Sienna Guillory

Sienna Tiggy Guillory (; born 16 March 1975) is an English actress and former model. She portrayed Jill Valentine in several entries of the Resident Evil action-horror film series. Other prominent roles include elf princess Arya Dröttningu in the fantasy-adventure film Eragon, and the title role in the TV miniseries Helen of Troy. She has appeared in TV shows including Fortitude, Stan Lee's Lucky Man, and Luther.

Early life

Born in Kettering, Northamptonshire, Guillory is the daughter of American folk guitarist Isaac Guillory and his first wife, English model Tina Thompson, who married in 1973. Her father was the son of American and Turkish-Jewish parents At the age of ten, she went to stay with cousins in Mexico to learn Spanish.

She has a half-brother, who has the same mother. Her father adopted him. where she took part in numerous school productions. She started horseback riding at the age of two. At 14, she was given a horse, which she named The Night Porter, or "Porty", after the film The Night Porter; Guillory was a fan of its leading actress Charlotte Rampling.

In December 2000, Guillory's father died of cancer at the age of 53. After modelling for a few years, Guillory returned her focus to acting in 2000. She is signed to Independent Models in London.

Acting Guillory explained that she "became an actor because I wanted to know what it was like to be other people. Because possibly I don't like myself", and later said "I hate acting, really hate it. I kind of fell into it sideways ... I started acting because I got offered a job when I was 16, and they wanted to pay me £8,000, and we'd always lived on Family Support". She went on to say that her frustration with later film roles left her bitter, but after seeing Helen Mirren on stage she was inspired again.

In 1993, Guillory made her screen debut in Riders, a TV adaptation of Jilly Cooper's novel of the same name, for which the casting directors needed a young actress who was able to ride a horse. Her performance landed her another small role in the miniseries The Buccaneers, opposite Mira Sorvino.

Before becoming a model to support her acting career, Guillory waited tables at a club. In an interview in 2000, she said about the experience "Supporting my acting habit with waitressing was probably the most useful thing I've done." During her time as a model, she studied acting at the New World School of the Arts and the Paris Conservatoire, also taking small television and film roles in The Future Lasts a Long Time (1996), The Rules of Engagement (1999), Star! Star! (1999), Kiss Kiss (Bang Bang) (2000), The 3 Kings (2000), and Two Days, Nine Lives (2000). During this time, Guillory decided to go on with her acting career because "I was so scared of going to university and being with people my own age again, having been with that tiny little sect of girls in Norfolk whose daddies were farmers and politicians, who didn't trust me and didn't know where I was coming from". The production did not fare well in the ratings.

In 2001, Guillory continued with other roles in predominantly British films, including Oblivious, Late Night Shopping (with husband Enzo Cilenti), The Last Minute, and . 2002 saw Guillory appear in The Time Machine, alongside Guy Pearce and Jeremy Irons. She was pleased to take on a larger scale film, after having worked on low-budget independent films, and compared the experience with "finding an unicorn in your sock drawer". She played Emma, the fiancée of Pearce's character, who was killed early in the film and whose death set off its main events.

In 2003, after a friend had received a script for The Principles of Lust, Guillory claims she "read it and couldn't put it down, and begged to read for the part". She was impressed by director Penny Woolcock's unconventional style of shooting, without rehearsing the actors, using raw takes and improvisational performances. For the role of Juliette, Guillory performed nude in the film's sex scenes which were filmed during the first week of filming, making her somewhat nervous. She later went on to say that it was one of her favorite acting experiences. That year she also played her first big Hollywood role. She was cast as Jill Valentine, one of the lead characters in the video game adaptation sequel Resident Evil: Apocalypse. The filmmakers had searched widely for an actress to portray Jill and found her in Guillory, who had to "please not only the movie-going audience but also the gamers." She was "a dead ringer for Jill Valentine". Guillory studied the original character's movements by watching playthroughs of the video game Resident Evil 3: Nemesis. Before getting the script for the film, she had not been familiar with the video games or seen Resident Evil (2002).

She said about her role:bquote|You always want to play someone you’re going to have fun with, someone you want to be. Jill's got everything a girl wants to be – she dresses to kill, says whatever she wants and can shoot anyone between the eyes in a 50-yard radius. She's hard as nails and she's great fun. And not at all afraid of being quite the sexy minx. Eragon was not well received by the critics, but was nominated as Best Fantasy Film at the 2006 Saturn Awards. The film grossed approximately $75 million in the US and $173.9 million elsewhere, totaling $249 million worldwide. Guillory was invited to reprise her role as Jill Valentine in Resident Evil: Extinction, the sequel to Resident Evil: Apocalypse, but could not accept due to scheduling conflicts with Eragon.

