Alex Kingston

Alex Kingston (born Alexandra Kingston on 11th March 1963) played Professor River Song in Silence in the Library and Forest of the Dead. A Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts-trained actress, Kingston is best known internationally for her role as Dr. Elizabeth Corday in the US TV series ER and the title role in the 1996 miniseries The Fortunes and Misfortunes of Moll Flanders.

Formerly married to actor Ralph Fiennes, whom she met at RADA, she is currently married to Florian Heartel and has one child.

Following David Tennant's announcement in October 2008 of his plans to leave Doctor Who, UK media ran multiple features on the odds-on favorites to become the Eleventh Doctor. Kingston's name was one of the only female names listed in the field of actors considered possible candidates (although it's not known if the BBC ever actually considered her for the part).

Media coverage of the start of filming of Series 5 in late July 2009 revealed that Kingston will be appearing in an episode of Matt Smith's first season. Although the media reports and the wreckage of the Byzantium seen on set suggest she is portraying River Song, this has not been confirmed by the BBC as of 20th July 2009. Although Kingson participated in the first episode to be filmed, it is not known if this will be the first episode broadcast, or a later episode (indeed, media reports suggest the first episode of Series 5 didn't commence filming until late September).