All The Babes
Marsha Thomason
Career
Active 1993 – present
Biography
About Marsha Thomason
Slim and five-foot-eight with brown hair and brown eyes, Marsha Thomason has spent over three decades in front of the camera. The British actress, born January 19, 1976, in Manchester, United Kingdom, began acting at age 18 in 1993. She is best known for roles on both sides of the Atlantic, including Sara Evers in Disney's The Haunted Mansion, Nessa Holt for two seasons of NBC's Las Vegas, Naomi Dorrit on ABC's Lost, FBI agent Diana Berrigan on USA's White Collar, and DS Jenn Townsend in ITV's The Bay.
Her path to acting started early. At 13, she joined Oldham Theatre Workshop and took part in youth theatre productions. She later studied media, theatre, and performing arts at Oldham Sixth Form College, then earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Manchester Metropolitan University. She first gained British TV attention in 1997 as Sally, a waitress in eight episodes of Pie in the Sky, followed by roles in Playing the Field and Where the Heart Is (1998) and the BBC Three drama Burn It (2003). Film credits include Black Knight, My Baby's Daddy, and Pure. In the U.S., she played Nessa Holt in 47 episodes of Las Vegas.
Lost fans will recognize her as Naomi Dorrit, a recurring role that began in the third-season episode "Catch-22" (aired April 18, 2007) and continued through the season finale "Through the Looking Glass," plus appearances in "The Beginning of the End" and season five's "Some Like It Hoth." She was a fan of the show before joining, thanks to her friendship with Dominic Monaghan. On playing Lost without full knowledge of her character's arc, she said: "That's kind of difficult as an actor, but also freeing in a way, because you just have to play the scenes as they're written. And then if you find out if you're a big villain or whatever, then you play that."
Beyond Lost, she appeared in Messiah V: The Rapture (2008), the CW series Easy Money, and General Hospital in 2009. She joined White Collar as Diana Berrigan, first in the pilot, then full-time from season two, and also voiced Diana in Hitman: Absolution. In 2009, she married lighting technician Craig Sykes in Malibu, California; their daughter was born in June 2013.
Record
Profile details
Personal
- Years Active
- 1993-present (started around 18 years old; 33 years active)
- Birthplace
- Manchester, United Kingdom
- Ethnicity
- Mixed-race (primarily Black)
- Sexuality
- Straight
Body
- Hair Color
- Brown
- Eye Color
- Brown
- Weight
- 130 lbs (or 59 kg)
- Measurements
- 30–24–34 (B–W–H) · WHR 0.71
- Bra/Cup Size
- B
- Boobs
- Real/Natural
Extra
- Instagram Followers
- 51k (as of May 2026)
Frequently asked
What did Marsha Thomason say about playing her Lost character without knowing the full story?
In an interview, she explained: "That's kind of difficult as an actor, but also freeing in a way, because you just have to play the scenes as they're written. And then if you find out if you're a big villain or whatever, then you play that."
How did Marsha Thomason come to be involved with the show Lost?
She was a fan of the show before being cast, largely due to her friendship with Dominic Monaghan, who played Charlie Pace. She was excited to join the series.
What inspired Marsha Thomason to pursue acting as a career?
She began acting early, joining the Oldham Theatre Workshop at age 13, where she participated in youth theatre productions, and later studied media, theatre, and performing arts at Oldham Sixth Form College.
Did you know
- Marsha Thomason was born in Manchester, United Kingdom, and is of mixed-race ethnicity; her father was English and her mother was Jamaican.
- She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Manchester Metropolitan University before focusing on her acting career.
- Her recurring role on Lost began in the third-season episode "Catch-22" and continued through the season finale "Through the Looking Glass" and into later episodes.
- She appeared as Nessa Holt in 47 episodes of the U.S. series Las Vegas.
- In 2009, she married lighting technician Craig Sykes in Malibu, California, and their daughter was born in June 2013.
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