Jessica Barden

Early life

Barden was born on 21 July 1992 in Northallerton, North Yorkshire. She comes from a working-class background. Her father is a prison officer, and her mother is an accountant; she has two brothers. When she was three, the family moved to Wetherby, West Yorkshire. Barden attended Wetherby High School. She discovered acting through school and her father's love of film. She began taking classes at a local drama club and working as a television extra. She left school at 15.

Career

Barden began her career as a child actress making her acting debut in 1999 with a role in an episode of the CITV series My Parents Are Aliens. She later appeared in episodes of the series No Angels and The Chase.

Barden was 14 when she joined the cast of the ITV soap opera Coronation Street, playing Kayleigh Morton from March 2007 until the Morton family's departure from the soap in September 2008. Barden made her film debut in the 2007 comedy-drama Mrs Ratcliffe's Revolution. In 2009, she played Pea in the stage production Jerusalem at the Royal Court Theatre in London, which then transferred to the Apollo Theatre in the West End.

In 2010, Barden appeared in the film Tamara Drewe, a dramatisation of the comic strip of the same name, for which Barden was nominated for Young British Performer of the Year by the London Film Critics' Circle. The following year, she played Sophie in Joe Wright's Hanna. From 2012 to 2014, she had film roles in the horror Comedown, the mystery-drama In the Dark Half, the psychological thriller Mindscape, and the indie Lullaby.

Barden was named a 2015 Screen International Star of Tomorrow. That year, she played Kit Carmichael in the two-part adaptation of Sadie Jones' debut novel The Outcast on BBC One and Liddy in a film adaptation of Thomas Hardy's Far from the Madding Crowd. In 2016, Barden played the titular role of the Channel 4 television film Ellen as well as Jasmine in the comedy film Mindhorn and Justine in the third series of Penny Dreadful on Sky Atlantic. She starred in the 2017 horror film Habit.

Also in 2017, Barden began starring in the Channel 4 and Netflix dark comedy-drama The End of the F*ing World as Alyssa, a role she would play for both series. She starred in the 2018 films The New Romantic, and Scarborough. For the latter, she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the British Independent Film Awards, and National Film Awards UK. She won the IMDb Breakout Star Award, and was named a 2018 BAFTA Breakthrough Brit.

Barden appeared in the 2019 music videos for Conan Gray's "Maniac" and Ozzy Osbourne's "Under the Graveyard", as well as the film Jungleland and the Australian Foxtel series Lambs of God. She had lead roles in the 2020 films Holler and Pink Skies Ahead.

In January 2021, it was announced Barden had been cast as Jane in the 2022 Netflix thriller Pieces of Her, an adaptation of Karin Slaughter's novel of the same name. She has upcoming roles in the ITV romantic comedy-drama You & Me and the football film An Unsuitable Game.

In May 2024, Barden was cast as Young Valya Harkonnen in Dune: Prophecy.

Barden provides vocals on the track “Finding Money” on the 2025 album We Will Annihilate Our Enemies by London band Real Lies.

Personal life

Barden married Jungleland director Max Winkler in March 2021. On 19 October 2021, Barden announced she had given birth to their first child, a daughter.

Barden has opened up about her experiences with anxiety and therapy.

In a 2023 interview with The Daily Telegraph, Barden spoke out against "working class tourism" in acting and posh actors who approach working class roles with a condescending or ignorant attitude, specifically calling out Emma Corrin for wanting to do a "gritty" film with an "outrageous accent".

