Samantha Barks was born in the Isle of Man and began her stage career studying with ArtsEd in London. She released an independent album in 2007 and entered the Maltese International Singing Competition, but it was in 2008 when she found fame.
The 24-year-old applied to be part of a new BBC reality show called I'd Do Anything, which aimed to find a new actress for the character of Nancy in Andrew Lloyd Webber's reboot of the British musical,
Oliver! Samantha ended up coming third in the show, but had impressed the British theatre industry and soon found herself in the touring production of
Cabaret as Sally Bowles.
From 2010 to 2011
Samantha took on the role of Eponine in the hugely successful West End production of Les Miserables, and was also picked to play the role in the 25th Anniversary special which also featured Alfie Boe, Nick Jonas, and Matt Lucas.
At the end of 2011 Samantha finally got the chance to play the role that started her career, as she joined the cast of
Oliver! as Nancy.
During the curtain call of a performance in 2011,
Cameron Mackintosh joined Samantha and the cast on stage, and announced that Samantha had been cast in the hotly anticipated film adaptation of
Les Miserables. The role led to Samantha performing at the 2013 Academy Awards with the cast of the film, which included
Anne Hathaway. She won Best Supporting Actress during the evening's ceremony. Samantha returned to the stage following the success of
Les Miserables but has also been filming several upcoming features including
Dracula Untold.