saw her performance in Yellow Face. Michael Billington of The Guardian described her performance as “beautifully svelte omniscience”. Later that year, she starred in BBC One crime drama Shetland, playing young archaeologist Hattie James. Chan guest-starred in the BBC’s Death in Paradise. She was a cast member of Channel 4 romantic drama Dates. On 6 August 2013, Chan appeared as a guest on the “Cultural Exchange” feature of the BBC Radio 4 series Front Row, where she nominated the film The Princess Bride as a film she loves. Chan appeared in The Double (2013), which premiered at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival to critical success.

2014–present: Film work and recognition

Chan appeared in the action-thriller Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014), which met mixed reception and financial success. She portrayed the protagonist’s girlfriend, Chen-Lin, in French comedy-drama Belles Familles (2015), which was released at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. Chan also portrayed American witch Madame Ya Zhou in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016), which was nominated for five BAFTAs.  She lent her voice to BBC’s animated miniseries Watership Down in 2018. Chan starred as the anthropomorphic robot Anita/Mia in Humans, an AMC/Channel 4 science-fiction drama, from 2015 to 2018. The A.V Club wrote that Chan “anchors the series”, with her performance “awakening in ways both subtle and overt … to reflect every new emotion.”

Chan voiced robot Quintessa in Transformers: The Last Knight (2017), which was panned by critics. Chan starred in action-thriller Stratton (2017) as the titular character’s “smart-girl” colleague, Aggie. In 2018, Chan co-starred as Astrid Leong-Teo in the film Crazy Rich Asians. Originally asked to portray the lead, Chan preferred “more intriguing” role of Astrid. She first heard about the novel Crazy Rich Asians in a text message from her sister, read it on holiday, and “fell in love with Astrid”. On her role, Chan stated that “what you see with Astrid is not necessarily what you get. There are layers to her … seemingly has it all together. The film became the highest-grossing romantic comedy of the decade and received critical acclaim for its cast, visuals and on-screen representation.  The Hollywood Reporter lauded Chan as “a radiant presence who lights up her every scene”. Chan will reprise her roles in the two sequel installments, filmed back-to-back in 2020. That same year, she also featured in the short film titled Leading Lady Parts in support of the Time’s Up movement.

Chan appeared as Petronella in London Fields (2018), which became a box-office bomb. She portrayed Elizabeth Hardwick in Josie Rourke’s directorial debut, historical drama Mary Queen of Scots (2018), which premiered at the AFI Fest. Chan’s casting “provoked controversy among internet trolls”, as her character had been a Caucasian woman. Chan responded that “if John Wayne can play Genghis Khan, I can play Bess of Hardwick” and remarked that “art should reflect life now.” Chan appeared in Captain Marvel (2019) in a supporting role as Kree sniper Minn-Erva. The role required an extensive amount of prosthetic makeup, described as “four layers of airbrush paint” that took four hours to apply. The film had the sixth-biggest opening of all time to critical success. Chan starred alongside Meryl Streep in Steven Soderbergh’s comedy Let Them All Talk (2020). She portrayed Karen, a literary agent who has a “maybe-romance” with her client’s nephew. The film premiered on HBO Max to positive reception. Chan voiced the antagonist, warrior princess Namaari, in fantasy film Raya and the Last Dragon (2021).

Upcoming projects

In August 2019, she joined the cast of Marvel Studios’ Eternals, which is set to be released on 5 November 2021. She will star as Sersi, a member of the titular race. This is her second role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe after Captain Marvel (2019). Chan will appear in psychological thriller Don’t Worry Darling, directed by Olivia Wilde.

In the media

She was one of fifteen women selected to appear on the cover of the September 2019 issue of British Vogue, by guest editor Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. In 2020, Chan was the fifteenth recipient of the Women In Film Max Mara Face of the Future award, given for her “distinguished acting achievements” and “personal embodiment of timeless style and grace”.

Personal life

In September 2013, Chan appeared at the Old Bailey in central London as a witness to a fatal stabbing outside Putney Bridge tube station.

Chan dated comedian Jack Whitehall from 2011 to 2016. In 2018, Chan was reported to be in a relationship with Dominic Cooper.

Chan travelled with Save the Children to Lebanon to meet with Syrian child refugees in 2017. Chan has supported UNICEF UK since 2015, and travelled to Jamaica raise awareness for domestic violence with the organisation in 2019. She participated in Soccer Aid to raise funds for the charity in 2019. Chan participated in World Children’s Day commemorations in 2020. She was appointed a celebrity ambassador for UNICEF UK in 2021.