Marsha Thomason

Marsha Lisa Thomason Sykes (born 19 January 1976) is an English actress. Her films include The Haunted Mansion. On television, she is known for her roles in the NBC series Las Vegas (2003–2005), the ABC series Lost (2007–2010), the USA Network series White Collar (2009–2014), the Sky One series COBRA (2020–2023) and the ITV crime drama The Bay (2022–).

Early life Thomason was born in Moston, Manchester to a Jamaican-born mother who arrived in England at age 10 and a father of English, Irish and Scottish heritage. Thomason attended Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School in Blackley and the (now defunct) North Manchester High School for Girls in Moston, and completed her A Levels at Oldham Sixth Form College. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in English from Manchester Metropolitan University. At age 13, Thomason joined Oldham Theatre Workshop, where she participated in youth theatre productions.

Career Thomason first came to prominence on British television playing Sally in the fifth series of the BBC One police procedural Pie in the Sky in 1997. This was followed by roles in 1998 as Sharon "Shazza" Pearce in Playing the Field, also on BBC One, and Jacqui Richard in the ITV series Where the Heart Is.

Thomas had her first notable film roles in Black Knight (2001), Long Time Dead (2002) as Lucy and Pure (2002) as Vicki with Keira Knightley. In 2003, Thomas starred in Disney's The Haunted Mansion with Eddie Murphy, appeared in the first series of the BBC Three drama Burn It as Tina, and began starring in the NBC series Las Vegas as Nessa Holt, a role she would play for two seasons. On 21 October 2004, Thomason was a guest on the radio show Loveline. Thomason led the 2006 film Caffeine.

In 2007, Thomason joined the recurring cast of the ABC science fiction series Lost as Naomi Dorrit. Being a friend of Dominic Monaghan (who played Charlie Pace on the series), she was a huge fan of the show and excited to be cast.

In January 2008, she appeared in the BBC One drama Messiah V: The Rapture. In August 2008, Thomason was cast as a series regular in the CW comedy-drama Easy Money as Julia Miller. In late 2009, she appeared in the medical soap opera General Hospital. She also had a recurring role in the ABC Family teen gymnastics drama Make It or Break It.

After appearing in the pilot episode for the USA Network series White Collar as agent Diana Berrigan, she returned for the first-season finale. Thomason was promoted to main for the second season, a role she would play until 2014. Thomason returned to British television in 2015, starring as Katy Carmichael opposite Christopher Eccleston in first series of the ITV crime drama Safe House.

Thomason had a recurring role in seasons 9 to 11 of the CBS series NCIS: Los Angeles (2017–2020) as Nicole DeChamps. From 2020 to 2023, Thomason had a main role as fictional Labour Party MP Francine Bridge in the Sky One political thriller COBRA. In 2022, she joined the cast of the ITV crime drama The Bay for its third series as DS Jenn Townsend, taking over as lead from Morven Christie.

Personal life As of 2004, Thomason was based between London and Los Angeles. On 5 April 2009, Thomason married lighting technician Craig Sykes in Malibu, California. Their daughter was born in June 2013. Thomason became an American citizen in 2012.

Filmography

Film Film Year Title Role Notes 1994 Priest Nurse 2001 Black Knight Victoria the Chambermaid and Nicole 2002 Long Time Dead Lucy Pure Vicki 2003 The Haunted Mansion Sara Evers and Elizabeth Henshaw 2004 My Baby's Daddy Brandy 2005 The Nickel Children Beatrice 2006 The Package Melissa Short film Caffeine Rachel The Fast One Lucy Comedy short The Tripper Linda Tug of War Sam Comedy short 2007 LA Blues Carla 2009 Into the Blue 2: The Reef Azra The Extraordinary Farewell Claire Samuels Pre-production

Television Television Year Title Role Notes 1993 Safe Wendy TV film 1996 Prime Suspect Janice Episode: Prime Suspect 5: "Errors of Judgement" 1996 Brazen Hussies Stripper with fire TV film 1997 Pie in the Sky Sally 8 episodes 1998 Playing the Field Sharon 'Shazza' Pearce 1998–1999 Where the Heart Is Jacqui Richards 20 episodes 1999 Love in the 21st Century Louise Episode: "Threesome"2001 Table 12 Denie Episode: "Guess Who's Not Coming to Dinner" Swallow Tina Harford TV film 2003 Burn It Tina 3 episodes 2003–2005 Las Vegas Nessa Holt Seasons 1–2 (Main cast: 47 episodes) 2007 Cane Miranda Sanfilipino Episode: "Family Business" 2007–2010 Lost Naomi Dorrit 12 episodes2008 Life Jill Abrahams Episode: "The Business of Miracles" Easy Money Julia Miller 8 episodes Messiah V: The Rapture Mel Palmer TV film 2009 General Hospital Gillian Carlyle 4 episodes 2009–2010 Make It or Break It Mary Jane "MJ" Martin 6 episodes 2009–2014 White Collar Special Agent Diana Berrigan Season 1 (2 episodes: Pilot, Finale); Seasons 2–6 (main cast) 2011 2 Broke Girls Cashandra 2 episodes 2013–2014 Men at Work Selena 2 episodes 2014 House of Lies Acquaintance Episode: "Soldiers" 2015 Safe House Katy 4 episodes 2017 Bones Amy Bryan Episode: "The Tutor in the Tussle" 2017–2020 NCIS: Los Angeles Nicole DeChamps 8 episodes 2017–2018 The Good Doctor Dr. Isabel Barnes 3 episodes 2018 SEAL Team Staff Sergeant Vanessa Ryan 3 episodes 2019 Better Things Mer Kodis 3 episodes 2020–2023 COBRA Francine Bridge 2020 MacGyver Dr. Cheryl Werner Episode: "Tesla + Bell + Edison + Mac"2021 Castlevania Greta Voice, 6 episodes Magnum P.I. Eve Season 4 recurring 2022–present The Bay DS Jenn Townsend Lead role; since series 3 2022 FreakAngels Voice

Video games Video games Year Title Role Notes 2012 Hitman: Absolution Diana Burnwood