Childhood & Early Life
Kierston Wareing, was born Faye Kierston Wareing, on January 7, 1976, in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, England, to middle-class parents Carol and Peter. She grew up with her younger brother, James.
She became interested in the prospect of becoming an actor when she was 7 years old. She has mentioned on many public platforms that an article on actor Jodie Foster had inspired her to become an actor.
Kierston began taking lessons in drama when she was 7 years old. She joined the ‘Italia Conti Theatre School.’ She was not academically brilliant. Soon, she began participating in acting competitions. She won many of them, too.
However, as her popularity soared during her middle-school years, she was also subjected to bullying by her jealous classmates. The bullying also led to more difficulties for teachers and her parents. As complaints from the school became frequent, her parents enrolled her at a school for difficult children.
Despite this, her situation did not improve. Acting was everything she wanted to do, and she continued to audition for TV and film roles.
However, most of her early auditions were unsuccessful. Disheartened by this, she joined college and studied to become a legal secretary. She also got a job at a local clerk’s office. Around that time, she earned an audition for a Ken Loach film, which motivated her to quit her job.
She moved to New York City to learn acting in 1997. Soon, she joined the ‘Lee Strasberg Institute.’
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Career
She made her acting debut in 2007, as ‘Tina Adams’ in an episode of the British series ‘Wire in the Blood,’ titled ‘The Colour of Amber.’
She got her first real breakthrough the same year, when she was cast in a lead role in the Ken Loach-directed film ‘It’s a Free World...’ The film premiered at the highly prestigious ‘Venice Film Festival’ and earned accolades. Her performance as ‘Angela’ won Kierston a lot of acclaim, including two ‘British Independent Film Award’ nominations.
Later that year, she appeared in a supporting role in the crime drama titled ‘Rise of the Footsoldier.’ The film featured her as ‘Kate Carter’ and was a commercial debacle. However, it was praised by critics.
In 2008, she appeared as a guest in 2 episodes of the hugely successful feature-length series ‘Trial & Retribution.’ Later that year, she appeared as ‘Helen’ in the independent short film titled ‘Leaving.’ Her performance in the film won her an award at the ‘Brest European Short Film Festival.’
2009 was a busy year for her. She began the year with a key role in the Italian–Czech co-production ‘The Case of Unfaithful Klara.’ The romantic drama received widespread critical acclaim. She then appeared in a one-episode role in the popular documentary series ‘Banged Up Abroad’ (also known as ‘Locked Up Abroad’ and ‘Jailed Abroad’).
She then appeared in a supporting role in the miniseries ‘Runaway.’
She was seen playing ‘Joanne Williams,’ a main role, in the drama film ‘Fish Tank.’ The film received unanimous critical acclaim and was one of the best-reviewed films of the year. Her performance earned Kierston nominations for a ‘British Independent Film Award’ and a ‘London Film Critics Circle Award.’
A highly acclaimed actress by now, Kierston appeared in supporting roles in miniseries such as ‘The Take’ and ‘Five Daughters’.
In 2010, she appeared in a supporting role in the horror film ‘Basement.’ She then appeared in yet another supporting role, in the crime drama ‘Bonded by Blood.’ The film received huge critical acclaim and was regarded as the best film on the infamous “Rettendon Murders.”
She began 2011 with a string of guest/supporting roles in series and miniseries such as ‘The Runaway,’ ‘The Shadow Line,’ ‘Scott & Bailey,’ and ‘Luther.’ She was also seen in lead roles in films such as ‘The Holding,’ ‘Four,’ and ‘The Lodger.’ She then appeared in a supporting role in the crime-drama series titled ‘Top Boy.’
She subsequently worked more in films and played smaller roles on TV. Despite working mostly in independent films, she became popular with the masses.
In 2012, she began playing the regular role of ‘Kirsty Branning’ in the long-running soap opera ‘EastEnders.’
The following year, she appeared in the film titled ‘The Fall of the Essex Boys,’ which was based on the “Rettendon Murders.” The film was panned by critics.
In the more recent years, she has seen a slight lack of meaty parts and has appeared in series such as ‘The End of the F---ing World’ and ‘Strike - Career of Evil.’ She was seen in the 2019 film ‘Avengement,’ which was a critically acclaimed independent action film.
Family & Personal life
Although Kierston Wareing has not revealed anything about her recent relationships, she once mentioned that she has had some bad past experiences. She claimed that she had been beaten by two of her ex-boyfriends when she was still a teenager.
She was 4 months pregnant while shooting for ‘EastEnders.’ She hid that from the cast and the crew of the show. Unfortunately, she suffered a miscarriage during the shooting.
Her mother died from cancer at the age of 66. Kierston once said that her mother had always supported her and that it was not easy for her to live without her mother.
