Claudia Jessie

Claudia Jessie Peyton (born 30 October 1989), known professionally as Claudia Jessie, is an English actress. She first gained attention for CBBC Online's series Dixi (2014–16) before receiving wider recognition for her roles in ITV's Vanity Fair (2018) and Netflix’s Bridgerton (2020–present) and Toxic Town (2025).

Claudia Jessie
Jessie in 2012
Born	Claudia Jessie Peyton[1] (1989-10-30) 30 October 1989 (age 35)[2][3] Moseley, Birmingham, England
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2012–present

Early life

Claudia Jessie Peyton was born in Moseley,^[4] and grew up on a canal boat.^[3] She spent some of her childhood on a council estate in North London^[5] and was homeschooled from the age of 14 before returning to Birmingham when she was 17. Her family struggled financially; Jessie described the experiences that came with it, such as bailiffs coming to the door, as traumatic.^[3] In addition, her parents split and her father was not around. Her single mother, Dawn, worked cleaning houses to provide for her and her brother.^[6][7]

Jessie's mother also worked to afford her ballet lessons at the Challis School of Dance. She was subsequently discovered by student director Hannah Phillips who cast her in several amateur productions.^[8] Jessie trained part-time at the Susi Earnshaw Theatre School and spent a year studying with the Birmingham Library Theatre Company.^[9] She then signed with an agent in 2012.^[4]

Career

2012–2016: Early work

Jessie's first professional acting role was in a short film titled Rosie in 2012. She followed this with appearances in the soap operas Doctors and Casualty.^[10] She appeared in an episode of House of Anubis,^[11] and reprised her role as Sophie Danae in the television film Touchstone of Ra.

Between 2014 and 2016, Jessie starred in the BAFTA-winning CBBC Online web series Dixi as Shari.^[12] In 2015, she was cast as WPC Annie Taylor, the lead character in the third series of the BBC One television programme WPC 56.^[4][13] She was a guest in Josh, playing the protagonist's love interest. Jessie acted in the 2014 short film Copy That directed by Kingsley Hoskins which won the Best Comedic Short Film award at TSFA in New York.^[14] Jessie made her feature film debut as Doris in the 2016 war film Their Finest.

2017–present: Rising popularity and breakthrough

In 2017, she starred as DC Jodie Taylor in series four of Line of Duty on BBC One and Lucy in the Dave sitcom Porters, the latter of which she would return to for its second series. The following year, she played Amelia Sedley in the ITV miniseries adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray's Vanity Fair.^[15][16] She also made a guest appearance in the Doctor Who episode "Kerblam!" in 2018.^[17]

In 2020, Jessie began playing Eloise, the fifth Bridgerton child, in the Shondaland-produced Netflix period drama Bridgerton, an adaptation of the Regency romance novels by Julia Quinn.^[18] Jessie appeared in Bali 2002 for Stan and 9Network, an Australian drama about the real life 2002 Bali bombings. Jessie portrayed real-life survivor Polly Miller, a newlywed British tourist.^[19] For her performance, Jessie was nominated for the Logie Award for Most Outstanding Actress. In 2023, Jessie narrated the audiobook The Rebound by Leeanne Slade for Audible Original. It was voted as one of Audible's best books of 2023.^[20] In 2025, she played the main role of Maggie Mahon in the Netflix series Toxic Town.^[21]

Personal life

Jessie lives in Birmingham with her partner Cole Edwards, a casting editor whom she met at her Bridgerton audition.^[5] She has stated she is a vegan and meditates for at least an hour a day. Her aunt introduced her to Nichiren Buddhism, and Jessie has regularly practiced it since she was 17 for her mental health.^[8][22] She has spoken of her experiences with panic attacks and anxiety since childhood, as well as depersonalisation disorder.^[3]

Jessie is a member of the climate activist group Extinction Rebellion and considers herself a fan of George Monbiot.^[23][1] She does not use social media.^[24]

Filmography

Film

Year	Show	Role	Notes	Ref.
2012	Rosie	Rosie	Short film
2014	Copy That	Beth	Short film
2016	Their Finest	Doris Cleavely / Lily
TBD	Night and Day	Freya	Short Film

Television

Year	Show	Role	Notes	Ref.
2012	Doctors	Kate Marshall	Episode (14.131): "Host Family"
2013	House of Anubis	Sophia Danae	Episode (3.20): "House of Eclipse"
	House of Anubis: Touchstone of Ra	Sophia Danae	TV film
	The Paradise	Mrs Douglas	Episode (2.8)
	Casualty	Jenny Anover	Episode (28.11): "Crush Syndrome"
2014	Doctors	Poppy Conroy	Recurring role, 12 episodes
2015	WPC 56	WPC Annie Taylor	Series 3, lead role, five episodes
	Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell	Mary	4 episodes
	Josh	Lucy	Episode: "Suited and Booted"
	Bull	Faye	3 episodes[13]
2016	Call the Midwife	Jeanette Su	Episode (5.3)
2017	Father Brown	Joan Vanderlande	Episode (5.2): "The Labyrinth of the Minotaur"
	Carters Get Rich	Charity Worker	Episode: "Bad Press"
	Line of Duty	Detective Constable Jodie Taylor	6 episodes (series 4)
	Detectorists	Doctor Hoffman	1 episode
	Comedy Blaps	Danielle	Episode: "Furious Andrew"
2017–2019	Porters	Lucy	Main role
2018	Lovesick	Tasha	Episode: "Tasha"
	Vanity Fair	Amelia Sedley	Miniseries; main role
	Doctor Who	Kira Arlo	Episode (11.7): "Kerblam!"
2019	Defending the Guilty	Nessa	Main role
2020–present	Bridgerton	Eloise Bridgerton	Main role
2022	Bali 2002	Polly Miller	Miniseries
2025	Toxic Town	Maggie Mahon	Miniseries

Web

Year	Show	Role	Notes	Ref.
2014–2016	Dixi	Shari	Main role

Audio

Year	Show	Role	Notes	Ref.
2017	Tolkien in Love	Edith	Radio 4 Drama	[25]
2023	The Rebound	Kitty Harris	Audible Original	[26]

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result	Ref.
2021	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	Bridgerton	Nominated	[27]
2025				Nominated	[28]
2023	Logie Awards	Most Outstanding Actress	Bali 2002	Nominated