Tamzin Claire Merchant is an English actress and author, best known for her roles as Georgiana Darcy in the film Pride & Prejudice (2005), as Catherine Howard in the Showtime series The Tudors (2009–2010) and as Anne Hale in the WGN America series Salem (2014–2017). She wrote the 2021 children’s book The Hatmakers.
Years active: 2004–present
Born Age: 4 March 1987, 37 years old and 8 months, Haywards Heath, Sussex, England
Sun Sign: Pisces
Eye Color: Blue
Hair Color: Blonde
Height: 5′ 6″ – 1.68 m
Measurements: 32-24-34 in – 81-61-86 cm
Bra size: 32B US – 70B EU
Tamzin Merchant in Salem (2014-2015)
Tamzin Merchant in The Dancer (2016)
Tamzin Merchant in Salem (2014-2015)
Tamzin Merchant in The Tudors (2007-2011)
actress Tamzin Merchant
actress Tamzin Merchant
Tamzin Merchant - Belle And Sebastian - Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance
Tamzin Merchant - Belle And Sebastian - Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance
David Gyasi and Tamzin Merchant in Carnival Row (2019)
David Gyasi and Tamzin Merchant in Carnival Row (2019)
Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Sarah Bolger, and Tamzin Merchant in The Tudors (2007-2011)
Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Tamzin Merchant in The Tudors (2007)
Tamzin Merchant in Red Faction: Origins (2011)
Holliday Grainger and Tamzin Merchant in Jane Eyre (2011)
Tamzin Merchant in Supergirl (2015)
Tamzin Merchant in Supergirl (2015)
Tamzin Merchant in The Tudors (2007-2011)
Tamzin Merchant as queen Katherine-howard in the Tudors (2007-2011)
Early life
Merchant was educated at Windlesham House School and Brighton College, although she has also lived in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. After twice deferring university places to concentrate on her acting career, she eventually studied English and Drama with Education at Homerton College, Cambridge.
Career
Merchant’s early credits include Margo Durrell in the 2005 BBC television film My Family and Other Animals. In 2006 she appeared in two more BBC dramas, as Sara Fox, the daughter of Alan Davies and Michelle Gomez, in the comedy The Good Housekeeping Guide, and as Probationer Eastwood in the historical drama Casualty 1906.
In 2007, while studying at the University of Cambridge England, she performed in an audio production of Lady Windermere’s Fan as Lady Agatha, while in 2008 she appeared in the ensemble drama Radio Cape Cod in which she plays a summer theatre camper.
She appears in the music video for Jamie T‘s “If You’ve Got The Money” and in Belle and Sebastian‘s “Nobody’s Empire”.
She was cast in the third season (2009) of The Tudors, playing Catherine Howard, the fifth wife of Henry VIII. She debuted in the part in the third-season finale and features heavily in several episodes of the fourth (and final) season.
Merchant played Daenerys Targaryen in the unaired pilot of the HBO series Game of Thrones, based on George R. R. Martin‘s A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels. The pilot was poorly received, and as a result the first episode was completely remade. Merchant was replaced in her role as Daenerys by Emilia Clarke.
She has also starred in DCI Banks: ‘Playing with Fire’ as Miranda. In early 2012, Merchant played the 17-year-old Rosa Bud in the BBC adaptation of Charles Dickens‘ The Mystery of Edwin Drood, written by Gwyneth Hughes.
Merchant was a series regular for 3 seasons of Salem on WGN America from 2014 to 2017.
In 2019 Merchant was cast as a series regular on the Amazon Prime series Carnival Row. The series premiered on 30 August and was renewed for a second season.
Trivia
Was originally cast in the role of “Daenerys Targaryen” in Game of Thrones (2011) and filmed the pilot episode but asked to be released from her contract after the pilot shoot. The scenes were re-shot with Emilia Clarke.
Appears on the cover of Belle & Sebastian‘s album, “Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance” (2015).
Attended Homerton College, Cambridge. Graduated with a 1st Class degree in Education Studies.
Appeared on the video for Groove Armada’s “Song 4 Mutya“.
Models for Manuela Pavesi in POP Magazine October 2006 issue.
Quotes
I think the most rewarding part for me is kind of not knowing where the story’s going next, and then finding out and being blown away by it.
The most disturbing thing, I think, with people that do very morally devious things more and more often is to see that they completely feel that they had no choice in the matter.
When I directed my first short – American Virgin (2015) – I had no idea if I could actually do it. Like, I might just get onto set, have everyone look at me and just completely freeze and have no idea what to do. But pretty much the opposite of that happened. I was like a fish diving into the sea.
People say never work with children and animals. I actually like working with Oliver Bell, and working with a rat really opens possibilities to you because you don’t know how it’s going to be. It’s just a rat, so you can just react to this rat being a rat, if that makes sense.
My favourite colour is red, but I also like jewel tones and monochrome, while my preferred shapes include A-line skirts and skinny trousers.
We show our faces to demand human rights for everyone, everywhere.
Days are long when you’re filming, so I catch up on sleep during breaks to avoid looking tired.
We show our faces to support the billions of young people who suffer a lack of education. We show our faces to honour the potential of every young individual on this planet.
We show our faces to demand that politicians making promises stick to those promises. We show our faces to ensure that the youth of today will flourish tomorrow.
There’s nothing worse than a director who feels more like a cop than a comrade, so I try to never give orders or create an environment where it’s ‘my way or the highway,’ because actually allowing talented people to bring their originality and insight always brings more depth and complexity than if everyone has to do what you tell them to!
Don’t shop when you’re hungry or in a grumpy mood. You need to feel happy and confident to make the best decisions.
Writing and directing, to me, was the logical evolution from my life as an actor: going from telling someone else’s story to actually creating my own. Perhaps one day I will do all three: write, direct, and act in the same production. That might get a little hectic, though.
I’ve always been drawn to storytelling, and acting is the most immersive form of storytelling you can get involved with! You’re actually in the story when you’re acting.
Looking forward, we see that it is the youth of today who hold the key to tomorrow. And we can help unlock it.
Tamzin Claire Merchant Awards.
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