Jodie Whittaker (born 17 June 1982) is an English actress. She came to prominence in her 2006 feature film debut Venus, for which she received British Independent Film Award and Satellite Award nominations. She was later praised for her roles in the cult science fiction film Attack the Block (2011), the Black Mirror episode “The Entire History of You” (2011), and as grieving mother Beth Latimer in Broadchurch.
On 16 July 2017, the BBC announced that Whittaker would become the thirteenth incarnation of The Doctor in the British TV series Doctor Who. She formally assumed the role from Peter Capaldi in the 2017 Christmas special episode “Twice Upon a Time” when Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor regenerated into Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor. Whittaker appeared in her first full series as The Doctor in the eleventh series, which premiered in October 2018. She continued in the role in the twelfth series in 2020. Whittaker later announced that she would reprise her role as The Doctor into its thirteenth series.
Early life
Jodie Whittaker was born on 17 June 1982 in Skelmanthorpe, West Yorkshire. She is the second child and only daughter of Adrian Whittaker and Yvonne Whittaker (née Auckland). She attended Scissett Middle School and Shelley High School before training at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, graduating in 2005 with an acting Gold Medal.
Career
Early career
Whittaker made her professional debut in The Storm at Shakespeare’s Globe in 2005. She has since worked in film, television, radio and theatre. In 2007, she stood in at short notice for an unwell Carey Mulligan in the Royal Court’s production of The Seagull, and appeared in a fundraising play at the Almeida Theatre.
In Whittaker’s first major role, she co-starred as Jessie (Venus) in the film Venus. Her radio credits include a 2008 adaptation of Blinded by the Sun by Stephen Poliakoff and Lydia Bennett in Unseen Austen, an original drama by Judith French. In 2009, she worked on the film Ollie Kepler’s Expanding Purple World, the BBC2 drama Royal Wedding, and the short film Wish 143, which was nominated for the Academy Award for Live Action Short Film at the 83rd Academy Awards.
In 2010, Whittaker appeared in the film The Kid and co-starred in BBC’s Accused. She appeared in the 2009 Irish comedy crime film Perrier’s Bounty. In 2011, she appeared as Viv in the BBC adaptation of Sarah Waters’s novel The Night Watch and the cult film Attack the Block. In 2012, she starred in the musical comedy-drama Good Vibrations.
Whittaker appeared in the crime drama Broadchurch, the reality-based spy drama miniseries The Assets, and the four-part BBC One medical drama Trust Me.
Doctor Who
On 16 July 2017, Whittaker was announced as the Thirteenth Doctor in the science fiction television series Doctor Who; she is the first woman to play the title role. She had previously worked with incoming Doctor Who showrunner Chris Chibnall on Broadchurch. She admitted that she had to “tell a lot of lies” after being cast to keep the information secret and used the codeword “Clooney” when talking about the role. Whittaker kept her mother in “the inner circle” regarding knowledge of the role, as her father, Adrian, “would have the ability to tell the world”.
She urged fans not to be afraid of her gender, saying “Doctor Who represents everything that’s exciting about change. The fans have lived through so many changes, and this is only a new, different one, not a fearful one.” Chibnall said that he always wanted a woman for the part and that Whittaker was their first choice.
Reaction to Whittaker’s casting was mostly positive, although a “sizeable minority” was unhappy. Some said that a female Doctor would be a good role model for young girls, while others felt the Doctor was only ever meant to be male, or criticised the casting as an exercise in political correctness. Whittaker debuted in the 2017 Christmas special “Twice Upon a Time”.
In November 2018, the BBC confirmed that the twelfth series, Whittaker’s second series, began production in November 2018, debuting in January 2020.
On 3 January 2021, the Daily Mirror stated that Whittaker would be leaving at the end of the 13th series. Neither the BBC nor Whittaker have confirmed that this is the case.
Personal life
Whittaker met American actor and writer Christian Contreras in drama school, and had a “big wedding” in Arizona in 2008. Whittaker gave birth to their daughter in April 2015.
