Gemma Whelan

Gemma Elizabeth Whelan is an English actress and comedian born in 1981. She is best known for her portrayal of Yara Greyjoy in the HBO fantasy-drama series Game of Thrones and for performing as her stand-up comedy character, Chastity Butterworth. Her television work includes starring as Kate in the comedy series Upstart Crow, Detective Eunice Noon in The End of the F***ing World, Geraldine in Killing Eve, and DCI Kerry Henderson in DI Ray.

Whelan was born in Leeds and grew up in the Midlands. She attended The King's High School for Girls in Warwick before studying at the London Studio Centre. During her teenage years, she was hospitalised for anorexia nervosa. She considers her recovery from the condition to be her greatest achievement, noting that the experience shaped her personality and overall approach to life.

Beginning her career in comedy, Whelan won the Funny Women Variety Award in 2010. She brought her show Chastity Butterworth & The Spanish Hamster to the Edinburgh Fringe in 2013 and recorded a pilot chat show for BBC Radio 4 in 2014. On screen, she had early supporting film roles in Gulliver's Travels and The Wolfman in 2010, and appeared in comedy series such as Uncle and The Agency.

In August 2011, Whelan was cast as Yara Greyjoy, the elder sister of Theon Greyjoy, in Game of Thrones, serving as a recurring cast member from the second season onward. In 2017, she played Karen Matthews in the BBC two-part television drama The Moorside, which dramatised the 2008 disappearance of nine-year-old Shannon Matthews. That same year, she joined the cast of The End of the F***ing World for its first series.

From 2016 to 2018, Whelan played Kate across all three series of Ben Elton's BBC Two comedy Upstart Crow, appearing in 18 main episodes and two Christmas specials. She expanded her dramatic work in 2019 by playing Marian Lister in the BBC drama Gentleman Jack, followed by a main role as Geraldine in the third series of Killing Eve in 2020.

Whelan reprised her stage role as Kate in London West End adaptations of Upstart Crow at the Gielgud Theatre in 2020 and the Apollo Theatre in 2022. In 2020, she appeared as Mrs Weston in Autumn de Wilde's film adaptation of Emma. From 2022 to 2024, she played DCI Kerry Henderson, superior officer to Parminder Nagra's title character, in both series of the police drama DI Ray.

Whelan resides in London with her husband, comedian and actor Gerry Howell, and their two children. In July 2026, she publicly shared that her mother, Sue Whelan, had passed away by drowning overseas in 2025, discussing the deep impact of sudden loss and grief while offering words of support to others experiencing similar hardship.