In 2007, she starred in the Spanish production The Heart of the Earth, and later in the year finished filming the horror/thriller Victims and the fantasy novel adaptation Inkheart. In Inkheart, she plays Resa, the wife of Brendan Fraser's character and the mother of Eliza Bennett's. Guillory acted alongside Helen Mirren, a friend of the Guillory family who was a role model when she first had aspirations towards acting.

In May 2010, Shock Till You Drop.com confirmed the return of Jill Valentine in the Resident Evil film franchise's fourth installment, Resident Evil: Afterlife, with Guillory reprising the role. On 31 May, Jovovich also confirmed that Guillory would return as Jill. Guillory reappears in the film in a mid-end credit scene. She returned to a starring role in the following film, Resident Evil: Retribution, as the main antagonist of the film.

In 2015, she joined the main cast as scientist Natalie Yelburton in the new thriller series Fortitude, commissioned by Sky Atlantic and set in the fictional Arctic oil settlement of the same name. She returned to the role for the show's second series in 2016, and appeared in the third season in 2018.

In January 2016 she also joined the cast of Sky One's new series, Stan Lee's Lucky Man, playing the character Eve. She subsequently returned for both the second and third seasons.

In May 2018, she appeared as the only actor, yet playing multiple roles, in the music video for Liam Gallagher's "Paper Crown". In 2023, she starred as the lead villain and billionaire Hillary Driscoll in the film Meg 2: The Trench.

Media

In 2001, readers of Esquire UK voted Guillory "Britain's Most Eligible Woman" and featured her in a pictorial in the magazine. Guillory was photographed for the cover and shoot by photographer Jonathan Glynn Smith. In 2002, she was number 89 on Maxims "Hot 100 List" of the "world's 100 most beautiful women", and in 2007 Guillory was voted number 54 at Askmen.com's Top 99 Countdown.

Guillory has been quoted as disliking the Hollywood culture, saying she does not wish to be part of it. The couple appeared in the 2001 film Late Night Shopping, and have continued to appear together in various works. In August 2004, Guillory and Cilenti cycled five stages of the Tour de France to raise money for charity.

The Rules of Engagement Denise Late Night Shopping Susie Superstition Julie 2002 The Time Machine Emma

The Principles of Lust Juliette Love Actually Jamie's girlfriend 2004 Resident Evil: Apocalypse Jill Valentine

In the Bathroom The Woman Silence Becomes You Grace

Rabbit Fever Newscaster Eragon Arya Dröttningu Also voice of Arya in game adaptation 2007 El corazón de la tierra Katherine English title: The Heart of the Earth 2008 Inkheart Resa Folchart

Perfect Life Anne aka Perfect Victims – US DVD title Gunless Jane I'm Here Francesca Resident Evil: Afterlife Jill Valentine Cameo

The Big Bang Julie Kestral / Lexie Persimmon The Last Belle Rosie (voice) Short film 2012 Resident Evil: Retribution Jill Valentine

The Wicked Within Bethany Also serves as co-producer The List Alison Corwin

The Goob Janet Dream On Lesley Richardson High-Rise Ann Sheridan

Don't Hang Up Mrs. Kolbein The Whole Banana Denise The Warriors Gate Annie Bronson Abduct Angelica Dark 2017 The Performance Sarah

Nuclear Mother Crystal's Shadow Angelica Dark Remember Me Selma 2020 Son of the South Jessica Mitford

Clifford the Big Red Dog Maggie Howard Defining Moments Lisa A Banquet Holly Hughes 2023 Meg 2: The Trench Hillary Driscoll + Television Year Title Role Notes Ref. 1993 Riders Fenella Maxwell TV series 1995 The Buccaneers Lady Felicia TV miniseries 1999 Out of Sight Ingrid 2 episodes Dzvirpaso M 4 episodes 2000 Take a Girl Like You Jenny Bunn TV miniseries 2003 Helen of Troy Helen TV miniseries 2004 Beauty Cathy Wardle TV film 2005 Agatha Christie's Marple Julia Simmons Episode: "A Murder is Announced" Lettice Knollys TV miniseries 2008 Jessica FOX TV Pilot Criminal Minds SSA Kate Joyner 2 episodes 2009 Virtuality Rika Goddard FOX TV pilot 2010 Covert Affairs Sophie Jacklin Episode: "What Is and What Should Never Be" CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Kacey Monahan Episode: "Shock Waves" 2013 Jo Claire Episode: "The Opera" Luther Mary Day Main cast; 4 episodes Believe Moore TV Pilot 2015–2018 Fortitude Natalie Yelburton Main cast; 24 episodes 2016–2018 Stan Lee's Lucky Man Eve Main cast; 28 episodes 2020 Raised by Wolves Mary Episode: "Pentagram" 2023 Silo Hanna Nichols 2 episodes

+ Music videos Year Title Artist(s) Role 2018 "Paper Crown" Liam Gallagher Woman

+ Video games Year Title Voice Ref. 2006 Eragon Arya Dröttningu