Bio: Karen Sheila Gillan was born and raised in Inverness, Scotland, as the only child of Marie Paterson and husband John Gillan, who is a singer and recording artist. She developed a love for acting very early on, attending several youth theatre groups and taking part in a wide range of productions at her school, Charleston Academy.At age 16, Karen decided she wanted to pursue her acting career further and, studied under the renowned theatre director Scott Johnston at the Performing Arts Studio Scotland. She later attended the prestigious Italia Conti Academy in London. During her first year, she landed a role on Rebus (2000) and soon appeared in a variety of programs including Channel 4's Stacked (2008) and The Kevin Bishop Show (2008), as well as a two-year stint on the long-running series Doctor Who (2005). Karen also stars in the film Outcast (2010), starring James Nesbitt. Her most recent starring role is as Eliza Dooley on the situation comedy Selfie (2014).
Tivia: Shaved her head completely bald to play Nebula in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014). Marvel Studios subsequently turned her shaved hair into a wig and presented it to her as a gift which she still keeps to this day.Went on record that she would like to play a female Bond antagonist in a future James Bond movie and that she wants to play the female incarnation of The Joker in a future Batman movie.The Daleks on the series had to be redesigned to match her height, as she's half a foot taller than Billie Piper, who was the first companion on the revival.Cousin of Caitlin Blackwood, who plays the younger Amy Pond on Doctor Who.Gillan shaved off her hair during Guardians of The Galaxy (2014). She revealed this during Comic-Con 2013. During the conference, she wore a wig then took it off to surprise fans.Karen admitted the first person she told when she got the role of Amy Pond was her mother, who the actress said was a huge fan of Doctor Who (1963).Karen is part of the youngest pairing of Doctor Who and companion on Doctor Who (2005). In 2009, the new Doctor, Matt Smith, is 26, and she is just 21. Their combined age will be younger than that of Jon Pertwee, when he was playing the Time Lord in the 1970s.Became a huge fan of the situation comedy Community (2009), after her flatmate told her about their Doctor Who parody, "Inspector Spacetime".Used the code word 'Panic Moon' (an anagram of 'Companion'), when auditioning for the role of Doctor Who's assistant/companion.Two years before she was cast as Amy Pond on Doctor Who (2005), Karen had a guest role in the episode, The Fires of Pompeii (2008). She was cast as a soothsayer.When she's not acting, she likes to play the piano and loves rummaging through vintage clothes shops.Voted Best Actress by readers of "Doctor Who" magazine for her stint on the 2010 season of Doctor Who (2005).One of her golden rules of life is a minimum of 8 hours of sleep per night.Loves rummaging through vintage clothes shops and playing the piano.Good friends with Katee Sackhoff.She is a skilled pianist.Grew up in Inverness, Inverness-shire, Scotland, Great-Britain and Northern-Ireland.Auditioned for Game of Thrones (2011) just before being hired for Doctor Who (2005).Attended the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts in London, England.Is the only child and daughter of John Gillan of Clan Macnab and wife Marie Paterson of Clan Paterson, considered part of Clan MacLaren or of Clan Farquharson.Her father John is English and her mother Marie is Scottish and one of 8 siblings.Currently resides in Manhattan, New York, New York County, New York, and in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California.Funko released Pop! vinyls of Karen Gillan's characters Amy Pond from Doctor Who and Nebula from the Cinematic Marvel Universe.