Biography

Following an illustrious career spanning athlete/event management and corporate law in Australia, Holly returned to acting in 2014 after training at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts (New York campus) under the tutelage of Jody Wood, Harry O'Reilly, Barbara Rubin and Liz Ortiz-Mackes.

Most recently Holly made her debut on BBC One in the popular murder mystery game show, Armchair Detectives, produced by Tiger Aspect Productions - playing the role of Emma Kean in Episode 11 (School's Out for Murder).

But Holly's very first stage appearance was at the age of 3 and it was love at first sight...of the audience!

Throughout her childhood she performed with a children's theatre group and one summer successfully auditioned for a place in the Scottish Youth Theatre (Glasgow, Scotland). This was the turning point for Holly as it gave her the confidence and inspiration to start auditioning for television roles and, after the requisite number of knock-backs, Holly got her first break on Dramarama's Silver (ITV) featuring Gareth Thomas and directed by Jim McCann, which led to a minor role on Take the High Road (STV) throughout 1986.

A career change for Holly's parents took her to the other side of the world, first to New Zealand where she studied and gained a Bachelor of Laws at Victoria University of Wellington, and 4 years later to Australia where Holly began her corporate career and also studied and gained a Master of Laws at the University of Sydney.

"If I was relocating to New Zealand now," says Holly, "my acting career may have been able to continue given the phenomenal success of Sir Peter Jackson, but in the late '80s the New Zealand film industry was small-scale and the closest I got to it was flatting with Christian River's sister!" (Christian was at that time a story board artist on Sir Peter's zombie film Dead Alive).

Holly claims to have no regrets, though, as she loved working as a lawyer and was very fortunate to be offered some amazing opportunities in other commercial areas including event management, athlete management and publishing. Plus, as a means to pay for her legal education, Holly worked as a model "I would never have been given the chance to do these amazing things if life had worked out as I had originally planned!" exclaims Holly.

In 2014 Holly found herself based in Scotland once more, with the opportunity to pick up the threads of her acting career. Never in her wildest dreams did Holly think she would get this chance - for her, it is truly a dream come true.

- IMDb mini biography by: Holly Woodhouse

Following an illustrious career spanning athlete/event management and corporate law in Australia, Holly returned to acting in 2014 after training at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York.

Her debut on BBC One in the BAFTA Scotland award-winning television series, Armchair Detectives playing the role of Emma Kean in Episode 11 (School's Out for Murder) was closely followed by a Queen Palm International Best Supporting Actress Award for her role as Emily Moore in Sheltered.

Combining voice over work with acting, Holly has had the good fortune to work in a variety of independent short films, feature films and voice over campaigns and in December 2019 Holly will bring the character of Holly Christmas to life.

You can watch Holly on Amazon Prime in the series Crime Lord (Donna Cameron - Season 1, Episode 2) and the feature film Rupert, Rupert, Rupert (Jackie), and you will also hear her voice in the Macmillan Cancer Support Professionals Recognition video.

But Holly's very first stage appearance was at the age of 3 and it was love at first sight...of the audience! Throughout her childhood she performed with a children's theatre group and one summer successfully auditioned for a place in the Scottish Youth Theatre (Glasgow, Scotland). This was the turning point for Holly as it gave her the confidence and inspiration to start auditioning for television roles and, after the requisite number of knock-backs, Holly got her first break on Dramarama's Silver (ITV) featuring Gareth Thomas and directed by Jim McCann, which led to a minor role on Take the High Road (STV) throughout 1986.

A career change for Holly's parents took her to the other side of the world, first to New Zealand where she studied and gained a Bachelor of Laws at Victoria University of Wellington, and 4 years later to Australia where Holly began her corporate career and also studied and gained a Master of Laws at the University of Sydney.

"If I was relocating to New Zealand now," says Holly, "my acting career may have been able to continue given the phenomenal success of Sir Peter Jackson, but in the late '80s the New Zealand film industry was small-scale and the closest I got to it was flatting with Christian River's sister!" (Christian was at that time a story board artist on Sir Peter's zombie film Dead Alive).