Whittaker is a feminist and lives in London.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Venus | Jessie | Nominated—British Independent Film Award for Most Promising Newcomer Nominated—London Critics Circle Film Award for British Newcomer of the Year Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical |
| 2007 | St Trinian’s | Beverly | |
| 2008 | Good | Anne Hartman | |
| 2009 | White Wedding | Rose | |
| Swansong: Story of Occi Byrne | Bridget Byrne | ||
| Roar | Eva | Short film | |
| Perrier’s Bounty | Brenda | ||
| Wish 143 | Maggie | Short film | |
| St Trinian’s 2: The Legend of Fritton’s Gold | Beverly | ||
| 2010 | The Kid | Jackie | |
| Ollie Kepler’s Expanding Purple World | Noreen Stokes | ||
| 2011 | Attack the Block | Samantha Adams | Nominated—Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated—Black Reel Award for Best Ensemble (shared with the cast) |
| One Day | Tilly | ||
| A Thousand Kisses Deep | Mia Selva | Also video operator | |
| 2012 | Ashes | Ruth | |
| Dust | Jessica’s Mum | Short film | |
| Smoke | Short film | ||
| 2013 | Hello Carter | Jenny | |
| Spike Island | Suzanne | ||
| Good Vibrations | Ruth | ||
| 2014 | Get Santa | Alison | |
| Emotional Fusebox | Anna | Short film | |
| Black Sea | Chrissy | ||
| 2016 | Adult Life Skills | Anna | Also executive producer Nominated—British Independent Film Award for Best Actress Nominated—National Film Award (UK) for Best Actress Nominated—National Film Award (UK) for Best Breakthrough Performance in a Film |
| 2017 | Journeyman | Emma | Nominated—Evening Standard British Film Awards Best Actress |
| 2019 | Rachel | Rachel | Short film |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | The Afternoon Play | Sam | Episode: “The Last Will and Testament of Billy Two-Sheds” Won—RTS Television Award for Best Actress |
| Doctors | Louise Clancy | Episode: “Ignorance Is Bliss” | |
| Dalziel and Pascoe | Kirsty Richards | 2 episodes | |
| 2007 | This Life + 10 | Clare | Television film |
| 2008 | Tess of the D’Urbervilles | Izzy Huett | Miniseries |
| Wired | Louise Evans | Miniseries | |
| The Shooting of Thomas Hurndall | Sophie | Television film | |
| Consuming Passion | Mary Boon | Television film | |
| 2009 | Return to Cranford | Peggy Bell | Miniseries |
| 2010 | Accused | Emma Croft | Episode: “Liam’s Story” |
| Royal Wedding | Linda Caddock | Television film | |
| 2011 | Marchlands | Ruth Bowen | 5 episodes |
| Black Mirror | Ffion | Episode: “The Entire History of You” | |
| The Night Watch | Vivian Pearce | Television film | |
| 2013–2017 | Broadchurch | Beth Latimer | 24 episodes Nominated—Crime Thriller Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated—RTS Television Award for Best Actress |
| 2014 | The Assets | Sandra Grimes | 8 episodes |
| The Smoke | Trish Tooley | 8 episodes | |
| 2017 | Trust Me | Cath Hardacre/Dr Ally Sutton | 4 episodes |
| 2017–present | Doctor Who | Thirteenth Doctor | Debut in “Twice Upon a Time”, Series 11, 12, 13 Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actress in a Series, Drama/Genre Nominated—National Television Award for Drama Performance Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television Nominated—BAFTA Cymru Award for Best Actress Nominated—TV Quick Award for Best Actress |
| 2019 | Got it Covered | Herself | BBC Children in Need special |
| 2019 | A Question of Sport at 50 | Narrator | Documentary |
| 2020 | Who Do You Think You Are? | Herself | Documentary |
Stage
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | The Storm | Ampelisca | Shakespeare’s Globe |
| 2006 | Enemies | Nadya | Almeida Theatre Nominated—Ian Charleson Award |
| 2007 | A Gaggle of Saints | Sue | Trafalgar Studios |
| Awake and Sing! | Hennie Berger | Almeida Theatre | |
| 2012 | Antigone | Antigone | National Theatre |
Radio
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Blinded by the Sun | BBC Radio 4 | |
| Unseen Austen | Lydia Bennett |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Doctor Who: The Runaway | The Doctor (voice) | Virtual Reality game by BBC |
| 2019 | Doctor Who: The Edge of Time | The Doctor (voice) | Virtual Reality game by Maze Theory |
| 2021 | Doctor Who: The Edge of Reality | The Doctor (voice) | Video Game by Maze Theory |
Music
| Year | Title | Album/Project | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Yellow | Children in Need: Got It Covered | Single (#5 on the Official Big Top 40) |