Kelly Reilly

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Reilly in Mrs Henderson Presents

Kelly Reilly (born 8 July 1977) is an English actress who, in 2004, became the youngest ever "best actress" nominee at the Olivier Awards.

She grew up in Kingston in Surrey, in a working-class family. She was inspired to act after seeing a performance of The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, and made her professional debut in an episode of Prime Suspect, aged 17, while still studying for her A-levels. She did not attend drama school due to financial constraints and an inability to articulate her interest in acting.

Her stage credits include the controversial Blasted at the Royal Court Theatre, Debs in Sexual Perversity in Chicago (alongside Hollywood actors Matthew Perry, Hank Azaria and Minnie Driver), and Look Back in Anger.

Her performance in 2004 in After Miss Julie at the Donmar Warehouse saw her nominated for an Olivier Award. She won the Cannes Film Festival 2005 "Best Actress in an Independent Film" award for her performance in Mrs. Henderson Presents (2005). In 2006 she picked up "best newcomer" awards from the London Critics Circle and the Empire Film Awards.

She is also well-known in France because of a starring role in the film L'Auberge espagnole and its 2005 sequel Les Poupées russes in which she played the romantic lead and was nominated for a César award for best supporting actress in 2006.

Reilly recently starred in the Richard Fell adaptation of the 1960s science fiction series A for Andromeda, shown on the UK digital television station BBC Four.