Beautiful British actress is making waves at the American Film Market in Vegas without being present, as her lead role in eagerly anticipated horror movie Helloween draws heat from buyers around the world. Born in London’s fashionable Chelsea to a Guyanese father and a Trinidadian mother, Jeanine was an accomplished musician and a promising childhood ballerina but an injury saw her focus on a career in finance before turning to acting – her greatest passion – in her forties. Crashing through a series of glass ceilings in an industry weighted against women over 30, she first drew attention in the horror movie Aura (Sony, 2017) opposite Band of Brothers star Shane Taylor but really broke through in the gangland home invasion thriller Nemesis (Samuel Goldwyn, 2020) opposite Bruce Payne (Passenger 57) and Nick Moran (Lock Stock & 2 Smoke Barrels), in which she gave a feisty, dominant performance as a tough but glamorous gangster’s moll caught up in a harrowing revenge plot. The following year she played a no-nonsense London cop in all-action thriller Renegades (Saban, 2022) as
part of a stellar cast including Lee Majors (The Fall Guy), Louis Mandylor (My Big Fat Greek Wedding) and Patsy Kensit (Lethal Weapon 2).
Helloween, however, is set to be her break out role: she plays Dr Ellen Marks, a psychologist charged with charismatic serial killer Karl Kane (Ronan Summers) who plans a Purge style anarchist uprising from his cell, mobilising an army of the disenfranchised made up as sinister clowns (during the 2016 ‘killer clown’ craze). Marks is not whiter than white, having consigned Kane to solitary confinement for a decade and she becomes the focus of his revenge scheme when he escapes and, with the help of journalist John Parker (a return to form for 80s heart-throb Michael Paré) must rescue her two daughters from the clowns’ clutches. Written and directed by Phil Claydon, Helloween has a truly unique vibe, clearly inspired by neon 80s classics such as A Nightmare on Elm Street but also totally modern, leading to it being hailed as a British answer to the popular Terrifier series. “I’m so proud of Helloween,” says Jeanine, “Phil wrote a truly amazing role for me and I hope I did it justice, I put everything into that film and loved every minute of it. I loved working with Michael too,he really is the easiest actor to work with, the ultimate professional.” Helloween is due for
release early in 2025.
Jeanine followed that up with a key supporting role in serial killer thriller Doctor Plague, in which she starred opposite British icon Martin Kemp (The Krays) and Wendy Glenn (You’re Next). Cast as a journalist, Francesca, with a romantic history with Kemp’s jaded detective, it in unclear whether she is on his side or not, but the pair reportedly have strong chemistry and the movie sounds different enough to the standard British horror movie to make a splash. “I am obsessed with true crime documentaries,” enthuses Jeanine, “so working on a serial killer movie is a dream come true – and Martin Kemp is a dream to share the screen with, such a wonderful actor, so kind and giving.”
Most recently Jeanine wrapped on the action-packed spy movie Knightfall, opposite IOgilvy (We Still Kill The Old Way) and Geoffrey Moore (Fire, Ice & Dynamite), son of 007
legend Sir Roger Moore. Playing Ogilvy’s daughter and Moore’s love interest, Jeanine also found herself up to her neck in action in the movie as an MI5 bio weapons expert called in
to advise on a top secret raid and soon on the run pursued by ruthless mercenaries when the mission goes wrong. Directed by Ben Mole (Code of Silence), Knightfall promises to be the most high octane British thriller of 2025, leaving Jeanine shaken and stirred! And what of the future? The raven-haired beauty is currently working on three horror movies – the self explanatory Werewolf Hunt, supernatural thriller The Secret of Guy Fawkes and the dark vampire love story Midnight Kiss. “I absolutely love playing strong women,” she explains, “and genre movies, especially horror, allow you to really go to town on them, there are no limits, no restrictions.”