Denise Gough is an actress from Ireland. She is most recognized on television for her performances in the BBC Two crime drama Paula (2017), the ITV miniseries Too Close (2021), and the Disney+ series Andor (2022–2025).
Her filmography features Colette (2018), The Other Lamb (2019), Monday (2020), and Martyrs Lane (2021).
Early Years
Denise Gough was born on February 28, 1980, in Wexford. She grew up in Ennis, County Clare, as the daughter of an electrician. Gough is the seventh of eleven siblings, one of whom is the actress Kelly Gough. She was raised in the Catholic faith.
She trained as a soprano before relocating from Ireland to London at the age of 15 with her boyfriend. After this, she encountered a phase of homelessness.
To escape the painful memories of being groomed from the age of 13 and being raped twice at 14 by “a man in his 20s,” she began using alcohol and drugs. She later stated, “At the time she thought it was love; now she knows it was child abuse.”
At the age of 18, she received a grant to pursue her studies at the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts (ALRA) located in Wandsworth, and she completed her graduation from ALRA in 2003.
Denise Gough’s Career
Before transitioning to television and film, Denise Gough started her acting journey in theater. In London, she performed in the plays By the Bog of Cats and The Kindness of Strangers in 2004. By 2017 and 2018, she was prominently cast as Harper Pitt in the acclaimed play Angels in America.
Gough has portrayed significant characters in the 2010 version of Robin Hood, the 2018 movie Juliet, Naked, and the 2021 horror film Martyrs Lane.
On the small screen, she is likely most recognized for her performance in the 2022 miniseries Under the Banner of Heaven, which is based on the popular book by Jon Krakauer.
Furthermore, Denise Gough has appeared in the 2023 Netflix thriller Who Is Erin Carter? Denise’s film credits include the film Monday, directed by Argyris Papadimitropoulos.
Other significant credits in her career are The Other Lamb, Colette, where she performed alongside Keira Knightley, The Kid Who Would Be King, the musical comedy Juliet Naked, Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood, Ken Loach’s Jimmy’s Hall, and the BAFTA-nominated film ’71 directed by Yann Demange.
Denise Gough’s television credits include the Disney+ series Andor, created by Tony Gilroy, where she plays the role of Dedra Meero.
She also starred in Under the Banner of Heaven alongside Andrew Garfield and Daisy Edgar-Jones and in Too Close, where she portrayed the lead character Connie alongside Emily Watson, for which she received a BAFTA nomination for Leading Actress.
Additionally, she played the title role in Conor McPherson’s BBC2 thriller Paula, appeared in John Ridley’s Guerrilla on Sky Atlantic, and was featured in Apple Tree Yard.
Moreover, she participated in the third series of the highly acclaimed and BAFTA-nominated BBC drama The Fall, which starred Gillian Anderson and Jamie Dornan, as well as in Sky’s popular comedy Stella. She will be returning as Dedra Meero in the Disney+ series Andor 2.
Personal Life
It is uncertain whether Denise Gough is married, dating, or single. While her character in Andor has a connection with Syril, she is not romantically linked to Kyle Soller in her personal life.
