Rebecca Atkinson

Rebecca Atkinson
Atkinson as Karen Maguire in Shameless.
Born	(1983-09-22) 22 September 1983 (age 33) Salford, England, UK
Other names	Rebecca Batt
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2001–present
Employer	Channel 4 (2004–13) BBC Scotland (2016–)
Known for	Playing Karen Maguire in Shameless
Partner(s)	Ben Batt

Rebecca Atkinson (born 22 September 1983) is an English actress and model best known for playing Karen Maguire in Shameless from 2004 until 2013 when the series ended.

Atkinson grew up on Weaste Lane in Salford and went to All Souls' RC Primary School on Kintyre Avenue in Weaste, which was also the primary school of former Warrington and Salford forward Adrian Morley.

She is best known for playing Karen Maguire in Channel 4's popular comedy drama series, Shameless, and for appearing in all 11 series. She has also appeared in Life On Mars, Ideal and BBC Three's new "multi-platform sitcom" Trexx and Flipside. In October 2016, Atkinson joined the cast of BBC Scottish soap opera, River City, as Belinda Roberts, the ex cellmate of Amber Murdoch.

She has had minor parts in many shows, including playing Asia in four episodes of BBC comedy series Ideal, and two episodes of New Street Law, where she played a character named Susie Hardwick. She appeared in Heartbeat in 2002 and 2006 playing two different characters. Shows she has had a single appearance in include Life on Mars (The Stabbing), Holby City, The Bill, Coronation Street, Doctors and The Royal. She has also appeared in Children's Ward at her young ages. She also appeared in the film adaptation of Kevin Sampson's Awaydays, released in 2009.