Ashley Jensen

Ashley Jensen (lahir 11 Agustus 1969) adalah seorang aktris Skotlandia. Dia terkenal karena perannya sebagai Maggie Jacobs di Extras (2005–2007, di mana dia dinominasikan untuk Emmy Award), Christina McKinney di Ugly Betty (2006–2010), Agatha Raisin di Agatha Raisin (2014–sekarang), dan DI Ruth Calder di Shetland (2023–sekarang). Jensen dilatih dalam Drama di Universitas Queen Margaret Edinburgh. Peran televisi penting pertamanya adalah sebagai Clare Donnelly, putri penjahat Glasgow Jo-Jo Donnelly (diperankan oleh Billy Connolly) dalam drama BBC tahun 1993 Down Among the Big Boys. Pada tahun 1994, ia berperan sebagai sekretaris eksentrik Rosie McConnichy dalam serial terakhir komedi BBC Mei hingga Desember, sebagai pengganti karakter sekretaris Hilary (Rebecca Lacey), dan Heather di Roughnecks, serial televisi BBC tentang pekerja di anjungan minyak Laut Utara. Jensen memiliki peran kecil dalam episode Dangerfield "Kontak" sebagai ibu dari seorang gadis muda penderita meningitis. Dia kemudian muncul sebagai Fiona Morris di EastEnders. Dia juga muncul dalam drama BBC tahun 2003 Two Thousand Acres of Sky. Jensen ikut membintangi bersama Ricky Gervais dalam program televisi BBC Two/HBO Extras sebagai Maggie Jacobs yang tidak kompeten secara sosial. Untuk karyanya di seri pertama, ia menerima penghargaan aktris komedi televisi terbaik dan pendatang baru di British Comedy Awards 2005. Pada tahun 2006, Jensen menerima dua British Comedy Awards dan nominasi BAFTA untuk perannya dalam Extras. Perannya dalam Spesial Natal 2007 membuatnya mendapatkan nominasi Emmy Award. Pada bulan Januari 2006 ia membintangi serial drama berumur pendek Eleventh Hour di ITV. Belakangan tahun itu dia berperan sebagai agen Steve Coogan di A Cock and Bull Story. Pada tahun 2007, ia memberikan narasi untuk film Taking Liberties. Pada tahun 2014, ia memainkan karakter utama eponymous dalam film televisi yang diadaptasi dari novel M. C. Beaton Agatha Raisin dan Quiche of Death untuk Sky1. Dia juga membintangi serial delapan bagian yang pertama kali ditayangkan di Sky1 pada 7 Juni 2016. Pada tahun 2017, ia membintangi serial TV enam bagian untuk BBC TV, Love, Lies & Records, yang menggambarkan kehidupan berpasir dan alur cerita yang terjalin saat bekerja di Kantor Pendaftaran Leeds. Pada bulan Maret 2019, Jensen bertemu kembali dengan Gervais dalam serial komedi hitam Netflix After Life, peran yang ia lanjutkan untuk ketiga seri tersebut. Pada bulan April 2019 ia memerankan Debbie Dorell di seri kedua drama TV BBC Trust Me. Ketika seorang tentara yang terluka menemukan pasien di bangsal rumah sakitnya sekarat, dia mencoba menyelidiki kematian yang mencurigakan tersebut. Juga pada tahun 2019, dia memainkan suara Jacqueline di Lady and the Tramp.

Ashley Jensen (born August 11, 1969) is a Scottish actress. She is best known for her roles as Maggie Jacobs in Extras (2005–2007, for which she was nominated for an Emmy Award), Christina McKinney in Ugly Betty (2006–2010), Agatha Raisin in Agatha Raisin (2014–present), and DI Ruth Calder in Shetland (2023–present). Jensen trained in Drama at Edinburgh’s Queen Margaret University. Her first significant television role was as Clare Donnelly, daughter of Glasgow criminal Jo-Jo Donnelly (played by Billy Connolly) in the 1993 BBC drama Down Among the Big Boys. In 1994, she played eccentric secretary Rosie McConnichy in the final series of BBC comedy May to December, as a replacement for the character of secretary Hilary (Rebecca Lacey), and Heather in Roughnecks, a BBC television series about workers on a North Sea oil platform. Jensen had a small role in a Dangerfield episode "Contact" as the mother of a young girl with meningitis. She then appeared as Fiona Morris in EastEnders. She also appeared in the 2003 BBC drama Two Thousand Acres of Sky. Jensen co-starred alongside Ricky Gervais in the BBC Two/HBO television programme Extras as the socially inept Maggie Jacobs. For her work on the first series, she received best television comedy actress and newcomer awards at the 2005 British Comedy Awards. In 2006, Jensen received two British Comedy Awards and a BAFTA nomination for her role in Extras. Her role in the 2007 Christmas Special earned her an Emmy Award nomination. In January 2006 she starred in the short-lived drama series Eleventh Hour on ITV. Later that year she played Steve Coogan's agent in A Cock and Bull Story. In 2007, she provided the narration for the film Taking Liberties. In 2014, she played the eponymous lead character in the television film adaptation of the M. C. Beaton novel Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death for Sky1. She also starred in the eight-part series that first aired on Sky1 on 7 June 2016. In 2017, she starred in a six-part TV series for BBC TV, Love, Lies & Records, depicting the gritty life and entwined storylines working in Leeds Registry Office. In March 2019, Jensen reunited with Gervais in the Netflix black comedy series After Life, a role she continued for all three series. In April 2019 she played Debbie Dorell in the second series of BBC TV drama Trust Me. When an injured soldier discovers patients in his hospital ward dying, he attempts to investigate the suspicious deaths. Also in 2019, she played the voice of Jacqueline in Lady and the Tramp.