Kerry Norton

Born just outside of London in Sunbury-on-Thames, Norton gravitated towards gymnastics and various forms of dance as a child and followed a movement-oriented performing path into her 20s. She subsequently tried her luck with acting, and, after appearing in some low-budget English horror flicks and as a contortionist on "The Weird Al Show" (CBS, 1997), she took a shot at winning more notable roles. Her breakthrough part proved to be in 2001 as Maxine Purvis on the melodramatic British series "Bad Girls," which followed a group of women in a South London prison facility. After two years on the show, Norton had a featured role in the forgettable nautical horror movie "Ghost Rig" (2003), also known as "The Devil's Tattoo." Despite the film's poor reception, the production led to her meeting and ultimately marrying co-star Jamie Bamber. Following a recurring role on the venerable English soap "EastEnders," Norton signed up for a stint on "Battlestar Galactica," the lauded reboot series that featured her spouse as the lead character of spaceship fighter pilot Lee "Apollo" Adama, along with acting vets such as Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnell. As medical officer Layne Ishay, Norton was able to share some scenes with Bamber, and she reprised her part on numerous episodes. Largely focusing on raising her three children with Bamber, Norton made few screen appearances outside of "Battlestar Galactica," though she did star in a 2006 installment of the TV anthology series "Masters of Horror" (Showtime, 2005-07), portraying a woman who must fend off deranged virus-infected men in "The Screwfly Solution," co-starring Jason Priestley and Elliott Gould. After "Battlestar Galactica" ended in 2009, Norton decided to channel her creative energy into a singing and songwriting career, having recorded an earlier one-off album of cover tunes primarily intended for the Dutch market. Outside of a small part in the music-related feature drama "Filly Brown" (2012), she remained dedicated to her new career as a jazz-oriented performer and appeared at various concert venues, including the London Jazz Festival, before transitioning to a pop/folk vein. Happy to follow her musical muse, Norton let her husband continue the acting tradition of the family with TV shows such as the procedural series "Law & Order: UK" (ITV, 2009-) and the medical drama "Monday Mornings" (TNT, 2013).