Lauren Crace
Encyclopedia
Lauren Rose Crace is an English actress known for playing Danielle Jones
in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders.
, Lauren Rose Crace was born in Birmingham
, West Midlands
. She has an older brother called Thomas Crace (born 1981).
Crace attended Swanshurst School in Billesley
, and then Cadbury Sixth Form College, where she took both a GCSE and an A-Level in Drama.
She joined the Stage 2 Youth theatre aged eleven. and later went on to train at Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
.
In 2008, she joined the cast of the BBC
soap opera
EastEnders
playing Danielle Jones
, a love interest for newcomer Callum Monks.
She first appeared onscreen in August. Crace said of joining the soap: "I'm thrilled to be joining the cast of EastEnders, it's a great first role and I can't wait to see what is in store for Danielle."
Executive Producer Diederick Santer
added: "Lauren is a real find - a lovely, talented, and hugely watchable actress. I'm delighted she's making her professional debut with us, at the start of what I'm sure will be a glittering and accomplished career."
Shortly after joining the soap, her character Danielle was revealed to be Ronnie Mitchell's
long-lost daughter, unbeknownst to Ronnie herself.
She made her last appearance as Danielle in an hour-long episode broadcast on 2 April 2009, in which her character died after being hit by Janine Butcher's speeding car.
Prior to the episode's broadcast, Crace told GMTV
that she wanted to return to her roots of theatre and move away from the character of Danielle. The viewing figures for her last episode peaked at 11.5 million, due to this there was a surge in the national power grid.
Fans of the show and the character signed an online petition which so far totals over 15,000 that labeled the character's death a "huge mistake". There is also a Facebook group "Bring Back Danielle from EastEnders", which has attracted over 67,000 fans so far. But according to The Daily Mirror
, soap bosses have ruled this out.
Crace won the award for best newcomer for her role in Eastenders at the TV Quick and TV Choice awards on 7 September.
In February 2010, Crace filmed a role in the BBC television series Sherlock, which broadcast later that year.
From 29 April to 22 May 2010, Crace appeared at the Salisbury Playhouse
as Cecile Volanges in Les Liaisons Dangereuses
.
' wedding to actor Mark Womack
, on the 17 May 2009.
Danielle Jones (EastEnders)
Danielle Jones is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Lauren Crace. The character appeared between 18 August 2008 and 3 April 2009. Crace's casting in the role was announced in July 2008, when she was described as a love interest for fellow new character Callum Monks...
in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders.
Biography
The daughter of contemporary English writer Jim CraceJim Crace
James "Jim" Crace is a contemporary English writer. The winner of numerous awards, Crace also has a large popular following. He currently lives in the Moseley area of Birmingham with his wife...
, Lauren Rose Crace was born in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, West Midlands
West Midlands (county)
The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
. She has an older brother called Thomas Crace (born 1981).
Crace attended Swanshurst School in Billesley
Billesley, West Midlands
Billesley is a ward within the council constituency and parliamentary constituency of Selly Oak, Birmingham, England. It is south of the city centre and includes the areas Billesley, Highters Heath, Maypole , Warstock and Yardley Wood...
, and then Cadbury Sixth Form College, where she took both a GCSE and an A-Level in Drama.
She joined the Stage 2 Youth theatre aged eleven. and later went on to train at Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art is a drama school located in London, United Kingdom. It is generally regarded as one of the most renowned drama schools in the world, and is one of the oldest drama schools in the United Kingdom, having been founded in 1904.RADA is an affiliate school of the...
.
Career
Crace began her acting career as an extra, having parts in TV shows and theatre productions including leading roles in Alice in Wonderland (directed by Ruth Harrell) and Sweeney Todd (directed by Tom Bailey).In 2008, she joined the cast of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
playing Danielle Jones
Danielle Jones (EastEnders)
Danielle Jones is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Lauren Crace. The character appeared between 18 August 2008 and 3 April 2009. Crace's casting in the role was announced in July 2008, when she was described as a love interest for fellow new character Callum Monks...
, a love interest for newcomer Callum Monks.
She first appeared onscreen in August. Crace said of joining the soap: "I'm thrilled to be joining the cast of EastEnders, it's a great first role and I can't wait to see what is in store for Danielle."
Executive Producer Diederick Santer
Diederick Santer
Diederick Santer is a British television producer and is best known for his work on the popular BBC television soap opera EastEnders, a post which he assumed on 23 October 2006 and left on 1 March 2010...
added: "Lauren is a real find - a lovely, talented, and hugely watchable actress. I'm delighted she's making her professional debut with us, at the start of what I'm sure will be a glittering and accomplished career."
