Gemma Arterton
☼ Born on 2 December 1986, in Gravesend, Kent, England, UK
BiographyGemma Christina Arterton was born in Gravesend, Kent, England, where she was raised. She is the daughter of Sally-Anne (Heap), a cleaner, and Barry J. Arterton, a welder. Her mother's cousin is singer-songwriter Eric Goulden.
Her parents divorced when she was age five, and Gemma subsequently lived with her younger sister and her mother. Her parents encouraged their children to explore their creative abilities. Gemma's sister, Hannah, liked to sing, whereas Gemma chose acting. During her teenage years, she was part of the Masquerade and Miskin theater companies, appearing in productions of The Massacre of Civitella and Guiding Star. In 2004, she won an award for Best Supporting Actress, which helped her to win a grant to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA).
Whilst studying at RADA, she landed her first professional role in Capturing Mary (2007), directed by Stephen Poliakoff and starring Maggie Smith. Gemma graduated from RADA in 2007 and won her first film role in St. Trinian's (2007). Her breakthrough role came in 2008, when she appeared in the James Bond film Quantum of Solace (2008). In 2009, she was the winner of Empire's Best Newcomer Award.
In the role of actor
The Critic – TIFF 2023 (16/09/2023)
A veteran theatre critic concocts a blackmail scheme involving a young starlet in The Critic. Jimmy Erskine (Ian McKellen) is the longtime drama critic for The Daily Chronicle, recently inherited by David Brooke (Mark Strong). David wants to restore The Chronicle to being London’s most-read family newspaper and earmarks Jimmy for the chopping block, both […]
The King’s Man (22/12/2021)
The origins of the super-secret spy agency are shown in The King’s Man. Orlando Oxford (Ralph Fiennes) is a war veteran and aristocrat, who does not want his son Conrad (Harris Dickinson) to get involved when the actions of a shadowy organization lead to the start of a Great War. However, Conrad soon learns that […]
The Girl with All the Gifts (15/03/2017)
A young girls holds the cure for a zombie outbreak in The Girl with All the Gifts. In the near future, humanity has been ravaged by a fungal disease that has left the population dominated by flesh-eating “hungries.” At a British army base headed by Sgt Eddie Parks (Paddy Considine), research is done by Dr […]
The Voices (22/02/2015)
Ryan Reynolds plays a man struggling with his schizophrenia in the dark comedy The Voices. Jerry (Reynolds) is a good natured guy, who works in a factory and has a crush on his co-worker Fiona (Gemma Arterton). However, the problem is that Jerry hears voices, which he perceives as coming from his cat Mr. Whiskers […]
Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters (27/01/2013)
It is quite interesting how popular fairy tales seem to be right now. In addition Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, there been three recent adaptations of Snow White (Mirror Mirror, Snow White and the Huntsman, and Blancanieves), Jack the Giant Slayer coming out in March, as well as the TV series’ Once Upon a Time […]
Byzantium (10/09/2012)
In just five years, I’ve fast became a fan of Saoirse Ronan and will probably see anything she’s in. The same can pretty much be said about Gemma Arterton, who I absolutely loved in The Disappearance of Alice Creed, which played at TIFF a few years ago. As such, when I found out about this film that […]
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (30/05/2010)
I am currently on a trip in Scotland, so I don’t have easy access to films (especially since the release schedule is different). However, I manage to see one film that had a worldwide release: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Video game adaptations have a bit of a bad reputation and despite being […]
Quantum of Solace (16/11/2008)
I guess it can agreed that the James Bond series would seem a little dated with newer action-packed spy films like the Jason Bourne films showing up. However, I never expected the producers to try and combine the two. There are many times throughout the film that seems to borrow from the Bourne films (including […]