Aisling Loftus (born 1 September 1990) is a British actress, best known for portraying Agnes Towler on the ITV series Mr Selfridge and Sonya Rostova on the BBC historical drama series War & Peace.
Aisling Loftus | |
---|---|
Born | (1990-09-01) 1 September 1990 (age 32) Nottingham, England |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 2000–present |
Known for | Mr. Selfridge War & Peace Pride & Prejudice & Zombies A Discovery of Witches |
Spouse | |
Children | 1 |
Loftus was born in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, the daughter of Irish parents, Paddy and Eileen Loftus; she has an older sister, Aoife.[1] She began acting at age nine at the Carlton Workshops, and later took her A-Levels at the Becket School in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire. She played several small roles in television dramas and films, including This Is England.
In December 2018, Loftus married actor Jacob Anderson.[2] She and Anderson are parents of a daughter, born July 2020.[3]
Loftus made her mainstream television debut in 2000, when she appeared in an episode of Peak Practice. Subsequently, Loftus has appeared in various television series, including Casualty, Doctors, The Bill, and in the ITV comedy drama The Fattest Man in Britain, starring Timothy Spall and Bobby Ball.[4]
In 2008 Loftus was described as a "star of tomorrow" in Screen International magazine.[5][6] She also appeared in Daniel Elliott's short Jade, which won a Silver Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2009.[4][7]
In 2010 Loftus starred in the BBC drama Five Daughters as murder victim Gemma Adams. In July of the same year she took the leading female role in another BBC drama, Dive, by BAFTA award-winning Dominic Savage and Simon Stevens, in a cast that included Skins actor Jack O'Connell, Eddie Marsan, Gina McKee, Joseph Mawle and Ewen Bremner. Dive was critically acclaimed, Euan Ferguson of The Observer predicting that Aisling "Ash" Loftus will be a "phenomenon."[8]
Loftus played Leonie Fowler in the summer box office hit Spur of the Moment by Anya Reiss at the Royal Court Theatre in 2010[9] in London where she has received favourable reviews with Dominic Cavendish of The Daily Telegraph calling her "superb."[10] In February 2017, she played Joan in the fortieth anniversary production at Nottingham Playhouse of Touched by Stephen Lowe.[11]
In 2011 Loftus starred in a new BBC TV film version of The Borrowers broadcast on Boxing Day, as Arrietty. This was followed up in 2012 with roles in two BBC series : Jade in Public Enemies and Cassandra in Good Cop and in 2013 by the role of Agnes Towler in ITV's Mr. Selfridge. In 2016, she played Sonya Rostova in the BBC drama War & Peace.
Year | Title | Character | Production | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
2000 | Peak Practice | Abby Moffett | ITV | 1 episode |
2001 | A Fish Out of Water | Angela | BBC | |
2004 | Help! I'm a Teenage Outlaw | Montague's Food Tester | ITV | 1 episode |
2005 | Doctors | Emma Tyler | BBC | 1 episode |
2006 | This Is England | Shane Meadows film | Part was cut from the theatrical release | |
2006 | Casualty | Mellie Bennett | BBC | 1 episodes |
2006 | Blind Man's Alley | Player 4 | Tony Kelly short film | |
2008 | The Bill | Sophie Randall | ITV | 2 episodes |
2008 | Doctors | Ellie Lowell | BBC | 1 episode |
2008 | Casualty | Jo Balmayne | BBC | 1 episode |
2009 | The Fattest Man in Britain | Amy | ITV | One-off drama |
2009 | Jade | Jade | Daniel Elliot short film | Won a Silver Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival |
2010 | Oranges and Sunshine | Susie | Jim Loach's first feature film | |
2010 | Thorne: Sleepyhead | Rachel | Sky 1 | 3-part drama |
2010 | Dive | Lindsey | BBC | 2-part drama |
2010 | Five Daughters | Gemma Adams | BBC | 2 episodes |
2011 | Death of a Superhero | Shelly | Grand Pictures | |
2011 | The Borrowers | Arrietty Clock | BBC | |
2011 | Page Eight | Melissa Legge | BBC | |
2011 | Case Histories | Lily Rose/Tanya | BBC | 2 episodes |
2012 | Good Cop | Cassandra | BBC | |
2012 | Public Enemies | Jade | BBC | 2 episodes |
2012 | Little Crackers | Maria | Sky One | 1 episode |
2013–2015 | Mr. Selfridge | Agnes Towler/Leclair | ITV | |
2016 | Pride & Prejudice & Zombies | Charlotte | ||
2016 | War & Peace | Sonya Rostova | BBC | 6 episodes |
2016 | Property of the State | Ann Marie | Kit Ryan film | |
2017 | Broken | PC Dawn Morris[12] | BBC | 3 episodes |
2017 | Midsomer Murders | Tegan Langton | ITV | 1 episode[13] |
2017 | Gun Shy | Marybeth | ||
2018–2022 | A Discovery of Witches | Sophie Wilson / Susanna Norman | Sky One | 14 episodes |
2022 | The Midwich Cuckoos | Zoë Moran | Sky Max | 7 episodes |
General | |
---|---|
National libraries | |
Biographical dictionaries |