Tanya Reynolds

Tanya Louise Reynolds (born 4 November 1991) is an English actress. She landed her first major role as a series regular on the Sky 1 comedy-drama Delicious (2016–2019). Reynolds portrayed Lily Iglehart on the Netflix comedy-drama Sex Education (2019–2021), where she was a part of the main cast in the first three seasons. Other credits include Outlander (2017), Death in Paradise (2017), Emma (2020), Dodger (2022), The Baby (2022), I Hate You (2022), and The Decameron (2024).

In 2024, she was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, for her performance in the play A Mirror at the Trafalgar Theatre.

Early life
Reynolds was born and raised in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire. Her father was a builder and her mother was a sign writer. She is of half English and half Italian descent. Her first experience in acting was at the age of four in the school nativity. Reynolds attended the Oxford School of Drama, after winning a fully-funded scholarship, and purportedly conceded that otherwise she would not have been able to afford the drama school fees. Reynolds graduated in 2015.

Career
Reynolds first appeared on screen in several short films, including Civilised People by UK comedy duo In Cahoots, which was shown at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 2015, The Jealous Boyfriend, also by In Cahoots, and Introducing Lucy. In 2016, Reynolds landed her first TV appearance in Delicious, where she played Teresa Benelli for 12 episodes.

2017 saw Reynolds furthering her TV career, with parts in Outlander, playing Lady Isobel Dunsany, and in the BBC thriller series Rellik, as 20 year old Sally. The same year she starred as Pearl Marston in the BBC crime drama Death in Paradise in the episode: Murder from Above shown in January 2018.

In 2018, Reynolds was a leading actor in the feature film Fanny Lye Deliver'd, among a cast that included Charles Dance and Maxine Peake. She also played a leading role as Teresa in the Sky One comedy Delicious, alongside a cast which included Iain Glen and Dawn French.

In 2019, she starred as Lily Iglehart in the Netflix comedy-drama Sex Education. Initially a recurring role for series 1, but she was promoted to a main character role for two further seasons. However, she did not return to the series for its fourth and final season.

In 2020, Reynolds played Mrs. Elton in a film adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma, alongside Anya Taylor-Joy and Bill Nighy. The same year, she was named as one of Screen International's Stars of Tomorrow 2020, which showcases talent within the television and film industry of Great Britain and Ireland.

In 2021, Reynolds played Queen Victoria in the NBCUniversal series Dodger, alongside Christopher Eccleston as Fagin and David Threlfall as Chief of Police.

In 2024, Reynolds reprised the role of Mei in the West End transfer of A Mirror at the Trafalgar Theatre. For her performance, she was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.

Also in 2024, she is due to appear as Porcupine in the upcoming film Harold and the Purple Crayon.