Shortly after joining the soap, her character Danielle was revealed to be Ronnie Mitchell's
Ronnie Mitchell
Veronica Elizabeth "Ronnie" Branning is a fictional character from the British BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Samantha Womack. Ronnie and her sister Roxy were introduced by executive producer Diederick Santer in July 2007; Ronnie is the "ice" to Roxy's "fire"...
long-lost daughter, unbeknownst to Ronnie herself.
She made her last appearance as Danielle in an hour-long episode broadcast on 2 April 2009, in which her character died after being hit by Janine Butcher's speeding car.
Prior to the episode's broadcast, Crace told GMTV
GMTV
GMTV was the national Channel 3 breakfast television contractor, broadcasting in the United Kingdom from 1 January 1993 to 3 September 2010. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of ITV plc. in November 2009. Shortly after, ITV plc announced the programme would end...
that she wanted to return to her roots of theatre and move away from the character of Danielle. The viewing figures for her last episode peaked at 11.5 million, due to this there was a surge in the national power grid.
Fans of the show and the character signed an online petition which so far totals over 15,000 that labeled the character's death a "huge mistake". There is also a Facebook group "Bring Back Danielle from EastEnders", which has attracted over 67,000 fans so far. But according to The Daily Mirror
The Daily Mirror
The Daily Mirror is a British national daily tabloid newspaper which was founded in 1903. Twice in its history, from 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was changed to read simply The Mirror, which is how the paper is often referred to in popular parlance. It had an...
, soap bosses have ruled this out.
Crace won the award for best newcomer for her role in Eastenders at the TV Quick and TV Choice awards on 7 September.
In February 2010, Crace filmed a role in the BBC television series Sherlock, which broadcast later that year.
From 29 April to 22 May 2010, Crace appeared at the Salisbury Playhouse
Salisbury Playhouse
Salisbury Playhouse is a theatre in the county of Wiltshire, it was built in 1976 and has two theatre spaces – the Main House and Salberg Studio ....
as Cecile Volanges in Les Liaisons Dangereuses
Les liaisons dangereuses (play)
Les liaisons dangereuses is a play by Christopher Hampton adapted from the 1782 novel of the same title by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos. The plot focuses on the Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont, rivals who use sex as a weapon of humiliation and degradation, all the while enjoying their...
.
Personal life
Resident in London, Crace attended Eastenders co-star Samantha JanusSamantha Janus
Samantha Zoe Womack is an English actress, singer and director, both on television and stage. In recent years she has been best known for playing the role of Ronnie Branning in EastEnders, but made her name in the early 1990s as Mandy Wilkins in Game On, and also represented the United Kingdom in...
' wedding to actor Mark Womack
Mark Womack (British actor)
Mark Edward Womack is an English actor, best known for starring in Liverpool 1, Sorted and Willy Russell's Dancin thru' The Dark.Womack was born in Liverpool in 1961, eldest son of Frances and Tom Womack...
, on the 17 May 2009.
Filmography
| Year | TV Show | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-09 | EastEnders EastEnders EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End... |
Danielle Jones Danielle Jones (EastEnders) Danielle Jones is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Lauren Crace. The character appeared between 18 August 2008 and 3 April 2009. Crace's casting in the role was announced in July 2008, when she was described as a love interest for fellow new character Callum Monks... |
76 episodes |
| 2010 | Sherlock | Lucy | 1 episode; "The Great Game" |
| 2011 | Room at the Top Room at the Top Room at the Top is a 1959 British film based on the novel of the same name by John Braine. The novel was adapted by Neil Paterson with uncredited work by Mordecai Richler. It was directed by Jack Clayton and produced by James Woolf and John Woolf.... |
Joan | TV series |
| Silk Silk (TV series) Silk is a British television drama series produced by the BBC and first shown in 2011. Written by Peter Moffat, the series follows a set of barristers, and what they do to attain the rank of Queen's Counsel, known as 'taking silk'.-Origin:... |
Minor role | Episode 5 | |
| Holby City Holby City Holby City, stylised as Holby Ci+y, is a British medical drama television series that airs weekly on BBC One.The series was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama Casualty, and premiered on 12 January 1999... |
Rose Stanley | 2 episodes; "A Greater Good" | |
Theatre credits
| Year | Stage | Role | Theatre |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Les Liaisons Dangereuses Les Liaisons Dangereuses Les Liaisons dangereuses is a French epistolary novel by Choderlos de Laclos.Les Liaisons dangereuses may also refer to:* Les liaisons dangereuses , a 1959 film adapted by Claude Brulé and directed by Roger Vadim... |
Cecile Volanges | Salisbury Playhouse |
| 2011 | And I And Silence | Young Dee | Finborough Theatre Finborough Theatre The Finborough Theatre is a fifty seat theatre in the Earls Court area of London, United Kingdom , which presents new British writing, UK and premieres of new plays, primarily from the English speaking world including North America, Canada, Scotland and Ireland, music theatre, and rarely seen... |