One is known for being one of TV’s most ruthless assassins and Hollywood star - the other could be on course for a medal at the Paris Olympic Games . And what is even more remarkable than their individual talent is the fact they went to school together. Killing Eve star Jodie Comer , and athlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson , both attended Catholic girls’ school St Julie’s in Liverpool, where they honed the skills that would bring them global acclaim in two very different fields.
They have remained close friends – and are thrilled to share in and publicise each other’s successes. Jodie has gone on from being one of TV's most-loved rising stars to conquering Hollywood, starring in a string of blockbusters and critically acclaimed films, opposite A-listers such as Ryan Reynolds and Matt Damon. Her next role will see her join Aaron Tyalor-Johnson and Ralph Fiennes in the sequel to 28 Days Later.
Meanwhile, Katarina is gearing up for the biggest event of her life as she goes for gold in Paris. After an injury-hit few years, the heptathlon star won her first gold medal since 2019 at last year’s World Championships in Budapest. And Comer was among the first people to congratulate her pal with a brief but poignant message on Instagram.
"When you give everything to a thing. We love you,” wrote Comer, 31, who will star in the upcoming film 28 Years Later, directed by Danny Boyle. Speaking about their friendship ahead of the current Olympic Games, Johnson-Thompson, also 31, said: “Me and Jodie are in two different worlds.
Any time I’m with Jodie, I don’t even think about people looking at me – I’m protective of her, almost.” Katarina’s Twitter profile features BAFTA retweets and Killing Eve posts dotted amid the sporty track shots. “Unbelievably proud of @jodiecomer,” the heptathlete and pentathlete tweeted after her pal’s BAFTA win for Best Actress.
“So bloody talented and getting the recognition you deserve!” Jodie is equally gushing, saying: “Katty is such a modest, humble person. She’ll go away and compete in something amazing and the only way you’ll hear about it is on the news.” The actress doesn’t miss an opportunity to post Instagram snaps with her super-fit pal and their gang of “foodie” mates, who she says especially love Liverpool restaurant Maray.
Along with touching snaps in supportive “Team KJT” T-shirts, there are glamorous shots taken on girls’ away days at Ascot in 2017 and 2018. “We’ve got a girls’ group chat,” Jodie explains. “It’s called ‘Hoes in Different Area Codes’ because we are never in the same place at the same time.
.. So that’s always very lively!” While Jodie was reportedly paid a relatively small £350,000 in the first series of Killing Eve – £43,000 an episode – her earning power is vastly higher now.
Just a few years ago Jodie said she still lived in her childhood home in Liverpool with her parents when she’s not filming. She says: “There’s no place I would rather be than at home watching telly in my pyjamas. That is my happy space.
” Since then she has gone on to play opposite Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds in Free Guy – and being paid around £1.5million. “Katty gets it, she’s away even more than I am,” says Jodie.
“She trains and she can’t do all the parties, or the drinking. I know she feels she’s had to miss out socially over the years, and it’s the same with me being away filming. But the amazing thing about finding true friends is that you might not see them for six months, but when you do it’s like a single day hasn’t passed.
” They have also shared a professional platform when they were both honoured at the Remarkable Women Awards in London in 2019. “It is a huge honour to receive this award and be included with such inspiring women, one of them being my best friend Katarina Johnson-Thompson!” beamed Jodie, who won Entertainer of the Year while her friend won Sports Star of the Year. “I’m really overwhelmed and happy that we all get to be here tonight to celebrate each other’s success.
” Katarina, who appears fairly shy when TV cameras are trained on her, was nicknamed “Droopy” early on in her career because she hung her head low, and her coach had to train her to smile more. While Jodie is clear she doesn’t relish a KJT-style workout. “That would be madness!” Jodie laughed when asked if she and her Amazonian 6ft mate ever exercise together.
“Katty led a Nike exercise class a while ago in London and I went along. I ended up panting and bright red and completely unable to keep up with everyone else.” The actress, who grew up in a semi with her mum and dad, a masseur at Everton FC, was clearly talented, appearing in school musicals such as Hairspray and Aladdin.
Aged 13, she was even put forward for a Radio 4 play by her teacher, and got the part, going on to make her TV debut aged 15 with bit roles in The Royal Today and Holby City. And her breakthrough came in Doctor Foster when she played “the other woman”, Kate, in 2015. She shunned drama school and has no formal training.
“I got an A* in my practical drama and I got a U in my written,” she admitted. “You know people who would go home, do their homework, revise? It wasn’t my vibe.” She was even expelled from a girl group for failing to commit to rehearsals.
“It sounds so intense, drama school, that 9-7 every day of someone drilling something into me...
” sh reveals. Katarina, on the other hand, knuckled down young. Her mum, a former dancer, had her destined for a life on the stage, initially.
The athlete has said while “still in nappies” she was taken to ballet classes. But she was a tomboy at heart, and at the age of ten broke a 29-year school record for high jump. She made her first debut on the world stage aged 19 at the London 2012 Olympics – one of the youngest members of Team GB.
She came 15th in the heptathlon, in the shadow of older teammate Jessica Ennis-Hill. Then at the 2015 world championships in Beijing, she fouled three times in the long jump when she was favourite to win – falling to 28th place. But finally, just as Jodie’s star is rising high, her own is too.
She won gold in the heptathlon at the Commonwealth Games and silver at the European Championships in 2018 with a personal best of 6,759. Jessica Ennis-Hill is confident Johnson-Thompson can end her wait for Olympic gold in Paris. The Liverpudlian finished 14th at her debut Olympics in 2012 – when Ennis-Hill took heptathlon gold in front of a London home crowd – came sixth at Rio 2016 and failed to finish at Tokyo three years ago due to injury.
“She’s very capable of winning that gold medal,” said Ennis-Hill ahead of the start of the women’s heptathlon at the Stade de France. There were positives last year and she came out to win another world title. I think people expected her to get on the podium, but perhaps not win gold.
It was incredible to see. She’s been in a good place, coaching-wise and mentally coming into this year.” And like her friend Jodie, Katarina’s thoughts are never far from home.
She admits to her mum FaceTiming when she’s away to show her how to cook dinner. All the ambition and success in the world won’t stop these Liver birds flying back to the nest - and out for a bevvy with herbezzy (when Katarina’s not training..
.) “I don’t have any hobbies,” Jodie once said. “I like to go and drink gin with my friends.
”.
