Sally Cecilia Hawkins (born 27 April 1976) is a British actress. Her performance as Poppy in the 2008 film Happy-Go-Lucky won her several international awards, including the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. Other significant roles include Susan in Vera Drake (2004), Sue Trinder in the BBC serial Fingersmith (2005), and Anne in Persuasion (2007).
The daughter of Jacqui and Colin Hawkins, authors and illustrators of children’s books, Hawkins was raised in Blackheath in southeast London, and she attended James Allen’s Girls’ School in Dulwich. She then went on to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, graduating in 1998.
Hawkins made her first notable screen performance as Samantha in the 2002 Mike Leigh film_ All or Nothing_. She also appeared as Slasher in the 2004 film Layer Cake. Her first major television role came in 2005 when she played Susan Trinder in the BAFTA-nominated BBC… read more
Sally Cecilia Hawkins (born 27 April 1976) is a British actress. Her performance as Poppy in the 2008 film Happy-Go-Lucky won her several international awards, including the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. Other significant roles include Susan in Vera Drake (2004), Sue Trinder in the BBC serial Fingersmith (2005), and Anne in Persuasion (2007).
The daughter of Jacqui and Colin Hawkins, authors and illustrators of children’s books, Hawkins was raised in Blackheath in southeast London, and she attended James Allen’s Girls’ School in Dulwich. She then went on to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, graduating in 1998.
Hawkins made her first notable screen performance as Samantha in the 2002 Mike Leigh film_ All or Nothing_. She also appeared as Slasher in the 2004 film Layer Cake. Her first major television role came in 2005 when she played Susan Trinder in the BAFTA-nominated BBC drama Fingersmith, an adaptation of Sarah Waters’ novel of the same name, in which she co-starred with Imelda Staunton, as she had in Vera Drake. Since then she has gone on to star in another BBC adaptation, Patrick Hamilton’s Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky.
Hawkins has appeared in three episodes of the hit BBC comedy series Little Britain, in addition to Ed Reardon’s Week on BBC Radio 4. She also has contributed her writing and vocal skills to the BBC Radio 4 series Concrete Cow.
In 2006, Hawkins returned to the stage, appearing at the Royal Court Theatre in Jez Butterworth’s The Winterling. In 2007, she played the lead in a new film of Jane Austen’s Persuasion, and followed this with her critically-acclaimed performance in Happy-Go-Lucky.
