Gina Bellman

Gina Bellman (born 10th July 1966)[1] is a New Zealand-born British actress best known for her performances as grifter Sophie Devereaux on the 2008-12 TNT television series Leverage and in the revival Leverage: Redemption when the series moved to Amazon Freevee in 2021 and Jane Christie on the 2000–04 BBC hit comedy show Coupling.

Gina Bellman
Bellman in 2023
Born1966 (age 5657)
Auckland, New Zealand
OccupationActress
Years active1982–present
Spouses
Lucho Brieva
(m. 2005; div. 2007)
    Zaab Sethna
    (m. 2013)
    Children1

    Early life

    Bellman was born in Auckland, New Zealand, to Jewish parents of Russian and Polish descent[2] who emigrated to New Zealand from England in the 1950s. Her family returned to the United Kingdom when she was 11 years old.[2] She was educated at Rosh Pinah Primary School and JFS in London.[3]

    Career

    After making her debut in an episode of Into the Labyrinth in 1982, and a two-episode stint in Grange Hill in 1984, she became a household name for her performance in the title role in Dennis Potter's drama Blackeyes. She is also well known for playing Jane in the sitcom Coupling. Her other TV roles include Waking the Dead, Jonathan Creek, Little Napoleons, and one-off appearances in Only Fools and Horses and Hotel Babylon.

    She has also appeared in several feature films including King David (1985), which starred Richard Gere and Edward Woodward, Secret Friends (1991), Leon the Pig Farmer (1992), and Silent Trigger (1996) opposite Dolph Lundgren.

    She co-starred alongside James Nesbitt in the 2007 BBC One drama serial Jekyll, a modern-day sequel to Robert Louis Stevenson's Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, written by Coupling author Steven Moffat.[4]

    In 2008, she began appearing on the TNT channel's serial drama Leverage, starring Timothy Hutton, for which she was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress in Television, but lost to Lucy Lawless.[5][6]

    In 2013, Bellman narrated poetry for The Love Book App, an interactive anthology of love literature developed by Allie Byrne Esiri.[7] In late 2013, she played the role of "The Italian Woman" in the National Theatre's production of the Georg Kaiser play From Morning to Midnight.[8]

    In 2015, Bellman appeared as Vivien Leigh in the European premiere of the Austin Pendleton play Orson's Shadow, at the Southwark Playhouse in London.

    In 2021, Bellman reprised the role of Sophie Deveraux in Leverage: Redemption, a revival of Leverage.

    Personal life

    From 2005 to 2007, Bellman was married to Lucho Brieva.

    In 2009, she had a daughter, Romy, with Zaab Sethna, whom she met just after shooting the Leverage pilot.[9] She and Sethna married in 2013.[9]

    Filmography

    Film
    Year Film Role Other notes
    1985 King David Tamar
    Mussolini: The Untold Story Gina Ruberti (television mini-series)
    1991 Secret Friends Helen
    1992 Vsetko co mam rad Ann
    Leon the Pig Farmer Lisa
    1993 Horse Opera Sandra/Marion
    1996 Silent Trigger Clegg "Spotter"
    1997 David Michal (television film)
    2000 Ted & Ralph Henrietta Spain
    Paranoid Eve
    Seven Days to Live Claudia
    2001 Subterrain Junkie Spirit
    Married/Unmarried Amanda
    2003 Sitting Ducks Christine
    2005 Zerophilia Sydney
    2007 Permanent Vacation Kathleen Bury
    Television
    Year Title Role Notes
    1982 Into the Labyrinth Christine Episode: Phantom
    1984 Grange Hill Trudy Episode: 7.8
    Episode: 7.9
    1989 Only Fools and Horses Carmen Episode: The Unlucky Winner Is...
    1989 Screen Two Greta Episode: Sitting Targets
    1989 Blackeyes Blackeyes Episode 1.1
    Episode 1.2
    Episode 1.3
    Episode 1.4
    1991 The Storyteller Eurydice Episode: Orpheus and Eurydice (live-action puppet television series)
    1994 Little Napoleons Liz Blakemore Episode: The Big Interview
    1996 Scene Athene Nike/Trainer Episode: Young Jung
    1996 Sharman Kiki Episode 1.1
    1999 Jonathan Creek Samantha Episode: Ghost's Forge
    2000–2004 Coupling Jane Christie 28 episodes
    2003 Waking the Dead Frannie Henning Episode: Final Cut: Part 1
    Episode: Final Cut: Part 2
    2005 The Last Detective Caroline Episode: Friends Reunited
    2007 Hotel Babylon Marina Stoll Episode: 2.2 (BBC television drama)
    2007 Jekyll Claire Jackman Episode: 1.1
    Episode: 1.2
    Episode: 1.3
    Episode: 1.4
    Episode: 1.5
    Episode: Hyde
    2007 Nearly Famous Traci Reed Episode: 1.1
    Episode: 1.2
    Episode: 1.4
    2007 Heroes and Villains Catherine Carteaux Episode: Napoleon (television docudrama)
    2008 The Wrong Door Pilot Instructor/Jill Episode: Njarnia
    Episode: The Smutty Aliens
    2008–2012 Leverage Sophie Devereaux 72 episodes
    2013 Ripper Street Jemima Swann Series 2, episode 6
    2017 Emerald City Karen 5 episodes
    2017 Henry IX Lady Leonara Series 1 All Episodes
    2021- Leverage: Redemption Sophie Devereaux Main role
    2022 Toast of Tinseltown Shepherd Jerbil The Scorecard, S1, Ep3
    Theatre
    Year Title Role Notes
    1990 The Rocky Horror Show Janet Weiss Piccadilly Theatre
    1994 Hamlet Ophelia Gielgud Theatre
    1998 Cleo, Camping, Emmanuelle and Dick Imogen National Theatre
    2000 Speed-the-Plow Karen Duke of York's Theatre
    2013 From Morning to Midnight Italian Lady/Salvation Army Officer National Theatre

    https://theatricalia.com/person/182b/gina-bellman


    2015 Orson's Shadow Vivien Leigh Southwark Playhouse

    References

    1. McFarlane, Brian (2005). The Encyclopedia of British Film. Methuen Publishing. p. 58. ISBN 978-0-413-77526-9.
    2. Cavendish, Lucy (31 March 2007). "Gina Genie". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
    3. Interview: Gina Bellman, The Jewish Chronicle, 17 January 2014
    4. "An all-star cast to appear in BBC ONE's Jekyll". BBC Press Office. 29 August 2006. Retrieved 30 August 2006.
    5. "Electric Entertainment's Leverage has been nominated for three Saturn Awards and two Prism Awards". electricentertainment.com. 19 February 2010. Archived from the original on 15 September 2011. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
    6. "TNT Orders 13 Episodes of Leverage". ComingSoon.net. 13 February 2008. Retrieved 1 July 2008.
    7. "The Love Book". Retrieved 3 October 2015.
    8. "From Morning to Midnight". The National Theatre. Archived from the original on 11 January 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
    9. Nathan, John (24 November 2013). "Gina Bellman 'I was never comfortable with the whole sex symbol thing'". www.thejc.com. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
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