Emilia Clarke

Emilia Isobel Euphemia Rose Clarke is an English actress born on 23 October 1986. She achieved international recognition for her role as Daenerys Targaryen in the HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones (2011–2019), receiving four Primetime Emmy Award nominations. She is also widely recognized for playing Sarah Connor in Terminator Genisys (2015), Qi'ra in Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018), and starring in the romantic dramas Me Before You (2016) and Last Christmas (2019).

Clarke was born in London and raised in Oxfordshire. Her father, Peter Roderick Clarke, was a theatre sound engineer, and her mother, Jennifer Susan Dodd Clarke, is a businesswoman and charity director. She has a younger brother, Bennett, who works in the camera department in the entertainment industry. Clarke became interested in acting at age three after seeing a production of the musical Show Boat. She was educated at Rye St Antony School and St Edward's School in Oxford before attending Drama Centre London, where she graduated in 2009.

Before her major television breakthrough, Clarke acted in school stage productions, student films, and the 2009 stage play Sense. Her credited television debut occurred in 2009 with a guest appearance on the BBC One medical soap opera Doctors. She subsequently starred in the 2010 television film Triassic Attack, after which she was named a UK Star of Tomorrow by the publication Screen International.

In 2010, Clarke was cast as Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones, replacing Tamzin Merchant after the pilot episode was reshot. She played the character across all eight seasons from 2011 to 2019, earning critical acclaim and four Primetime Emmy nominations, while also voicing the character in a 2014 video game adaptation. During the show's run, she made her Broadway debut as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's in 2013 and expanded into feature films including Dom Hemingway (2013), Terminator Genisys (2015), Me Before You (2016), and Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018).

Following the conclusion of Game of Thrones, Clarke starred in the romantic comedy Last Christmas (2019) and made her West End debut as Nina in Anton Chekhov's play The Seagull. She co-wrote the comic book series M.O.M.: Mother of Madness in 2021. Her later screen projects include voicing a role in the animated film The Amazing Maurice (2022), starring in and executive producing the film The Pod Generation (2023), portraying G'iah in the Marvel Cinematic Universe miniseries Secret Invasion (2023), and starring in and executive producing the Cold War-era drama series Ponies in 2026.

Beyond acting, Clarke has worked as a global brand ambassador for Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, and Clinique. She has also engaged in philanthropic endeavors, including serving as a patron for the non-profit drama audition organization Open Door and supporting various charitable galas and youth initiatives.