Nadia Parkes is a British actress, born under the zodiac sign of Capricorn on 31 December 1996, in London, England. She made her acting debut in “The Spanish Princess” in 2019, and has risen to fame due to her romantic involvement with famous actor Tom Holland.
Early Life
There’s no information about Nadia Parkes’ childhood, hobbies, family and early education.
Parkes attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA), and graduated in 2018 with a major in Drama.
Career
Early Steps
During her time in University, Nadia Parkes participated in various plays – her first role was as Cissy in “Punk Rock”, then as Suki in “Celebration” and Beatrice in “Much Ado About Nothing”.
Before her graduation, she participated in the play “The Taming of the Shrew” as Grumio, and was Clientele Whipped, the MC of the play “Cabaret” directed by Birgitte Staermose.
Parkes currently works under the management of Independent Talent, though it’s unknown when she was signed to the entertainment agency.
TV Debut
Her first important role on TV was in the series “The Spanish Princess” in the role of Rosa de Vargas. The mini-series is based on the books by Philippa Gregory entitled “The Constant Princess” of 2005 and “The King’s Curse” of 2014, and is a sequel to the series “The White Queen”.
Regarding the process of audition for the series, Nadia revealed in an interview that she was initially trying to be cast as Catherine, the protagonist of the series.
Although she wasn’t fit for the role, Nadia’s genuine naivety as a new actress convinced the Director that she was perfect to play the kind-hearted Rosa de Vargas, one of the ladies in waiting of Catherine. She was contacted again by the production staff days later to audition, and was finally given the role the next week.
The mini-series “The Spanish Princess” is centered on the story of Catherine of Aragon, who became Queen of England after her marriage to Henry VIII. However, originally from Spain, Catherine had various problems adapting to her new life in the foreign country, in addition to maintaing peace between the two kingdoms.
Rosa’s character is often perceived as kind and oblivious, traits which Nadia found similar to her own personality: ‘I felt like I was slightly mirroring between the character and me. She’s so curious when she comes to England, and I am so curious, so when I went to the set, I developed with her.’
The filming process lasted six months, during which Nadia gained valuable experience as a new actress: ‘She was learning the ways of England and I was learning as an actor, like the ropes of the world on the set, and I left a different person that I came I would say’.
The first series of “The Spanish Princess” had an average audience of 0,6 points, and the second series began airing in October 2020.
Other Works
Since the filming of “The Spanish Princess” first series ended, Parkes has been cast in various TV shows, such as in “Domina” as the young Livia, and in the HBO Max series “Starstruck” as Sophie. One of her most notable roles to date has been in an episode of the BBC classic “Doctor Who”, in which she played the character Claire Clairmont.
Regarding her appearance in this series, Parkes revealed in the podcast “What They Don’t Tell You About” that it was a dream come true for her: ‘Honestly, it was like I was obsessed with it (the series) when I was 12 years old.’ She continued: ‘It was literally a young me’s dream.’
Despite achieving moderate success during her acting debut, Parkes has confessed that obtaining new parts in the entertainment industry has been difficult for her: ‘I left early to do it (her role in “The Spanish Princess”). Everyone was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is incredible.’ I sat there going, ‘Oh my god, this has all happened for me so quickly, and I didn’t even have to kind of deal with all the worry and the rejection. No, it’s not going to be long until I get my next job.’ Ten months later, I hadn’t worked’.
In the same interview, Parkes also revealed that she started working at a school for kids with special needs, in an effort to cope with the frustration of not being given the acting opportunities she expected.
Although competing with experienced actors to obtain better and major roles in the industry has been Parkes’ biggest challenge, dealing with rejection has also been part of her learning process: ‘I have been going up for incredible roles, but up against people who have been in the industry for much longer than me and who have worked a lot more than me, and I’ve often missed out on roles because of profile. So it’s a difficult one…If you don’t give me the experience, how am I going to get it?’.
Despite the difficulties, Parkes doesn’t have plans to abandon her career, and dreams of becoming a renowned actress: ‘(the entertainment industry) it’s so up and down, but the ups are so worth every second of the downs. I’m really, really lucky: I have an incredible agent and the job that I did means I get into auditioning rooms that people have worked for you know, five years or seven years to be able to get into those rooms. I audition pretty much once or twice a week, including or sometimes not including self-tapes.’
Personal Life
Boyfriend
Despite appearing in various theater and TV productions, Parkes rose to fame when in May 2020 The Daily Mail revealed that she was dating the famous actor Tom Holland. In the article, a source close to both actors affirmed the pair started dating approximately in February, and started living together during the COVID-19 quarantine: ‘It was early days for Tom and Nadia when the lockdown was announced in London. They made the decision to isolate together, and things have been going great between them’.
Although living together during the early stages of their relationship might seem rushed, the source revealed that the relationship between them is very serious, as Holland has introduced her as his official girlfriend to his family and friends.
Initially Parks and the Spiderman actor didn’t confirm The Daily Mail’s allegations, though later on 27 July Holland shared a pic of her on his Instagram account. Although the post didn’t have a caption, it answered people’s questions about the pair’s involvement. The relationship was ultimately confirmed when on 9 August the actor shared another pic of Parkes in a golf courtyard, this time he accompanied the post with the caption: ‘How stunning…. are those golf clubs”.
The date and place of the couple’s first meeting hasn’t been confirmed, though it’s speculated that they were introduced during Sophie Jonas’ (neé Turner) wedding to singer Joe Jonas in 2019, as Parks is a close friend of the famous model and attended her bachelorette party in Spain.
Previous to Parks, Holland was in a relationship with Olivia Bolton, however, the couple ended their relationship in early 2020.
Net Worth
Nadia Parkes has an estimated net worth of $400,000, which is a result of her work as an actress.
Physical Appearance
Nadia Parkes is a gorgeous green-eyed woman with a beautiful brownish-blonde hair color. She’s 5ft 7ins (1.67m) tall and weighs approximately 125lbs (56kgs).
Interesting Facts
She was the first member of the cast of “The Spanish Princess”. She was informed by her agent that she had obtained the role of Rosa de Vargas, however, she didn’t believe the news until later.
The filming process of “The Spanish Princess” was hard for the cast, as they had to endure high temperatures while wearing medieval costumes. As Parkes said in the press conference of the show, the food the cast had to eat during a banquet scene was ruined due to the heat.