Early life

Parkinson was born in Hounslow, London, the daughter of historian A. F. Parkinson. Her family are from Northern Ireland and Devon. She grew up in Tolworth and Surbiton, and studied at Tiffin Girls' School before going on to read classics at St Hilda's College, Oxford. She studied at London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) where she met Chris O'Dowd, later to be her co-star in The IT Crowd. She left her course to star in the play The Age of Consent.

Career

Between 2005-2009 Parkinson played Pauline Lamb, the doctor's receptionist - and later phlebotomist - in series 2-4 of the long-running ITV drama-comedy series Doc Martin, based on the 2000 film Saving Grace.

While working on Doc Martin, she was asked by her college friend Chris O'Dowd to audition for the comedy series The IT Crowd as the show was having trouble casting a female lead. In an interview with The Independent, Parkinson said that show creator Graham Linehan originally wanted Jen to be "likeable" but "I know what he wanted now - he wanted her to be the more normal person people could relate to." Although she would act as the straight woman to the two guys, her klutziness was well-received by the audience. She had straight hair for the role, in contrast to her curly hair from Doc Martin.

In 2007, she appeared in a new production of Chekhov's The Seagull at London's Royal Court Theatre, alongside Kristin Scott Thomas and Mackenzie Crook.

On New Year's Day 2009 in the UK, she appeared in a feature-length episode of Jonathan Creek entitled "The Grinning Man". She also contributed sketch characters to Katy Brand's ITV2 show, having been friends with Brand since their time at university. At the end of 2009 she appeared in the play Cock at the Royal Court Theatre.

She has performed several times on BBC Radio 4, including on Laura Solon: Talking and Not Talking, Mouth Trap, again with Katy Brand, and in The Odd Half Hour. She also starred in television advertisements for Maltesers alongside fellow actress and comedian Amanda Abbington, and provided her voice for a Herbal Essences shampoo advertising campaign in 2010.

Parkinson played Sophie, one of the lead roles along with Mark Heap (Bob Stevens), in BBC Four's three-part comedy series The Great Outdoors, which followed the hikes, heartaches, friendships and rivalries of a misfit rambling club, first aired on 28 July 2010. In 2010-2011 she appeared in Season's Greetings at the National Theatre and in 2011 as Lady Teazle in The School for Scandal (directed by Deborah Warner) at the Barbican Centre.

Parkinson starred in The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff, a four-part BBC comedy series which premiered on BBC Two on 19 December 2011. Parkinson next appeared in series 2 episode 3 of Sherlock, "The Reichenbach Fall", as journalist Kitty Riley in January 2012.

In 2013, she filmed The Honourable Woman for the BBC and SundanceTV.

In 2014, she co-starred in TV advertisements for Kit-Kat.

In 2015 Parkinson starred in the BBC One TV comedy series The Kennedys, written by Emma Kennedy about growing up on a Stevenage New Town estate in the 1970s. She also played one of the lead roles as Laura Hawkins in the British-American science fiction series Humans broadcast on Channel 4 and AMC between 14 June and 2 August 2015.

Personal life

Parkinson is married to actor Harry Peacock. They have two daughters born in 2012 and 2014.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role
2006	Hard to Swallow	Katie
2007	Christmas at the Riviera	Vanessa
2008	Easy Virtue	Marion Whittaker
2008	How to Lose Friends & Alienate People	PR Woman
2009	The Boat That Rocked	Felicity
2009	St. Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold	Physics Teacher
2014	Britain Isn't Eating	Marion / Sarah

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2005	Ahead of the Class	Vicky Foley
2005	Casualty	Helen Gibbons	Episode: "The Long Goodbye"
2005	Extras	Woman in Queue	Episode: "Ross Kemp and Vinnie Jones"
2005-2009	Doc Martin	Pauline Lamb
2006-2013	IT Crowd, TheThe IT Crowd	Jen Barber	British Comedy Award for Best Television Comedy Actress Nominated - BAFTA for Best Female Comedy Performance Winner of BAFTA award Best Female Performance In A Comedy Programme 2014
2007	Fear, Stress & Anger	Gemma
2007	Christmas at the Riviera	Vanessa
2007-2009	Katy Brand's Big Ass Show	Various Characters
2009	Jonathan Creek	Nicola	Episode: "The Grinning Man"
2009	Old Guys, TheThe Old Guys	Amber
2010	Great Outdoors, TheThe Great Outdoors	Sophie
2010	Whites	Caroline
2011	Psychoville	Fiona	1 episode
2011	Comedy Showcase: Coma Girl	Pip	1 episodes
2011	The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff	Conceptiva
2012	Sherlock	Kitty Riley	Episode: "The Reichenbach Fall"
2013	Love Matters	Jo Pepper	Episode: "Officially Special"
2014	The Honourable Woman	Rachel
2014	Inside No. 9	Rebecca	Episode: "Sardines"
2014	Officially Special	Jo Pepper
2015	Horizon	Katherine Parkinson	Narrator
2014-present	In the Club	Kim Hall
2015-present	Humans	Laura Hawkins	Lead role
2015	The Kennedys	Brenda Kennedy	Lead role

Radio

Year	Title	Role
2004	A Certain Smile	Catherine
	Good Times Role	Patient
2008	The Odd Half Hour
2008	Mouthtrap	Writer, performer
2010	Sarah Millican's Support Group	Kim
2011	The Lost Weekend
2011	The Drover of Clissold Common
	Souvenirs	Samantha
2011-2012	Don't Start	Kim
2011	The One and Only	Layla
2012	Welcome to Our Village, Please Invade Carefully	Katrina
2012	Diary of a Nobody	Carrie Pooter
2012	The Bat Man	Colette
	The Lady from the Sea	Bolette
2013	Start/Stop	Alice

Stage

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2013	Before the Party	Laura	Almeida Theatre
2012	Absent Friends	Diana	Harold Pinter Theatre
2011	66 Books	Jo	Bush Theatre
2011	The School for Scandal	Lady Teazle	Barbican Theatre
2010	Season's Greetings	Pattie	Royal National Theatre
2009	Cock	W	Royal Court Theatre
2007	The Seagull	Masha	Royal Court Theatre
2006	The Lightning Play	Imogen Cumberbatch	Almeida Theatre
2006	Other Hands	Lydia	Soho Theatre
2004	Flush	Lily	Soho Theatre
2004	Cigarettes and Chocolate	Gail	King's Head Theatre
2004	The Unthinkable	Fran	Sheffield Crucible
2003	The Riot Act	Antigone	The Gate (London)
2003	The Increased Difficulty of Concentration	Anna Balcar	The Gate (London)
2003	Camille	Olympe	Lyric Hammersmith
2002	Deep Throat Live on Stage	Linda Lovelace	Assembly Rooms Edinburgh Festival Fat Bloke Productions
2002	Frame 312	Maggie / Doris / Marie	Donmar Warehouse
2002	The Age of Consent	Stephanie	Bush Theatre

[ Source: Wikipedia ]