Acting
Aug 24, 1966
Guildford, Surrey, England, UK
Julia Davis
Acting
Biography
Julia Charlotte L. Davis is an English actress, comedian, director and writer. A nine-time BAFTA TV Award nominee, she won Best Comedy Writing for Hunderby in 2013 and the 2018 British Academy Television Award for Best Scripted Comedy for Sally4Ever. She has also received two RTS Awards and three British Comedy Awards. In addition to acting in her own works, she has appeared in a variety of other British television comedies, most notably portraying Dawn Sutcliffe in Gavin & Stacey (2007–2009, 2019, 2024). Her film roles include Love Actually (2003), Cemetery Junction (2010), Four Lions (2010), and Phantom Thread (2017). Julia Davis was born in Guildford, Surrey on August 25, 1966 Her mother was a secretary, and her father a civil servant. She grew up in Guildford, Surrey, before moving at the age of 14 to Bath in Somerset. She was raised in the Church of England. After studying for a degree in English and drama at the College of Ripon and York St John, she returned to Bath working "dead-end jobs", starting a comedy double-act The Sisters of Percy with her friend Jane Roth at a local theatre group. It grew into an improv troupe with Welsh radio DJ Rob Brydon and Ruth Jones. Davis decided to become a comedian after a long illness. She secured her first comedy commission, Five Squeezy Pieces, from BBC Radio 4 in 1998. The series was an all-female sketch comedy show, with Meera Syal, Arabella Weir, Maria McErlane, and Claire Calman. She first appeared on television in 1998 in the BBC sketch show Comedy Nation. During their radio sketch series Five Squeezy Pieces, Arabella Weir introduced Davis to Arthur Mathews and Graham Linehan who cast her as a regular cast member in the television sketch show Big Train (1998). Her career gained a further boost in 1998 after she sent a tape of various characters to Steve Coogan, who invited her to write for and participate in his shows during his 1998 national tour. Chris Morris, director of the Big Train pilot, cast her for his 1997–1999 radio series Blue Jam, its successor March–April 2000 TV show Jam, and Brass Eye. Davis went on to appear in many comedy television shows including I'm Alan Partridge, I Am Not an Animal, Dr. Terrible's House of Horrible, Ideal and Nathan Barley. In 2004 and 2005, Davis wrote and starred in two series of the BBC Three dark comedy Nighty Night. The show is centred on her character of peroxide "blonde" sociopathic beauty therapist Jill Tyrell. In 2015, Davis and Marc Wootton created and starred in BBC Radio 4 comedy series Couples, about couples in therapy. It was reported in 2015 that Davis had been commissioned for a new series, Robin's Test, which was later renamed Camping. In 2016, Davis wrote, directed and starred as shallow nymphomaniac "Fay" in Camping on Sky Atlantic. This was her directorial debut. At the 2017 BAFTA TV Awards, Camping was nominated for Best Scripted Comedy. In 2017, Davis was featured in the Paul Thomas Anderson film Phantom Thread as Lady Baltimore.
Feature Films (45)
The strange comedy film of two close brothers; one, Wilbur, who wants to kill himself, and the other, Harbour, who tries to prevent this. When their father dies leaving them his bookstore they meet a woman who makes their lives a bit better yet with a bit more trouble as well.
Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself
Battling against the wilderness and his own ego, Bill struggles to impress Deb with below-par outdoor skills and shocking behaviour, until their last-ditch camping trip takes a sinister turn.
The Clearing
A mockumentary that follows three couples as they battle it out to win the coveted title of 'Most Original Wedding of the Year'.
Confetti
The rebirth of Amnesty International's legendary SECRET POLICEMAN'S BALL at the Royal Albert Hall on 14th October - after a 15 year hiatus - was a resounding success. Bigger, Better and Ballsier than ever before, 'The Ball In The Hall' is a non-stop, rapid-fire, relentless smorgasbord of comedy and music. 6,000 people turned up to create a fantastic atmosphere as some of the best contemporary comic and music talent from both sides of the Atlantic delivered one show-stopping performance after another. Featuring never-before-seen collaborations, brand new sketches, explosive stand-up, off-stage performances, surprise ingredients and an anthem for the world, there has been nothing like it in the comedy world for years.
The Secret Policeman's Ball: The Ball in the Hall
An all-singing, all-dancing, star-spangled musical leap around the biblical story of the Nativity, set in 1972. With a comic twist, this familiar story is brought to life through the eyes of the innkeeper. Despairing after a bad year, he contemplates suicide but his attempt is stalled by a voice from above who points out that King Herod is coming to town.
AD/BC: A Rock Opera
Television & Series (39)
I Am Not An Animal is an animated comedy series about the only six talking animals in the world, whose cosseted existence in a vivisection unit is turned upside down when they are liberated by animal rights activists.
I Am Not an Animal
Jill Tyrell is a narcissistic sociopath who manages a beauty parlour alongside her moronic, asthmatic assistant Linda. When Jill learns that her husband has cancer, she uses this fact to manipulate new neighbour Cathy Cole, a wheelchair user with multiple sclerosis whose husband Don, a womanising doctor, Jill has become obsessed with.
Nighty Night
Twisted and original sketch show from the minds of Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews, starring Simon Pegg, Kevin Eldon and Mark Heap.
Big Train
The fortunes of a former chat show host who is reduced to a lowly slot on Radio Norwich. Alan Partridge is divorced, living in a travel tavern, and desperate for a return to television.
I'm Alan Partridge
Adapted from Blue Jam, a late night radio show, Jam consists of six shows featuring dark humour and unsettling sketches unfolding over an ambient soundtrack. From the mind of Chris Morris.
