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Gayle Rankin is a Scottish actress. She is known for her role as Sheila in the Netflix series GLOW (2017–2019). She also played Emily Dodson in the HBO series Perry Mason (2020). Her films include The Greatest Showman (2017), Her Smell (2018), Blow the Man Down, and The Climb (both 2019).

Rankin joined the cast of the HBO series House of the Dragon for its second season as Alys Rivers. In 2024, she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her role in Cabaret.

Early life

Rankin was born in Paisley and grew up in Eaglesham and Kilmaurs. She has an older sister. She attended Mearns Castle High School and completed sixth form at Knightswood Secondary School's Dance School of Scotland. At 17, Rankin won a scholarship to train at the Juilliard School in New York City and became the institution's first Scottish student. She was also awarded an international fellowship to study in Sydney, Australia.

Career

In 2012, Rankin made her acting debut in an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. In 2017, Rankin began appearing on GLOW, as Sheila the She-Wolf. It premiered on 23 June 2017, on Netflix. The show was renewed for a third season which premiered on 9 August 2019.

In 2017, Rankin appeared in The Meyerowitz Stories, directed by Noah Baumbach. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, and was released by Netflix on 13 October 2017. That same year, she appeared in The Greatest Showman opposite Hugh Jackman and Michelle Williams.

In 2018, Rankin appeared in Irreplaceable You, directed by Stephanie Laing, opposite Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Michiel Huisman. It was released by Netflix on 16 February 2018. That same year, she appeared in In a Relationship directed by Sam Boyd, which had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on 20 April 2018, and in Her Smell, directed by Alex Ross Perry, opposite Elisabeth Moss and Agyness Deyn.

In 2020, she was cast as Emily Dodson, the mother of Charlie Dodson, a 1-year-old child who is mysteriously kidnapped in Perry Mason.

In April 2023, it was announced that Rankin had been cast as Alys Rivers in the second season of House of the Dragon.

On Broadway, she has starred in the 2014 revival of Cabaret as Fräulein Kost. She starred as Sally Bowles in the 2024 revival opposite Eddie Redmayne, earning acclaim and a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

References

1. "Sheila the She Wolf (Gayle Rankin) | Meet the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling: your guide to the cast & characters of Netflix's GLOW - On demand". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
2. Mullen, Stacey (22 February 2020). "Gayle Rankin talks Blow the Man Down and Glow". Glasgow Times. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
3. "The kid from fame". Glasgow Times. 23 April 2007. Archived from the original on 3 December 2024. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
4. "Gayle Rankin on Method and Madness - Page". Interview Magazine. 12 July 2017. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
5. "2007 Awardee: Gayle Rankin". Dewar Awards. 4 November 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
6. Jones, Arnold Wayne (3 August 2017). "Sheila the She-Wolf aka Gayle Rankin on Auditioning for Netflix's 'GLOW'". Backstage.com. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
7. Daniel Holloway (28 September 2016). "Jenji Kohan's Netflix Wrestling Comedy 'G.L.O.W.' Casts Gayle Rankin (Exclusive)". variety.com. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
8. "'GLOW,' Netflix's Women's Wrestling Comedy, to Launch June 23". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
9. "GLOW season three: release date, trailers, and everything you need to know". NME. 21 August 2018. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
10. Kanbergs, Vanessa Lawrence, Matthew (18 May 2017). "Gayle Rankin Will Be at Cannes, in 'Hamlet', on Netflix's 'GLOW'—Basically Everywhere, Very Soon".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
11. "See Adam Sandler in an actual good movie in the first trailer for The Meyerowitz Stories". The A.V. Club. 16 August 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
12. Shea, Jonathan (20 July 2017). "Gayle Rankin". Retrieved 24 April 2018.
13. Wilson, Fraser N. (29 May 2019). "Greatest Showman actress gives Eaglesham Fair Hollywood seal of approval". dailyrecord.co.uk.
14. Budowski, Jade (23 January 2018). "Netflix February 2018: Complete List Of Netflix Movies, Netflix Shows, Netflix Originals, And More". Decider. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
15. "In a Relationship". Tribeca Film Festival. Archived from the original on 20 June 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
16. Galuppo, Mia (13 April 2018). "Agyness Deyn, 'GLOW' Star Gayle Rankin Join Elisabeth Moss in 'Her Smell' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
17. Cantrell, Liz (22 June 2020). "What the Cast of the New Perry Mason Looks Like in Real Life". Town & Country.
18. Moreau, Jordan (24 April 2023). "'House of the Dragon' Casts Alys Rivers and Three More Characters". Variety.
19. Marks, Peter (23 October 2023). "Eddie Redmayne, Gayle Rankin to star in new a Broadway 'Cabaret'". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 23 October 2023.

External links

• Gayle Rankin at IMDb

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• v
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• Living people
• Actresses from Paisley, Renfrewshire
• Juilliard School alumni
• People from Eaglesham
• People from Kilmaurs
• Scottish film actresses
• Scottish musical theatre actresses
• Scottish stage actresses
• Scottish television actresses
• 21st-century Scottish actresses
• 1989 births
• Actresses from East Ayrshire
• Actresses from East Renfrewshire
• British actor stubs