Juliet Cowan
- Born
- 1974 · London.
- Nationality
- United Kingdom
- Occupation
- actress
- Languages
- English
In this article
Key facts
• Name — Juliet Cowan • Birthplace — Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK • Occupation — Actress • Years Active — 1993–present • Known for — Hank Zipzer as Rosa (2014–2016) • Television — This Life The Sarah Jane Adventures Back to Life Juliet Cowan is a television, film and stage actress from Northern Ireland. Cowan has had various TV guest star roles in long-running shows such as EastEnders, Silent Witness, and Casualty. Cowan has also had a recurring role in the CBBC show The Sarah Jane Adventures, This Life, and BBC comedy Back to Life.
Early life and education
Juliet Cowan was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Career
Cowan's first aired acting role was in the 1993 live performance video Raising Hell, by Iron Maiden, which was broadcast live on pay-per-view television in the United Kingdom and on MTV in North America. She was not credited for this performance, however. Cowan guest-starred in over 20 episodes of The Bill as Julie Saunders, the mother of the boy who accused PC Tony Stamp of sexual assault. She also starred in "The Wench Is Dead", the penultimate episode of the Inspector Morse series, as Joanna Franks, a Victorian woman who is murdered on board a canal boat. She played recurring characters Nicki in This Life (1997), Carla in Series 7 of The Queen's Nose, air stewardess Polly Arnold in the Channel 5 soap opera Family Affairs (2001), Tanya in Pulling (2003), and Chrissie Jackson in The Sarah Jane Adventures, making her first appearance in the first episode "Invasion of the Bane" (2007). She was social worker Josie in two episodes of the series Shameless in 2009. In 2006, Cowan appeared in a short film entitled Goodbye to the Normals. It was a promotional video for Robbie Williams, directed by Jim Field Smith and featuring the song "Burslem Normals". Cowan has also appeared in television adverts for Danone Actimel (2003 to 2004), Nationwide Building Society (2006), Cadbury (2007), and Cif cleaning products (2008) She was a finalist in the So You Think You're Funny competition at the 1999 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. On 5 March 2009, Cowan guest-starred in Episode 7, "JJ", of the third series of the teen drama Skins. She plays the mother of the character JJ and returned again in the sixth episode of the fourth series to reprise the role. In 2010 she appeared in two episodes of PhoneShop as Lance's wife Shelley, as well as in a Christmas advertisement for Boots; an appearance which has evolved into a more recurring role in subsequent commercials for Boots. Cowan played Sharon Watts's Bridesmaid Nina Hewland in EastEnders on 13–14 August 2012. From September 2012, she acted as Stanley Brown's mother in the CBBC programme The Revolting World of Stanley Brown. In late 2013 Cowan acted as Rosa Zipzer for the new CBBC programme Hank Zipzer along with Henry Winkler. Cowan appeared in an episode of Utopia for Channel 4 as Bridget in July 2014. 2018 saw her play real-life character Tracey Rogers in Killed by My Debt for the BBC. In 2022 she appeared in Dylan Moran sit-com Stuck. In February 2023, it was announced that Cowan was added to the cast of the Amy Winehouse biopic Back to Black and would be playing Winehouse's mother Janis Winehouse-Collins.
Television
• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1998 — Inspector Morse: The Wench is Dead — Joanna Franks • 2003 — Bounty Hamster — Cassie — Main role, voice • 2006 – 2009 — Pulling — Tanya • 2007 – 2008 — The Sarah Jane Adventures — Chrissie Jackson • 2008 — Beautiful People — Kathy — Guest role • 2009 – 2010 — Skins — Celia Jones • 2010 – 2011 — PhoneShop — Shelley • 2012 — The Revolting World of Stanley Brown — Amanda Brown — Recurring role • 2012 – 2019 — Cuckoo — Nina Morgan • 2013 — Fresh Meat — Chris Nordstrom • 2014 – 2016 — Hank Zipzer — Rosa — Main role • 2017 — The End of the F***ing World — Della • 2021 — Motherland Series 3, Ep 2 — Liz’s divorce lawyer • 2021 — Brassic — Liz Jones • 2022- — Am I Being Unreasonable? — Viv • 2022 — The Flatshare — Gillian • Stuck — Joy • Everything I Know About Love — Joan • Prefect — Janice • 2023 — The Power — Barbara Monke — Recurring role • Culprits — Marian — 2 episodes • 2024 — Death in Paradise — Eloise Mirie • 2025 — Big Boys — Eileen — 1 episode • What It Feels Like for a Girl — Alison — 2 episodes • 2026 — Things You Should Have Done — Claudia
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Juliet Cowan, revision 1370134991 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Film
• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 2023 — Falling Into Place — Sara • 2024 — Back to Black — Janis Winehouse • 2025 — Lady — Becky
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.PMI. Raising Hell. 1994.
- 2.Wall, Mick. Iron Maiden: Run to the Hills, the Authorised Biography (3rd ed.). Sanctuary Publishing. 298. 2004. 1-86074-542-3.
- 3.Arnop, Jason. Doctor Who Magazine. 387. 19. 17 October 2007.
- 4.Juliet Cowan. Internet Movie Database. 2007.
- 5.Other works for Juliet Cowan. Internet Movie Database. 2007.
- 6.Biography for Juliet Cowan. Internet Movie Database. 2007.
- 7.Stuck – BBC Two.
- 8.Chrisp, Kitty. Amy Winehouse's dad disappointed not to be played by George Clooney in new biopic: 'Eddie f****** Marsan!'. Metro. 19 February 2023.
Citations
References
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 September 2026.
Elsewhere in Film memorabilia
36,333 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Juliet AsantePerson
- Juliet AubreyPerson
- Juliet BashorePerson
- Juliet BertoPerson
- Juliet IbrahimPerson
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- Juliet LimaPerson
- Juliet MillsPerson
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