Susannah Harker

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Susannah Harker
Born
Susannah Owens

(1965-04-26) 26 April 1965 (age 56)
London, England
OccupationActress
Years active1985–present
Spouse(s)
​
​
(m. 1993; div. 2004)​
Partner(s)Paul McGann (2006–2008)
Children1
Parent(s)Richard Owen and Polly Adams
RelativesCaroline Harker (sister)

Susannah Harker (born (1965-04-26)26 April 1965) is an English film, television, and theatre actor. She was nominated for a BAFTA TV Award in 1990 for her role as Mattie Storin in House of Cards. She is also known for her role as Jane Bennet in the 1995 TV adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.

She is the daughter of actress Polly Adams and actor Richard Owens, and her sisters, Nelly Harker and Caroline Harker, are also actresses.

Early life[]

Harker was born in London. She and her younger sister, Caroline (also an actress on stage and screen) were brought up as Catholics and educated at a "strict" independent convent boarding school run by nuns in Sussex, and at the Central School of Speech and Drama in North London.[1]

Acting career[]

Harker has acted in both contemporary and classic works, on stage, in movies and in TV series. In 1990–91 she appeared alongside Clive Owen in Chancer, and as the journalist Mattie Storin in the original House of Cards. She later played Dinah Morris in the 1991 adaptation of Adam Bede. She starred as Jane Bennet in the 1995 TV adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. She is featured as Emma Fitzgerald, the love interest of Superintendent Tyburn (Trevor Eve) in the BBC TV series, Heat of the Sun (1998). She appeared in the play, On the Shore of the Wide World.[2]

She played Sapphire in Big Finish Productions' audio revival of Sapphire & Steel, in three series of plays released on CD between 2005 and 2008. In 2003 she played Clare Keightley in the audio version of the Doctor Who adventure Shada, alongside Paul McGann. In December 2011 Harker appeared in the BBC drama Young James Herriot.[3]

In 2012 she returned to the stage, playing the role of Sue in a London production of Mike Leigh's Abigail's Party.[4]

During early 2014 she starred in the Gate Theatre, Dublin production of The Vortex by Noël Coward. In 2015, she played Miss Ella Rentheim in a BBC Radio 4 production of Ibsen's John Gabriel Borkman.[5]

Personal life[]

Harker is a great-great-granddaughter of Joseph Harker, a prominent artist and theatrical scene designer who was a contemporary of actor-manager Henry Irving and a friend of his business partner, Dracula author Bram Stoker.[6]

She was married to Iain Glen from 1993 to 2004; they have one son, Finlay (born 1994). She was later in a relationship with Paul McGann from 2006 to 2008.[7]

Filmography[]

Film[]

Year Title Role Notes
1985 Burke & Wills Bessie Wills
1987 White Mischief Young girl
The Lady's Not for Burning Alizon Eliot
1989 A Dry White Season Suzette du Toit
1991 The Crucifer of Blood Irene St. Claire
1996 Surviving Picasso Marie-Therese
2001 Intimacy Susan, Jay's wife
Trance Sarah Lamb
Offending Angels Paris
2007 Mary Booth Short
2008 Sister Ambrose

Television[]

Year Title Role Notes
1988 The Fear Linda 5 episodes
1988 Troubles Angela Spencer
1990–1991 Chancer Joanna Franklyn 14 episodes
1990 House of Cards Mattie Storin 4 episodes
1991 Adam Bede Dinah Morris
1994 The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Adelaide Savage Episode: "The Dying Detective"
Faith Holly Moreton 4 episodes
1995 Pride and Prejudice Jane Bennet 6 episodes
1998 Heat of the Sun Emma Fitzgerald 3 episodes
Ultraviolet Dr Angela March 6 episodes, TV mini-series
2001 Murder in Mind Barbara Davie
2002 Waking the Dead Clare Delaney 2 episodes
2006 Perfect Parents Alison TV film
2009 Midsomer Murders Matilda Simms 1 episode, The Black Book
2010 Moving On Anne 1 episode, Sauce for the Goose
2011 Young James Herriot Lady Verity Muirhead 1 episode
2012 New Tricks Elizabeth Clayton 1 episode, Old School Ties
2017 Grantchester Veronica Stone 1 episode

Theatre[]

Year Title Role Company Venue
2003 Three Sisters[8] Masha Playhouse Theatre, London

References[]

  1. ^ Susannah Harker BBC Drama, April 2007
  2. ^ Maxwell, Dominic (1 June 2005). "Wide World's web of intrigue". Evening Standard.
  3. ^ Young James Herriot – Gainful Employment BBC One. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  4. ^ Kellaway, Kate (11 March 2012). "Abigail's Party – review". The Guardian. London. ISSN 0261-3077. OCLC 60623878. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
  5. ^ "BBC Radio 4 – Drama, John Gabriel Borkman, Episode 1". Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  6. ^ Kennedy, Maev (5 February 2017). "Harker family visit great-grandfather's threatened scene-painting studio". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  7. ^ May, Dominic (6 December 2006). "Beyond the TARDIS – McGann and Harker". Doctor Who Magazine (376): 7.
  8. ^ "Susannah Harker & Stephen Ballantyne to replace Kristin Scott Thomas & Douglas Hodge". LondonTheatre.co.uk. 8 May 2003. Retrieved 20 August 2018.

External links[]

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