Gemma Whelan

Gemma Elizabeth Whelan (born April 23, 1981) is an English actress and comedian, best known for playing Yara Greyjoy in the HBO fantasy-drama series Game of Thrones. Whelan attended The King's High School for Girls in Warwick. In addition to being an actor and comedian, Whelan is also a professional dancer specializing in the tap and jazz dance styles. She is a member of the dance troupe the Beaux Belles, based in London. She is also trained in musical theatre and has a mezzo-soprano singing voice. Whelan can speak conversational Spanish. She lives in London. In July 2017, she was expecting her first child with husband Gerry. She gave birth to their daughter a few months later. Whelan is vegetarian but had eaten meat on the sets of Game of Thrones. As a comedian, Whelan won the Funny Women Variety Award for stand-up comedy in 2010. She often performs stand-up in character as Chastity Butterworth and in 2014 she recorded a pilot chat show for BBC Radio 4 called The Chastity Butterwor