Inside the life of Outlanders Sophie Skelton from ballet career to ex-boyfriend

Outlander: Caitriona Balfe praises Mark Lewis Jones

Sophie Skelton has starred as Brianna Fraser in Outlander since 2016 opposite onscreen husband Richard Rankin, who plays Roger MacKenzie. 

While Brianna is American in the romantic period drama, the 29-year-old star herself is actually born in Cheshire and previously admitted to learning the US accent by watching the sitcom Friends.

She grew up with two older brothers, Sam and Roger, and developed a love of performing early on, taking ballet lessons from the age of three.

Skelton trained as a dancer at the Royal Academy but also worked hard towards a completely different career.

Talking to Shondaland, she explained: “I was studying to be a surgeon, then I started as a ballerina, and then got into musical theatre and stage, and I fell into TV.

“At that point, it was something I had to keep doing because I was supporting family members and I needed the work.”

“I kept with university and continued with the acting. A lot of it, I had to figure out by myself.”

It was only later on that Skelton realised her true passion lay in the worlds of musical theatre and acting.

Her first-ever onscreen role was in a couple of episodes of ITV’s DCI Banks in 2012, followed by The Dumping Ground and Waterloo Road.

Skelton’s next biggest role to date was in the CBBC series So Awkward as Sofia Matthews in 2015 before starring in Ren: The Girl with the Mark the following year.

Don’t miss…
Outlander’s Sam Heughan opens up on ‘sadness’ of filming final series[CAST]
Power Ghost fans in meltdown as original star makes anticipated return[REACTION]
Outlander explained as Claire asks Tom Christie for Vir Meus[EXPLAINER]

The adventure series was financed thanks to Kickstarter and it was that same year that she landed the role of Brianna in Outlander.

This didn’t stop her from appearing in other projects, however, as Skelton has gone on to feature in Another Mother’s Son, 211 and Stalker.

While her character Brianna is happily married with a second child on the way, in real life, Skelton isn’t believed to be currently dating anyone.

She was in a long-term relationship with Rambo: Last Blood star Jeff Gum since 2017 but they are no longer together.

We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info

Since their split, Skelton has kept quiet regarding her love life, instead focusing on her blossoming career.

Teasing what’s to come for her character in Outlander, she said there is “peace” initially in Brianna and husband Roger’s lives but it’s “definitely not sunshine and roses for long”.

Outlander is available to watch on Starz and Lionsgate+.

Source: Read Full Article