English actress (born 1991)
Tanya Louise Reynolds[1] (born 4 November 1991) is an English actress. She landed her first major role as a series regular on the Sky 1 comedy-drama Delicious (2016–2019). Reynolds portrayed Lily Iglehart on the Netflix comedy-drama Sex Education (2019–2023), where she was a part of the main cast in the first three seasons. Other credits include Outlander (2017), Death in Paradise (2017), Emma (2020), Dodger (2022), The Baby (2022), I Hate You (2022), and The Decameron (2024).
In 2024, she was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, for her performance in the play A Mirror at the Trafalgar Theatre.
Early life
Reynolds was born and raised in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire.[2] Her father was a builder and her mother was a sign writer.[3] She is of half English and half Italian descent.[4] Her first experience in acting was at the age of four in the school nativity.[3]
Reynolds attended the Oxford School of Drama,[5] after winning a fully-funded scholarship which enabled her to afford the drama school fees.[3][6] Reynolds graduated in 2015.[6]
Career
Reynolds first appeared on screen in several short films, including Civilised People by UK comedy duo In Cahoots, which was shown at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 2015,[7][8] The Jealous Boyfriend,[8] also by In Cahoots, and Introducing Lucy. In 2016, Reynolds landed her first TV appearance in Delicious, where she played Teresa Benelli for 12 episodes.[2]
2017 saw Reynolds furthering her TV career, with parts in Outlander, playing Lady Isobel Dunsany,[9] and in the BBC thriller series Rellik, as 20 year old Sally.[10] The same year she starred as Pearl Marston in the BBC crime drama Death in Paradise in the episode: Murder from Above shown in January 2018.[2]
In 2018, Reynolds was a leading actor in the feature film Fanny Lye Deliver'd,[11] among a cast that included Charles Dance and Maxine Peake. She also played a leading role as Teresa in the Sky One comedy Delicious, alongside a cast which included Iain Glen and Dawn French.[12]
In 2019, she starred as Lily Iglehart in the Netflix comedy-drama Sex Education.[2] Initially a recurring role for series 1, but she was promoted to a main character role for two further seasons.[8][13] However, she did not return to the series for its fourth and final season.[14]
In 2020, Reynolds played Mrs. Elton in a film adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma, alongside Anya Taylor-Joy and Bill Nighy.[15] The same year, she was named as one of Screen International's Stars of Tomorrow 2020, which showcases talent within the television and film industry of Great Britain and Ireland.[16]
In 2021, Reynolds played Queen Victoria in the NBCUniversal series Dodger, alongside Christopher Eccleston as Fagin and David Threlfall as Chief of Police.[17]
In 2024, Reynolds reprised the role of Mei in the West End transfer of A Mirror at the Trafalgar Theatre.[18] For her performance, she was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.[19]
In 2024, she appeared as Porcupine in the film Harold and the Purple Crayon.[20]
Filmography
Films
| Year
|
Title
|
Role
|
Notes
|
| 2015
|
The Jealous Boyfriend
|
Katie
|
Short film[8]
|
| Civilised People
|
Francesca
|
Short film[7]
|
| Introducing Lucy
|
Lucy
|
Short film
|
| 2018
|
Fanny Lye Deliver'd
|
Rebecca Henshaw[11]
|
|
| 2019
|
The Delivery
|
Jana Palmer
|
Short film
|
| For Love or Money
|
Alexa
|
|
| Lily Meets Charlie
|
Lily
|
Short film
|
| Undergods
|
Maria
|
|
| 2020
|
Emma
|
Mrs. Augusta Elton
|
|
| 2021
|
X to X
|
Jeanie / Layla
|
Short film
|
| 2022
|
Everybody Dies... Sometimes
|
Mara
|
Short film
|
| 2024
|
Timestalker
|
Meg
|
|
| Harold and the Purple Crayon
|
Porcupine
|
|
| TBA
|
The Actor
|
TBA
|
|
Television
Awards and nominations
References
External links
