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Emily Watson

Emily Watson

Acting1967Islington, London, England, UK

Biography

Emily Margaret Watson (born 14 January 1967) is an English actress. She began her career on stage and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1992. In 2002, she starred in productions of Twelfth Night and Uncle Vanya at the Donmar Warehouse. She was nominated for the Olivier Award for Best Actress for the latter. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her debut film role as a newlywed in Lars von Trier's Breaking the Waves (1996) and for her portrayal of Jacqueline du Pré in Anand Tucker's Hilary and Jackie (1998).

Watson's other films include The Boxer (1997), Angela's Ashes (1999), Gosford Park (2001),  Punch-Drunk Love (2002), Red Dragon (2002), The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (2004), Corpse Bride (2005), Miss Potter (2006), Synecdoche, New York (2008), Oranges and Sunshine (2010), War Horse (2011), The Theory of Everything (2014), Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017), God's Creatures (2022), and Small Things like These (2024). 

She was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award for her role in the HBO miniseries Chernobyl. She won the British Academy Television Award for Best Actress for playing Janet Leach in the 2011 ITV television biopic Appropriate Adult. She was nominated for the International Emmy Award for Best Actress for the 2017 BBC miniseries Apple Tree Yard. In 2024, she portrayed the lead role of Valya Harkonnen in the HBO science fiction series Dune: Prophecy.

Acting History

2025
Steve
as Jenny
Hamnet
as Mary
2024
Midas Man
as Queenie Epstein
Dune: Prophecy
TVas Mother Superior Valya Harkonnen14 eps
2023
Fired on Mars
TVas Sheila (voice)2 eps
2022
God's Creatures
as Aileen O'Hara
2021
Monster Family 2
as Emma Wishbone (voice)
Too Close
TVas Dr. Emma Robinson3 eps
Too Close
TVExecutive Producer
2020
The Third Day
TVas Mrs. Martin6 eps
2019
Chernobyl
TVas Ulana Khomyuk5 eps
2018
The Happy Prince
as Constance Wilde
King Lear
as Regan
On Chesil Beach
as Violet Ponting
Weinstein
as Narrator (voice)
2017
Monster Family
as Emma Wishbone (voice)
Kingsman: The Golden Circle
as Chief of Staff Fox
Genius
TVas Elsa Einstein10 eps
Little Women
TVas Marmee March3 eps
Apple Tree Yard
TVas Yvonne Carmichael
2015
Testament of Youth
as Mrs. Brittain
A Royal Night Out
as Queen Elizabeth
Everest
as Helen Wilton
Little Boy
as Emma Busbee
A Song for Jenny
as Julie Nicholson
The Dresser
as Her Ladyship
The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe
TVas Grace McKee2 eps
2014
2013
The Book Thief
as Rosa Hubermann
Belle
as Lady Mansfield
Some Girl(s)
as Lindsay
The Politician's Husband
TVas Freya Gardner3 eps
2012
Anna Karenina
as Countess Lydia Ivanova
2011
Meerkats 3D
as Narrator
War Horse
as Rose Narracott
Appropriate Adult
TVas Janet Leach2 eps
2010
Cemetery Junction
as Mrs. Kendrick
Oranges and Sunshine
as Margaret Humphreys
2009
Within the Whirlwind
as Evgenia Ginzburg
Cold Souls
as Claire
2007
The Water Horse
as Anne MacMorrow
The Early Show
TVas Self1 eps
2006
Crusade in Jeans
as Mary Vega
Miss Potter
as Millie Warne
2005
Wah-Wah
as Ruby Compton
Separate Lies
as Anne Manning
Corpse Bride
as Victoria Everglot (voice)
The Proposition
as Martha Stanley
2002
Punch-Drunk Love
as Lena Leonard
Equilibrium
as Mary O'Brien
Ballchewer
as Self
Red Dragon
as Reba McClane
2001
Gosford Park
as Elsie
2000
The Luzhin Defence
as Natalia Katkov
Trixie
as Trixie Zurbo
1999
Cradle Will Rock
as Olive Stanton
Angela's Ashes
as Angela McCourt
1998
Hilary and Jackie
as Jackie Du Pré
1997
The Mill on the Floss
as Maggie Tulliver
Metroland
as Marion
The Boxer
as Maggie Hamill
The Oscars
TVas Self2 eps
1996
Breaking the Waves
as Bess McNeill
1994
Performance
TVas Rosalie1 eps

Social Media

Personal Info

Known For
Acting
Gender
Female
Birthday
1/14/1967(59 years old)
Place of Birth
Islington, London, England, UK
Emily Watson - Acting | MaTAb