Early life
Faulkner was educated at Tiffin Girls' School, Kingston upon Thames.
When Faulkner was 16, her mother, Julie, died of cancer.
She has discussed in several interviews her feelings about her mother's death.
She has discussed in several interviews her feelings about her mother's death.
Career
At the age of 16, she was approached by a modelling scout while she was waiting on the platform of a London tube station. She was not playing the banjo or busking as many people think, something which she referred to as "a myth" when asked about it on ITV1's Daily Cooks Challenge.
In 1992, she made her first acting appearance in The Lover, starring Jane March. At age 21, Lisa played the part of Alison Dangerfield in the British TV drama Dangerfield. She also starred in the 1994 British film A Feast at Midnight. In 1996 she appeared in And The Beat Goes On. Two years later, she played Louise Hope in the Channel 4 soap Brookside. Between 1998 and 2001, she played Dr Victoria Merrick on Holby City, before her character was stabbed to death in her own home by the father of a patient whose life she couldn't save.
In 1992, she made her first acting appearance in The Lover, starring Jane March. At age 21, Lisa played the part of Alison Dangerfield in the British TV drama Dangerfield. She also starred in the 1994 British film A Feast at Midnight. In 1996 she appeared in And The Beat Goes On. Two years later, she played Louise Hope in the Channel 4 soap Brookside. Between 1998 and 2001, she played Dr Victoria Merrick on Holby City, before her character was stabbed to death in her own home by the father of a patient whose life she couldn't save.
In the TV show Spooks, her character suffered a particularly gruesome fate that many viewers found disturbing. In only the second episode of the first series, Faulkner's character had her hand and face burnt in a deep fat fryer before being shot in the head at point-blank range, setting a precedent for later deaths in Spooks.
In 2004, she starred as W.D.S. Scribbins ("Scribbs") in Murder in Suburbia on ITV where she played a CID policewoman in company withCaroline Catz who played her gaffer, W.D.I. Ashurst. The show returned for a second series in 2005, with Scribbs adopting the then popular fashion style of "boho-chic". In 2006, she starred in the TV series New Street Law.
It was rumoured that Faulkner had been shortlisted to play the role of D.I. Alex Drake in Ashes to Ashes, the sequel series to Life on Mars. However, Faulkner's former Spooks co-star Keeley Hawes was subsequently cast in the role.
Since June 2008, Faulkner has narrated BBC1 show Heir Hunters, replacing Nadia Sawalha.
She regularly teaches at Amanda Redman's Artists Theatre School.
Other work
Faulkner was voted one of FHM's "100 sexiest women in the world" six times between 1999 and 2004. She regularly contributed to Big Brother's Little Brother, a magazine programme about the reality UK TV show Big Brother broadcast on Channel 4. She is also a regular contributor to the Sky1 magazine show Angela and Friends.
In 2010 she won Celebrity Masterchef, beating Christine Hamilton and Dick Strawbridge in the final.
She appeared in the third season premiere of the Canadian show, Murdoch Mysteries, when the series filmed an episode in and around Bristol, England, which aired in 2010 and is set to return for her second guest appearance in the fourth season, in 2011.
Personal life
In 2005, Faulkner married Chris Coghill, her co-star from the TV series Burn It in Richmond Park, London. In 2009 the couple adopted a daughter, Billie.
