Lily James Biography

Lily Chloe Ninette Thomson (born 5 April 1989), known as Lily James, is an English actress. She played Lady Rose Aldridge in the ITV period drama Downton Abbey and the title role in the 2015 Disney film Cinderella. In 2017 she played Debora in Baby Driver, the love interest of the main character Baby.

James began her professional acting career as Ethel Brown in the 2010 BBC production Just William. In 2011 and 2012, she earned warm reviews in several London theatre productions. She began to appear in Hollywood films in 2012, with roles in Wrath of the Titans, Fast Girls and Baby Driver, and in television roles such as Countess Natasha Rostova in the 2016 BBC historical drama series War & Peace.

Early life

Lily James was born in Esher, Surrey, England, the daughter of Ninette (), an actress, and musician James "Jamie" Thomson. Her grandmother, Helen Horton, was an American actress. She began her education at the Tring Park School for the Performing Arts and subsequently went on to study acting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, graduating in 2010.

Career

In 2011, James played Taylor at the Young Vic Theatre in Tanya Ronder's stage adaptation of the novel Vernon God Little directed by Rufus Norris, Nina in Russell Bolam's modern adaptation of The Seagull at Southwark Playhouse, and Desdemona in Daniel Evans's production of Othello at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, alongside Dominic West and Clarke Peters. Quentin Letts wrote in The Daily Mail: "We may have a new star actress on our hands. ... She left drama school only last year, yet she practically sweeps all before her as Desdemona in this Othello. Poise, diction, allure - she has them all. ... Her character"?s love affair with a much older husband is completely believable". In 2012, James played the role of Katrina in Play House and Marijka in Definitely the Bahamas in a double-bill written and directed by Martin Crimp at the Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond, London as part of the theatre's fortieth anniversary. Charles Spencer of The Telegraph wrote that "it is performed with a persuasive mixture of mischief and deeper feeling by Obi Abili and Lily James, the latter combining a mixture of neuroticism and glowing sexual allure that proves extraordinarily potent."

Also in 2012, James played the role of Korrina in the Warner Brothers film Wrath of the Titans and starred in Fast Girls, written by Noel Clarke, centered around a group of young female athletes competing in the World Championships. Her television credits include Ethel Brown in the 2010 BBC production of Richmal Crompton's Just William, Poppy in the fourth series of ITV's Secret Diary of a Call Girl (2011), and the rebellious Lady Rose in the last episode of series three of Downton Abbey. Lady Rose later became a main character in the fourth and fifth series of the programme. James also appeared as Lady Rose in the series finale.

James played the title character in the 2015 live-action Disney film Cinderella. The film was released on 13 March 2015. James, as Cinderella, was photographed by Annie Leibovitz, in the blue gown that she wears to the ball, for the December 2014 issue of Vogue. James also made her singing debut in the film's end credits, covering "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes" from the 1950 animated film.

In 2016, she returned to television in the 2016 BBC historical drama series War & Peace, playing the character of Natasha Rostova. She also starred in her second major film, playing the role of Elizabeth Bennet in the action-horror film Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, a parody of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. It received mixed reviews and failed to break even at the box office.

James played the role of Juliet in the Garrick Theatre's production of Romeo and Juliet. The directors are Rob Ashford and actor-director Kenneth Branagh.

Personal life

James' father died from cancer in 2008; she has said that filming father/daughter scenes in Cinderella was therefore very emotional for her.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2012	Chemistry	Ines	Short film
2012	Wrath of the Titans	Korrina
2012	Broken	Older Skunk
2012	Fast Girls	Lisa Temple
2015	Cinderella	Cinderella	Also playback singer for "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes"
2015	Burnt	Sara
2016	Pride and Prejudice and Zombies	Elizabeth Bennet
2016	The Exception	Mieke de Jong
2016	The Tale of Thomas Burberry	Betty	Short film
2017	Baby Driver	Debora
2017	Darkest Hour	Elizabeth Nel	Post-production
	Little Woods		Post-production
	Guernsey	Juliet Ashton	Filming

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2010	Just William	Ethel Brown	4 episodes
2011	Secret Diary of a Call Girl	Poppy	8 episodes
2012-2015	Downton Abbey	Lady Rose MacClare	21 episodes
2016	War & Peace	Natasha Rostova	6 episodes

Theatre

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2011	Vernon God Little	Taylor	Young Vic Theatre
2012	The Seagull	Nina	Southwark Playhouse
2016	Romeo and Juliet	Juliet	Garrick Theatre

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
2014	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	Downton Abbey
2015	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	Downton Abbey
2015	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Movie Actress: Sci-Fi/Fantasy	Cinderella
2015	Harper's Bazaar Women of the Year Awards	Breakthrough Award	Cinderella
2016	Kids' Choice Awards	Favorite Movie Actress	Cinderella
2017	Whatsonstage.com Awards	Best Actress in a Play	Romeo and Juliet