Michelle Gomez

For the Colombian model, see Michelle Gómez.

Michelle Gomez is a Scottish actress. She gained recognition for her roles in the comedy series The Book Group (2002–2003), Green Wing (2004–2007), and Bad Education (2012–2013). She went on to appear as Missy in the long-running British science fiction series Doctor Who (2014–2017), for which she was nominated for the BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Michelle Gomez
Gomez at the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con
Born	Glasgow, Scotland
Citizenship	United Kingdom and United States
Alma mater	Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1989–present
Spouse	Jack Davenport ​ (m. 2000)​
Children	1
Relatives	Nigel Davenport (father-in-law) Maria Aitken (mother-in-law)

Gomez received further recognition and acclaim for her roles as Lilith / Madam Satan and Mary Wardwell in the Netflix supernatural horror series Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018–2020) and as Miranda Croft in the HBO Max dark comedy thriller series The Flight Attendant (2020–2022).

Early life

Gomez was born in Glasgow to Tony and May Gomez. Her father is originally from Montserrat and is of Portuguese descent.^[1][2][3][4] He was a photographer. Her mother ran a modelling agency.

From the moment she saw a production of Kiss Me, Kate at the age of seven, Gomez wanted to be an actress, which her parents encouraged. She attended Shawlands Academy from 1978 to 1983 and trained at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.

Career

Gomez's first major role was in the 1998 film The Acid House, based on three Irvine Welsh short stories. She went on to star in the cult Channel 4 comedy drama The Book Group before landing her role as staff liaison officer Sue White in the Channel 4 comedy Green Wing.^[3] She played Michelle in Carrie and Barry for the BBC, and starred as PC Sally Bobbins in the BBC 2 sitcom Feel the Force. She also appeared in Gunslinger's Revenge.

In 2005, Gomez appeared in the film Chromophobia. In 2006, she starred in the film The Good Housekeeping Guide. In 2007 she starred in a drama by Irvine Welsh and Dean Cavanagh called Wedding Belles, and starred in Boeing-Boeing at the Comedy Theatre in London. Also in 2007, she guest-starred in the Doctor Who audio play Valhalla. In 2008 she joined the Royal Shakespeare Company, and performed as Kate in The Taming of the Shrew at the Courtyard Theatre and the Novello Theatre.

In 2012, Gomez starred in the British film The Wedding Video, portraying the psychologically unstable wedding planner. In the same year, she appeared in the British comedy series Bad Education, portraying the deputy-head Isobel Pickwell,^[5] which returned for a second series in 2013. In 2014, she began producing comedy sketches as "Heather" an agony aunt for YouTube channel Wildseed Studios.^[6]

She had a recurring role in series 8 – 10 of Doctor Who as a character called Missy. Her true identity was revealed in the Series 8 two-part finale "Dark Water" / "Death in Heaven" as an incarnation of the Master, the Doctor's longstanding nemesis (Missy being a shortened form of Mistress, the female equivalent of Master).^[7] Gomez reprised the role in the opening two-part story of the ninth series "The Magician's Apprentice" / "The Witch's Familiar" and again in the show's tenth series, which began broadcasting in April 2017.^[8] In May 2017, Gomez stated that it would be her last series in the role.^[9]

Gomez's portrayal of Missy earned her a nomination for the Best Actress (Television) award at the 2015 British Academy Scotland Awards.^[10] Later, Gomez also received a nod as Best Supporting Actress at the British Academy Television Awards.^[11]

In 2018, Gomez was cast as Lilith / Madam Satan and Mary Wardwell in the Netflix series Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.^[12] She later appeared as Miranda Croft in the HBO Max dark comedy thriller series The Flight Attendant in November 2020. The show was later renewed for a second season, which premiered on April 21, 2022.

In 2021, Gomez was cast in season 3 of Doom Patrol as Madame Rouge.^[13] She also provided the voice of Morag in The Loud House Movie.

Personal life

Gomez has been married to actor Jack Davenport since 1 May 2000.^[14] She gave birth to their son in 2010.^[15][16] On 28 February 2023, Gomez announced on Instagram that she, Davenport, and their son had become naturalised American citizens.^[17][18]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1998	The Acid House	Catriona	Segment: A Soft Touch
	Gunslinger's Revenge	Leather Girl
1999	New World Disorder	Annika "Amethyst" Rains
	The Escort	Hostess
	Ticks	Stressed Girl on Phone	Short film
2000	Offending Angels	Baggy's Ex-Girlfriend
2001	Subterrain	Unknown
2005	Chromophobia	Bushey
	Meat the Campbells	Mrs. Campbell	Short film
2012	The Wedding Video	Jenna (The Wedding Planner)
2021	The Loud House Movie	Morag (voice)

