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Bethany Antonia Clarke was born on Christmas Day 1997 in Quinton, Birmingham, and is of mixed English and Jamaican heritage, according to Wikipedia. When she was six her family moved to a small coastal town in France's Charente-Maritime region, then returned to Birmingham when she was 11.
She studied musical theatre at Birmingham Ormiston Academy, and at 14 began training at First Act Workshop and with the British Youth Music Theatre. Her first professional role came at 14 in the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust's short film of The Tempest (2012). She appeared in London in Burnt Out Souls (2013) and in productions of Hairspray and Peter Pan.
At 18 she made her TV debut on the BBC One soap Doctors (2016). She went on to play Chelsea in the BFI film Pin Cushion (2017), Margot Rivers in the teen series Get Even (2020) and Kayleigh Shaw opposite Cush Jumbo in Netflix's Harlan Coben drama Stay Close (2021). In 2022 she starred in Lava at the Soho Theatre and began playing Lady Baela Targaryen in HBO's Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon. In 2023 she joined Russell T Davies's ITV biopic Nolly.
In 2026 she is a contestant on the 24th series of Strictly Come Dancing, partnered with Nancy Xu. In Icons Week, the pair survived the dance-off when the judges saved them. Follow the series in our guide Strictly Come Dancing 2026: who's left and how to vote, and read Dame Sarah Storey's Strictly goodbye.
Sources: Wikipedia
Our newest Bethany Antonia story, from October 19, 2026, is "Strictly Come Dancing 2026: Who's Left, How to Vote, and the Returning Star Who Topped Week 3": Twelve couples are still chasing the Glitterball, the show is back on BBC One on Saturday, Oct. 24, and one early front-runner is returning after an injury bye. Here's your complete guide.
Lady Baela Targaryen, a role she has played since 2022 (Wikipedia).
Nancy Xu (our Strictly guide).
Quinton, Birmingham. She was born on December 25, 1997 (Wikipedia).
