Aisling Loftus
Introduction '''Aisling Sinead Katie Loftus''' (born 1 September 1990) is a British actress. She began her career as a child actress and first gained prominence through her roles in the BBC dramas ''Five Daughters'' (2010) and ''Dive'' (2010), the play ''Spur of the Moment'', and the film ''Death of a Superhero'' (2011). She has since appeared in the ITV period drama ''Mr Selfridge'' (2013–2015), the BBC series ''War & Peace'' (2016) and ''Broken'' (2017), and the Sky series ''A Discovery of Witches'' (2018–2022) and ''The Midwich Cuckoos'' (2022). Her performance in the film ''Property of the State'' (2016) earned her an IFTA nomination.
Early life and education Loftus was born in Nottingham to Irish parents Paddy and Eileen from Drumcondra, Dublin and Roscrea, County Tipperary; she has an older sister Aoife. Throughout her childhood she visited family in Ireland for holidays, in Dublin, Tipperary, Cork, Kerry, Galway and Clare. Loftus attended St Edmund Campion Catholic Primary School in West Bridgford and later completed A Levels in English literature, drama and history at the Becket School in Wilford. She was nine when she discovered acting; she took classes at the Television Workshop, and participated in the National Theatre Connections. She considered going to drama school, but decided against it when she was cast in ''Dive'' whilst on study leave.
Career Loftus made her television debut in a 2000 episode of the ITV medical drama ''Peak Practice''. This was followed by guest appearances in the CITV series ''Help! I'm a Teenage Outlaw'' as well as ''Casualty'', ''Doctors'', and ''The Bill''. In 2009, she starred as Amy in the ITV comedy-drama television film ''The Fattest Man in Britain'', and the titular character of Daniel Elliott's short ''Jade'', which won Silver Bear for Best Short Film at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2009.Loftus was named a 2009 ''Screen International'' Star of Tomorrow.In 2010, Loftus starred in the BBC dramas ''Five Daughters'' and ''Dive'' as Gemma Adams and Lindsey respectively. In her review of ''Dive'', Euan Ferguson of ''The Observer'' predicted that Aisling "Ash" Loftus would be a "phenomenon." That same year, Loftus made her London stage debut as Leonie Fowler in ''Spur of the Moment'' by Anya Reiss at the Royal Court Theatre. Dominic Cavendish of ''The Daily Telegraph'' called her "superb." She also appeared in the Australian film ''Oranges and Sunshine and the Sky One crime drama ''Thorne: Sleepyhead''.Loftus starred in the 2011 Irish film ''Death of a Superhero'', for which she was awarded the Special Jury Prize by critics at the 2012 Dublin International Film Festival. She also starred in the television films, as Melissa Legge on BBC Two's ''Page Eight'', and as Arrietty Clock in the BBC One's ''The Borrowers''. as well as the play ''Noises Off'' for its Old Vic and Novello Theatre runs, marking her West End debut. This was followed in by roles as Jade in the BBC miniseries ''Public Enemies'', and as Cassandra in ''Good Cop''. In 2013, Loftus began starring as Agnes Towler in the ITV period drama ''Mr. Selfridge'', a role she would play for the first three series. In 2016, she played Sonya Rostova in the BBC adaptation of ''War & Peace'', and appeared in the films ''Pride & Prejudice & Zombies'' and ''Property of the State''. For the latter, she was nominated for Best Lead Actress in a Film at the 14th Irish Film & Television Awards.In 2017, she played Joan in the 40th anniversary production of Stephen Lowe's ''Touched'' at Nottingham Playhouse alongside fellow Television Workshop alumni. and Anne in ''The Treatment'' at the Almeida Theatre. She appeared in the film ''Gun Shy'', and played PC Dawn Morris in the BBC series ''Broken''.Loftus played Sophie Wilson and later Susanna Norman in the 2018 Sky fantasy series ''A Discovery of Witches''. She appeared in ''Aristocrats'' at the Donmar Warehouse. She originated the role of Queenie in Helen Edmundson's 2019 stage adaptation of ''Small Island'' at the National Theatre. She returned to the Donmar Warehouse with ''Far Away'' in 2020.Loftus starred in the film ''Homebound'' and the Sky Max science fiction series ''The Midwich Cuckoos''.
