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Pearl Mackie

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Pearl Mackie is a British actress, singer, and dancer best known for playing companion Bill Potts in the long-running TV series Doctor Who.

Pearl grew up in Brixton, South London. Her parents encouraged her pursuit of the arts at a young age, which pushed her to later attend the BRIT School, where she developed her skills in acting, singing, and dancing. After BRIT, she continued her training at the Bristol Old Vic Theater School, graduating in 2010.

She appeared in multiple stage productions and independent films, and made her professional debut later that same year playing Anne-Marie in The Crucible at the Royal Exchange Theater in Manchester. Her magnetic performance caught the attention of casting directors, leading to bigger roles in other productions such as Crystal Springs and A Mad World by Masters.

Her rise to fame came in 2017 after being cast as Bill Potts, the companion of the Twelfth Doctor in the series Doctor Who. It was mentioned that her character would be the first openly gay full-time companion.

In June of 2020, Pearl came out as bi in an Instagram post, and since then, she has been very outspoken about why coming out was important to her and her fans, and why LGBT representation is important in media.

In an interview with Digital Spy, she mentions how important the role as Bill Potts was to her, as well as to the Doctor Who fandom, stating that:

Getting the job and being catapulted into this [amazing] world and this huge fandom, and also opening up this whole world of LGBT fandom that had been there in the community but hadn’t had, apart from Captain Jack, like a solid companion to channel and represent them essentially.

After her debut on the show, she mentions that she has had fans reach out to her and tell her how her portrayal as Bill helped them come out to their friends and family. She then goes on to say:

That is why representation is so important…For me, I think it’s a huge example of why it is important to keep telling LGBT stories, especially women [of color] telling these stories as well because there aren’t enough of those out in the world at all.

In January 2022, she announced her engagement to her partner Kam Chhokar, and married on May 4, 2024.

Since departing from Doctor Who, Pearl Mackie has starred in the series The Long Call (2021), The Diplomat (2023-), Tom Jones (2023), and Tyger (2024).