Jodie Whittaker is an English actress. She came to prominence in her 2006 feature film debut Venus, for which she received British Independent Film Award and Satellite Award nominations. She was later praised for her roles in the cult science fiction filmAttack the Block, the Black Mirror episode "The Entire History of You", and as grieving mother Beth Latimer in Broadchurch. On 16 July 2017, the BBC announced that Whittaker would become the thirteenth and first female incarnation of The Doctor in the British TV seriesDoctor Who. She formally assumed the role from Peter Capaldi in the 2017 Christmas special episode "Twice Upon a Time" when Capaldi's Twelfth Doctorregenerated into Whittaker's Thirteenth Doctor. Whittaker appeared in her first full series as The Doctor in the eleventh series, which premiered in October 2018. She continued in the role in the twelfth series in 2020. Whittaker later announced that she would reprise her role as The Doctor into its thirteenth series.
Whittaker made her professional debut in The Storm at Shakespeare's Globe in 2005. She has since worked in film, television, radio and theatre. In 2007, she stood in at short notice for an unwell Carey Mulligan in the Royal Court's production of The Seagull, and appeared in a fundraising play at the Almeida Theatre. In Whittaker's first major role, she co-starred as Jessie in the film Venus. Her radio credits include a 2008 adaptation of Blinded by the Sun by Stephen Poliakoff and Lydia Bennett in Unseen Austen, an original drama by Judith French. In 2009, she worked on the film Ollie Kepler's Expanding Purple World, the BBC2 drama Royal Wedding, and the short film Wish 143, which was nominated for the Academy Award for Live Action Short Film at the 83rd Academy Awards. In 2010, Whittaker appeared in the film The Kid and co-starred in BBC's Accused. She appeared in the 2009 Irish comedy crime filmPerrier's Bounty. In 2011, she appeared as Viv in the BBC adaptation of Sarah Waters's novel The Night Watch and the cult film Attack the Block. In 2012, she starred in the musical comedy-drama Good Vibrations. Whittaker appeared in the drama Broadchurch, the reality-based spy drama miniseries The Assets, and the four-part BBC One medical drama Trust Me.
''Doctor Who''
On 16 July 2017, Whittaker was announced as the Thirteenth Doctor in the science fiction television series Doctor Who; she is the first woman to play the title role. She had previously worked with incoming Doctor WhoshowrunnerChris Chibnall on Broadchurch. She admitted that she had to "tell a lot of lies" after being cast to keep the information secret and used the codeword "Clooney" when talking about the role. Whittaker kept her mother in "the inner circle" regarding knowledge of the role, as her father, Adrian, "would have the ability to tell the world". She urged fans not to be afraid of her gender, saying "Doctor Who represents everything that's exciting about change. The fans have lived through so many changes, and this is only a new, different one, not a fearful one." Chibnall said that he always wanted a woman for the part and that Whittaker was their first choice. Reaction to Whittaker's casting was mostly positive, although a "sizeable minority" was unhappy. Some said that a female Doctor would be a good role model for young girls, while others felt the Doctor was only ever meant to be male, or criticised the casting as an exercise in political correctness. Whittaker debuted in the 2017 Christmas special "Twice Upon a Time". In November 2018, BBC confirmed that the twelfth series, Whittaker's second series, began production in November 2018, debuting in January 2020.
Personal life
Whittaker met American actor and writer Christian Contreras in drama school, and had a "big wedding" in Arizona in 2008. Whittaker gave birth to their daughter in April 2015. Whittaker is a feminist and lives in London. She is a fan of British rock bandColdplay, and listened to their song "Yellow" as she backpacked around the world when she was 18.