Holly claims to have no regrets, though, as she loved working as a lawyer and was very fortunate to be offered some amazing opportunities in other commercial areas including event management, athlete management and publishing. Plus, as a means to pay for her legal education, Holly worked as a model

"I would never have been given the chance to do these amazing things if life had worked out as I had originally planned!" exclaims Holly.

- IMDb mini biography by: Holly Woodhouse

Following an illustrious career spanning athlete/event management and corporate law in Australia, Holly returned to acting in 2014 after training at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts (New York campus).

No stranger to acting, Holly made her debut as a teenager on STV's Dramarama - Silver - playing the role of Susan, which led to a regular featured role on the popular Scottish soap Take the High Road.

Most recently Holly made her debut on BBC One in the popular murder mystery game show, Armchair Detectives, produced by Tiger Aspect Productions - playing the role of Emma Kean in Episode 11 (School's Out for Murder).

You can watch Holly on Amazon Prime Video playing the role of Donna Cameron in Crime Lord (Ep 2), and you can hear her voiceover on Macmillan Cancer Trust's Corporate Thank You video.

Holly has also developed the character "Holly Christmas" and, as an advocate of children's literacy, Holly hopes to instill the magic and joy of reading books in all those who visit her Christmas story-telling sessions each year. In 2019, Holly was delighted to host her storytelling sessions at St. Enoch Centre in Glasgow, Scotland with all proceeds going to Glasgow Children's Hospital Charity.

- IMDb mini biography by: Holly Woodhouse

Following a successful career spanning athlete/event management, publishing and corporate law in Australia, Holly returned to acting in 2014 after training at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York.

Holly's debut on BBC One in the BAFTA Scotland award-winning television series, Armchair Detectives playing the role of Emma Kean in Episode 11 (School's Out for Murder) was closely followed by a Queen Palm International Best Supporting Actress Award for her role as Emily Moore in Sheltered.

Combining voice over work with acting, Holly has had the good fortune to work in a variety of independent short films, feature films and voice over campaigns, and in December 2019 Holly brought the character 'Holly Christmas' to life specifically to raise funds for the Glasgow Children's Hospital Charity.

But Holly's very first stage appearance was at the age of 3 and it was love at first sight...of the audience! Throughout her childhood she performed with a children's theatre group and one summer successfully auditioned for a place in the Scottish Youth Theatre (Glasgow, Scotland). This was the turning point as it gave her the confidence and inspiration to start auditioning for television roles and, after the requisite number of knock-backs, Holly got her first break on Dramarama's Silver (ITV) featuring Gareth Thomas and directed by Jim McCann, which led to a minor role on Take the High Road (STV) throughout 1986.

A career change for Holly's parents took her to the other side of the world, first to New Zealand where she studied and qualified with a Bachelor of Laws from Victoria University of Wellington, and 4 years later to Australia where she began her corporate career and also studied and qualified with a Master of Laws from the University of Sydney.

If Holly was relocating to New Zealand now her acting career may have been able to continue given the phenomenal success of Sir Peter Jackson et al, but in the late '80s the New Zealand film industry was small-scale and the closest Holly got to it was flatting with Christian River's sister (Christian was at that time a story board artist on Sir Peter's zombie film Dead Alive).

However, ever positive, if you ask her Holly will tell you that she has no regrets, "I loved working as a lawyer and I was very fortunate to be offered some amazing opportunities in other commercial areas including event management, athlete management and publishing, so I wouldn't change any of that as I would never have been given the chance to do these amazing things if life had worked out as I had originally planned and anyway, 'Whit's fur ye'll no go by ye!', as the old Scottish saying goes. And as Michelle Yeoh reminded us all during her acceptance speech for Best Actress at the 2023 Oscars...don't let anybody tell you you are ever past your prime."

- IMDb mini biography by: Holly Woodhouse Management