Personal life In December 2018, Loftus married actor Jacob Anderson at the Ace Hotel (now One Hundred Shoreditch). The couple have a daughter, born July 2020.
Filmography ===Film=== Year Title Role Notes 2006 ''This Is England''  Scene cut from theatrical release ''Blind Man's Alley'' Player 4 Short film 2009 ''Jade'' Jade  Short film; Berlinale Silver Bear winner  2010 ''Oranges and Sunshine'' Susie 2011 ''Death of a Superhero''  Shelly ''Cardinal'' Envy Short film 2013 ''Cash Cow'' Sophie 2014 ''Educator'' Lydia 2015 ''Auld Lang Syne'' Laura Hammond Short film 2016  ''Pride & Prejudice & Zombies'' Charlotte ''Property of the State'' Ann Marie ''Tuesday'' Sophie Short film 2017 ''Gun Shy'' Marybeth 2019 ''Small Island'' Queenie National Theatre Live 2021 ''Homebound'' Holly===Television=== Year Title Role Notes 2000 ''Peak Practice'' Abby Moffett Episode: "Electricity" 2001 ''A Fish Out of Water'' Angela Television film 2004 ''Help! I'm a Teenage Outlaw'' Montague's Food Tester Episode: "Betrayal" 2005, 2008 ''Doctors'' Emma Tyler / Ellie Lowell 2 episodes 2006, 2008 ''Casualty'' Mellie Bennett / Jo Balmayne 2 episodes 2008 ''The Bill''  Sophie Randall 2 episodes 2009 ''The Fattest Man in Britain'' Amy  Television film 2010 ''Five Daughters''  Gemma Adams  Miniseries; 2 episodes ''Dive''  Lindsey  Television film ''Thorne: Sleepyhead''  Rachel 2-part drama 2011 ''Case Histories''  Lily Rose / Tanya 2 episodes ''Page Eight'' Melissa Legge Television film ''The Borrowers''  Arrietty Clock Television film 2012  ''Public Enemies'' Jade Miniseries; 2 episodes ''Good Cop''  Cassandra Miniseries ''Little Crackers'' Maria Christmas special 2013–2015 ''Mr Selfridge'' Agnes Towler / Leclair Main role (series 1–3) 2016 ''War & Peace'' Sonya Rostova Main role 2017 ''Broken'' PC Dawn Morris Main role; 3 episodes ''Midsomer Murders'' Tegan Langton 1 episode 2018–2022 ''A Discovery of Witches'' Sophie Wilson / Susanna Norman Main role; 14 episodes 2022 ''The Midwich Cuckoos'' Zoë Moran Main role
Stage  Year Title Role Notes 2010 ''Spur of the Moment'' Leonie Fowler Royal Court Theatre, London 2011 ''Noises Off'' Poppy Norton-Taylor Old Vic / Novello Theatre, London 2014 ''The Hotel Plays'' Girl Langham Hotel, London 2017 ''The Treatment'' Anne Almeida Theatre, London ''Touched'' Joan Nottingham Playhouse, Nottingham 2018 ''Aristocrats'' Claire Donmar Warehouse, London 2019 ''Small Island'' Queenie Royal National Theatre, London 2020 ''Far Away'' Joan Donmar Warehouse, London
Awards and nominations  Year   Award Category Work Result  Ref. 2009 ''Screen International'' Star of Tomorrow Career achievement so far    2012 Dublin International Film Festival Special Jury Prize ''Death of a Superhero''  2017 Irish Film & Television Awards Best Actress in a Lead Role – Film ''Property of the State''
References
External links ** Loftus on Screen Daily website* LeftLion: Aisling Loftus