Background

Born in Hammersmith, London, Rooper is the daughter of TV journalist Alison Rooper. She attended Redcliffe Primary School in Chelsea and the Godolphin and Latymer School. While working on The Famous Five, she passed eight GCSEs with A* and A grades. From there she went to MPW sixth form college where she got three A-grade A levels. Rooper bought her first home at the age of 19.

Career

Rooper expressed a wish to be an actress at the age of nine and contacted an agent. Her first professional roles were in the 1993 film The Higher Mortals and the 1994 film Willie's War. In 1996, she appeared in all episodes as George in Enid Blyton's The Famous Five.

She said:

“

I remember writing "I want to act" on my bed in lipstick. I think I told my mum I wanted to be an actress and she said I needed an agent to do that. I must have said: "Well, I'm going to get one"—and I think that's why. She was devastated. She said: "Please don't be an actress, be a doctor or lawyer." But I was very tunnel-visioned about it all. I'm an only child and I spent a lot of time alone. I played a lot of imaginary games. I just wanted to dress up and be weird, I suppose.

”

After several small roles in British TV series, Jemima took the role of Nicki in the popular Channel 4 teenage series As If, which successfully ran for three years. Her next appearance was in the supernatural drama Hex where she played a lovable lesbian ghost named Thelma. Hex aired on Sky One and ran for two series between 2004 and 2005.

Rooper made her Hollywood debut in The Black Dahlia. In 2008 she starred in the TV series Lost in Austen and guest starred in Agatha Christie's Poirot. She also played a lead role in Her Naked Skin, a new play at the National Theatre. In December 2010, Rooper was cast in the musical Me and My Girl at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre, alongside Miriam Margolyes.

Rooper was seen on-stage in One Man, Two Guvnors, which was favourably reviewed. She has since appeared in Blithe Spirit and Breeders in the West End. Her next project is the British horror-comedy Hotel Caledonia.

Filmography

Feature films and television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1993	The Higher Mortals	Vicky
1994	Willie's War	Annabel
1996-1997	The Famous Five	George	Series regular
1998	Owd Bob	Maggie Moore
1998	Animal Ark	Rachel Farmer	1 episode; "Guinea Pig in the Garage"
1999	Junk	Gemma Brogan	TV film
1999	The Passion	Alice	TV series
1999	Shockers: Dance	Anne	TV film
1999	Wives and Daughters	Lizzie Goodenough	TV mini-series
2000	Summer in the Suburbs	Judie Lyle	TV film
2000	The Railway Children	Bobbie	TV film
2000	Urban Gothic	Nik	1 episode; "Dead Meat"
2001	Love in a Cold Climate	Jassy	TV mini-series
2001-2004	As If	Nicki Sutton	Series regular
2002	Snapshots	Narma (20 years old)
2004	Midsomer Murders	Jo Clifford	1 episode; "The Straw Woman"
2005	A Sound of Thunder	Jenny Krase
2005	Kinky Boots	Nicola
2004-2005	Hex	Thelma Bates	Series regular
2006	Sugar Rush	Montana	Episode 2.5
2006	The Black Dahlia	Lorna Mertz
2006	Silent Witness	Claire Ashen	2 episodes; "Schism: Part 1", "Schism: Part 2"
2006	Sinchronicity	Fi	Series regular
2006	Perfect Day: The Millennium	Amber	TV film
2006	Random Quest	Gerry	TV film
2007	Life Line	Catt	TV film
2007	The Time of Your Life	Emma	Series regular
2008	Agatha Christie's Poirot	Norma Restarick	1 episode; "Third Girl"
2008	Lost in Austen	Amanda Price	TV mini-series
2010	Reunited	Sophie	TV pilot
2010	Bouquet of Barbed Wire	Sarah Francis	TV mini-series
2011	Frankenstein's Wedding	Justine Mortiz	Live musical-drama
2011	Hotel Caledonia	Casey Wright
2013	Atlantis	Medusa	TV series
2013	One Chance	Hydrangea
2013	The F Word	Ellie
2014	Blandings	Lesley

Theatre

• Where Do We Live - Royal Court Theatre, Jerwood Theatre Upstairs, May 2002 (playing Lily)
• Us and Them - Hampstead Theatre, June 2003 (playing Izzie)
• A Respectable Wedding (part of The Big Brecht Fest) - Young Vic, April 2007 (playing Bride)
• Her Naked Skin - National Theatre, July 2008 (playing Eve Douglas)
• The Great Game: Afghanistan - Tricycle Theatre, April - June 2009
• The Power of Yes - National Theatre October 2009
• All My Sons - Apollo Theatre, May - October 2010 (playing Ann Deever)
• Me and My Girl - Jan 2011 (playing Sally)
• One Man, Two Guvnors- National Theatre June 2011 (playing Rachel Crabbe)
• Blithe Spirit - Gielgud Theatre, March 2014 (playing Elvira)
• Breeders by Ben Ockrent - St James Theatre, September 2014
• Blithe Spirit - Ahmanson Theater, Los Angeles, December 2014 - January 2015 (playing Elvira)
• Hand to God - Vaudeville Theatre, London, February 2016

[ Source: Wikipedia ]