Karen Gillan

Biography of Karen Gillan

Karen Sheila Gillan was born on November 28, 1987 in Inverness, Scotland. She is a British actress and former model.

Gillan grew up in Inverness, Scotland. Her parents live in Kinmylies. At the age of 16 she decided to study acting at Telford College in Edinburgh. She later secured a place at the Italia Conti Academy of Theater Arts in London.

Gillan landed her first role in Rebus (2006) while still studying at Italia Conti. She also starred in The Kevin Bishop Show, Stacked and James Nesbitt's film Outcast, among others. At times she modeled, for example at the 2007 London Fashion Week for Allegra Hicks' autumn/winter collection.

From 2010 to 2012 Gillan played the role of Amy Pond - the companion of the Eleventh Doctor - in the British cult television series Doctor Who. She also speaks this role in the Doctor Who computer games. Gillan had a supporting role in the 2008 Doctor Who episode The Fires of Pompeii. It is the same episode that also starred Peter Capaldi, who later played the 12th Doctor.

In 2014, she starred as the cyborg warrior Nebula in Guardians of the Galaxy. She reprized this role in the 2017 sequel Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, as well as in 2018 in Avengers: Infinity War and in the 2019 finale of the Infinity saga Avengers: Endgame. In between, she took on one of the five main roles alongside Dwayne Johnson and Jack Black in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. She was reprized in a starring role in the sequel Jumanji: The Next Level, released in December 2019.