Jennifer Kirby

Jennifer Ann Kirby (born 18 August 1988)[1] is an English television and stage actress. She is best known for her role as Nurse Valerie Dyer on the BBC One period drama Call the Midwife, which she joined in series six. In August 2020, she confirmed that she had left Call the Midwife after 4 years, and would not feature in the tenth series. She is a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Jennifer Kirby
Born
Jennifer Ann Kirby

(1988-08-18) 18 August 1988
Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England
NationalityBritish
EducationMalvern St James
Alma materLAMDA
University of East Anglia (BA, 2010)
OccupationActress
Years active2013–present

Early life and education

Kirby was born in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, and has a younger sister, Eleanor,[2] born in 1993.[3] She came from a family without any acting history; her mother (née Coulson) is a teacher and her father a businessman.[4]

Kirby grew up in the village of Longdon, Worcestershire, and attended Malvern St James Girls School in Malvern Hills.[5] She decided to become an actress as a teenager.[6] She read English Literature and Drama at the University of East Anglia, graduating in 2010,[7] before spending two years at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.[2]

Career

Kirby's first major role was as Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre in London, for which she was nominated for Outstanding Newcomer at the 2013 Evening Standard Theatre Awards[2] and was longlisted for London Newcomer of the Year at the 2014 WhatsOnStage Awards.[8]

Her other stage work includes leading roles in Teddy at Southwark Playhouse and The Recruiting Officer at the Salisbury Playhouse. She received a Commendation at the Ian Charleson Awards for her 2014 role as Lady Percy in Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2 at the Royal Shakespeare Company,[4] and for the RSC she was also Katherine in Henry V.[9]

She made her television debut in an episode of the long-running BBC One medical drama Holby City in 2015, before being cast as ex-Army nurse Valerie Dyer in series six of Call the Midwife, debuting in 2017.[9] In 2020, she confirmed that she had quit Call the Midwife after four years, and therefore will not feature in the upcoming tenth series.[10]

References
  1. Kirby, Jennifer (19 August 2018). "Thank you for all your loveliest Birthday wishes. I'm now at least 79% cake and champagne". @JenniferKirby08. Twitter. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  2. Packer, Amy (21 January 2018). "Call The Midwife's Jennifer Kirby talks about her acting career". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  3. England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916-2007
  4. Shea, Julian (12 January 2019). "Call the Midwife's Jennifer Kirby? Who is the Nurse Valerie Dyer star". BT.com. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  5. Charles, Jessica (25 October 2018). "Call the Midwife star to perform in classical concert". Worcester News. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  6. Foster, Alistair (27 February 2017). "Call the Midwife's Jennifer Kirby praises 'incredibly brave' FGM plot". Evening Standard. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  7. Romain, Kate (13 February 2018). "Call the graduate". Concrete. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  8. "Other audience favourites: the 2014 WhatsOnStage Awards longlists | WhatsOnStage". WhatsOnStage Awards. 9 December 2013. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  9. Doran, Sarah (30 June 2017). "Call the Midwife: Who is Nonnatus House's newest addition Valerie Dyer?". Radio Times. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  10. Bley Griffiths, Eleanor (25 December 2020). "Why has Val Dyer left Nonnatus House? Jennifer Kirby's Call the Midwife exit explained". Radio Times. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
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