Keeley Hawes

Biography: Best known for her roles as Alex Drake on Ashes to Ashes and MI5 agent Zoe Reynolds on Spooks, film and television actress Keeley Hawes grew up in Marylebone, near the famous Sylvia Young Theatre School. Although no one in the family except for her had an interest in the performing arts, Keeley was enrolled in the school, where she was able to hone her acting skills and develop her amazing voice. At age 16, Hawes entered the modeling business, appearing in fashion magazines. After 18 months, she grew tired of it and became a fashion assistant for Cosmopolitan.

Her acting break came when she got a part in the Dennis Potter TV adaptation Karaoke (1996), starring Albert Finney. Further roles came her way both in film and on television, with projects like The Beggar Bride (1997), The Avengers (1998), Our Mutual Friend (1998), Wives and Daughters (1999), The Blonde Bombshell (1999), The Last September (1999), and Complicity (2000). In 2002, Keeley's profile was raised in the public's eye when she portrayed the controversial role of lesbian Kitty Butler in Tipping the Velvet.

Hawes' professional and personal life took a most fortunate turn during her three-year stint as British spy Zoe Reynolds on the BBC action drama Spooks, where she met her husband Matthew Macfadyen. Departing the show in 2004, Keeley's career continued to flourish as she took part in several more films and made-for-TV movies including A Cock and Bull Story (2005), The Best Man (2006), After Thomas (2006), and lent her voice as Lara Croft in the Tomb Raider video game series. In 2008, aside from appearing opposite Jason Statham in The Bank Job and alongside Daniel Craig in Flashbacks of a Fool, she was also cast as DI Alex Drake on the BBC traveling crime drama Ashes to Ashes.… Expand