Sophie Alexandra Skelton (born 7 March 1994) is an English actress. She is best known for her role as Brianna Fraser in the Starz drama series Outlander.[1]
Early life
Skelton was born and raised in Woodford, Stockport, the daughter of entrepreneurial children's toy inventors.[2][3] She began dancing at the age of three, eventually training in ballet at the Royal Academy in London, before moving into musical theater and stage productions.[4][1] Her first professional television role, in series two of the British crime drama DCI Banks (2012), was a two-episode stint as schoolgirl Becca Smith.[5][6]
In 2013, Skelton guest-starred as Esme Vasquez-Jones in series one of CBBC's award-winning children's drama The Dumping Ground.[9][10] That same year, she went on to portray Nikki Boston's (Heather Peace) estranged daughter Eve in the ninth series of BBC One's school-based drama series, Waterloo Road, and Yasmin Carish in a series thirteen episode of the long running medical series Doctors.[11][12]
Transitioning into feature films, Skelton's first role was in 2014's The War I Knew. She portrayed Margaret in director Ian Vernon's tale of a WWII paratrooper lost behind enemy lines.[13][14]
2015 saw a return to episodic television for Skelton. She again appeared in the BBC series Doctors, portraying Ellen Singleton in the series sixteen episode "Revenge".[15][16] Next, she guest starred in a series nine episode of ITV's WWII and post-war era legal drama Foyle's War.[17] Later that year, Skelton appeared in a twelve-episode stint as Sofia Matthews on So Awkward, CBBC's sitcom revolving around three socially awkward school-age friends, and a two episode guest starring role as Gemma Holt on BBC One's medical drama Casualty.[18][19]
Skelton's first leading film role was in Charlotte Stente Nielsen's 2016 fantasy-horror short Blackbird.[20] Her breakout role, in the British fantasy action-adventure series Ren: The Girl with the Mark, came later that year.[6] She won Best Lead Actress at the Hyperdrive Sci-Fi and Fantasy Film Festival for her role in the series.[21] 2016 also saw Skelton cast in the role of Brianna Fraser in the Starz TV series Outlander.[22][23] The role, opposite Scottish actor Richard Rankin as Roger MacKenzie is recurring, becoming a main cast member from Season 4 onwards, and will continue throughout their story arc as outlined in Diana Gabaldon's genre-bending book series.[22][24]
