BRAINS AND BEAUTY Who is Gemma Chan?

Humans star, Jack Whitehalls girlfriend

and Oxford law graduate all you need to know
London-born actress and former model is much more than a pretty face
BY MICHELLE HIGGINS
14th March 2017, 2:47 pm Updated: 21st March 2017, 12:04 pm
GEMMA Chan is a model turned actress, but she prefers to be known simply as an
actress modelling was just something she did to pay for drama school after
abandoning a career in law.

The Londoners sensible parents were concerned about the change in career
direction, but Gemma soon proved shed made the right decision.

Her CV now boasts a long list of television, film and theatre credits, including a
starring role on Channel 4's hit sci-fi drama Humans.

Here's what we know about model turned actress Gemma Chan.

Who is Gemma Chan, and what's her background?

Gemma Chan was born November 29, 1982 (making her a Sagittarius).

Her maternal grandparents, a nurse and a teacher, fled Communist China with their
two children just before the Cultural Revolution. They wound up in Greenock,
Scotland, the first Chinese family to live there.
Gemma's many talents include playing the violin
Gemma's mum worked as a pharmacist at Guy's Hospital in London, where Gemma
was born. Her dad is an engineer from Hong Kong.

She grew up near Sevenoaks, Kent, with her little sister. As a youngster Gemma
swam competitively at a national level, learned ballet and played piano and violin.
She is an avid football fan and has supported Arsenal all her life.
Gemma now lives in London, where she shares a home in Notting Hill with beau Jack
Whitehall, goes for meals with her family in Chinatown and hangs out with her
actress pal Lily James.

My parents are wonderful, practical, sensible people, and the expectation was that I
would study something academic
How did Gemma start her career?
The beauty has a law degree from Oxford
At her parents' urging, Gemma attended Oxford University, where she studied law.

After graduating, she was offered a training contract at the firm Slaughter and May,
but she turned it down to pursue acting, enrolling in Drama Centre London and
picking up modelling jobs to pay her way.

"My parents were worried," she told the Evening Standard. Her dad didn't speak to
her for three months.

If you find something you are passionate about, you've got to try. Even if something
doesn't quite work out, disappointment is a temporary thing. Regret lasts forever
What is she known for?

Humans sees the actress play a robot named Anita

Gemma is best known for playing Anita in Channel 4's Humans. The show is set in
the present day but in a parallel universe where every family has its own Synth, a
highly developed robot that's eerily similar to a real human.

Recently Gemma tested the accuracy of the show's premise by participating in

Channel 4 documentary How to Build a Human, collaborating with scientists to
create a life-sized robot version of herself.

Speaking on the Lorraine show Gemma revealed that some fans are SO convinced
she is a real-life Synth they approach her and try to switch her off under the chin.

Her other TV credits include Secret Diary of a Call Girl, where she played Billie
Piper's nemesis
Gemma has also played Billie Piper's dominatrix arch rival in Secret Diary of a Call
Girl; a geologist living on Mars in Doctor Who; a ceramics buff in Sherlock; a lesbian
struggling to come out in Dates; and a drama student in Fresh Meat, among other
roles on television.

Her silver-screen credits include World War II drama Shanghai, comedy-drama

Submarine and thrillers Jack Ryan: The Shadow Recruit and London Fields, and
recently she joined the cast of Harry Potter follow-up Fantastic Beasts and Where to
Find Them.

In Dates she played a woman struggling to come out as a lesbian

Many times I have been told my audition has been cancelled because they're only
going to see white people... You are more likely to see an alien in a Hollywood film
than an Asian woman
In 2012 she came this close to becoming a Bond girl, but lost the role to French
actress Brnice Marlohe.

Gemma, who has turned down roles involving what she felt was gratuitous nudity,
later said: "I would have done it happily, but to be a Bond girl isnt everything I aim
for as an actress."

The star's theatre credits include London productions of Turandot, The Sugar-Coated
Bullets of the Bourgeoisie, Yellow Face and Our Ajax.

Who is Gemma dating?

Gemma and Jack Whitehall have been together since 2011

Gemma has been in a relationship with actor and comedian Jack Whitehall since
2011, when they met on the set of Fresh Meat.

On their first date they went to Nando's (and split the bill).