Biography

Jeannette "Jeany" Spark is an English actress, known for portraying Linda Wallander in the British television series Wallander. The actress has also had significant roles in the comedy series Man Down and the drama series The Interceptor. Born in Chelmsford and raised in Harpenden, Spark studied English literature at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, graduating with a First-Class Honours degree in 2004. She then trained as an actress at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, graduating in 2007. In 2008, Spark played schoolteacher Mercy Chant in the BBC adaptation of Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D’Urbervilles. Spark also took on the role of Linda Wallander, the daughter of the titular character in the BBC One drama Wallander. In 2011, Spark portrayed Joan Malin in the television drama film Hattie. In 2013, she took the role of the deputy headmistress, Emma, in Man Down, the Channel 4 comedy series. The show lasted for four series. Spark plays the role of Detective Inspector Kate Gemmill in the 2015 BBC drama The Interceptor. In 2016, Spark joined the cast of the ITV drama Jericho. In 2017, Spark took the lead role in the Theatr Clwyd's production of Skylight, a play by David Hare. In 2019, she appeared for the Royal Shakespeare Company in Crooked Dances, a new play by Robin French, as the character Katy Porlock. In 2018, she appeared as Captain Sandrine Shaw in the BBC Two miniseries Collateral. In 2020, Spark was cast as Kate in the Channel 4 drama I Am Hannah starring Gemma Chan.