Lily James

Lily Chloe Ninette Thomson, known professionally as Lily James, is an English actress born on 5 April 1989. She studied acting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, graduating in 2010. She began her acting career in British television before earning widespread recognition for her television and film roles. After appearing in the period drama series Downton Abbey, she achieved her breakthrough playing the title character in the live-action fantasy film Cinderella in 2015.

James was born in Esher, Surrey, to actress Ninette Mantle and musician James "Jamie" Thomson. She has an older brother and a younger brother. Her paternal grandmother, Helen Horton, was an American actress, and her maternal grandmother was French. After attending Tring Park School for the Performing Arts in Hertfordshire, she completed her studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and signed with Tavistock Wood management. She adopted her stage name in memory of her father, who died from cancer in 2008, after learning another actress was named Lily Thomson.

She made her television debut in 2010 as Ethel Brown in the BBC production of Just William and played Poppy in Secret Diary of a Call Girl in 2011. From 2012 to 2015, James portrayed Lady Rose MacClare in Downton Abbey, becoming a main cast member for its fourth and fifth series and appearing in the series finale. Her early stage work included roles in Vernon God Little at the Young Vic Theatre, The Seagull at Southwark Playhouse, Othello at the Crucible Theatre, and a double-bill of Play House and Definitely the Bahamas at the Orange Tree Theatre.

In film, James appeared in Wrath of the Titans and Fast Girls in 2012 before starring in Kenneth Branagh's Cinderella (2015), where she also contributed vocals to the soundtrack. She went on to play Natasha Rostova in the 2016 BBC miniseries War & Peace and Elizabeth Bennet in the action-horror film Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. In 2016, she also played Juliet in a West End production of Romeo and Juliet at the Garrick Theatre.

James featured in several major film releases in 2017, including Baby Driver, Darkest Hour, and The Exception. In 2018, she portrayed the younger Donna Sheridan in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again and starred in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. She appeared in the musical film Yesterday in 2019 and returned to the stage alongside Gillian Anderson in an adaptation of All About Eve at the Noël Coward Theatre.

Her subsequent screen roles included Mrs de Winter in the 2020 adaptation of Rebecca, Peggy Piggott in The Dig (2021), and a leading role in the television series The Pursuit of Love. In 2022, James portrayed Pamela Anderson in the miniseries Pam & Tommy, a performance that earned her nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe.

In recent years, James starred as Pam Adkisson in the sports drama The Iron Claw (2023), Josephine Esperanto in Finally Dawn, and appeared in the indie film Greedy People (2024). Her recent stage credits include Lyonesse at the Harold Pinter Theatre in 2023. Additionally, she became a brand ambassador for the Natural Diamond Council in 2022.