Jade Anouka

Jade Anouka (born 12 June 1989) is an English actress. She is known for her various stage roles and for her appearances in His Dark Materials on BBC One and the ITV dramas Trauma and Cleaning Up. Early life and education Anouka was born in London, the second of three children born to a maths teacher mother from Trinidad and a mortgage advisor father from Jamaica. She has a brother and a sister who pursued careers in science. She grew up in Slade Green and attended school in Bexley, London, but transferred to a school in Lewisham for sixth form. She ran track prior to transferring to Lewisham, as she did not want to compete against her old teammates. Anouka took her first steps into acting while attending a Saturday morning drama club in Dartford, Kent. While at sixth form, Anouka received a scholarship to the National Youth Theatre and then attended the Guildford School of Acting. She was hired immediately after graduation by the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon, where she earned a postgraduate award in teaching Shakespeare. Career Anouka made her stage debut in 2007 with a role in Margaret Atwood's The Penelopiad. In 2011, she received a Commendation at the Ian Charleson Awards for her 2010 performance as Ophelia in Hamlet at Shakespeare's Globe.