Filmography

Film

Television

Radio

Music videos

Stage

Awards and nominations

References

References

1. (21 July 2016). "Happy birthday Jessica Barden! Here she is with Carey Mulligan as 'Liddy' in last year's #FarFromTheMaddingCrowd.".
2. (2007). "MRS RATCLIFFE'S REVOLUTION". Hoyts Distribution / UK Film Council.
3. Truong, Kimberly. (15 June 2021). "Jessica Barden Goes Big On "Every Single Emotion"". InStyle.
4. (21 October 2017). "Interview: Jessica Barden". The Scotsman.
5. Barrett, Devin. (9 December 2019). "V Girls: Jessica Barden". V Magazine.
6. Williams, Holly. (6 November 2018). "Jessica Barden on Pinter and the return of 'The End of the F***ing World': 'I struggle with anxiety. Being on stage can be terrible'". INews.
7. (19 July 2013). "Mark Quartley and Jessica Barden to Star in Finborough Theatre's ARMSTRONG'S WAR; Full Cast Announced!".
8. "Jessica Barden CV".
9. (15 October 2005). "Wetherby youngster makes acting debut in TV".
10. (31 October 2018). "Jessica Barden - Actress".
11. (2 March 2007). "Jessica set to join 'Corrie' cast". Wetherby News.
12. (15 February 2007). "Brookside's Sinbad joins Street". BBC News.
13. (6 April 2015). "The Scousers that shone on Coronation Street – looking back at the characters who made their mark in Weatherfield".
14. (30 September 2010). "Coronation Street 50 Years: Who has lived where in Weatherfield".
15. (26 September 2007). "Wetherby's young film star".
16. (2012). "Modern British theatre in 100 plays.". Methuen Drama.
17. (3 September 2009). "Jerusalem, Starring Tony Winner Mark Rylance, Transfers to the West End".
18. (12 February 2010). "Theatre Review: Jerusalem at the Apollo Theatre London".
19. (9 September 2010). "Tamara Drewe, review".
20. (10 September 2010). "Tamara Drewe (15)".
21. (8 April 2011). ""Hanna": A ruthless, arty "Sucker Punch"".
22. (7 April 2011). "Hanna (review)".
23. (8 March 2013). "Comedown DVD Review".
24. (1 March 2013). "COMEDOWN DVD REVIEW".
25. (August 2012). "Film Review: 'In the Dark Half'".
26. (10 June 2014). "Review: 'Lullaby'".
27. (5 October 2015). "Jessica Barden, Stars of Tomorrow 2015". Screen Daily.
28. "BBC One: The Outcast: Episode 1 credits".
29. (1 September 2016). "Ellen: a searing piece of drama with a brutal final punch". [[Radio Times]].
30. (30 October 2019). "2019 British Indie Film Awards Nominations: 'David Copperfield,' Zellweger, and More".
31. (13 January 2020). "Renee Zellweger, Ricky Gervais, Dev Patel, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Olivia Coleman are among stars nominated at 2020 National Film Awards UK". nationalfilmawards.org.
32. White, Peter. (1 November 2018). "'The End of the F**king World' Star Jessica Barden Leads BAFTA's Breakthrough Brits". Deadline.
33. Roth, Madeline. "Conan Gray's 'Maniac' Video Is A 'Night Of The Living Exes' Spookfest".
34. Erbland, Kate. (9 June 2021). "'Holler' Review: Jessica Barden Shines in Better, More Honest Version of 'Hillbilly Elegy'". IndieWire.
35. Otterson, Joe. (28 January 2021). "Omari Hardwick, Jessica Barden, Joe Dempsie Among Five Cast in Netflix Series 'Pieces of Her'". Variety.
36. (17 June 2022). "Harry Lawtey, Jessica Barden and Sophia Brown to star in You & Me".
37. Ntim, Zac. (30 August 2022). "Jessica Barden To Star In Women's Football Feature From Mandie Fletcher; WestEnd Films Launches Sales". Deadline.
38. Otterson, Joe. (May 15, 2024). "''Dune: Prophecy'' Casts ''End of the F—ing World'' Star Jessica Barden".
39. "“My List of Enemies Grows Longer”: How Real Lies Doom-Scrolled Their Way to a New Album". Interview Magazine.
40. "Jessica Barden is married to director Max Winkler".
41. (20 October 2021). "End of the F***ing World star Jessica Barden reveals she was pregnant in lockdown and recently gave birth".
42. (26 February 2023). "Jessica Barden accuses 'posh' Crown star Emma Corrin of 'working class tourism'". The Daily Telegraph.
43. (23 October 2025). "Actor Jessica Barden joins Becoming Victoria Wood - U&GOLD’s feature-length documentary celebrating the life of Victoria Wood".
44. "Jessica Barden Awards". IMDb (Index source only).
45. (20 December 2010). "31st London Critics' Circle nominations". awardsdaily.com.
46. Will Richards. (12 February 2020). "Jessica Barden wins Best TV Actor at NME Awards 2020". nme.com.