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1989	First and Last	Nurse	Television film
1992	Taggart	Hairdresser	Episode: "Nest of Vipers"
1996	The Bill	Penny Grice	Episode: "Toe the Line"
1998		Carrie Bennett	Episode: "Dog Eat Dog"
1999	Taggart	Harriet Bailes	Episode: "Bloodlines"
	Highlander: The Raven	Talia Bauer	Episode: "Inferno"
2001	Rebus	Caro Rattray	Episode: "Mortal Causes"
2002	My Family	Sharon	Episode: "The Second Greatest Story Ever Told"
2002–2003	The Book Group	Janice McCann	12 episodes
2003	Ready When You Are, Mr. McGill	Judy	Television film
	Manchild	Kitty	Episode: "#2.2"
2005	Murder in Suburbia	Anita Green	Episode: "Death of an Estate Agent"
2004–2005	Carrie and Barry	Michelle	12 episodes
2004–2007	Green Wing	Sue White	18 episodes
2006	Feel the Force	Sally Bobbins	6 episodes
	The Good Housekeeping Guide	Jenny	Television film
	Secret Policeman's Ball sketch	Sue White	Television special
2007	Oliver Twist	Mrs. Sowerberry	2 episodes
	Wedding Belles	Amanda	Television film
2009	Svengali	Francine Hardy
2012–2013	Bad Education	Isobel Pickwell	11 episodes
2013	Playhouse Presents	Mary, Queen of Scots	6 episodes
2014–2017	Doctor Who	Missy	15 episodes
2015	The Brink	Vanessa	3 episodes
	Gotham	The Lady	2 episodes
2016	The Collection	Eliette Malet
2018–2020	Chilling Adventures of Sabrina	Lilith / Madam Satan / Mary Wardwell	36 episodes
2020	101 Dalmatian Street	Cruella de Vil (voice)	4 episodes[19]
2020–2022	The Flight Attendant	Miranda Croft	Main role Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series[20]
2020	DuckTales	Matilda McDuck (voice)	Episode: "The Fight for Castle McDuck!"[21]
2021–2023	Doom Patrol	Laura De Mille / Madame Rouge	20 episodes
2023	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Connie Parrish	Guest Star

Audio drama

Year	Title		Role	Notes
2007	Doctor Who: The Monthly Adventures	Episode: "Valhalla"	Jevvan
2019	Missy: Series One		Missy
	The Diary of River Song: Series 5	Episode: "The Bekdel Test"
	Doctor Who: Ravenous	Episodes: "Day of the Master Part One" & "Day of the Master Part Two"
2020	Missy: Series Two
2021	Masterful			Special release marking 50 years of the character of the Master
	Missy: Missy and the Monk
2023	The Eighth of March: Strange Chemistry	Episode: "Fairies at the Bottom of the Garden"		Special release for International Women's Day, featuring the women of the Whoniverse;
	UNIT Nemesis: Masters of Time	Episode: "True Nemesis"
	Doctor Who: Once and Future	Episode "The Martian Invasion of Planetoid 50"		A special series marking 60 years of Doctor Who
2024	Missy: Bad Influence
2025	Dark Gallifrey	Missy		Gomez's Missy will have a trilogy in the forthcoming series[22]

Video games

Year	Title	Voice role	Notes
2015	Lego Dimensions	Missy
2018	Doctor Who Infinity		[23]
2024	Dragon Age: The Veilguard	Ghilan'nain

Notes

• Leask, Anjie (19 April 2002). "When I said the C word on stage I felt like a rock star". The Mirror (London, England). MGN LTD. Retrieved 17 January 2009.
• Fulton, Rick (3 September 2004). "Our Secret Star: Book Group Michelle is going to be huge thanks to TWO shows". Daily Record (Glasgow, Scotland). Retrieved 17 January 2009.
• English, Paul (4 June 2005). "Green and bear it". Daily Record (Glasgow, Scotland). Scottish Daily Record & Sunday. Retrieved 17 January 2009.
• Allan, Vicky (19 March 2006). "Ready, steady, Gomez. A fine comedic actress, she scored a direct hit". THE Sunday Herald. Retrieved 17 January 2009.
• Rampton, James (5 May 2006). "Michelle Gomez is a force to be reckoned with". The Scotsman. Retrieved 17 January 2009.
• Cadwalladr, Carole (25 March 2007). "Funny girl". The Observer. Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 17 January 2009.
• Fisher, Mark (20 April 2008). "Curtain call for a shrew operator – Michelle Gomez interview". The Scotsman. Retrieved 17 January 2009.
• Brown, Helen (30 May 2008). "Michelle Gomez: 'I'm shameless, Desperate!'". Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group Limited. Archived from the original on 22 April 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2009.
• Bearn, Emily (12 January 2009). "Funny Face: Michelle Gomez". Evening Standard Magazine. Associated Newspapers. Archived from the original on 17 January 2009. Retrieved 17 January 2009.
• "Michelle Gomez". biogs.com. Danny Rosenbaum. Retrieved 17 January 2009.