Michelle Ryan

Michelle Ryan is an English actress who became known for her role as Zoe Slater in the BBC soap EastEnders. Born in Enfield, London, she joined a local theater company at age 10. She was cast as Zoe at 16, first appearing in September 2000, and left in June 2005. After EastEnders she appeared in the play Who's the Daddy? and the independent film Cashback (2006). In 2007 she played Maria in Mansfield Park (2007) and starred as Jaime Sommers in the American remake Bionic Woman, for which she adopted an American accent. She also appeared in the BBC's Jekyll and as the sorceress Nimueh in Merlin. In 2009 she played Lady Christina de Souza in the Doctor Who special Planet of the Dead (2009), a role she later reprised in audio dramas. She appeared in the crime thriller 4.3.2.1 (2010), the terrorist thriller Cleanskin (2012), and the comedy horror Cockneys vs Zombies (2012). She returned to EastEnders in 2025.