Clare Julia "Keeley" Hawes (born 10 February 1976) is an English actress. After beginning her career in a number of literary adaptations, including Our Mutual Friend (1998) and Tipping the Velvet (2002), Hawes rose to fame for her portrayal of Zoe Reynolds in the BBC series Spooks (2002–2004), followed by her co-lead performance as DI Alex Drake in Ashes to Ashes (2008–2010). She is also known for her roles in Jed Mercurio's Line of Duty as DI Lindsay Denton (2014–2016) and in BBC One drama Bodyguard (2018), in which she played Home Secretary Julia Montague.
Hawes is a three-time BAFTA TV Award nominee, having been nominated for the British Academy Television Award for Best Actress for her roles as Lindsay Denton and Julia Montague, and a British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Dorothy Wick in the drama Mrs Wilson.
Hawes has had leading roles in the 2010 revival of Upstairs, Downstairs, the limited series The Casual Vacancy (2015), The Missing (2016), the ITV comedy-drama The Durrells (2016–2019), the Russell T Davies drama serial It's a Sin (2021), The Midwich Cuckoos (2022) and BBC America/AMC science fiction thriller Orphan Black: Echoes (2023). She has also acted as an executive producer on ITV drama Honour (2020) and comedy-drama Finding Alice (2021), starring in them both.
Hawes's film appearances include Death at a Funeral (2007), High-Rise (2015), Misbehaviour (2020) and To Olivia (2021), in which she portrays actress Patricia Neal. She has also provided the voice of Lara Croft in the Tomb Raider video games, including Tomb Raider: Legend, Tomb Raider: Anniversary, Tomb Raider: Underworld, and Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light.
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Early life and education
Clare Julia Hawes was born on 10 February 1976 in London, and grew up in a council flat in Marylebone. She is the youngest of four children.
Hawes attended Sylvia Young Theatre School, where she became friends with singer Emma Bunton and actress Kellie Bright. In her teenage years she worked in various part-time jobs including at Sainsbury's and McDonald's. At age 17 she was approached on Oxford Street by a modelling scout, and signed up by Select Model Management. After numerous features for teen magazine Shout, Hawes became a fashion intern for Cosmopolitan. During this period, she was first asked to audition for a film. We're not an acting family, but my parents have always encouraged me. I'm sure my dad spreads the word about my programmes to everyone who gets in his cab, which must help the ratings!
Career
Hawes first came into the public eye in the 1990s, having supporting roles in Troublemakers, Dennis Potter's Karaoke (1995), Heartbeat (1995) and The Beggar Bride (1997). Hawes's first film role was in the 1998 film The Avengers, in which she played Tamara.
Hawes appeared in several BBC adaptations of classic and modern literature, including Our Mutual Friend (1998), The Cater Street Hangman (1998), Wives and Daughters (1999) and as the young Diana Dors in the biopic The Blonde Bombshell (1999).
In the late 1990s, Hawes featured in four music videos, "Saturday Night" by Suede, "Marvellous" by The Lightning Seeds, "Come Around" by The Mutton Birds, and "She's a Star" by James.
In 2002, Hawes appeared in the BBC drama Tipping the Velvet. From 2002 to 2004, she appeared as Zoe Reynolds in the spy drama series Spooks. In 2003, she appeared in the BBC's re-telling of The Canterbury Tales. In 2006, Hawes replaced Jonell Elliott as the voice of Lara Croft in the action-adventure video game, Tomb Raider: Legend. She appeared as Rosie in the British comedy The Vicar of Dibley from 2006 to 2007. Also in 2007, Hawes appeared as Jane in the comedy Death at a Funeral. She reprised her voiceover role as Lara Croft in the video games Tomb Raider: Anniversary, a remake of the original Tomb Raider, released in 2007, followed by 2008's Tomb Raider: Underworld.
In April 2008, Hawes began filming the BBC drama Mutual Friends, and appeared in That Mitchell and Webb Look. From 2008 to 2010, she appeared in Ashes to Ashes, the spin-off from the hit BBC series Life on Mars, as Alex Drake, a police officer in London's Metropolitan Police. For her portrayal of Alex Drake, Hawes was granted the Best UK Television Actress Award in 2008 by the Glamour Awards.
In 2009, Hawes portrayed Detective Superintendent Martha Lawson in a six-episode ITV series, Identity. The 2010 release of the isometric Tomb Raider spin-off game, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, again featured Hawes as the voice of Lara Croft. In December of that year, she starred as Lady Agnes Holland in the three-episode relaunch of Upstairs, Downstairs.
Philanthropy
Hawes began working with UNICEF in 2012; in 2017 she became a UNICEF ambassador. Her main focus has been visiting Syrian refugee children and families living in the Za’atari refugee camp and host communities in Amman.
Personal life
Hawes married cartoonist Spencer McCallum in December 2001; their son had been born in August. She married Matthew Macfadyen, her co-star in Spooks, in November 2004 and their daughter was born the following month. Their son was born in September 2006.
